Reconfigurable IF Transceiver Eases RF Test, Prototyping

The NI PXIe-5641R RIO IF transceiver is a dual-input, dual-output module that combines an IF transceiver with reconfigurable IO (RIO) capability using a Xilinx Virtex-5 SX95T FPGA and PXI Express technology. The module lets engineers take advantage of the LabVIEW FPGA Module and the performance of PXI Express in applications such as rf test, solftware-defined radio, signal intelligence, and communication system design. The device has two 14-bit, 100-Msample/s analog-to-digital converters with built-in 20-MHz-bandwidth digital downconverters, and two 14-bit, 200-Msample/s digital-to-analog converters with built-in 20-MHz-bandwidth digital upconverters. With these rf upconverters and downconverters, the NI PXIe-5641R can support frequencies up to 2.7 GHz, making the module well-suited for spectral monitoring and signal intelligence as well as real-time rf test. Designers can incorporate customized, real-time rf stimulus and response into their test, measurement, and communication systems through user-programmable FPGAs on RIO hardware. The test hardware then becomes protocol-aware, dynamically changing measurements and stimuli based on the response of the device under test. The NI PXIe-5641R starts at $7499. NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS, Austin, TX. (512) 683-5090.