header705
LXI Newsletter
News New LXI Products Join Newsletter Lead Article

youtube

LXI Conference - Beijing, China - May 22, 2013

This conference will focus on technical challenges and solutions for connecting instrumentation via the network and demonstrate how these are addressed using LXI.

In attending this conference you will learn about:

  • The definition and benefits of an LXI instrument.
  • Case studies for LXI applications
  • Latest developments in the LXI standard, including HiSLIP and IPv6
  • Migrating existing and developing new high performance LXI applications using HiSLIP
  • Setting up and configuring your LXI instrument, including working with IT
  • IVI (www.ivifoundation.org) and its importance in developing LXI applications
  • The benefits of getting your instrument LXI certified
  • State of the LXI Standard and where it is going

The conference will feature a trade show for LXI Consortium members to demonstrate their latest LXI products and feature sets.

Sponsors:

LXI Consortium
The Chinese Institute of Electronics
The China Instrument and Control Society
RIGOL Technologies

To register for the conference, go to http://www.lxistandard.asia.

 

Wired Trigger Bus Physical Aspects


by David Owen
Pickering Interfaces

This paper provides information about the physical aspects of the wired trigger bus used in the LXI Standard and provides some background on the decisions that were made concerning its implementation. The paper does not contain performance related information which can be found elsewhere.

Introduction

The wired trigger bus (WTB) provides a means of connecting LXI Devices together in a way that allows them to exchange hardware trigger signals that have low timing uncertainty. It provides a standardized way of providing the trigger signals previously used on bench (and other) instruments based on a physical connection (such as a coaxial lead). These traditional methods were all based on ad hoc definitions requiring the user to understand the trigger signals generated by one device and what the receiving device needs to make a trigger event happen. The WTB also provides an equivalent function to the triggers used on modular backplanes, such as VXI and PXI. There are differences in performance since the distance is greater and cables are used, but there are also aspects which improve on these trigger connection systems since it includes an active Wired OR system which does not exist on PXI and is implemented on VXI via a much slower open collector drive system.

The physical interface for the WTB is based on the TIA/EIA-889 Multipoint Low Voltage Differential Signalling (M-LVDS) standard. This standard uses differential current driven signals to exchange data between semiconductor devices. It is intended primarily to interconnect devices on a PCB or devices over short distances with ribbon style cables. For instrumentation use the WTB working group of the LXI Consortium altered the way the transmitter and receiver devices work to allow it to provide a robust wired OR function and defined a cabling and connection standard to permit its use over long distances.

The WTB provides 8 physically independent trigger channels, matching the number of logical channels provided by the other trigger mechanisms in the LXI Standard. The channels are designated as LXI0 to LXI7. This is also the same number of triggers on the backplane of a VXI or PXI chassis.

Read more >>

Using LXI in Satellite System Testing

by Jochen Wolle, Rohde & Schwarz

Satellites are involved in a wide range of applications including scientific research, weather prediction, navigation, and military/aerospace. The greatest numbers of satellites that orbit the earth today are used for communications, enabling people across the globe to communicate with one another. In fact, more than half of the satellites in space are used for telecommunications. Beyond telecommunications, satellite communications are intrinsically tied to almost every aspect of our daily lives whether we realize it or not.

Perhaps the most tangible form of satellite communications is the transmission of our favorite television shows from around the world. Furthermore, airport command and control centers rely on satellite communications to ensure our loved ones return safely from their travels. And in times of natural disaster, such as the 2001 World Trade Center attack, the 2005 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, or Hurricane Katrina in 2006, satellites often are the only means of communications available.

A new two-tone method that makes use of LXI technology has been developed that allows users to measure relative group delay with high precision on converters and mixers. The measurement can be made without local oscillator (LO) access as is typically the case in satellite communications systems.

Read more >>

 

Thanks to all our readers.
Bob Helsel, Editor
www.lxistandard.org


sponsor1-EADS

Download information on our new 1256L, high-density LXI switch system

youtube LXI Channel on YouTube

linkedin Join our LXI LinkedIn group.

twitter Follow us on Twitter.

New LXI Products

The LXI Consortium has certified more than 1907 instruments in over 227 product families since the specifications were first released in 2005. Some of the recent LXI product introductions are highlighted below (in order of submission):

Rigol Technologies DP8xx DC Power Supplies
DC power supplies: 1 to 4 channels

Agilent B2961A 6.5 Digit Low Noise Power Source

  • 6.5 digit source
  • Wide and bipolar voltage/current sourcing (100 nV - 210 V / 10 fA - 10.5 A, 31.8W)
  • Best-in-class noise performance (10 µVrms, 1nVrms/√Hz) with external filter

Kikusui PWX750ML DC Power Supply

1U Multi Range Programmable DC Power Supply (Switching system, CV/CC)

The PWX750ML is a constant voltage (CV)/constant current (CC) automatic crossover DC power supply, which enables you to combine a wide range of voltages and currents within the output power rating.

Pickering Interfaces 65-110 WLXI Wideband Modular Matrix
The 65-110 is a new modular platform providing a solution for connecting up to 16 of 104 X connections simultaneously to16 measuring devices on the Y axis with a usable BW of 500MHz.

Rohde & Schwarz Spectrum Analyzer FSW43Signal and Spectrum Analyzer 43.5 GHz.

Chyng Hong Electronic Company
DSP HD Power Supplies.

Data Translation DT8824-HV LXI Module
Data Translation’s DT8824-HV LXI Module extends ultra-accurate, high-stability measurements to high voltage ranges.

EADS North America Test and Services’ Racal Instruments™ 1256L, LXI Switching System
The 12-slot, 2U 1256L is a high-density, high-performance switching system solution designed to satisfy many different applications. 

Read more >>

New LXI Links

LXI Videos:

comparing\

Comparing LXI and PXI

LXI discovery

LXI Auto-discovery of Ethernet or LAN Instruments

IPv6

LXI Specification now Includes Support for IPv6 and HiSLIP

youtube LXI Channel on YouTube

Latest News:

RIGOL Technologies Becomes a Strategic Member of the LXI Consortium

primer

LXI Primer

 

 

©2013 LXI Consortium, Inc.
PO Box 1016; Niwot, CO 80544