Archived: NI-RFSA 2.5.2 and NI-RFSA Soft Front Panel 2.5.5 Known Issues

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Overview



This document contains the NI-RFSA 2.5.2 and NI-RFSA Soft Front Panel (SFP) 2.5.5 known issues that were discovered before and since the release of NI-RFSA 2.5.2 and NI-RFSA SFP 2.5.5. 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-RFSA or NI-RFSA SFP in which the issue was reported. If you discover the issue appears in an earlier version of NI-RFSA or NI-RFSA SFP 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  • Resolved Version - Version in which the issue was resolved or was no longer applicable.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).

NI-RFSA 2.5.2 Known Issues by Severity

  395826   Scaling coefficients returned can differ by up to 1e-10
  378277   In Spectrum acquisition mode, there is no magnitude only equalization performed when doing in-band retuning
  343973    Specifying a non-zero external gain for the External Gain property or NIRFSA_ATTR_EXTERNAL_GAIN attribute with the Input Isolation Enabled property set to Enabled or the NIRFSA_ATTR_INPUT_ISOLATION attribute set to NIRFSA_VAL_ENABLED causes the driver to return incorrect amplitude parameters
  325036    Reference Clock cannot be exported on the Ref Out terminal on the NI PXIe-5663E
  312899    Handle leaks can occur when using Spectral Measurements Toolkit 2.6.1 or Modulation Toolkit 4.3.1 and earlier with the NI-5660 API
  258323    Routing signals across segment boundaries on the NI PXIe-1075 chassis can intermittently fail
  224755    Low-power signals may appear at fixed intervals in power spectrum data
  258630    Using NI-RFSA with NI-TClk to synchronize multiple VSAs acquiring at different I/Q rates results in misaligned data
  350338    In the device documentation, including the Getting Started Guide and Help file, the MAX "Configure" button is inaccurately labeled with its former name, "Properties"
  380936    NI-RFSA computes an incorrect temperature corrected gain when the IF gain on the NI PXIe-5603 or the NI PXIe-5605 is nominal
IDKnown Issue
395826

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: Unknown  Added: 03/13/2013
378277

In Spectrum acquisition mode, there is no magnitude only equalization performed when doing in-band retuning.
The 5 MHz and 300 kHz filters do not have any magnitude equalization performed in spectrum acquisition mode on the NI PXIe-5665.

Workaround: 

N/A

Reported Version: 2.6  Resolved Version: Unknown  Added: 12/05/2012
343973

Specifying a non-zero external gain for the External Gain property or NIRFSA_ATTR_EXTERNAL_GAIN attribute with the Input Isolation Enabled property set to Enabled or the NIRFSA_ATTR_INPUT_ISOLATION attribute set to NIRFSA_VAL_ENABLED causes the driver to return incorrect amplitude parameters.
If you set the Input Isolation Enabled property to Enabled or the NIRFSA_ATTR_INPUT_ISOLATION attribute to NIRFSA_VAL_ENABLED with a non-zero external gain for the External Gain property or NIRFSA_ATTR_EXTERNAL_GAIN attribute, the downconverter gain, fetched IQ, and spectrum data are off by the specified external gain.

Workaround: 

To obtain the actual values of the downconverter gain, fetched IQ, and spectrum data, subtract the external gain from the data returned by the driver.

Reported Version: 2.5.2  Resolved Version: Unknown  Added: 03/28/2012
343973

Specifying a non-zero external gain for the External Gain property or NIRFSA_ATTR_EXTERNAL_GAIN attribute with the Input Isolation Enabled property set to Enabled or the NIRFSA_ATTR_INPUT_ISOLATION attribute set to NIRFSA_VAL_ENABLED causes the driver to return incorrect amplitude parameters.
If you set the Input Isolation Enabled property to Enabled or the NIRFSA_ATTR_INPUT_ISOLATION attribute to NIRFSA_VAL_ENABLED with a non-zero external gain for the External Gain property or NIRFSA_ATTR_EXTERNAL_GAIN attribute, the downconverter gain, fetched IQ, and spectrum data are off by the specified external gain.

Workaround: 

To obtain the actual values of the downconverter gain, fetched IQ, and spectrum data, subtract the external gain from the data returned by the driver.

Reported Version: 2.5.2  Resolved Version: Unknown  Added: 03/28/2012
325036

Reference Clock cannot be exported on the Ref Out terminal on the NI PXIe-5663E.
The following error generates when the NI PXIe-5663E is configured to export the Reference clock to the REF OUT terminal:

The LO returned the following error:

Requested value is not a supported value for this property.

Property: NIRFSG_ATTR_EXPORTED_REF_CLOCK_OUTPUT_TERMINAL
You Have Requested: RefOut, RefOut2
You Can Select: RefOut, RefOut2
Status Code: -223587

Workaround: 

Export the Reference clock to another terminal or downgrade your version of NI-RFSA to NI-RFSA 2.4.2.

Reported Version: 2.5.2  Resolved Version: Unknown  Added: 03/15/2012
312899

Handle leaks can occur when using Spectral Measurements Toolkit 2.6.1 or Modulation Toolkit 4.3.1 and earlier with the NI-5660 API.
When the ni5660 Initialize and ni5660 Close VIs are placed into a loop, Windows handle leaks occur on each iteration of the loop and persist until the top-level VI enters the Idle state. This leak also occurs when a VI containing the ni5660 Initialize and ni5660 Close VIs is executed multiple times by NI TestStand when the LabVIEW Adapter is set to reserve loaded VIs for execution.

Workaround: 

Manual Change Option: 

  1. Launch the LabVIEW version where you need to apply the workaround. 
  2. Open the VI
    <LabVIEW>
    \vi.lib\addons\Modulation\Analog\support\IQutilites\mod_IQ ViRef Table.vi
  3. Open File»VI Properties.
  4. Select the Execution as the Category pull-down menu. 
  5. Remove a checkmark from the Reentrant execution checkbox.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Save the VI and close LabVIEW. 

Note: You must make this change for each installed location and version of LabVIEW on the disk where the Spectral Measurements Toolkit and/or the Modulation Toolkit are installed.

Upgrade option: Install a newer version of the Spectral Measurements Toolkit or of the Modulation Toolkit.

Reported Version: 2.4  Resolved Version: Unknown  Added: 09/26/2011
258323
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
224755
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
258630
Using NI-RFSA with NI-TClk to synchronize multiple devices acquiring at different I/Q rates results in misaligned data.
When using NI-TClk synchronization where two or more NI RF vector signal analyzers acquire at different I/Q rates, the acquired data might 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, you can empirically determine the expected misalignment and correct the acquired data manually.

Reported Version: 2.3  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 01/17/2011
350338
In the device documentation, including the Getting Started Guide and Help file, the MAX "Configure" button is inaccurately labeled with its former name, "Properties."

Workaround: When the documentation instructs you to select the "Properties" button, you should select the "Configure" button.

Reported Version: 2.5.2  Resolved Version: N/A  Added: 08/24/2012
380936
NI-RFSA computes an incorrect temperature corrected gain when the IF gain on the NI PXIe-5603 or the NI PXIe-5605 is nominal.
It is possible for NI-RFSA to report an incorrect value for the Downconverter Gain property or the NIRFSA_ATTR_DOWNCONVERTER_GAIN attribute, the IF Output Power Level property or the NIRFSA_ATTR_IF_OUTPUT_POWER_LEVEL attribute, or return error -1074118655 when the IF gain on the NI PXIe-5603 or the NI PXIe-5605 is nominal. A nominal IF gain is chosen by NI-RFSA if there is no calibration data present in the device EEPROM for the attenuation configuration that is requested. The computed temperature corrected gain is incorrect only when the configuration requires NI-RFSA to choose a nominal IF gain.

Workaround: Calibrate the requested gain configuration using the NI-RFSA external calibration API.

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

NI-RFSA Soft Front Panel 2.5.5 Known Issues by Severity

  356088    Mismatch between the analyzed range and visual indication on the UI when you set the Delay for an IQ power edge trigger to a non-zero value.
  347833    In SEM, the Soft Front Panel sometimes disables the IQ Power Edge softkey when it shouldn't
  346699    In Zero Span with a marker enabled, if you change acquisition time, the keypad cannot change the marker position
  346134    In CCDF, you cannot set the delta marker to a trace different from the reference marker
  346518    A delay occurs if you use the mouse to move a marker when there are many points on the graph
  345649    When you recall a configuration with RF Coupling set to DC, the SFP does not display a warning when it should
  345782    In SEM, the SFP does not coerce Integration BW when you set the Span of the Ref Channel to a value less than the Integration BW
 349655  RBW and Step Frequency can be set lower than the minimum limit in SEM measurement
 379030  The offset value displayed by the Select Offset button is incorrect in certain cases.
IDKnown Issue
356088

Mismatch between the analyzed range and visual indication on the UI when you set the Delay for an IQ power edge trigger to a non-zero value.
When you set the Delay for an IQ power edge trigger to a non-zero value, you set the starting point of the acquisition as a delay from the trigger, which alters the starting time. However, the calculation code assumes a starting time of zero. Therefore, the analyzed range does not match the visual indication on the UI. This issue is likely to occur because the default trigger setting for TxP includes an unaccounted non-zero trigger delay.

Workaround: 

Set the Measurement Method to Above Threshold Level or set the trigger delay to zero.

Reported Version: 2.5.5  Resolved Version: 2.6  Added: :5/18/2012
347833

In SEM, the Soft Front Panel sometimes disables the IQ Power Edge softkey when it shouldn't.
The SFP disables the IQ Power Edge softkey in the Trigger menu when the configured span is greater than the current instantaneous bandwidth of the device. However, in SEM, the actual span used for this calculation does not match the configured span. As a result, the SFP disables the IQ Power Edge softkey even though it should be enabled based on the current configuration.

Workaround: 

Turn the SEM measurement off by clicking the Meas»All Meas Off softkeys. Set your span to the same value as the span used in SEM. Turn SEM back on to enable the IQ Power Edge softkey.

Reported Version: 2.5.5  Resolved Version: 2.6  Added: 04/10/2012
346699

In Zero Span with a marker enabled, if you change acquisition time, the keypad cannot change the marker position.
In Zero Span with a marker enabled, if you change the acquisition time, the keypad cannot set a marker position for the existing marker.

Workaround: 

Use the arrow keys or knob to enter a new zero span marker position. After using the arrow keys or knob to change the marker position, the keypad can be used.

Reported Version: 2.5.5  Resolved Version: 2.6  Added: 04/10/2012
346134

In CCDF, you cannot set the delta marker to a trace different from the reference marker.
When performing a CCDF measurement, if you set the delta marker to a trace different than the reference marker trace, the indicators show that the marker is on the trace you selected but the marker on the graph and the reported value remain linked to the reference marker trace.

Workaround: 

Set two markers to normal mode and manually calculate the difference using the reported values in the marker table.

Reported Version: 2.5.5  Resolved Version: 2.6  Added: 04/10/2012
346518

A delay occurs if you use the mouse to move a marker when there are many points on the graph.
In Spectrum mode, with a large span to RBW ratio or in Zero Span mode with a large RBW or acquisition time, when you enable a marker and move it using the mouse, events queue up and there is a delay until all the events are processed. You may also experience a delay when clicking the arrow keys.

Workaround: 

Change the marker position by entering a new marker value using the keypad instead of the mouse or arrow keys.

Reported Version: 2.5.5  Resolved Version: Unknown  Added: 04/10/2012
345649

When you recall a configuration with RF Coupling set to DC, the SFP does not display a warning when it should.
When RF Coupling is set to DC (DC block removed), the NI PXIe-5665 can be damaged when DC signals are applied directly to the RF IN connector. This warning does not display under the following conditions: 

  1. Loading a configuration file for the PXIe-5665 with RF Coupling set to DC. 
  2. Loading a configuration file for the PXIe-5665 with a Start Frequency less than 10 MHz.

Workaround: 

For condition 1, toggle the RF Coupling to AC and then back to DC after loading the file and the warning will appear. 

For condition 2, toggle the Start frequency to another value and then back after loading the file and the warning will appear.

Reported Version: 2.5.5  Resolved Version: 2.6  Added: 04/10/2012
345782

In SEM, the SFP does not coerce the Integration BW when you set the Span of the Ref Channel to a value less than the Integration BW.
In SEM, if you change the Span of the Ref Channel to a value less than the Integration BW, the Integration BW value remains unchanged. As a result, a span equal to the Integration BW is acquired to accommodate the Integration BW value.

Workaround: 

Set the Integration BW value to a value less than or equal to the Span value.

Reported Version: 2.5.5  Resolved Version: 2.6  Added: 04/10/2012
349655

RBW and Step Frequency can be set lower than the minimum limit in SEM measurement.
For an SEM measurement, the minimum value for RBW is 100 Hz and the minimum value for Step Frequency is 2 kHz. If you are in manual mode, you can specify RBW and Step Frequency values that are less than the minimum values. The user interface will display the values you specify. However, the NI-RFSA SFP does not support values that are less than the limits, so the actual device settings are not reflected by the user interface.

Workaround: 

N/A

Reported Version: 2.5.5  Resolved Version: 2.6  Added: 04/23/2012
379030

The offset value displayed by the Select Offset button is incorrect in certain cases.
For adjacent channel power measurements and spectral emission mask measurements, if you specify an offset value between 13 and 15 using the Select Offset button, the button displays an offset value that is incremented by one. The NI-RFSA SFP uses the offset value that you specify in the Select Offset button to configure the offset, but displays an incorrect value. For example, if you specify 13, the Select Offset button displays a value of 14, but the Soft Front Panel displays the configuration, for the offset of 13.

Workaround: 

Use the value that you specify in the Select Offset button for editing and viewing the configurations. Ignore the value displayed in the Select Offset button.

Reported Version: 2.5.5  Resolved Version: 2.9  Added: 03/25/2014

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).