Archived: NI-RFSA 2.6 Known Issues

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Overview



This document contains the NI-RFSA 2.6 known issues that were discovered before and since the release of NI-RFSA 2.6. Not every issue known to NI appears on this list. It is intended to show the most severe and common issues that can be encountered.

Each issue appears as a row in the table and includes the following fields:

  • Issue ID - The number in at the top of each of the cells in the first column. When you report an issue to NI, you may be given this ID, you can also find IDs posted by NI on the discussion forums or in Knowledge Base articles.  "N/A" indicates that there is no ID assigned to the issue.
  • Issue Title (in italics) - Describes the issue in one sentence or less.
  • Problem Description - A few sentences which describe the problem in further detail. The brief description given does not necessarily describe the problem in full detail, and it is expected that you may want more information on an issue. If you would like more information on an issue, contact NI and reference the ID number given in the document.
  • Workaround - Possible ways to work around the problem. The workarounds that appear in the document are not always tested by NI and are not guaranteed to resolve the issue. If a workaround refers you to the NI KnowledgeBase, visit www.ni.com/kb/ and enter the KnowledgeBase number in the search field to locate the specific document.
  • Reported Version - The earliest version of NI-RFSG in which the issue was reported. If you discover the issue appears in an earlier version of NI-RFSG than is reported in this field, report the discrepancy to NI to have the field updated.
  • Resolved Version - Version in which the issue was resolved or was no longer applicable. "N/A" indicates that the issue has not been resolved.
  • Date Added - The date the issue was added to the document (not the reported date).

Known Issues by Severity

423734Magnitude equalization correction is not applied to the spectrum data correctly when the valid spectrum bandwidth is smaller than the acquired spectrum bandwidth
224755Low-power signals may appear at fixed intervals in power spectrum data
394079NI 5601 revision E modules do not behave properly with NI-RFSA 2.6
258630Using NI-RFSA with NI-TClk to synchronize multiple devices acquiring at different I/Q rates results in misaligned data
395826Scaling coefficients returned can differ by up to 1e-10
258323Routing signals across segment boundaries on the NI PXIe-1075 chassis can intermittently fail
375859Setting an IQ Power Edge Trigger with an invalid minimum quiet time on the NI PXI-5661 produces a persistent error
346251Controlling the NI PXI-5661 through the NI-RFSA Soft Front Panel, you can potentially create an invalid configuration that produces an incorrect error message
251423Using NI-RFSA with NI-TClk to synchronize the PXIe-5663E with the PXIe-5665 or the PXIe-5667 results in misaligned data
375643Changing from an IQ Power Edge Trigger to None on the NI PXI-5661 results in a persistent error from the digitizer
370013NI I/O Trace log shows incorrect data for the waveform buffer when the niRFSA Read IQ (Complex WDT 1Rec 1Chan) VI is called from LabVIEW
344383Setting the Mixer Level Offset property or the NIRFSA_ATTR_MIXER_LEVEL_OFFSET attribute to >0 dBm and not setting the Mixer Level property or the NIRFSA_ATTR_MIXER_LEVEL attribute causes an error
383089NI-RFSA may cause deadlocks on PharLAP when a new NI-RFSA session is initialized in parallel while closing a previously opened NI-RFSA session
365669MAX does not refresh the Composite Device information after the configuration for the downconverter is changed
376981MAX will collapse the Vector Signal Analyzer (VSA) device sub-tree after associating the downconverter with other modules
294969NI-TClk synchronization on a distributed chassis setup may show higher jitter than a single chassis setup
IDKnown Issue
423734

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Magnitude equalization correction is not applied to the spectrum data correctly when the valid spectrum bandwidth is smaller than the acquired spectrum bandwidth.


Workaround: N/A
Reported Version: 2.6  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 08/26/2013
224755

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Low-power signals may appear at fixed intervals in power spectrum data.
Low-power signals may appear at fixed intervals when performing a power spectrum acquisition. When performing an acquisition narrower than the hardware instantaneous bandwidth, the signals can appear in the lower frequency bins and upper frequency bins of the acquisition. When performing a multispan acquisition, the signals can appear at the boundary of each single span spectral acquisition that makes up the total acquisition.

Workaround: The low-power signals represent the dither signal on the digitizer. Although the dither signal is at a frequency that is outside the bandwidth of the equalized response, the power of the dither signal can leak into the equalized response, depending on the resolution bandwidth and the FFT window type. You can remove the dither from the power spectrum data using one of the following methods:
  • Using a narrower resolution bandwidth.
  • Disabling the dither.
  • Choosing a different FFT window type. This solution may be less effective than the previous solutions, depending on the resolution bandwidth.
Reported Version: 2.3  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 01/17/2011
394079

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NI 5601 revision E modules do not behave properly with NI-RFSA 2.6.
NI 5601 revision E modules are not programmed properly with NI-RFSA 2.6. A common symptom of this issue is incorrect power levels being reported by the driver or observed when using the NI-RFSA Soft Front Panel. Additionally, the reported power levels may change after a reset is called from MAX or by calling the niRFSA Reset Device VI or the niRFSA_ResetDevice function. To find out the module revision of your NI 5601, query the Module Revision property or the NIRFSA_ATTR_MODULE_REVISION attribute.

Workaround: Upgrade to NI-RFSA 2.7 or later or apply the NI-RFSA 2.6f1 patch.

Reported Version: 2.6  Resolved Version: 2.7  Added: 03/01/2013
258630

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Using NI-RFSA with NI-TClk to synchronize multiple devices acquiring at different I/Q rates results in misaligned data.
When using TClk synchronization where two or more NI RF vector signal anayzers acquire at different I/Q rates, it is possible for the acquired data to be misaligned. The misalignment manifests itself as a skew where the data from one device appears to be leading/lagging the data from the other device. The time delay between the data acquired by the master and a slave is constant for the combination of the hardware settings configured on the two devices. This skew is repeatable and does not vary with time.

Workaround: Since the skew does not vary with time, users can empirically determine the expected misalignment and correct the acquired data manually.

Reported Version: 2.3  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 01/17/2011
395826

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Scaling coefficients returned can differ by up to 1e-10.
For a single record IQ acquisition scaling coefficients obtained from the niRFSA Get Scaling Coefficients VI or the niRFSA_GetScalingCoefficients function could be different from the scaling coefficients obtained from the niRFSA Fetch IQ (1D I16) VI or the niRFSA_FetchIQSingleRecordComplexI16 function. Similarly, for a multi-record IQ acquisition scaling coefficients obtained from the niRFSA Get Scaling Coefficients VI or the niRFSA_GetScalingCoefficients function could be different from the scaling coefficients obtained from the niRFSA Fetch IQ (2D I16) VI or the niRFSA_FetchIQMultiRecordComplexI16 function. The difference in the scaling coefficients can be up to 1e-10.

Workaround: There is no workaround for this issue. However, since the difference in coefficients is rather small, this difference does not affect amplitude accuracy for any of the devices supported by NI-RFSA.

Reported Version: 2.6  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 03/13/2013
258323

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Routing signals across segment boundaries on the NI PXIe-1075 chassis can intermittently fail.
The NI PXIe-1075 chassis backplane has the following three trigger buses (segments) that you can use to route digital signals:
  • Trigger Bus 1: PXI Slots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
  • Trigger Bus 2: PXI Slots 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12
  • Trigger Bus 3: PXI Slots 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18
Backplane signal route requests may sometimes fail if the source and destination devices lie in different segments of the chassis. In that scenario, error -26981 ("A protocol violation was detected.") is returned. This error is intermittent, and its frequency depends on the embedded controller or MXI interface device used in the chassis.

Workaround: There are two possible workarounds for this issue:
  • Change the location of the source and destination devices for the hardware route such that both of them lie in the same trigger bus.
  • Since this error is intermittent, first retry the same route because it may succeed. In LabVIEW, you can retry by conditionally detecting error -26981, clearing the error, and attempting to reserve the same route again.
Reported Version: 2.4  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 01/17/2011
375859

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Setting an IQ Power Edge Trigger with an invalid minimum quiet time on the NI PXI-5661 produces a persistent error.
Setting an invalid minimum quiet time on the NI PXI-5661 will produce an error reporting that the quiet time is invalid. This error will persist even after setting the minimum quiet time to a valid value.

Workaround: Use the niRFSA Reset VI or the niRFSA_reset function to restore all properties or attributes to their default values and re-apply the desired settings.

Reported Version: 2.3  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 12/05/2012
346251

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Controlling the NI PXI-5661 through the NI-RFSA Soft Front Panel, you can potentially create an invalid configuration that produces an incorrect error message
When controlling the NI PXI-5661 through the NI-RFSA Soft Panel, you can potentially create an invalid configuration that to produces an incorrect error message reporting that the Contiguous Multirecord property or the NIRFSA_ATTR_CONTIGUOUS_MULTIRECORD attribute is not supported or an error without extended error information. After the error condition is reported, the NI-RFSA Soft Front Panel acquisition stops.

Workaround: There are two possible workarounds for this issue:
  • Change the value that caused the incorrect error message to another invalid setting and then back to the original setting to receive the correct error message. Correcting the invalid setting allows the acquisition to continue.
  • When using the NI-RFSA Soft Front Panel, revert the changes that caused the error and reapply those same changes to get the correct error message. For LabVIEW and C users, call the niRFSA Commit VI or the niRFSA_commit function after configuration changes that come before a fetch. This call causes the correct error to be produced. For NI-RFSA C users, calls to the niRFSA_GetError function after a fetch may still cause an unsupported attribute error when the return code from the fetch is VI_SUCCESS.
Reported Version: 2.5.5  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 12/05/2012
251423

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Using NI-RFSA with NI-TClk to synchronize the NI PXIe-5663E with the NI PXIe-5665 or the NI PXIe-5667 results in misaligned data.
When using TClk synchronization with the NI PXIe-5663E and the NI PXIe-5665 or the NI PXIe-5667, it is possible for the acquired data to be misaligned. The misalignment manifests itself as a skew where the data from one device appears to be leading/lagging the data from the other device. The time delay between the data acquired by the master and a slave is constant for the combination of the hardware settings configured on the two devices. This skew is repeatable and does not vary with time.

Workaround: Since the skew does not vary with time, users can empirically determine the expected misalignment and correct the acquired data manually.

Reported Version: 2.4  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 12/05/2012
375643

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Changing from an IQ Power Edge Trigger to None on the NI PXI-5661 results in a persistent error from the digitizer.
Applying an IQ Power Edge Trigger configuration on the NI PXI-5661 and then reconfiguring it by applying a configuration that does not use a trigger will produce a digitizer error indicating that the trigger source is invalid.

Workaround: Use the niRFSA Reset VI or the niRFSA_reset function to restore all properties or attributes to their default values and re-apply the desired settings.

Reported Version: 2.6  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 12/05/2012
370013

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NI I/O Trace log shows incorrect data for the waveform buffer when the niRFSA Read IQ (Complex WDT 1Rec 1Chan) VI is called from LabVIEW.
When the niRFSA Read IQ (Complex WDT 1Rec 1Chan) VI is called from LabVIEW, the waveform data displayed in NI I/O Trace is not correct.

Workaround: N/A

Reported Version: 2.6  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 12/5/2012
344383

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Setting the Mixer Level Offset property or the NIRFSA_ATTR_MIXER_LEVEL_OFFSET attribute to 0 dBm and not setting the Mixer Level property or the NIRFSA_ATTR_MIXER_LEVEL attribute causes an error.
If your application sets the Mixer Level Offset property or the NIRFSA_ATTR_MIXER_LEVEL_OFFSET attribute to a value of 0 dBm and does not set the Mixer Level property or the NIRFSA_ATTR_MIXER_LEVEL attribute the NI-RFSA driver will report an error.

Workaround: Set the Mixer Level property or the NIRFSA_ATTR_MIXER_LEVEL attribute to its default -20 dBm value.

Reported Version: 2.4  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 12/05/2012
383089

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NI-RFSA may cause deadlocks on Phar Lap when a new NI-RFSA session is initialized in parallel while closing a previously opened NI-RFSA session
When the niRFSA Initialize VI and the niRFSA Close VI execute in parallel on a Phar Lap system, the NI-RFSA driver can cause the OS to deadlock. The system will have to be physically rebooted to be used again.

Workaround: Sequence the niRFSA Initialize VI and the niRFSA Close VI so that they are not executed in parallel. One way to do this is to chain the error out that exits the niRFSA Close VI into the error in terminal of the niRFSA Initialize VI.

Reported Version: 2.6  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 12/13/2012
365669

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MAX does not refresh the Composite Device information after the configuration for the downconverter is changed.
After using the Configuration Panel to associate the downconverter with any other device, such as a digitizer or an LO, MAX should update the dowconverter or VSA device sub-tree. However, the device sub-tree doesn't update occasionally even if the configuration was modified successfully.

Workaround: Refresh the device sub-tree manually or close MAX and open it again.

Reported Version: 2.6  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 12/05/2012
376981

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MAX will collapse the Vector Signal Analyzer (VSA) device sub-tree after associating the downconverter with other modules.
MAX will show a sub-tree for each VSA device, which lists the downconverter along with the other modules that make up the VSA (digitizer, LO, RF conditioning (if applicable) and IF conditioning (if applicable)). After associating the downconverter with the other devices in order to have a working VSA, MAX will collapse the device sub-tree.

Workaround: Manually expand the device sub-tree in order to see the modules that make up the VSA.

Reported Version: 2.6  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 12/05/2012
294969

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NI-TClk synchronization on a distributed chassis setup may show higher jitter than a single chassis setup
When using NI-TClk synchronization on two or more NI-RFSA devices that are in separate chassis, it is possible for the run to run synchronization jitter to be higher than a single chassis setup

Workaround: N/A

Reported Version: 2.6  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 12/18/2012

Refer to the NI-RFSA Soft Front Panel 2.6 Known Issues for known issues specific to NI-RFSA Soft Front Panel 2.6.

Contacting NI

Contact NI regarding this document or issues in the document. If you contact NI in regards to a specific issue, reference the ID number given in the document. The ID number contains the current issue ID number as well as the legacy ID number (use the current ID number when contacting NI). You can contact us through any of the normal support channels including phone, email, or the discussion forums. Visit the NI Website to contact us. Also contact us if you find a workaround for an issue that is not listed in the document.

Glossary of Terms

 

  • Bug ID - When an issue is reported to NI, you may be given this ID or find it on ni.com.  You may also find IDs posted by NI on the discussion forums or in KnowledgeBase articles.
  • Legacy ID – An older issue ID that refers to the same issue.  You may instead find this issue ID in older known issues documents.
  • Description - A few sentences which describe the problem. The brief description given does not necessarily describe the problem in full detail.
  • Workaround - Possible ways to work around the problem.
  • Reported Version - The earliest version in which the issue was reported.
  • Resolved Version - Version in which the issue was resolved or was no longer applicable. "N/A" indicates that the issue has not been resolved.
  • Date Added - The date the issue was added to the document (not the reported date).