NI-VRTS 1.6.2 Readme

March 2020

This file contains important information about the NI-VRTS, including supported hardware, installation instructions, and new features.


New Features

Supported Hardware

System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems

Application Software Support

Installation Instructions

Product Security and Critical Updates

Known Issues

Bug Fixes

Finding Examples

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

Legal Information


New Features


NI-VRTS 1.6.2 adds support for bug fixes.

NI-VRTS 1.6.1 adds support for bug fixes.

NI-VRTS 1.6 includes the following new features:
  • Support for the latest VRTS hardware configurations.
  • Other minor improvements.

NI-VRTS 1.5 includes the following new features:
  • Support for the mmRH-3609, a monostatic mmWave radio head.
  • Center frequency configurable across the full range of the mmWave radio head (76-81 GHz).1
  • Ability to enable or disable the alignment laser.
  • Ability to call the Close VI without powering down the mmWave radio head.
  • Exportable module calibration constants.
  • Ability to read module temperatures.
  • Input validation when configuring obstacles.

1By default, the mmWave radio head is calibrated for center frequency of 76.5 GHz. Contact NI for alternative calibrations.

Supported Hardware

The following list details the hardware models supported in NI-VRTS 1.6.2.

  • Variable Delay Generator for PXI (VDG)
    • NI-5692
  • PXI Vector Signal Transceiver (VST)
    • PXIe-5840
  • mmWave Radio Head
    • mmRH-3608
    • mmRH-3609

System Requirements

NI-VRTS 1.6.2 has the following requirements:

  • Processor—1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 4 GB RAM
  • Pentium 4 G1 equivalent or later (Intel i5 equivalent or higher recommended)
  • A screen resolution of 1,024 x 768
  • Windows 10/8.1/7, with all available critical updates and service packs

Supported Operating Systems

NI-VRTS 1.6.2 supports the following operating systems:

  • Windows 10/8.11/7 SP12
  • Windows Server 2012 R21 (64-bit)
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP12 (64-bit)

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, Windows Embedded Standard 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  Support for Windows 32-bit operating systems may require disabling physical address extension (PAE). To learn how this might affect your system and what actions you might need to take, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code PAESupport.

Application Software Support

NI-VRTS 1.6.2 supports the following application software versions, including service packs. You should install LabVIEW before installing NI-VRTS. To add support for application software installed after installing NI-VRTS, modify your NI-VRTS installation or launch the NI-VRTS installer again.

Application Software Versions Supported by NI-VRTS
LabVIEW 2015 SP1, 2016

Refer to the LabVIEW Readme for additional system requirements and supported operating systems for LabVIEW 2015 SP1 and LabVIEW 2016.

Accessing the API

NI-VRTS palette VIs are available in the following palette location.

User Libraries»NI-VRTS

Installation Instructions

Installing Dependencies

  1. Ensure that you have installed the latest version of NI Package Manager.
    1. To access the download page for NI Package Manager, go to ni.com/info and enter info code NIPMDownload.
    2. Double click the package file to open NI Package Manager.
    3. Follow the instructions in the installation prompts.
  2. Install the required drivers.
    1. Go to ni.com/downloads.
    2. Click NI Drivers.
    3. Search the NI Driver Downloads page for the instrument drivers in the following table and install the indicated versions.
      Driver Name Version
      NI-RFSA 16.0
      NI-RFSG 16.0
  3. Install the required software products.
    1. Go to ni.com/downloads.
    2. Click NI Software Products.
    3. Search the NI Software Product Downloads page for the software in the following table and install the indicated versions.
      Driver Name Version
      NI-RFmx SpecAn 2.3
      NI-RFmx DeMod 2.3

Installing NI-VRTS

  1. Ensure that you have installed all previously described dependencies.
  2. If you installed a beta version of NI-VRTS 1.6, remove it before proceeding.
  3. Install NI-VRTS 1.6.2 using NI Package Manager.

Product Security and Critical Updates

Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from NI.

Known Issues

You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the NI-VRTS 1.6.2 Known Issues at ni.com/info and enter the Info Code vrts162 for an up-to-date list of known issues in NI-VRTS 1.6.2.

Bug Fixes

The following items are changes in NI-VRTS 1.6.2 from NI-VRTS 1.6.1.

ID Fixed Issue
983563 Fixed an issue that caused objects simulated by a VDG to have a range offset proportional to the IF delay.
983559 Fixed an issue that prevented objects from appearing at distances around 95 m plus the setup distance.

The following items are changes in NI-VRTS 1.6.1 from NI-VRTS 1.6.

ID Fixed Issue
184024 Fixed an issue that caused an incorrect gain configuration to be applied to the mmWave radio head.
172946 Fixed an issue that caused an incorrect gain configuration to be applied to the mmWave radio head after switching frequency bands.

There are no changes in NI-VRTS 1.6 from NI-VRTS 1.5.

The following items are changes in NI-VRTS 1.5.

ID Fixed Issue
65191 Fixed an issue that misapplied delays and gains to VDGs in multi-object configurations.

Finding Examples


NI-VRTS ships with the following examples that can be found at <LabVIEW>\user.lib\NI-VRTS\API\Examples:
  • NI-VRTS - Obstacle Simulation.vi demonstrates obstacle simulation.
  • NI-VRTS - Obstacle Simulation and OBW Measurement.vi demonstrates how to simulate obstacles and carry out occupied bandwidth measurement on the RADAR sensor.
  • NI-VRTS - Obstacle Simulation and FM Demod Measurement.vi demonstrates how to simulate obstacles and carry out FM demodulation on the RADAR sensor signal.
  • NI-VRTS - Obstacle Simulation and TxP Measurement.vi demonstrates obstacle simulation and performs a transmit power measurement on the RADAR sensor signal.

Automating the Installation of NI Products

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:

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

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.

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

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.


Legal Information

Copyright

© 2018-2020 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:

  • Notices are located in the <National Instruments>\_Legal Information and <National Instruments> directories.
  • EULAs are located in the <National Instruments>\Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
  • Review <National Instruments>\_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.

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.

377823D-01