The GXSW software includes a virtual panel program, which provides full access to the various configuration settings and operating modes. To fully understand the front panel operation, it is best to become familiar with the functionality of the board.
To open the virtual panel application, select GX6196 Panel from the Marvin Test Solutions, GXSW menu under the Start menu. The GX6196 virtual panel opens as shown here:
GX6196 Virtual Panel
Initialize – Opens the Initialize Dialog (see Initialize Dialog paragraph) in order to initialize the board driver. The current settings of the selected board will not change after calling initialize. The panel will reflect the current settings of the board after the Initialize dialog closes.
Reset – Resets the PXI board settings to their default state and clears the reading.
Apply – Applies changed settings to the board.
Close – Closes the panel. Closing the panel does not affect the board settings.
Help – Opens the on-line help window. In addition to the help menu, the caption shows a What’s This Help button (?) button. This button can be used to obtain help on any control that is displayed in the panel window. To displays the What’s This Help information click on the (?) button and then click on the control – a small window will displays the information regarding this control.
The Initialize dialog initializes the driver for the selected board. The board settings will not change after initialize is called. Once initialized, the panel will reflect the current settings of the board.
The Initialize dialog supports two different device drivers that can be used to access and control the board:
1. Use
Marvin Test Solutions’ HW – This is the device driver installed by
the setup program and is the default driver. When selected, the Slot Number list displays the
available GX6196 boards installed in the system and their slots. The chassis,
slots, devices and their resources are also displayed by the HW resource
manager, PXI/PCI Explorer applet
that can be opened from the Windows Control Panel. The PXI/PCI
Explorer can be used to configure the system chassis, controllers,
slots and devices. The configuration is saved to PXISYS.INI and
PXIeSYS.INI located in the
Windows folder. These configuration files are also used by VISA. The following
figure shows the slot number 0x104 (chassis 1 slot 4). This is the slot
number argument (nSlot) passed by the panel when calling the driver
Gx6196nitialize function
which is used to initialize the driver for the specified board.
Initialize
Dialog Box using Marvin Test Solutions’ HW driver
2. Use VISA – This is a third party device driver usually provided by National Instrument (NI-VISA). When selected, the Resource list displays the available boards installed in the system and their VISA resource address. The chassis, slots, devices and their resources are also displayed by the VISA resource manager, Measurement & Automation (NI-MAX) and by Marvin Test Solutions PXI/PCI Explorer. The following figure shows PXI9::13::INSTR as the VISA resource (PCI bus 9 and Device 13). This is a VISA resource string argument (szVisaResource) which is passed by the panel when calling the driver Gx6196InitializeVisa function which initializes the driver for the specified board.
Initialize Dialog Box using VISA resources
After the board is initialized the panel is enabled and will display the current setting of the board. The following picture shows the Group page settings:
.jpg "GX6196 Virtual Panel (Initialized)")
GX6196 Virtual Panel (Initialized)
The following controls are shown:
Relays K1-96 Display Area: Displays the current relay setting (closed or open). When a box in is checked, the relay is closed. Similarly, unchecked boxes mean relays are open.
PIO Enable Check Boxes: Displays the current PIO output enable setting (enabled or disabled). When a box is checked, the PIO channel output is enabled. Similarly, an unchecked box means that the PIO channel output is disabled.
PIO Output Check Boxes: Displays the current PIO output state (driving a high or low). When a box is checked, the PIO channel is outputting a TTL high. Similarly, an unchecked box means that the PIO channel is outputting a TTL low.
Module Communication Chip: Displays and selects the Chip Select line to use for serial communication to the Module.
Module Output: Displays and allows the user to enter the 16 bit word to serially transmit to the Module.
Module Input: Displays the 16 bit word received from the Module during the last serial transmission.
Transmit Button: Transmit data serially to the Module.
Clicking on the About tab will show the About page as shown in the figure below:
GX6196 Virtual Panel – About Page
The following controls are shown in the About page:
The top part of the About page displays version and copyright of the GXSW driver. The bottom part displays the board summary.
The About page also contains a button Upgrade Firmware… which is used to upgrade the board’s FPGA firmware. This button maybe used only when the board requires upgrade as directed by Marvin Test Solutions support. The upgrade requires a firmware file (.jam) that is written to the board FPGA. After the upgrade is complete, you must shut down the computer to recycle power to the board.