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From Bob Helsel, Editor of the PXI Newsletter:

Welcome to the January edition of the PXI Newsletter. Our intent is to educate and inform you about how the PXI standard is being used in modular test systems for a wide variety of industries.

PXI Expess Software Specification and Backward Compatibility

One of the objectives of the PXIe software specification is compatibility with previous PXI software specifications. The system description files generated by the resource manager comply with the PXI Software Specification. All software interacting with PXI-1 modules in PXI-1 slots or hybrid slots continue to function without modification. Additionally, the new module APIs defined are designed so that they can be implemented independently of the instrument drivers for those modules.

Our main article this month, Interpreting Quoted Specifications When Selecting PXI Digitizers, begins to illustrate the non-trivial task of selecting a product based on published specifications.

In the New PXI Products section, we are showcasing PXI products recently released by members of the PXI Systems Alliance.

Thanks to National Instruments, our sponsor for this month's issue.

Visit http://www.pxisa.org for more information.

Main Article

Interpreting Quoted Specifications When Selecting PXI Digitizers
by
Richard Soden, Application Engineer
Agilent Technologies

Selecting the best digitizer solution for any application is a complex task. At a minimum, it involves an in-depth evaluation of what must be measured, how it can be measured and the required degree of accuracy. These factors must then be used in the comparison of a multitude of available acquisition schemes and the associated individual device specifications.

Digitizer manufacturers typically present a device’s “banner specifications” such as bandwidth, resolution and sampling rate. Although these are offered as an indication of instrument quality, they often have little or no impact on the ultimate measurement fidelity in many applications.

There is no simple answer to the question, “Which digitizer should I use?” Instead, each application and device must be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. No system is ideal: It will add noise to the analog signal being sampled, create signal distortion (harmonics) and suffer from some amount of clock jitter. These elements and more contribute to system performance and should be reviewed within each set of device specifications.

Thanks to all our readers.
Bob Helsel, Editor
www.pxisa.org

New PXI Products

The PXI platform continues its explosive growth with many new product introductions. New products introduced in the last three months include (listed in the order received):

Logic Instrument – TETRA RMCP, Ruggedized Add-in Computer
This all-metal portable PC provides a highly robust enclosure, is protected against falling rain, is absolutely rigid and resists shocks and vibrations, and it has 7 PXI / PXI Express or cPCI slots.

Signadyne SD-PXE-TDC Family PXI Express Modules
Signadyne introduces a new family of PXIe 320 ps Time-to-Digital Converters with full time-stamping.

Agilent M9186A Voltage/Current Source
The M9186A is a two-slot, PXI based V/I source module that enables the sourcing of a voltage or a current to perform measurements on the resultant current or voltage through another module.

GOEPEL electronic PXI 1149/DAK
New Boundary Scan hardware from GOEPEL electronic is compatible with MAC Panel SCOUT. GOEPEL electronic introduces the PXI 1149/DAK, a mass interconnect interface within the frame of the technologically leading JTAG/Boundary Scan hardware platform SCANFLEX®.