National Instruments VXI-AT2000 User manual

© Copyright 1989, 1994 National Instruments Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
Getting Started with Your
VXI-AT2000 and the
NI-VXI™Software for MS-DOS
bus
October 1993 Edition
Part Number 320219-01

National Instruments Corporate Headquarters
6504 Bridge Point Parkway
Austin, TX 78730-5039
[phone]
Technical support fax: [phone]
[phone]
Branch Offices:
Australia [phone], Austria [phone], Belgium 02/757.00.20, Canada (Ontario) [phone],
Canada (Québec) [phone], Denmark 45 76 26 00, Finland (90) 527 2321, France (1) 48 14 24 24,
Germany 089/741 31 30, Italy 02/48301892, Japan [phone], Netherlands 03480-33466, Norway 32-848400,
Spain (91) 640 0085, Sweden 08-730 49 70, Switzerland 056/20 51 51, U.K. 0635 523545

Limited Warranty
The National Instruments MXIbus boards and accessories are warranted against defects in materials and
workmanship for a period of one year from the date of shipment, as evidenced by receipts or other documentation.
National Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace equipment that proves to be defective during the warranty
period. This warranty includes parts and labor.
The media on which you receive National Instruments software are warranted not to fail to execute programming
instructions, due to defects in materials and workmanship, for a period of 90 days from date of shipment, as
evidenced by receipts or other documentation. National Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace software
media that do not execute programming instructions if National Instruments receives notice of such defects during
the warranty period. National Instruments does not warrant that the operation of the software shall be uninterrupted
or error free.
A Return Material Authorization (RMA) number must be obtained from the factory and clearly marked on the
outside of the package before any equipment will be accepted for warranty work. National Instruments will pay the
shipping costs of returning to the owner parts which are covered by warranty.
National Instruments believes that the information in this manual is accurate. The document has been carefully
reviewed for technical accuracy. In the event that technical or typographical errors exist, National Instruments
reserves the right to make changes to subsequent editions of this document without prior notice to holders of this
edition. The reader should consult National Instruments if errors are suspected. In no event shall National
Instruments be liable for any damages arising out of or related to this document or the information contained in it.
EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED HEREIN, NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE. CUSTOMER'S RIGHT TO RECOVER DAMAGES CAUSED BY FAULT OR NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART
OF NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT THERETOFORE PAID BY THE CUSTOMER.
NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOSS OF DATA, PROFITS,
USE OF PRODUCTS, OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY
THEREOF. This limitation of the liability of National Instruments will apply regardless of the form of action,
whether in contract or tort, including negligence. Any action against National Instruments must be brought within
one year after the cause of action accrues. National Instruments shall not be liable for any delay in performance due
to causes beyond its reasonable control. The warranty provided herein does not cover damages, defects,
malfunctions, or service failures caused by owner's failure to follow the National Instruments installation, operation,
or maintenance instructions; owner's modification of the product; owner's abuse, misuse, or negligent acts; and
power failure or surges, fire, flood, accident, actions of third parties, or other events outside reasonable control.
Copyright
Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole
or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.
Trademarks
LabVIEW®and NI-VXI™are trademarks of National Instruments Corporation.
Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

Warning Regarding Medical and Clinical Use
of National Instruments Products
National Instruments products are not designed with components and testing intended to ensure a level of reliability
suitable for use in treatment and diagnosis of humans. Applications of National Instruments products involving
medical or clinical treatment can create a potential for accidental injury caused by product failure, or by errors on
the part of the user or application designer. Any use or application of National Instruments products for or involving
medical or clinical treatment must be performed by properly trained and qualified medical personnel, and all
traditional medical safeguards, equipment, and procedures that are appropriate in the particular situation to prevent
serious injury or death should always continue to be used when National Instruments products are being used.
National Instruments products are NOT intended to be a substitute for any form of established process, procedure, or
equipment used to monitor or safeguard human health and safety in medical or clinical treatment.

FCC/DOC Radio Frequency Interference Compliance
This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in strict accordance with the
instructions in this manual, may cause interference to radio and television reception. This equipment has been tested
and found to comply with the following two regulatory agencies:
Federal Communications Commission
This device complies with Part 15 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Rules for a Class A digital
device. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
1. This device may not cause harmful interference in commercial environments.
2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
Canadian Department of Communications
This device complies with the limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus set out in the Radio
Interference Regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications (DOC).
Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de bruits radioélectriques dépassant les limites applicables aux appareils
numériques de classe A prescrites dans le règlement sur le brouillage radioélectrique édicté par le ministère des
communications du Canada.
Instructions to Users
These regulations are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference from the equipment to
radio reception in commercial areas. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful
interference, in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.
There is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. However, the chances of
interference are much less if the equipment is installed and used according to this instruction manual.
If the equipment does cause interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the
equipment on and off, one or more of the following suggestions may reduce or eliminate the problem.
• Operate the equipment and the receiver on different branches of your AC electrical system.
• Move the equipment away from the receiver with which it is interfering.
• Reorient or relocate the receiver’s antenna.
• Be sure that the equipment is plugged into a grounded outlet and that the grounding has not been defeated with
a cheater plug.
Notice to user: Changes or modifications not expressly approved by National Instruments could void the user’s
authority to operate the equipment under the FCC Rules.
If necessary, consult National Instruments or an experienced radio/television technician for additional suggestions.
The following booklet prepared by the FCC may also be helpful: How to Identify and Resolve Radio-TV
Interference Problems. This booklet is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
20402, Stock Number 004-000-00345-4.

© National Instruments Corporation vii VXI-AT2000/NI-VXI MS-DOS Getting Started
Contents
About This Manual............................................................................................................xi
Organization of This Manual...........................................................................................xi
Conventions Used in This Manual ..................................................................................xi
How to Use the Documentation Set.................................................................................xii
Related Documentation ...................................................................................................xii
Customer Communication...............................................................................................xiii
Chapter 1
Introduction..........................................................................................................................1-1
What Your Kit Should Contain......................................................................................1-2
Optional Equipment.......................................................................................................1-3
Optional Software..........................................................................................................1-4
Chapter 2
Hardware Configuration and Installation.................................................................2-1
Step 1. Unpack the AT-MXI and VXI-MXI..................................................................2-1
Step 2. Configure the AT-MXI Hardware.....................................................................2-2
Switch and Jumper Settings...............................................................................2-3
Base I/O Address Selection................................................................................2-3
Interrupt Level Selection....................................................................................2-6
DMA Channel Selection....................................................................................2-8
Master Mode Versus Slave Mode..........................................................2-8
Step 3. Install the AT-MXI Hardware ...........................................................................2-11
Step 4. Configure the VXI-MXI Hardware ...................................................................2-13
Front Panel Features...........................................................................................2-15
Removing the Metal Enclosure..........................................................................2-15
VXIbus Slot 0.....................................................................................................2-15
VMEbus BTO....................................................................................................2-18
VXI Logical Address.........................................................................................2-18
VMEbus Request Level Selection.....................................................................2-19
Step 5. Install the VXI-MXI Hardware..........................................................................2-21
Step 6. Connect the MXIbus Cable................................................................................2-22
Nonpolarized Cables..........................................................................................2-22
Polarized Cables.................................................................................................2-23
Chapter 3
NI-VXI Software Installation and Configuration...................................................3-1
NI-VXI Software Overview...........................................................................................3-1
Main Programs and Files...................................................................................3-1
Additional Programs and Files...........................................................................3-2
Installing the Software...................................................................................................3-5
Modifying the AUTOEXEC.BAT File..............................................................3-6
Configuring the NI-VXI Software.................................................................................3-6
Running VXIEDIT.............................................................................................3-7
Logical Address Configuration..........................................................................3-8
Bus Configuration..............................................................................................3-12

Contents
VXI-AT2000/NI-VXI MS-DOS Getting Started viii © National Instruments Corporation
Device Configuration.........................................................................................3-14
Exiting VXIEDIT and Reinitializing the Hardware ..........................................3-15
Developing Your Application Program.........................................................................3-16
Appendix A
Specifications........................................................................................................................A-1
Appendix B
Troubleshooting...................................................................................................................B-1
Problems with VXIINIT................................................................................................B-1
VXIINIT Error Messages...................................................................................B-1
VXIINIT Could Not Find the AT-MXI.................................................B-2
VXIINIT Could Not Find Specific Files................................................B-2
Error Writing Log File...........................................................................B-3
VXIINIT Causes System to Hang......................................................................B-3
Problems with RESMAN...............................................................................................B-4
Memory Area Used by Another Device ............................................................B-4
Memory Area Used by Expanded-Memory Manager or Emulator...................B-4
Problems with Mouse.....................................................................................................B-5
Problems with MXIbus Cable........................................................................................B-5
Appendix C
Customer Communication...............................................................................................C-1
Glossary......................................................................................................................Glossary-1

Contents
© National Instruments Corporation ixVXI-AT2000/NI-VXI MS-DOS Getting Started
Figures
Figure1-1. VXI-AT2000 Interface Kit...............................................................................1-1
Figure2-1. AT-MXI Parts Locator Diagram.......................................................................2-2
Figure2-2. Base I/O Address Switch Settings....................................................................2-4
Figure2-3. Board and MXIbus Interrupt Jumper Settings..................................................2-7
Figure2-4. DMA Channel Settings.....................................................................................2-10
Figure2-5. AT-MXI Installed in a Computer......................................................................2-12
Figure2-6. VXI-MXI Parts Locator Diagram.....................................................................2-13
Figure2-7. VXI-MXI with INTX Parts Locator Diagram..................................................2-14
Figure2-8. VXIbus Slot 0 Configuration............................................................................2-16
Figure2-9. VXIbus Non-Slot 0 Configuration....................................................................2-17
Figure2-10. Logical Address Selection................................................................................2-19
Figure2-11. VXI-MXI VMEbus Requester Jumper Settings...............................................2-20
Figure2-12. MXIbus Single-Ended Cable Configuration....................................................2-22
Figure2-13. MXIbus Dual-Ended Cable Configuration.......................................................2-23
Figure3-1. VXIEDIT Main Menu......................................................................................3-7
Figure3-2. AT-MXI Logical Address Configuration Editor..............................................3-8
Figure3-3. AT-MXI Bus Configuration Editor..................................................................3-12
Figure3-4. AT-MXI Device Configuration Editor.............................................................3-14
Tables
Table2-1. AT-MXI Factory Default Settings and Optional Configurations.....................2-3
Table2-2. Possible Base I/O Address Settings for the AT-MXI.......................................2-5
Table3-1. Logical Address Configuration Characteristics................................................3-9
Table3-2. Bus Configuration Characteristics....................................................................3-13
Table3-3. Device Configuration Characteristics...............................................................3-15

© National Instruments Corporation xi VXI-AT2000/NI-VXI MS-DOS Getting Started
About This Manual
This manual contains instructions for installing and configuring the National Instruments
VXI-AT2000 interface kit. This manual is meant to be used with the NI-VXI Software Reference
Manual for C (part number 320307-01), theNI-VXI Software Reference Manual for BASIC (part
number 320328-01), and the NI-VXI DOS Utilities Reference Manual (part number 320323-01).
Organization of This Manual
Getting Started with Your VXI-AT2000 and the NI-VXI Software for MS-DOS is organized as
follows:
• Chapter 1, Introduction, describes the VXI-AT2000 interface kit, contains a picture of the
VXI-AT2000 interface kit, lists the contents of your kit, and lists optional equipment and
software.
• Chapter 2, Hardware Configuration and Installation, contains the instructions to configure
and install the VXI-AT2000 interface kit.
• Chapter 3, NI-VXI Software Configuration and Installation, lists all the programs and files
located on the NI-VXI distribution diskettes, contains instructions for installing and
configuring the NI-VXI software for MS-DOS, and contains a description of the VXIEDIT
configuration editor.
• Appendix A, Specifications, lists various module specifications of the AT-MXI and
VXI-MXI, such as physical dimensions and power requirements.
• Appendix B, Troubleshooting, addresses certain problems you may encounter when using the
NI-VXI bus interface software on the AT-MXI platform.
• Appendix C, Customer Communication, contains forms you can use to request help from
National Instruments or to comment on our products and manuals.
• The Glossary contains an alphabetical list and description of terms used in this manual,
including abbreviations, acronyms, metric prefixes, and symbols.

About This Manual
VXI-AT2000/NI-VXI MS-DOS Getting Started xii © National Instruments Corporation
Conventions Used in This Manual
The following conventions are used to distinguish elements of text throughout this manual:
bold Bold text denotes menu items.
italic Italic text denotes emphasis, a cross reference, or an introduction to a key
concept.
bold italic Bold italic text denotes a note, caution, or warning.
monospace Text in this font denotes text or characters that are to be literally input
from the keyboard, the proper names of disk drives, paths, directories,
programs, subprograms, device names, filenames and extensions, and for
statements and comments taken from program code.
bold monospace Bold text in this font denotes the messages and responses that the
computer automatically prints to the screen.
<> Angle brackets enclose the name of a key on the keyboard–for example,
<Esc>.
Abbreviations, acronyms, metric prefixes, mnemonics, symbols, and terms are listed in the
Glossary.
How to Use the Documentation Set
We suggest that you begin by reading this manual to guide you through the installation and
configuration of the hardware and software. The software configuration requires that you first
complete the installation and configuration of the hardware.
When you are familiar with the material in this manual, you can begin to use the NI-VXI
Software Reference Manual for C. Chapter 1, Introduction to VXI, and Chapter 2, Introduction
to the NI-VXI Functions, present the concepts of VXI and prepare you for detailed explanations
of the NI-VXI functions. Study the descriptions of each function given in Chapters 3 through 13
to fully understand the purpose and syntax of each function. The NI-VXI Software Reference
Manual for BASIC covers the same material with BASIC syntax. Refer to the NI-VXI DOS
Utilities Reference Manual to learn more about the VIC and VXIEDIT programs. The
LabWindows VXI Library Reference Manual, part number 320318-01, explains how to install
and use the optional LabWindows VXI Library for the AT-MXI.