PXIe-5820 is designed for use in a system that may require hardware, drivers, and software to optimize PXIe-5820 for your application. Use the minimum required PXIe-5820 system components as a starting point for building your system.

Table 2. Minimum Required PXIe-5820 System Components
Component Description and Recommendations
PXI Chassis

 A PXI chassis houses the PXIe-5820 and supplies power for PXIe-5820 functions.
PXI Controller or PXI Remote Control Module

 You can install a PXI controller or a PXI remote control (MXI) module depending on your system requirements. These components, installed in the same PXI chassis as the PXIe-5820, interface with the instrument using NI device drivers.
VST

 Your VST instrument.
Cables and Accessories

 Cables and accessories allow connectivity to/from your instrument for measurements. Refer to Cables and Accessories for cable and accessory recommendations and guidance.
Driver Software

 Instrument driver software that provides functions to interact with the PXIe-5820 and execute measurements using the PXIe-5820.
Note For optimal performance, use the most current version of driver software with the PXIe-5820. You can find the driver requirements on ni.com.
NI Applications

 Instrument driver software offers support for the following applications:
  • InstrumentStudio
  • LabVIEW
  • LabWindows/CVI
  • C/C++
  • .NET
  • Python

Cables and Accessories

NI recommends using the following cables and accessories with your module.

Table 3. Cables and Accessories
Accessory Description Part Number
OCuLink x4, 1 m cable
Note NI does not recommend using OCuLink x4 cables supplied by another manufacturer.
 785486-01
OCuLink x4 to mini-SAS HD, 1 m cable 786215-01
SCB-8 Noise Rejecting, Shielded Molex Nano-Pitch I/O connector block 786335-01
SMA (m)-to-MMPX (m) cables 769787-0R610
MMPX (m)-to-MMPX (m) cables 763577-0R152
Note These cables and accessories use a custom pinout that matches the PXIe-5820 DIO connector and maintains the 50 Ω transmission line environment. NI does not recommend using other Molex Nano-Pitch I/O cables.

Software Options

You can use the NI-RFSA and/or NI-RFSG instrument driver software to program the PXIe-5820.

The NI-RFSA and NI-RFSG both have the following features:
  • Provide standard IVI-based functionality needed for most vector signal analyzer and vector signal generator applications.
  • Provide a fixed API for interacting with the PXIe-5820.
  • Include FPGA extensions that you can use to customize the PXIe-5820 FPGA with precompiled bitfiles.

The following table outlines several use cases involving NI-RFSA and/or NI-RFSG:

Use Case Software Option
Create custom measurements or applications that require I/Q data NI-RFSA
Generate CW or modulated waveforms NI-RFSG
Develop software-defined radio transmitters and receivers NI-RFSA, NI-RFSG, and the NI Modulation Toolkit
Create and generate modulated signals to test receivers NI-RFSG and the NI Modulation Toolkit

Unsupported NI-RFSG Features

The following NI-RFSG features are not supported on the PXIe-5820:

  • Pulse shaping

Restrictions on Scripts

  • if else is not supported.
  • break instruction is not supported.
  • stream instruction is not supported.
  • The maximum compiled script size is 6,100 instructions. Each script language instruction requires roughly one compiled instruction, plus one instruction for each marker.
  • Nested repeats are only allowed if the outer repeat is a repeat forever instruction, and there are no other instructions preceding it or past the end of the repeat block. You can only use a single nesting level.
  • Markers are allowed in generate and finite wait instructions. They are not allowed in conditional wait instructions.

Software Locations

Table 4. Location of PXIe-5820 Software Options
Software Option ADE Location
NI-RFSA LabVIEW

Available on the LabVIEW Functions palette at Measurement I/O » NI-RFSA.

LabWindows/CVI

Available in the <IVIROOTDIR32>\Drivers\niRFSA directory, where <IVIROOTDIR32> is one of the following locations:

  • Windows 10 (32-bit)/8.1 (32-bit)/7 (32-bit)-Program Files\IVI Foundation\IVI
  • Windows 10 (64-bit)/8.1 (64-bit)/7 (64-bit)-Program Files (x86)\IVI Foundation\IVI
Microsoft Visual C/C++
Use the header files located in the <IVIROOTDIR32>\Include directory and import library files located in the <IVIROOTDIR32>\Lib directory, where <IVIROOTDIR32> is one of the following directories:
  • Windows 10 (32-bit)/8.1 (32-bit)/7 (32-bit)-Program Files\IVI Foundation\IVI
  • Windows 10 (64-bit)/8.1 (64-bit)/7 (64-bit)-Program Files (x86)\IVI Foundation\IVI
Microsoft .NET

To use the .NET API, you must install the .NET class libraries. For download and installed file locations, visit ni.com/info and enter Info Code NETAPIdriversupport.

NI-RFSG LabVIEW

Available on the LabVIEW Functions palette at Measurement I/O » NI-RFSG.

LabWindows/CVI

Available in the <IVIROOTDIR32>\Drivers\niRFSG directory, where <IVIROOTDIR32> is one of the following locations:

  • Windows 10 (32-bit)/8.1 (32-bit)/7 (32-bit)-Program Files\IVI Foundation\IVI
  • Windows 10 (64-bit)/8.1 (64-bit)/7 (64-bit)-Program Files (x86)\IVI Foundation\IVI
Microsoft Visual C/C++

Use the header files located in the <IVIROOTDIR32>\Include directory and import library files located in the <IVIROOTDIR32>\Lib directory, where <IVIROOTDIR32> is one of the following directories:

  • Windows 10 (32-bit)/8.1 (32-bit)/7 (32-bit)-Program Files\IVI Foundation\IVI
  • Windows 10 (64-bit)/8.1 (64-bit)/7 (64-bit)-Program Files (x86)\IVI Foundation\IVI
Microsoft .NET

To use the .NET API, you must install the .NET class libraries. For download and installed file locations, visit ni.com/info and enter Info Code NETAPIdriversupport.