ADLINK PXI-3920/3910 Controller Installation and Configuration Guide

ADLINK PXI-3920/3910 System Controller Installation and Configuration Guide

In the field of automated testing and measurement, the PXI platform has become an ideal choice for building hybrid testing systems due to its modularity, high bandwidth, and durability. The PXI-3920 and PXI-3910 3U PXI system controllers launched by ADLINK are respectively equipped with Intel Pentium M 760 2.0 GHz and Celeron M 373 1.0 GHz processors, coupled with the 915GME chipset, providing powerful computing cores for PXI systems. These two controllers adopt a cable free mechanical structure, with the CPU and memory directly soldered to the PCB, significantly improving their anti vibration capabilities, and equipped with GPIB, dual gigabit Ethernet USB、 Configurable serial ports and other rich interfaces make it convenient to connect various traditional instruments and LXI devices. This article is based on the official technical manual, which systematically outlines the complete usage chain of the controller from hardware architecture, interface definition, jumper configuration, installation process, driver deployment to trigger/watchdog programming, helping engineers quickly complete system setup and maintenance.

Hardware architecture and core features

1. Processor and Memory

PXI-3920：Intel Pentium M 760， Main frequency 2.0 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 533 MHz front-end bus.

PXI-3910：Intel Celeron M 373， Main frequency 1.0 GHz, 512 KB L2 cache, 400 MHz front-end bus.

Both use Intel 915GME chipset (including graphics memory control center and ICH6-M southbridge), supporting dual channel DDR2 SDRAM (400/533 MHz) with a maximum total capacity of 1.5 GB. 512 MB of memory has been soldered onto the board, and a DDR2 SO-DIMM slot is provided for expansion. All CPU and memory chips are soldered onto the PCB, and are evenly cooled with aluminum copper composite heat sinks to ensure long-term stable operation in impact and vibration environments.

2. Storage interface

SATA Gen.1: Pre installed 2.5-inch 80 GB SATA hard drive (5400 RPM), supports hot swapping, and can also be replaced with a solid-state drive (SSD) to improve vibration resistance.

CompactFlash Type II slot (located on the first layer of the motherboard, below the hard drive): Supports ATA and PIO mode CF cards, can be used as a system disk to replace mechanical hard drives, and is suitable for high vibration environments.

3. Panel I/O interface

Display: DVI-I connector, supporting both digital (DVI) and analog (VGA) outputs, adapted through the included DVI-VGA adapter. Integrated Intel GMA 900 graphics accelerator, DVI supports up to 1600 × 1200, VGA supports up to 2048 × 1536.

Dual Gigabit Ethernet: Based on the Marvel 88E8053 controller (PCIe x1 interface), two RJ-45 ports support 10/100/1000M adaptive, with speed and link/activity LED indicators.

USB 2.0: Four Type-A interfaces, supporting high-speed/full speed/low-speed devices, can be used for external keyboards, mice, USB drives, external optical drives, etc.

GPIB: Onboard IEEE488 controller, using Micro D-Sub 25P connector (requires dedicated cable ACL-IEEE488-MD1), with a maximum transmission rate of 1.5 MB/s, can control up to 14 instruments, and provides driver API compatible with NI-488.2.

Serial port: Two DB-9 interfaces (COM1 and COM2), compatible with 16C550, supporting RS-232, RS-422, RS-485, and mode selection through onboard jumpers.

High fidelity audio: Realtek ALC260 chip, supports 24 bit, 192 kHz high-quality linear input and headphone/speaker output, with Line in and Speaker out ports provided on the panel.

PXI trigger I/O: an SMB coaxial connector used for routing external trigger signals to the PXI backplane trigger bus, supporting software and hardware triggers.

Reset button: Pinhole type hard reset button, used to force restart.

LED indicator lights: power (green), hard drive activity (yellow), watchdog timeout (red), system health (blue, flashing indicates fault).

4. Onboard connector (internal)

CompactFlash slot: located below the CPU module, specific pin definitions can be found in Figure 2-12 of the manual.

SATA port: Standard 7+15 pin combination interface, used to connect 2.5-inch SATA devices.

PXI J1 and J2 connectors: compliant with PXI specification version 2.2, providing 32-bit PCI bus, trigger bus, power supply, etc. J1 is the standard PCI signal, J2 includes trigger lines (PXI_TRIG0~7), system enable, etc.

Detailed explanation of jumper settings

The controller is equipped with multiple jumpers for configuring COM mode, clearing CMOS, etc.

1. CMOS Clear (JP9)

When the system cannot start due to BIOS settings errors, you can short-circuit pins 2-3 of JP9 (Figure 2-17) to clear the CMOS and restore the default settings. After completion, the jumper must be restored to pins 1-2 (normal mode).

2. COM1/COM2 mode selection (JP1~JP6)

Two serial ports can be set to RS-232, RS-422, or RS-485 through jumper wires. Each group of ports uses 6 jumpers (JP1~JP6), with the specific combination as follows (taking COM1 as an example, COM2 is the same):

Mode JP1 JP2 JP3 JP4 JP5 JP6

RS-232 (default) 5-6 3-5, 4-6 3-5, 4-6 (unused) --

RS-422 3-4 1-3,2-4 1-3,2-4 3-5,4-6 - -

RS-485 1-2 1-3,2-4 1-3,2-4 3-5,4-6 - -

(Please refer to Figure 2-18 in the manual for specific pin numbers. The actual jumper combination is quite complex, so it is necessary to follow the instructions in the table.)

Installation and Hardware Replacement Guide

1. Compatible with chassis

PXI-3920/3910 supports the following chassis:

ADLINK: PXIS-2506, 2508, 2558T-B (requires special BIOS settings), 2630, 2670, 2700

Any National Instruments PXI chassis

It is strictly prohibited to install in the following chassis: PXIS-2556/2556T, 2558T-A, 2650/2650T, 2680P, 2690P.

2. Installation steps

Turn off and disconnect the power, and wear an anti-static wristband.

Position the system slot (Slot 1), align the upper and lower edges of the controller with the guide rail, and smoothly slide it in.

Push in and lock the pop-up/injection handle to ensure a secure connection with the backplate.

Tighten the panel screws and connect peripheral devices (keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc.).

3. Replace SATA hard drive

The hard drive is located on the back of the module. Remove the four fixing screws and carefully pull them out (be careful not to bend the board to board connectors). After replacing with an SSD or other compatible 2.5-inch SATA hard drive, reverse the operation.

4. Install CompactFlash card

The CF slot is located under the hard drive, and the hard drive needs to be removed first. Insert the CF card into the socket in the correct direction and press it into place, which can be used as a system disk or data disk. Priority can be set in BIOS to boot from CF (see next section).

BIOS configuration and boot device settings

1. BIOS entry

Press the Del key to enter Phoenix Ward BIOS settings during startup.

2. Priority of device startup

Default boot from SATA hard drive. Can be modified as needed:

Starting from SATA HDD: Advanced BIOS Features → First Boot Device → Hard Disk, then set Ch2 M. (i.e. SATA) to the first position in Hard Disk Boot Priority.

Starting from the onboard CF card: Similarly, select Hard Disk for First Boot Device, and set Ch0 M. (CF card) to the first position in Hard Disk Boot Priority.

Starting from USB CD-ROM: Select USB-CROM for First Boot Device.

Starting from USB flash memory or external hard drive: Select Hard Disk for First Boot Device and set USB-HDD0 (or corresponding model) to the first position in Hard Disk Boot Priority.

Starting from USB floppy drive: Select USB-FLOPPY for First Boot Device.

3. Cooperate with PXI-2558T-B chassis

The chassis is equipped with an 8.4-inch LCD touch screen and requires LVDS output to be enabled in the BIOS

Enter Advanced Chipset Features

Set Boot Display to CRT+LVDS

Set the Panel Resolution to 800 x 600

After saving and exiting, the LCD will display normally.

Driver installation process

After installing Windows 2000/XP/Vista, the following drivers need to be installed one by one (all located in the Driver Installation PXI Platform PXI controller PXI-3910_20 directory on the accompanying CD):

1. Chipset driver

Path: Shipset 2000_XP_Vista , execute Setup. exe. This driver enables the operating system to correctly recognize 915GME chipset, PCIe, SATA, USB, etc.

2. Graphics card driver (VGA)

Path: VGA 2000_XP , execute Setup. exe. If using the PXIS-2558T-B chassis, it is necessary to set the graphics card driver to "dual display" mode (extended desktop or clone) to simultaneously drive the LCD and external display.

3. Ethernet driver

Path: Ethernet 2000 (Win2000) or Ethernet XP (WinXP). Two Marvel network cards need to be installed separately. When an unknown network controller appears in the device manager, right-click to update the driver and manually specify the path.

4. Audio driver

Win2000/XP: First install the UAA (Universal Audio Architecture) patch (KB888111), which is located in the corresponding version of Audio UAA, and then execute Audio 2000_XP Setup. exe.

WinVista: Directly execute Audio Vista Setup. exe.

5. GPIB driver

Path: GPIB 2000_XP_Vista , execute Setup. exe. Provide NI-488.2 compatible libraries and utilities after installation.

6. PXI Trigger I/O

Path: PI_Trigger 2000_XP_Vista , after installation, the trigger signal can be programmed through API routing (see Appendix A for details).

7. Watchdog Drive (WDT)

Path: WDT 2000_XP_Vista . After installation, the watchdog timer function can be used (see Appendix B for details).

PXI triggers programming interface

The routing of trigger signals can be flexibly controlled through the functions in pitrigio. h.

TRIG_Init(): Initialization triggers the I/O function, which must be called first.

TRIG_Close(): Release resources and call before exiting the program.

TRIG_SETSoftTrg (status): Generate software trigger signal, status=0 low level, 1 high level.

TRIG_Trigger_Soute (source, dest, halfway): Set the routing path. Source options include SMB (panel), SOFT (software), TRIG0~7 (backplane trigger line); Dest can choose SMB or TRIG0~7; Halfway is only used when source=SOFT and dest=SMB, and a trigger line must be specified as a relay. Otherwise, it is set as PXI_TRIG_VALんE.

TRIG_Trigger_Clear(): Clears all routing settings.

For example, routing the backplane trigger line 3 to the panel SMB：TRIG_Trigger_Route(PXI_TRIG_VAL_TRIG3, PXI_TRIG_VAL_SMB, PXI_TRIG_VAL_NONE);

Watch dog timer programming

The WDT driver provides the following functions (header file WDT. h):

InitWDT(): Initialize WDT.

SetWDT (second): Set timeout value. If second ≤ 255, the unit is seconds; If>255, the unit is minutes (actual value is second/60+1 minute).

StartWDT(): Start the countdown.

ResetWDT(): Reset the timer to its initial value and call it periodically before timeout.

StopWDT(): Stop the timer.

Typical process: InitWDT → SetWDT (10) → StartWDT, then execute ResetWDT in a loop. If the program freezes, the system will reset after 10 seconds.

Environmental reliability and maintenance tips

Working temperature: 0 ℃~55 ℃, it is necessary to ensure that the chassis has sufficient air cooling.

Non working vibration: 2.46 Grms (5~500Hz), working vibration: 0.5 Grms (with HDD), up to 6 Grms if using a solid-state drive.

Impact: 30G, half sine 11ms.

Due to CPU/memory soldering, it cannot be replaced by oneself. If you need to upgrade the memory, you can only expand it through the SO-DIMM slot.

If the system cannot start, you can try clearing CMOS (JP9) or check the priority setting of the startup device.

Common problems and troubleshooting

Problem Solution

Check if the DVI-I-VGA connector is secure when there is no display when powered on; If using LVDS output (such as 2558T-B), confirm that the Boot Display in BIOS is set to CRT+LVDS

Invalid USB keyboard/mouse. Use the included USB to PS/2 adapter cable or check if USB Keyboard Support is enabled in the BIOS

Unable to recognize hard drive, check SATA cable connection; Check if the hard drive is detected in BIOS; Try replacing the data cable or hard drive

CF card cannot be started. Confirm that the CF card is the boot medium and the format is correct; Check if the Hard Disk Boot Priority in BIOS is set to Ch0 M

GPIB devices are unable to communicate and install GPIB drivers; Check cable connections; Test basic communication using ADLINK GPIB Utility

Trigger signal without output, call TRIG_Trigger_Soute to set the correct route; Check SMB cable and terminal matching

System restart without reason to check if the watchdog unexpectedly starts (red LED lights up); If WDT is not used, ensure that the driver has been uninstalled or not activated

Not compatible with specific chassis, refer to the compatibility list; Confirm the signal definitions of P3/P5 on the backplane before installation, and avoid using non supported chassis (such as 2556T, etc.)