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The LXI Reference Design on Different Microcontrollers

Submitted by TSE Plazotta

In March 2016, the LXI Consortium released the LXI Reference Design, Version 1.0. With the help of the Reference Design, which is available as source code, it has become easier for members of the LXI Consortium to adopt this standard in their devices. Also, instrument vendors that have not supported the LXI standard yet, have a much better option for saving time and cost using the LXI Reference Design.

The LXI Reference Design was mainly developed for the Windows and Linux operating systems. On Windows, the Intel x86 and x64 architectures are supported. On Linux, the range of CPUs is wider. Here not only the Intel x86 and x64 architectures are supported, but also the ARM processors. One of the development platforms of the LXI Reference Design was an Ubuntu Linux on a Cubieboard with an ARM processor.

IVI Web Forum Question and Answer:
In general why IVI-C, IVI.COM or IVI.NET?

Answered by Kirk Fertitta, Pacific Mindworks
for the IVI Web Forum

Note: Offering an IVI driver is a requirement for all LXI-conformant instruments. The IVI Web Forum is hosted by the IVI Foundation. You can sign up at www.ivifoundation.org.

In general why IVI-C, IVI.COM or IVI.NET?

This is a pretty involved topic – and a contentious one, but I’ll share what I tell folks when building an IVI strategy. The most important factor is considering the development environment (ADE) that your customers primarily work in.

Few would argue that IVI.NET provides the best end-user experience for those working in a .NET environment, such as C# or VB.NET.However, IVI-COM drivers include .NET interop assemblies (i.e. .NET “wrappers”) that have provided a very good .NET end-user experience for many years.IVI-C drivers don’t fare as well in .NET, as they require the use of somewhat tedious attributes to call into the native C DLL.There are some vendor-specific wrapper generation tools for IVI-C in .NET, but there is no IVI standard mechanism for doing this and interchangeability across vendors isn’t really supported with IVI-C.

The Importance of LXI Compliance
in Test Instrumentation

By Herman vanEijkelenburg, Director of Marketing
Pacific Power Source

For Pacific Power Source, a long time supplier of precision programmable AC power sources for use in both development and test applications, the use of industry standards has always been a key requirement when it comes to new product development. This is especially true now as customers shy away from proprietary products and protocols, out of fear of being locking to a sole vendor. Such was the case at the inception of a new technology platform that will be the bases for a wide range of high-end, all digitally controlled, programmable AC and DC power sources that started at Pacific Power few years ago.

The first product incarnation of this new architecture platform is the just launched AFX Series of 9kVA to 60kVA power sources. Using industry standards and protocols makes it much easier for our customers to integrate new platforms and products into both existing legacy systems as well as newly designed systems. Increasing budget constraints are driving the need to keep existing test systems going for an increasing period of time, often far beyond the original life-cycle plan. Being able to easily upgrade available power to meet ever increasing power demands is often a key hurdle to overcome.

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

Use the connection you already know!

New LXI Products

The LXI Consortium has certified more than 2806 instruments in over 296 product families since the specifications were first released in September 2005. Some of the recent LXI product introductions are highlighted below:

R&S®RTO oscilloscopes
R&S®RTO oscilloscopes combine excellent signal fidelity, up to 16 bit resolution and high acquisition rates with a compact device format in the 600 MHz to 4 GHz class.

Pacific Power Source AFX Series programmable AC, DC & AC+DC
AFX models are available in power levels ranging from 9kVA to 60kVA. All models are based on a proprietary, all-digital, power conversion technology platform that supports a set of formerly unavailable features and capabilities used in programmable power sources.

Tektronix MDO4000C Mixed Domain Oscilloscope
6–in–1 Versatility PLUS High Performance in One Powerful Oscilloscope
The new MDO4000C includes up to six built-in instruments, each with exceptional performance to address tough challenges.

Keithley 2281S-20-6 Precision DC Supply and Battery Simulator, 20V, 6A
The Series 2281S Battery Simulator and Precision DC Power Supply innovatively integrates battery simulation with the functions of a high-precision power supply and battery testing.

Keysight N8937APV Photovoltaic Array Simulator, 1500 VDC, 208 VAC
The Keysight N8937APV Photovoltaic (PV) Array Simulator enables you to develop, verify and optimize the performance of your inverter maximum power point tracking algorithms.

Pickering Interfaces New High-Density Switching Matrix (model 60-553)
This new matrix is a 1024x4 dual bus 1-pole matrix in a compact 1U full rack width enclosure. The product has been designed specifically to support high relay closure counts to optimize its use with a digital multimeter (DMM) or source meter for checking for insulation problems between a single contact and all other contacts in the unit under test (UUT), requiring the closure of up to 1024 crosspoint relays.

VTI Instruments RX0124
The RX0124 is part of VTI's RX series family of rugged instruments with built in sensor signal conditioning. The RX0124 is designed to address all strain/bridge measurement requirements for use in a harsh test cell environment.

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