Chris Davis

Perhaps you can get by with an up / down indication rather than an absolute "count" of the motor position. An example code snippet or a better explanation of your end goal might be in order here.

Jim, The version I have does work, but it doesn't look the same as in LV 7 and 7.1. Thats what led me to think it didn't work. Thanks

I have now tried the technique of replacing LV 8.0.1 lvapp.lib with my own, pretty icon version of lvapp.lib and it does work. Since the OpenG Builder doesn't work under LV8, the automatic pre and post building routines that could do this replacement for me don't work.

If you can't get the client into the 6024 card, you might want to invest in a cheap computer to do this development. With 6.9.3 you aren't able to simulate a device, so you won't have any way to check out your code without the daqcard 700 in the computer... I know its not the most elegant solution, but it is a solution where you don't have to mess up your current work pc. You should be able to get a laptop with a PCMCIA slot pretty cheap, after all it doesn't have to be a speed demon right?

If you haven't had much experience with Queues and the event structure you might want to start with practice on those since that is probably the two most useful tools to have when tackeling a large project (or even a small one). I don't know if you are using a state machine in your current program, but study up on those as well. Some decent examples can be found in the LV examples. Look for Producer / Consumer or Master / Slave architectures. There might also be a state machine example in the NI examples now which would help. I would start by making up a "scratch" VI or a practice vi where you can test out your ideas without all the code that you need to do the actual test(s). Then you can move from there to impliment the idea that you've refined with the code that actually executes the work. :thumbup:

I was looking at a remodeling job at my house and ran across this free tool that I thought would be useful for most of you. Take it for a spin, I am having loads of fun with it. Sketchup from Google

In fact something like this does exist here. I also thought I would look just for :laugh: at a basic text document in the open office native file format (Open Document Text in this case). And the file is not simple XML. I couldn't read it with a basic text editor. If someone else wants to shed light on how to read an Open Document file in a basic text editor please show us the light. I enjoyed reading an article from ArsTechna about the Open Document format and the recently release Google Spreadsheet which might help to explain why this toolkit doesn't exist yet.

You can also get Matlab (at least the part you get in the MathScript node) by using Octave.

You shouldn't have to keep one error display per entry control, you should just need one error display string control for the whole front panel. You'll just have to change the position to the appropriate position for each control you want to display the error for. Monitor each of these controls in an event structure and search for any offending characters upon value change events and you should be set. :thumbup:

I've run into issues before with Pixelink cameras and NI 1394. You might check with Pixelink and see if they have seen this problem. I was working with a A741 (1.3 MegaPixels 8 or 10 bit) which had very little information in MAX in terms of camera modes, and they had a firmware update which added more capabilities (camera modes) for MAX. I'm not saying its not an NI problem, but you might check with Pixelink to see if they have run into this problem before. That camera has been on the market for the last year or two, so I'm betting they at least know of the problem.

Why not use a real joystick? I've used LabView's joystick interface in the past, and it works like a champ. It would certainly save you a lot of time trying to reproduce it on screen, which I'm suspecting you will have to do with a picture control if you want proportional movement capabilities (i.e. if I move the mouse to the left a little, the device should move a little). With USB joystick in the ~$20-$30 at your local Wal-mart, it may be worth considering...

Louis, I've been using Virtual PC now for about a year. In fact I've got three virtual PC's implimented on my PC. I keep one install of Windows XP in what is called "undo disk" mode. Undo Disk mode allows me to decide if I want to keep the changes I've made to the system when I shut down the virtual PC, this makes it great for testing out install packages and downloaded software that I'm not sure I'll want to keep. I do have a virtual PC with LabView 6.0 installed on it, which I did for a project that never materialized, now I also have Compaq Fortran installed to do some work with a group that uses FORTRAN as thier primary language. I won't say my results have been perfect, but overall the software has paid for itself and more in the time it saves me.

You might consider using Virtual PC (from Microsoft) which would allow you to install LV 8 (or your exact LV 7.1.1 environment) in a Virtual PC and have it there whenever needed to recompile your code. Virtual PC can be bought for ~$125, and has saved me lots of headaches when dealing with situations just like this.

BTW, when I went to Developer's Day recently. The NI training people (who were working very hard to sell me on training / certification) stated there were about 40 CLA's in the world. I think its great that we have several (3-4 at my last count) who have contributed to this topic and are active members in this board.

LabView Basics Maybe you shouldn't procrastinate, go thing this project isn't very hard. Read the online basics course and you should be able to do this with no problems. Pay attention to the Express VI's for data acquisition which should make this a very easy project for you.

I remember going down this path as well. It seemed like you were ok if you had the LV development environment on your computer, but if not it became a real hassle. This technique is useful for plugin's which is probably how you are using it. When I tried to get around the problem of having to have the LV development environment on the machine with the EXE I had to make the "plugin" into an EXE itself, then rename the EXE to an llb, then extract the file out of the LLB using LV, then place it in the folder of interest on the non-LV development machine. If it sounds complicated, it is. I don't remember if I get this technique to work correctly, but I abadoned it because it was quite a bit of hassle for the work I was trying to accomplish. Surely there is a better way... Chris

For those who don't know this toolkit comes with the Developer Suite. <thread highjacking> To change the subject just slightly, if you don't have the Developer Suite, you might want to check into it now. NI is giving awsome discounts for those who already own LV or CVI, or any other package you might want to fold into the Developer Suite (FPGA, Real-Time, Vision, etc...). I recently added FPGA and Realtime to my Developer Suite for $110 that's a 97% discount. Now I already owned FPGA and RealTime 7.1 but I expected a lot higher than $110! We also consolidated a single liscense of LV and CVI and upgraded to the Developer Suite for FREE!!! That's 76% off for owning LV, and 40% off for owning CVI. They said they couldn't just give me the software, so they charged me shipping! You mileage may vary, and check with your local NI rep, but if you don't have the Developer Suite, now may be the time to upgrade. </thread highjacking>

Why get the books when you can get the same course information online. LabView Basics Online. I don't remember where I found this, but I have kept it in my bookmarks ever since for new users that I deal with. It is sponsored by NI and was developed with thier consent and help so it seems legit.

I'm not certified, but I am considering it, even though I will gain NOTHING at my current job. In this case though it doesn't matter. Since NI choose the PersonVUE testing centers for thier initial testing setup, you should be able to find a testing center near you if you live in the US. I found 6 within an hours drive from me in TN. And since you have to get the certification in tiers, you'll have to take the basics level first. Personally I don't like the idea that someone can get certified after taking Basics I and II, but I guess they had to lower the barrier to entry to get more people involved. Anyway, after attending Developer's Day last week, my local NI rep told me that he would proctor the test for the second level, I'm pretty sure he would choose a testing location that was convienient for both parties, so I'm guessing I might have to drive 30 minutes to an hour to take the test. My point is that the testing centers for the first level of certification should be fairly close to you, as long as you don't live to far from a major city in the US.

I use a simple directory structure that has served me well, but I don't have any projects that are 500 vis big. My biggest is ~200. For a project called MyProject I will have MyProject GUI Holds all VIs that will appear to the user. MyProject Subroutines Self explanitory... MyProject Controls Self explanitory exe build Holds the EXE and any other associated pieces that are needed to build the install package / EXE. Since I typically use the NSIS installer instead of the NI MSI builder I have a build script here too. Consequently since I started using OpenG Builder I also have the OpenG Builder script and a Pre and Post build subroutine here. I know this is a rather simplistic subdirectory setup, but it works for me.

Since this post mentions alfa, shouldn't we begin discussing beer? :thumbup:

Jason, Welcome to the LabView world! Jumping into LabView Real-Time head first is not the easiest way to start, and it may be worthwhile to look at some other training material before you go down the real-time path. As for your questions... No, LabView is not very picky about what kind of computer it runs on. Faster is better of course, but I started with a PII 400 and LabView 5. I now run LV 7, 7.1, and 8 on a Dual Opteron 240 (1.6 Ghz) with 2 GB of ram. Graphics cards do make a little difference, but only if your graphics card is old (>3 yrs old). As for the LabView Realtime specs for a desktop PC... Most of the specs are related to the network card, since the real-time system's communications to the outside world is directly related to how well it can communicate with the network card. But since the Intel Pro 1000 (which is compatable with Pharlap) is avaliable for ~$50.00 from most any online distributor you shouldn't have any trouble affording a network card that will work with the RTX or ETS systems. I personally haven't done any Real-Time deployment to desktop PCs, but I have read on Info-LV about a person running ETS or RTX on a Pentium II 400 class machine so the specs aren't that picky... As for wanting to run LabView and LabView Real-Time on the machine, while also being able to make that machine a RT target itself... I don't think you can do that. The way that LabView transfers the RT program to a Real-Time target for it to run is through the network card, so you will need a machine to develop on, and a machine to deploy too. If you have more questions (which I'm sure you will), ask away... Chris :thumbup:

You might try ImageX from www.fathsoft.com this ActiveX control allows you to display and edit JPGs, BMPs and other image types.

Larry, I'm sorry I didn't reply to your PM about this topic, I was busy for the last couple of days and didn't have time to reply. My company developed a DLL to setup, capture, display (using IMAQ), and shutdown Matrox framegrabbers that can be accessed with Mil-Lite 8.0. Its not open source, nor is it for sale, so all I can offer you is some tips and tricks that we found when developing such a DLL. Are you sure you want to do this? Can you problem be solved using an NI card, or a combination of them? I'm also willing to accept that the NI vision cards don't solve every problem. Have you checked other video input cards that already have easy to use ActiveX controls that sell with the card? Don't get me wrong, I like using the Matrox cards, and I encourage you to use them if there is a definite reason. But in your case, dealing with the Orion (an analog camera input card / video card) I think there may be other solutions to your problem. Unless your time is free, you will spend more time developing an interface to the Orion board than you would if you used a National Instruments vision board. As far as tips and tricks, I would suggest you find one of the Matrox Mil C examples that best fits what you want to do and work on turning that into a DLL. Keep your interface to LabView as basic as possible, and you will have an easier time debugging your DLL. Matrox has done a good job of providing good examples on how to interface with thier framegrabbers, and thus has made your job easier, but not complete. I wish you luck, and will be happy to post a reply to any MIL specific questions that I can. Chris :thumbup:

Do you have any hardware to control the DC motors with? Such as a National Instruments card? Or are these motors RS-232 driven?