Signal Express

[jdunham]

I am specing out a test system and planning to replace the oscilloscopes with NI PXI instrumentation. However, the technician who will be using the fixture wants to be sure he can troubleshoot the devices. He's a bit reluctant to give up the oscilloscopes, and I can't blame him. Will NI's Signal Express make him happy as an add-on to the LabVIEW system which will be needed?

[texasaggie97]

QUOTE (jdunham @ Mar 6 2009, 03:11 PM)

I am specing out a test system and planning to replace the oscilloscopes with NI PXI instrumentation. However, the technician who will be using the fixture wants to be sure he can troubleshoot the devices. He's a bit reluctant to give up the oscilloscopes, and I can't blame him. Will NI's Signal Express make him happy as an add-on to the LabVIEW system which will be needed?

All of our Modular Instruments come with Soft Front Panels for interactive use. Specifically, if you are replacing an oscilloscope with one of our high speed digitizers, there is a NI-Scope Soft Front Panel that would probably do everything you might need to do. If you want to check out the capabilities of our SFP, you could download and install the latest NI-Scope, create a simulated high speed digitizer in MAX and then run the SFP from the start menu.

This doesn't answer your question directly about Signal Express, but hopefully helps anyway.

Mark Silva

[jdunham]

QUOTE (texasaggie97 @ Mar 6 2009, 01:44 PM)

All of our Modular Instruments come with Soft Front Panels for interactive use. Specifically, if you are replacing an oscilloscope with one of our high speed digitizers, there is a NI-Scope Soft Front Panel that would probably do everything you might need to do. If you want to check out the capabilities of our SFP, you could download and install the latest NI-Scope, create a simulated high speed digitizer in MAX and then run the SFP from the start menu.

Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for. I wasn't successful figure it out on ni.com, but next step was the call to the local NI rep (after asking around here, of course).

[JohnRH]

QUOTE (jdunham @ Mar 6 2009, 04:11 PM)

... However, the technician who will be using the fixture wants to be sure he can troubleshoot the devices. He's a bit reluctant to give up the oscilloscopes, and I can't blame him. ...

It is really none of my business, so forgive me when I cry out in terror ... "DON"T DO IT"!

The few times I've tried to use a soft front panel, I've found them to be very limiting compared to the full featured interface on almost any scope. The soft front panel does provide most of the standard scope functionality, but you loose all the proprietary stuff that is unique to the scope manufacturer. For example all the custom math fuctions, probe calibration, filters, histograms, ...

And then you still have to deal with the problem of sharing valuable screen real estate with whatever other software you are running.

Perhaps you have compelling reasons to get rid of the genuine scope, but I can't help but wonder if you are making a huge mistake.

Just my $0.02.

[mross]

QUOTE (JohnRH @ Mar 7 2009, 10:34 AM)

It is really none of my business, so forgive me when I cry out in terror ... "DON"T DO IT"!

The few times I've tried to use a soft front panel, I've found them to be very limiting compared to the full featured interface on almost any scope. The soft front panel does provide most of the standard scope functionality, but you loose all the proprietary stuff that is unique to the scope manufacturer. For example all the custom math fuctions, probe calibration, filters, histograms, ...

And then you still have to deal with the problem of sharing valuable screen real estate with whatever other software you are running.

Perhaps you have compelling reasons to get rid of the genuine scope, but I can't help but wonder if you are making a huge mistake.

Just my $0.02.

Jason,

I agree that a scope is best. But a good scope implemented in LabVIEW is useful to a point - you have to gauge that for yourself. There was a serviceable 2 channel scope for E Series DAQ. I used it a lot and had modified it to provide more scope features like cursors that returned voltage and time. Unfortunately the M Series is quite different and to my knowledge no one has made a scope example on par with the old one.

I would love to know if there is an M Series scope VI that is being shared. I really miss it.

Mike

[peteski]

QUOTE (JohnRH @ Mar 7 2009, 11:34 AM)

It is really none of my business, so forgive me when I cry out in terror ... "DON"T DO IT"!

The few times I've tried to use a soft front panel, I've found them to be very limiting compared to the full featured interface on almost any scope. The soft front panel does provide most of the standard scope functionality, but you loose all the proprietary stuff that is unique to the scope manufacturer. For example all the custom math fuctions, probe calibration, filters, histograms, ...

And then you still have to deal with the problem of sharing valuable screen real estate with whatever other software you are running.

Perhaps you have compelling reasons to get rid of the genuine scope, but I can't help but wonder if you are making a huge mistake.

Just my $0.02.

IMHO, having an oscilloscope on hand for debugging a test system is just short of a fundamental requirement. HOWEVER, that does not mean that it has to be an integral part of that test system. If you already have a "floating" (uncommitted) oscilloscope on hand, you could potentially use that for troubleshooting, while you have nicely tucked into the test system a set of PXI based digitizers to do the heavy lifting after everything has been verified to be working properly.

If you have the time to do it, you can develop some on-board diagnostics with the PXI equipment and verify those diagnostics with an external oscilloscope.

And that would be my $0.02.

-Pete Liiva

[JohnRH]

QUOTE (peteski @ Mar 10 2009, 12:19 PM)

...If you already have a "floating" (uncommitted) oscilloscope on hand, you could potentially use that for troubleshooting, while you have nicely tucked into the test system a set of PXI based digitizers to do the heavy lifting after everything has been verified to be working properly...

Good point!

Also - getting back to the original question regarding Signal Express. I've only used it a couple times, and it never did what I needed at the time. However, I never did try using it as a scope.

John