Creates an RFmx session to the signal/network analyzer you specify through the Resource Name parameter, and returns an Instrument Handle Out that identifies this device in all subsequent RFmx functions.

Note

Enabling the SFP (Soft Front Panel) debug has a performance impact. For best performance, NI recommends disabling SFP debug. SFP debug can be enabled/disabled from either the RF Signal Analyzer panel in InstrumentStudio, the RFSA Soft Front Panel, or the RFmx Debug Configuration Utility.

Syntax

int32 __stdcall RFmxInstr_Initialize(char resourceName[], char optionString[], niRFmxInstrHandle *handleOut, int32 *isNewSession)

Parameters

NameDirectionTypeDescription
resourceName[in]char[]

This parameter specifies the resource name of the device to initialize.

The following table shows examples of how to specify the resource name.

Example #

Device Type

Syntax

1

myRFmxDevice

RFmx device, device name is "myRFmxDevice"

2

myLogicalName

IVI logical name or virtual instrument, name is "myLogicalName"

For NI-DAQmx devices, the syntax is the device name specified in MAX, as shown in Example 1. Typical default names for NI-DAQmx devices in MAX are Dev1 or PXI1Slot2. You can rename an NI-DAQmx device by right-clicking the name in MAX, selecting Rename from the pull-down menu, and entering a new name. You can also pass the name of an IVI logical name configured with the IVI Configuration utility. For additional information about IVI, refer to the IVI section of the Measurement & Automation Explorer Help.
Note

For multichannel devices such as the PXIe-5860, the resource name must include the channel number to use. The channel number is specified by appending /ChannelNumber to the device name, where ChannelNumber is the channel number (0, 1, etc.). For example, if the device name is PXI1Slot2 and you want to use channel 0, use the resource name PXI1Slot2/0.

optionString[in]char[]

This parameter sets the initial value of certain attributes for the session.

The following attributes are used in this parameter:

  • RFmxSetup

  • Simulate

  • AnalysisOnly

For more information about attributes used in this parameter, refer to NI RF Vector Signal Analyzers Help.

The format of this string is "<i>PropertyName=Value</i>", where PropertyName is the name of the attribute and Value is the value to which the attribute is set. For example, you can simulate a PXIe-5663E device using either of the following strings:

"Simulate=1, RFmxSetup=Model:5663E"

"Simulate=1, RFmxSetup=Model:5601; Digitizer:5622; LO:5652; LOBoardType:PXIe"

To set multiple properties, separate their assignments with a comma.

To use FPGA extensions, specify the custom LabVIEW FPGA bitfile to use with the bitfile specifier within the RFmxSetup string. For example, "RFmxSetup=bitfile:yourbitfile.lvbitx" specifies that RFmx use <format type="monospace-italic">yourbitfile.lvbitx</format> as the LabVIEW FPGA bitfile for the session.

To use AnalysisOnly mode, specify the string as "AnalysisOnly=1". While using this mode, you are responsible for waveform acquisition and RFmx will perform analysis on the I/Q waveform or Spectrum you specify. You must use personality specific Analyze functions to perform the measurements.
Note

To simulate a device using the PXIe-5622 (25 MHz) digitizer, set the Digitizer field to 5622_25MHz_DDC and the Simulate field to 1. You can set the Digitizer field to 5622_25MHz_DDC only when using the PXIe-5665.

To use external NI source measure units (SMU) as the noise source power supply for the Noise Figure (NF) measurement, use "NoiseSourcePowerSupply" as the specifier within the RFmxSetup string. For example, "RFmxSetup= NoiseSourcePowerSupply:myDCPower[0]" configures RFmx to use channel 0 on myDCPower SMU device for powering the noise source. You must allocate a dedicated SMU channel for RFmx.

Note

RFmx supports PXIe-4138, PXIe-4139, PXIe-4139 (40 W), and PXIe-4143 SMUs.

handleOut[out]niRFmxInstrHandle *

This parameter passes a reference of the instrument session to the next function.

isNewSession[in]int32 *

This parameter is TRUE if the function created a new session, or FALSE if the function returned a reference to an existing session.

Returns

Returns the status code of this operation. The status code either indicates success or describes an error or warning condition. Examine the status code from each call to an RFmx function to determine if an error has occurred.

To obtain a text description of the status code and additional information about the error condition, call the RFmxInstr_GetError function.

The general meaning of the status code is as follows:

Value

Meaning

0

Success

Positive Values

Warnings

Negative Values

Errors