NIRFSG_ATTR_POWER_LEVEL_TYPE

Data type	Access	Coercion	High Level Functions
ViInt32	R/W	None	None

Description

Specifies the manner in which the driver interprets the value of the NIRFSG_ATTR_POWER_LEVEL attribute.

Defined Values:

NIRFSG_VAL_AVERAGE_POWER

Specifies that the power level type is average power. Average power indicates the desired power averaged in time. The driver maximizes the dynamic range by scaling the IQ waveform. If you write more than one waveform, NI-RFSG scales each waveform without preserving the power level ratio between the waveforms.

NIRFSG_VAL_PEAK_POWER

Specifies that the power level type is peak power. Peak power indicates the maximum power level of the RF signal averaged over one period of the RF carrier signal frequency (the peak envelope power). This setting requires that the magnitude of the IQ waveform must always be less than or equal to one. When using the peak power level type, the power level of the RF signal matches the specified power level at moments when the magnitude of the IQ waveform equals one. If you write more than one waveform, the relative scaling between waveforms is preserved.

Note   If this attribute is set to NIRFSG_VAL_AVERAGE_POWER while in Script generation mode, the driver scales each waveform so that all waveforms have the same average power. The average power level of each waveform matches the value set with the NIRFSG_ATTR_POWER_LEVEL attribute. You can disable this scaling operation by setting the NIRFSG_ATTR_POWER_LEVEL_TYPE attribute to NIRFSG_VAL_PEAK_POWER.

Note  This property is only valid if set to Peak Power while in Script mode for the NI 5672.

Converting from Average Power to Peak Power

Typically, this attribute is set to NIRFSG_VAL_AVERAGE_POWER. However, some instrument modes require this attribute to be set to NIRFSG_VAL_PEAK_POWER. Use the following equations to calculate the equivalent peak power given the desired average power for your waveform.

Default Value: NIRFSG_VAL_AVERAGE_POWER

Supported Devices: NI 5670/5671/5672