Software Fundamentals

NI RF Signal Generator

Software Fundamentals

NI-RFSG Instrument Driver

The NI-RFSG instrument driver software controls the configuration and operation of all NI RF signal generators using LabVIEW VIs or LabWindows/CVI functions. In the case of NI 5670/5671/5672 devices, the separate upconverter module and AWG module are associated in MAX, allowing NI-RFSG to transparently operate the upconverter module and the AWG module as a single NI PXI/PXIe-5670/5671/5672 RF signal generator.

NI-RFSG configures and operates NI RF signal generator hardware, performs waveform programming and generation, and is capable of basic IQ modulation tasks. Add-on software available from NI, such as the Modulation Toolkit (optional) and the Spectral Measurements Toolkit (included), extends the capability of the NI RF signal generators to include additional frequency-domain and modulation-domain tasks.

This section provides reference information regarding the NI-RFSG programming flow, state model, NI-RFSG VIs/functions, and information about installed examples.

Refer to the NI-RFSG LabVIEW reference or the C Function Reference sections for more information about using specific LabVIEW VIs, CVI functions,properties, and attributes.

Spectral Measurements Toolkit

The Spectral Measurements Toolkit (SMT) contains VIs functions for generating and analyzing analog modulated signals. Supported modulation formats include amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), and phase modulation (PM). SMT functions also perform frequency domain analysis tasks such as the zoom FFT and spectrum averaging, and measurements such as power in band and adjacent channel power.

Refer to the NI Spectral Measurements Toolkit User Guide, available at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Spectral Measurements, for detailed information about using the SMT.

Modulation Toolkit

Modulation Toolkit The Modulation Toolkit integrates with SMT and NI RF Signal Analyzers for modulation/demodulation measurements and analysis. Modulation Toolkit VIs and functions generate and analyze analog and digital modulated IF signals in FSK, MSK, PSK, QAM, AM, FM, and PM formats. The Modulation Toolkit is capable of measuring several aspects of signals generated by a unit under test, including the following:

  • Modulation quality and modulation index
  • Signal impairments, bit error rate, and phase noise
  • Carrier frequency drift and complementary cumulative distribution functions (CCDF) values
Refer to the Modulation Toolkit documentation, available at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»Modulation, for complete information about Modulation Toolkit VIs and functions.