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June 2019
This file contains important information about the RFmx SpecAn, including installation instructions, new features, bugs fixes, and known issues.
Product Security and Critical Updates
Automating the Installation of NI Products
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10
Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1
RFmx SpecAn Drops Support for Windows 7 (64-Bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2 in 2021
RFmx SpecAn offers simple access to the most advanced optimization techniques such as multi-measurement parallelism, multi-DUT measurements, and high dynamic range noise correction. The result is extremely fast and high-quality measurements with the minimal software development effort.
RFmx SpecAn 19.0 includes the following new features:
RFmx SpecAn 3.0 includes the following new features:
RFmx SpecAn 2.5 includes the following new features:
The following hardware products are supported in all operating systems listed in the Supported Operating Systems section.
Device-specific information about these modules is included in the NI RF Vector Signal Analyzers Help.
Device-specific information about these modules is included in the NI RF Vector Signal Transceivers Help.
*Depending on the amount of data acquired and/or processed, a larger amount of memory may be required.
RFmx SpecAn 19.0 supports the following 64-bit operating systems:
1 NI software installs VC2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.2. Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 require Microsoft updates to support these items. Refer to Microsoft KB2919442 and KB2919355 for more information about how to install these updates.
2 NI software is signed with a SHA-256 certificate. Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 require Microsoft updates to support SHA-256. Refer to Microsoft KB3033929 for more information about how to install this security update.
Note In 2019, RFmx SpecAn dropped support for all 32-bit Windows operating systems. RFmx SpecAn will not install or run on an unsupported OS. Refer to RFmx SpecAn Drops Support for Windows 7 (64-Bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2 in 2021 for information about future OS support.
RFmx SpecAn supports the following application software versions, including service packs. You should install application software, such as LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI or Microsoft Visual Studio®, before installing RFmx SpecAn. To add support for application software installed after installing RFmx SpecAn modify your RFmx SpecAn installation or launch the RFmx SpecAn installer again. If you are not using NI application software, refer to Microsoft Visual Studio Support.
| Application Software | Versions Supported by RFmx SpecAn |
|---|---|
| LabVIEW | 2016, 2017, 2018 SP1 f4 patch, or 2019 |
| LabWindows™/CVI™ | 2013 SP2 or later |
If you are using the RFmx SpecAn .NET Class Library, .NET Framework 4.0 (minimum) is required. The RFmx SpecAn .NET Class Library can be used with Visual C# or Visual Basic .NET in any Visual Studio version that can target .NET Framework 4.0.
To use the .NET API, you must install the .NET class libraries or the .NET wrapper in addition to the NI device driver. For information about versions of the .NET Framework and the drivers each supports, as well as the download location of the installer files, refer to National Instruments .NET Driver Support.
NI installs RFmx SpecAn using NI Package Manager. If you do not already have NI software installed, RFmx SpecAn installs NI Package Manager to handle the installation of your NI software. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code NIPMDownload to download NI Package Manager. Refer to the NI Package Manager Manual for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using NI Package Manager.
| Item | Installed Location |
|---|---|
| Version Compatibility Checker | <NIDir>\RFmx\niRFmxCompatibility_Checker.exe |
| Debug Configuration Utility | <NIDir>\RFmx\niRFmxDebugConfigurationUtility.exe |
| DLLs | <SYSDIR> |
| Header files | <NIDir>\Shared\ExternalCompilerSupport\C\include |
| Import Library files (64-bit) |
|
| C, .NET | |
| Examples | <NIDocDir>\NI-RFmx\SpecAn\Examples |
| LabVIEW | |
| Examples | <NIDir>\LabVIEW <version>\examples\RFmx\SpecAn |
| .NET Class Libraries | |
| Assemblies | <MSTUDIOVS2010DIR>\DotNET\Assemblies\Current\NationalInstruments.RFmx.SpecAnMX.Fx40.dll <MSTUDIOVS2010DIR>\DotNET\Assemblies\Current\NationalInstruments.RFmx.InstrMX.Fx40.dll <MSTUDIOVS2010DIR>\DotNET\Assemblies\Current\NationalInstruments.Common.dll |
Select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»RFmx SpecAn»RFmx Soft Front Panel to launch the RFmx Soft Front Panel (64-bit).
Select Help»Find Examples from LabVIEW or LabWindows/CVI to launch the NI Example Finder and navigate to Hardware Input and Output»Modular Instruments»NI-RFmx»SpecAn. You can also select the Search tab to search all installed examples by keyword.
You can access all the installed RFmx SpecAn examples at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»RFmx SpecAn»RFmx SpecAn Examples.
Documentation for RFmx SpecAn is located at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»RFmx SpecAn»RFmx SpecAn Documentation. The documentation set is composed of the following documents.
| Document | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|
| RFmx SpecAn Help | HTML/Windows Help | Contains primary help content for RFmx SpecAn. This help file is an HTML version of a traditional user manual that includes the following information:
|
| RFmx SpecAn 19.0 Readme | HTML (this document) | Contains information about supported hardware and operating systems, new features, fixed issues, and legal notices. |
For the most recent revisions of documentation and for newly released documentation, visit ni.com/manuals.
RFmx SpecAn palette VIs are available from the Functions»Measurement I/O»NI-RFmx»SpecAn palette.
Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about National Instruments products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from National Instruments.
The following items are behavior changes in RFmx SpecAn 19.0 from RFmx SpecAn 3.0.
The following items are the behavior changes in RFmx SpecAn 2.5 from RFmx SpecAn 2.4.
The following items are the IDs and titles of a subset of issues fixed in RFmx SpecAn. This is not an exhaustive list of issues fixed in the current version of the RFmx SpecAn. If you have a CAR ID, you can search this list to validate that the issue has been fixed.
The following items are changes in RFmx SpecAn 19.0 from RFmx SpecAn 3.0
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 728966 | Fixed an issue with ACP dynamic range measurement for the signal re-configuration use case. |
| 739646 | Fixed an issue in compensating the external pre-amp gain for Noise Figure measurement. |
The following items are changes in RFmx SpecAn 3.0 from RFmx SpecAn 2.5
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 706047 | Fixed an occasional crash which might occur on closing LabVIEW 2017 IDE or LabVIEW 2017 built applications that use RFmx. |
| 719203 | Fixed an issue where a timeout error was returned when the digital trigger was configured when 'Using breakpoints in C/C++/.NET application' was selected in the PXIe-5840. |
| 711341 | Fixed an issue where Apply DPD resulted in negative PAPR after adjusting power offset under high compression. |
| 714332 | Fixed an issue with the computation of compression point in AMPM. |
The following items are changes in RFmx SpecAn 2.5 from RFmx SpecAn 2.4
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 693345 | Fixed an issue with the behavior of Auto Sweep Time in Zero Span Mode. The Zero Spam Mode of spectrum measurement now uses Auto RBW and Auto Sweep Time as 10 MHz and 1 ms respectively. |
| 695688 | Fixed an issue with IQ data measurement, where querying IQ Bandwidth property always returned 1 MHz when auto-bandwidth was enabled. |
You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes.
If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.0 separately before you install NI software.
For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:
Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.
When you install NI software on Microsoft Windows 8.1, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher. For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.
RFmx SpecAn will drop support for Windows 7 (64-bit) and Windows Server 2008 R2 starting in 2021. Versions of this product that ship after May 1, 2021, may not install or execute correctly on these operating systems. For detailed information about NI operating system support, visit ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.
For detailed information about NI application software product life cycles, visit ni.com/info and enter one of the following Info Codes:
| Product | Info Code |
|---|---|
| LabVIEW | lifecycle |
| LabWindows/CVI | cvi_lifecycle |
| Measurement Studio | mstudiolifecycle |
| TestStand | tslcp |
| DIAdem | ddlcp |
| SignalExpress | selcp |
| VeriStand | nivslifecycle |
Copyright
© 2014–2019 National Instruments. All rights reserved.
Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.
NI respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. NI software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where NI software may be used to reproduce software or other materials belonging to others, you may use NI software only to reproduce materials that you may reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.
End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices
You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:
U.S. Government Restricted Rights
If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.
IVI Foundation Copyright Notice
Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.
The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.
Trademarks
Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on NI trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.
Patents
For patents covering the NI products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the NI Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.
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