Chapter 1
Generating Functions with the NI 5401
©
National Instruments Corporation
1-9
Software Options for Your NI 5401
This section describes the NI-FGEN driver software and development tools
that you can use to create application software for your NI 5401.
Software Included with Your NI 5401
Your NI 5401 kit includes an interactive Sources
soft front panel
to help
you get up and running quickly with your waveform generator. In addition,
the NI-FGEN instrument driver is also included, which you can use with a
wide variety of development tools to build applications for your NI 5401.
These software tools are discussed in the following sections.
Interactive Sources Soft Front Panel
Similar to standalone instruments, the Sources Soft Front Panel acquires,
controls, analyzes, and presents data. However, since the Sources Soft
Front Panel operates on your PC, it provides additional processing, storage,
and display capabilities.
The Sources Soft Front Panel loads and saves waveform data in a form that
popular spreadsheet programs and word processors can use. You can print
the waveforms and the settings of the Sources Soft Front Panel to a printer
connected to the PC.
Single Waveform Output from DDS Memory
The Sources Soft Front Panel transforms your PC into a fully featured
function generator by using the DDS capabilities of your NI 5401. In this
operation mode, you can generate a variety of waveforms, including
seven standard waveforms: sine, square, triangle, rising ramp, falling ramp,
dc voltage level, and random noise pattern. Using the Sources Soft Front
Panel, you load waveforms from a file and generate them repeatedly. You
can generate these waveforms with a resolution of approximately 10 mHz.
Waveform Editor
You use the Waveform Editor to create, sketch, and edit complex
waveforms that the Sources Soft Front Panel player can then generate. A
library of standard waveforms for creating complex waveforms is included,
and you can also write equations to create arbitrary waveforms and view
the waveforms in a time or frequency domain.