ULx for NI LabVIEW is a library of VIs used with MCC devices to quickly develop data acquisition (DAQ) and control applications using LabVIEW. Includes a comprehensive library of graphical functions comprising all the power of our Universal Library and InstaCal software.
Yes, it's compatible with NI LabVIEW versions 2015-2023.
ULx is only available as part of the free MCCDAQ software suite. Any version of ULx >= 2.21 will work in LabVIEW 2017. If you prefer to stay with ULx 2.21, it is available as part of MCCDAQ 6.60 which is now about 4 years old.
In general, re-installing InstaCal is not a solution to a LabVIEW error. Error 10001 is not very common, and usually means that more than one program is trying to access the device, or that you have created a runtime and there is a mismatched file version. Below is some general advice, and if this does not resolve it, please contact tech support with more details. * Do not have LabVIEW and InstaCal open at the same time. * InstaCal is meant to be run once per PC (you should not have to run it again, even after a reboot). * If you created a LabVIEW runtime, install the same exact version# of InstaCal onto the runtime PC, that was on the development PC.
We expect to release and post for download, within a week or so, MCCDAQ software suite 6.72. This will contain an updated version of ULx compatible with LabVIEW 2020.
NI has not yet created a .NET VI conversion utility for NXG. MCC ULx support for NXG will depend on NI releasing its conversion support for .NET. MCC has requested that this conversion utility be added, and NI has ensured us that it is on their NXG roadmap. Please contact National Instruments if you would like them to prioritize that effort.
MCC added support for LabVIEW 2019 about a month ago. ULx 2.24 and InstaCal 6.71 are available together as part of the free MCCDAQ software suite rev 6.71 available from our download area.
The main cause of the error you see relates to “Composite”. None of the Composite VIs will work with the USB-1208LS hardware model, since that model cannot sample DI and CI channels synchronously (at the same clocked rate) as AI channels. Instead, start with the examples in Measure Voltage.llb, specifically the one named: ULx Acq&Graph Voltage-Int Clk-Dig Start.vi However, since the USB-1208LS hardware offers only level triggering (not edge triggering) you will have to make a change on the example’s block diagram. i.e. select Basic Digital Level, and then specify either High or Low for the level. Then connect your trigger signal to pin 18 of the USB-1208LS.
It is not compatible with LabVIEW NXG at this time, but I have forwarded your request to our Engineering team for consideration in future releases.
For the USB-1602HS hardware, gating is not supported. i.e. the hardware design of this model has no “gate” triggering capability. As for the Composite triggers, before selecting composite, you must first configure your input channel(s) via Create Channel to be Composite Input (instead of Analog Input). Composite usually means a combination of AI, DI, and CI channels all sampled synchronously at the same rate, but if only analog inputs are needed, that can be done also.
For LabVIEW 2018, we just recently posted a beta ULx driver on our FTP site. Be sure to read the readme for installation instructions, as the installation is different from our normal release.
The ULx For NI LabVIEW software is included on the MCC DAQ CD and is available within the software and drivers link above.
We actually do have a released LabVIEW 2017 driver, ULx ver 2.21. Please visit the software and drivers section provided in the link in the resource center above.
To read a temperature channel on any of the TEMP/TC series devices, you can run the example on your hard drive that is located at the path below. The example program is named: ULx Acq Temperature Sample.vi — C:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabVIEW 201x\examples\ULx\Analog In\Measure Temperature.LLB
Once you Install the latest ULx driver, then open the following LLB of examples on your hard drive: C:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabVIEW 2016\examples\ULx\Analog In\Measure Voltage.LLB. The best example to start with is named: ULx Acq&Graph Voltage-Int Clk.vi The example defaults to sampling a single channel, but from the front panel, following the instructions in the FAQ, you can browse and select multiple channels with the mouse.
The installation drive letter should not matter, since our ULx installer learns that from the Windows registry. Instead, the issue is likely that you are using too old of a CD to install from. Version 6.53 of our MCCDAQ CD was the first to include LabVIEW 2016 support.
RS422 is an electrical standard of +/- 6V and is differential. The miniLAB 1008’s digital I/O bits are TTL/CMOS and single-ended. Therefore before even considering software, the miniLAB 1008 hardware is not suitable for communicating to RS422 devices. Strictly on the software question, looking at the 37 pin D connector, pin 4 is bit 6 of port B, while pin 35 is bit 2 of port A. Since you are using two different ports (A and B) you can use one for output and one for input. First, test each direction independently with our provided examples: ULx Read Dig Port.vi and ULx Write Dig Port.vi. Once you have both working independently, then combine the two programs. Since we do not promote our hardware as emulating a serial port, we do not have an example program that does so.
There are no LabVIEW VIs that will allow you to read the 5 volt source that is supplied on pins 18 & 46. One method that has been used in the past to monitor the 5 volts is to loop back into an available analog input and read the analog input.
The link below is to MCC DAQ CD Version 6.34 from September 2014. It has 2 LabVIEW drivers on it. One is ULx 2.06, the last version to support LabVIEW 8.5, 8.6, and 2009. The other is the much older legacy UL for LabVIEW driver frozen in 2006.
Our ULx for LabVIEW driver does not have a way to select between SE and DIFF. This setting must be made by the user in InstaCal, before launching LabVIEW. The setting only needs to be made once.
First, make sure that your DAQ device supports hardware/clock paced analog output. Then locate on your hard drive (at a path similar to below) the following example: ULx Cont Gen Voltage Wfm-Int Clk.vi C:\Program Files (x86)\National Instruments\LabVIEW 201x\examples\ULx\Analog Output\
MCC’s hardware does not support reading back values written to the output. If the error code (returned from the data write) is 0, then the output was successful.
Most analog output examples that get installed with ULx demonstrate hardware paced/clocked mode. But if you only want to send out an occasional D/A value, which the DAQ device will hold until you update it at some later time, then software paced mode is more appropriate.
We do offer Linux drivers for many of our USB and Ethernet DAQ devices but, unfortunately, our ULx for NI LabVIEW does not include support for NI LabVIEW for Linux. Our ULx for NI LabVIEW is only supported under Windows® 10/8/7/Vista®/XP SP2, 32-bit or 64-bit Windows based operating systems.
Error 10003 usually means that the timeout has been reached. You set the timeout via the ULx Read VI. The default is 10 seconds, which matches what you report. So instead of leaving the timeout pin unwired (as shown in the video), wire up a constant of something > 10.
The USB-2408 (and USB-2416) series can measure both temperature and voltage. All channels on these models are designated as voltage, so be sure to choose “AI Voltage”.
Hello, Error 100000 usually means that your InstaCal and ULx versions are too far apart from each other, age wise. The fix is to upgrade both at the same time, from the same MCCDAQ CD/download.
The ULx for NI LabVIEW is necessary for the support of Measurement Computing Data Acquisition products within the LabVIEW environment. Our Data Acquisition products are not directly compatible with National Instrument’s NI-DAQmx drivers.
It sounds like you want to perform Analog Input, but you are presented only with Analog Output channels, or vice-versa. The USB-1208FS DAQ model you are using has both types of channels (though you should select AI Voltage, not AI Current input, since the USB-1208FS only measures voltage. What likely happened is that you changed the Create Channel VI’s channel type, from Analog Output to Analog Input, but you did so after wiring in a channel selector. Try deleting the physical channel selector (purple) to the left of the Create Channel VI, and then recreating it. It should then locate the proper channels. Otherwise, try our function-specific examples that get installed as part of ULx.
On September 25th, MCC released ULx driver version 2.12 that adds support for LabVIEW 2015. Below is a link to download the new support, along with a readme file covering installation. This driver is fully released (not a beta), but the installer for it differs slightly from our regular MCCDAQ CD download, so be sure to read the short readme file before installing the software. Our larger (MCCDAQ CD) download is expected to be update in the November/December timeframe, once CD version 6.51 is released, at which time the following link will be deactivated.
1) Yes, this is possible. Basically you chain together (i.e. in one task) multiple Create Channel VIs, each with a channel(s) and range combination. 2) No, this is not possible. The limitation is hardware, not software.
You say you installed UL 6.35, but be sure you also installed ULx (ver 2.10 is part of the same MCCDAQ CD download). To use MCC brand hardware in LabVIEW, you use our ULx VIs. Many examples are installed on your hard drive, but note that since the USB-2408 can measure both voltage and thermocouples, you need to run the voltage examples, not the temperature examples.
Most likely what happened is that you created the constant (or control) for the “physical channels” input before setting the Polymorphic VI Selector to “AI Temperature”. The default is “AI Voltage”, and since the USB-TC does not measure voltage, no channels would be shown in the list.
Hello - It sounds like you missed a step or two in the EXE creation process. In the ULx help file, search on “Building the application installer”, and carefully follow steps 1 thru 12. Please feel free to contact us if you have any issues.
MCC’s ULx for LabVIEW includes an example named ULx Acq Temperature Sample.vi which works fine with the USB-TC, but it only samples just one reading on only a single channel. Common needs are to expand the number of channels and to sample continuously. The USB-TC is only software paced, so a software timed loop is needed. You can configure the Create Channel VI to specify a range of channels, and then the Read VI can output a one-dimensional array … one sample per channel. At the link below is such an example, that samples 5 channels at a 1 Hz rate. It does not graph the data, or log to disk, but you can use LabVIEW’s built in VIs to achieve those.
Hello Frabre - The hardware in itself does not support an analog edge trigger. Therefore, the ULx driver does not support an analog trigger. The USB-202 only supports a digital trigger that can be configured for edge or level sensitivity (rising, falling, high, or low). Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions.
A ULx driver compatible with LabVIEW 2014 is expected to be posted for download by mid-September.
Hello - The structure of the data array for our Tin function call is not a perfect match for what LabVIEW is looking for. The TinScan call places the data into one column, verses a row, with a column of data per channel. LabVIEW does not know how to parse this data. However, there are ways to get it to work and display multiple channels. For your convenience, I’m going to email you an example VI to help with your programming. Please check your inbox and let us know if we can help out in any other way.
There are three likely causes to the problem you report: 1) You did not run InstaCal (Inscal32.exe) on your target machine, so that the DAQ device was recognized on the target machine. 2) You did not follow the detailed steps listed in the ULx help file for: Building a stand-alone Windows application. The results of which automatically pick up a “browse” file and deploy it on the target PC’s hard drive. The file name follows the following format: ULx_BrowseXXX.LLB where, for example, XXX=110 for LabVIEW ver 11. 3) You have duplicate copies of CBW32.DLL on the target PC’s hard drive.
The message you receive probably means the file was not fully downloaded, or got corrupted during the download. We have not had other recent complaints. But to be sure, I downloaded Version 6.31 myself from this link, and it runs OK. I recommend you download it by saving it to your hard drive first. Then before running it, check the file size. The file size should be exactly 279,810,048 bytes.
Hello, If the LabVIEW version you just installed happens to be version 2013, be sure to install the very latest ULx (2.03), otherwise ULx won’t be installed for that LabVIEW installation. Normally a copy of ULx is installed for each and every LabVIEW on the PC, from 8.5 upward. Therefore you don’t need to move ULx VIs from one version of LabVIEW to another. Also note that the ULx VIs installed were all saved in 8.5 format, so you will get warnings when you open them in a newer version of LabVIEW. Either ignore the warnings, or re-save all upon exiting. BSODs are not at all common, and may be a sign that something is corrupt (best to uninstall and reinstall).
ULx for NI LabVIEW does not offer a way to provide the developer with full information about what DAQ device(s) are connected, or what features the device(s) have. What is supported is: The Create Channel VI presents (to the operator) only channels that exist on the DAQ device(s) that are present in the system. Once a task is created, the Task Node VI from the ULx VI palate can be used to read back the model name & serial number. The reason the palette menu did not install for you is that most likely you did not actually unzip the beta zip file, before running the MSI (i.e. running the MSI file from within the Zip file will not install any of the files that are outside the MSI file). As for the USB-310x hardware series specifically, yes the range must be set in InstaCal.
No, the ULx for NI LabVIEW is not compatible with the Real-Time version of LabVIEW.
MCC now has a beta ULx driver for LabVIEW 2013.
It sounds like you cannot install ULx onto LabVIEW 2012 since your CD is too old. You need version 6.25 or higher to obtain ULx 2.02. Download the latest MCCDAQ CD from our website, and update InstaCal, and install ULx 2.02. In this way you do not have to use our Legacy UL for LabVIEW driver which has been frozen for many years and is not recommended for new applications. The try ULx examples named ULx Write Dig Port.vi & ULx Read Dig Port.vi