NI9870 in scan mode during cRIO hybrid mode help

[AWyers]

I need some help getting the NI 9870 module to work in scan mode on a cRIO 9074 in hybrid mode.

I'm not very experienced using the cRIO or Labview in general. I can get access to the 9870 in scan mode when I create a project with all of the modules in scan mode, but once I add an FPGA target and switch to FPGA mode the 9870 com ports don't show up in MAX anymore. These are the steps I went through to create this project:

1. Create the project.

2. Add the cRIO device.

3. Scan mode and discover. - Deploy

4. Add the FPGA target. -Deploy

5. Move the one module (9234) to the FPGA target and create the FIFO it needs.

6. Add the FPGA and Host VI that I need to the FPGA and cRIO respectively.

7. Create build specification.

8. Build.

9. Configure Open FPGA VI Reference.

10. Deploy.

For one, this is the correct procedure for setting up hybrid mode, correct? And secondly, what would I change to give me access to the com ports on the NI 9870 via scan interface when this procedure is done?

[Jeff-P]

Hi AWyers,

For the 9870 there are a few things to know when configuring it in the different modes. This Knowledge Base Article should help you get it up and running, have you seen it?

FTA: 

Hybrid Mode-If you are using the device in hybrid mode, then you must compile your top level FPGA vi. Once compiled, you must run the compiled bitfile. You can do this with interactive mode, or by opening the reference inside of an Real Time VI. This FPGA VI can be simple, but a bitfile must be created that combines the scan mode functionality with your custom FPGA code.

Please let me know if you are still having problems.

[AWyers]

I figured out the issue. Apparently I was doing everything correctly, but I didn't understand what was meant by "running" the FPGA bitfile. I found that if I ran the Host VI that was using the FPGA VI in FPGA interface mode then the ports would show up from the 9870 in MAX and in scan mode. I made the change to run the bitfile at startup, but I haven't confirmed this fixes the issue yet (Building now). I'm at least operational again by running the Host VI first. I'm still curious as to why this is required for the 9870 serial module, but not the other modules I have in scan engine mode.

Thanks for your help.

[Jeff-P]

Hi, that is good news that it is working! I am not sure of the exact reason why the 9870 is different, I suspect it has something to do with how the COM ports are deployed, but I am not sure.

Regards,