Frequently Asked Questions
about the SPEXI board
Hardware
Q: Is the SPEXI board obsolete and should I not use it?
A:
You likely got the impression that the SPEXI is obsolete because of the
following status line on the wiki page:
| 02-12-2016 | PCIe bridge component (Gennum GN4124) obsolete and not
available anymore. A new card should be designed. |
Actually in the meantime a new batch of these ICs have been produced and
for example INCAA, the commercial producer of the card has purchased a
stock of them. Semtech (the producer of the GN4124) still has devices
from this newer production for a higher price than before.
So dependent on how many SPEXI cards you would need, there are no
problems at all to buy and use them now.
In the long term (say three years) we would need a new version of the SPEXI with this IC replaced by something else. That's why the Status mentions that a new card should be designed. Until then, the SPEXI is perfectly fine. (30/3/17)
Software
Q: Where can I find a simple demo project for LabVIEW for an fmc-dio-5chttla on a SPEXI?
A: There is no LabVIEW driver for digital I/O card fmc-dio-5chttla is not supported on the SPEXI. Only drivers for the TDC and Fine Delay card are supported. You can find these on the page SPEXI software. You possibly can order from the company who sold you the SPEXI board to write LabVIEW drivers for other cards.
Erik van der Bij - 16 November 2018