Hardware limitations in eval kit?

[Daklu]

I recently discovered the eval kit and it looks like a great way to explore the limits of Labview's RIO platform so I can better serve my customers.  I'm having a hard time finding any details on the hardware though.

-I understand the software is time limited.  That doesn't worry me since I have licenses for all the software.  Are there any hardware limitations built into the eval kit, or is it really an off-the-shelf sbRIO with a nicely populated mezzanine card on top?

-Which sbRIO model is the eval kit built on?  It looks like one of: 9626, 9633, or 9636, but I can't tell which one it is.

Thanks,

Dave

[SamoraJ]

I'm not at my desk, so I can't help you with the exact model, though I remember it being the lowest spec w/o the RMC, 9633

The greatest limitation IMO is the absence of the mezzanine connector. So the ev kit cannot be used to evaluate the design of custom mezzanine daughter boards.

[Daklu]

Thanks for the response Marcus. 

I thought the two 50-pin sockets at one end of the board *are* the mezzanine connectors.  I see now the mezzanine connector is actually mounted on the backside of the 962x sbRIO cards.  Other than exposing more signals and possibly allowing higher throughput on each line, I don't see the lack of the connector as a huge loss for my situation.  Any custom I/O I do will be via breadboards or perfboards--I'm not going to spend the money designing custom mezzanine cards for production.

To be a little more specific with my question on hardware limitations:

Does the hardware have any restrictions built into it to limit its use to the intended purpose of evaluating the platform, or is it in fact a fully functional 9633 and I could, if I wanted to, remove the attached I/O card and use the sbRIO to build home hobby projects?

(Our cats like to jump on the kitchen counter when we're not looking.  I'm thinking an automated vision detection system with a squirt gun mounted on a two-axis turret would cure that behavior in a hurry.)

[SamoraJ]

OK, I see where you're heading. No there are no special hardware limitations. You can replace the daughter card with your own, or just connect with dil headers and so on.

Good luck with your ground launched, vision guided anti-cat water jets.

/MArcus

[altenbach]

Marcus Johnson wrote:

I'm not at my desk, so I can't help you with the exact model, though I remember it being the lowest spec w/o the RMC, 9633

The greatest limitation IMO is the absence of the mezzanine connector. So the ev kit cannot be used to evaluate the design of custom mezzanine daughter boards.

According to my notes, it is a sbRIO-9636, quite a nice board. Look on page 4 here for a hardware feature comparison.

[SamoraJ]

Yup, it's a 9636

[Daklu]

Thank you both for the replies.  I went ahead and placed my order this morning.

[Jeff.St]

Hey Guys,

I just wanted to say that yes, you are correct, and yes, it is an sbRIO-9636.  However, removing the daughter card will void the warranty on the sbRIO.

Good luck with your application; Feel free to post the code when you are done!

Best,

Jeff S

[Manucla]

Hello,

I purchased one board for a control system design, Got it working from yesterday. Shall post the code soon !

The controller is a Power PC with Spartan -6 FPGA. Waiting for my Mezzanine mating connector from Arrow.

Regards,

Manu

C.L.A