Signals, Spectra and Signal Processing

Name:__________________________________
Rating:__________________________
Date
Performed:
_________________________
Date
Submitted:
__________________

Signals,
Spectra
and
Signal
Processing

GETTING
FAMILIAR
WITH
LABVIEW
(PART
II)

Activity
No.
2

I.
INTENDED
LEARNING
OUTCOMES
1.
Use
the
debugging
tools
of
LabVIEW.
2.
Build
a
VI
that
demonstrates
the
generation
of
sine
wave
and
its
amplitude-scaled
version
using
Express
VIs
and
regular
VIs
and
compare
the
advantages
and
disadvantages
of
each.
3.
Use
the
graphing
tool
of
LabVIEW
to
display
graphs
and
charts.
II.
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
In
the
first
activity,
the
basic
environment
of
LabVIEW
has
been
explored.
In
this
activity,
other
features
of
LabVIEW
such
as
the
debugging
tools
and
Express
VIs
are
used.
If
a
VI
does
not
run,
it
is
either
broken
or
non-executable.
In
the
first
activity,
recall
that
there
is
an
error
in
the
program
when
the
Run
arrow
is
broken.
Warnings
do
not
prevent
you
from
running
a
VI
as
they
are
designed
to
help
you
avoid
potential
problems
in
VIs.
Errors,
however,
can
break
a
VI.
You
must
resolve
any
errors
before
you
can
run
the
VI.
Some
common
causes
of
broken
VIs
are:

the
block
diagram
contains
a
broken
wire
because
of
a
mismatch
of
data
types
or
a
loose
unconnected
end;

a
required
block
diagram
terminal
is
unwired;
or

a
subVI
is
broken
or
you
edited
its
connector
pane
after
you
placed
its
icon
on
the
block
diagram
of
VI.
In
some
cases,
a
VI
is
not
broken
but
you
get
an
unexpected
data.
You
can
use
various
techniques
to
identify
and
correct
problems
with
VI
or
the
block
diagram
data
flow.
You
can
wire
the
error-in
and
error-out
parameters
at
the
bottom
of
most
built-in
VIs
and
functions.
These
parameters
detect
errors
encountered
in
each
node
on
the
block
diagram
and
indicate
if
and
where
an
error
occurred.

Express
VIs
denote
higher-level
VIs
that
have
been
configured
to
incorporate
lower-level
VIs
or
functions.
These
VIs
are
displayed
as
expandable
nodes
with
a
blue
background.
Placing
an
Express
VI
in
a
BD
brings
up
a
configuration
dialog
window
allowing
adjustments
of
its
parameters.
As
a
result,
Express
VIs
demand
less
wiring.
A
configuration
window
can
be
brought
up
by
double-clicking
on
its
Express
VI.

Activity No. 2 Getting Familiar with LabVIEW (Part II)

Page 1
Signals, Spectra and Signal Processing

III.
LEARNING
ACTIVITIES
Activity
2.1

Debugging
Tools

1.
Obtain
the
folder
act02-01_error.
This
folder
contains
the
VIs
for
this
part
of
the
activity.
Inside
this
folder,
open
act02-01_main.vi
by
double-clicking
on
the
file.
The
FP
appears.
Notice
that
this
VI
is
non-
executable
because
the
Run
button
is
broken.
2.
Press
Ctrl+E
to
make
the
BD
of
the
VI
appear.
Notice
that
there
is
a
subVI
called
act02-01_sub.vi.
Double-click
the
subVI
and
the
FP
of
this
subVI
appears.
Question:
What
are
the
terminal
icons
and
nodes
that
can
be
seen
in
act02-01_main.vi?
Discuss
the
function
of
each.

Question:
What
are
the
terminal
icons
and
nodes
that
can
be
seen
in
act02-01_sub.vi?
Discuss
the
function
of
each.

Question:
Based
on
the
BDs
of
the
VIs,
describe
the
functionality
of
this
program.

Activity No. 2 Getting Familiar with LabVIEW (Part II) Page 2

Signals, Spectra and Signal Processing

3.
Press
the
broken
Run
button
in
the
act02-01_main.vi
FP
or
BD.
The
Error
List
window
appears.
Question:
List
all
the
errors
as
seen on the
Error
List
window.
Discuss
the
details
of
each.

4.
Perform
the
necessary
steps
to
correct
the
errors
and
make
the
VI
executable.
Question:
What
should be
done
to correct
the
errors? Detail
your
step-by-step solution in
correcting the
errors
of
the
VI.

5.
When
the
VI
is
executable,
click
the
Highlight
Execution
button
in
the
toolbar
of
BD
(
)
to
start

animating
the
flow
of
data
in
the
VI.
The
Start
Single
Stepping
button
(

)
causes
the
execution
of
the

VI
step-by-step.
Continue
pressing
this
icon
until
the
data
enters
the
subVI,
in
which
the
same
button
in
that
subVIs
window
can
be
pressed.
The
execution
is
finished
when
a
blinking
border
covers
the
entire
BD,
in

which
the
Finish the

button
(
)
must
be
pressed
to
end
the
execution
of
VI.

Note:
When
the
data
enters
a
node,
it
is
automatically
reflected
in
the
FP.
To
make
the
VI
run
in
its
normal
speed,
click
on
Do not
Highlight
Execution
button
after
using
this
tool.

Question:
How
can the
Highlight
Execution feature
help
in
debugging VIs?

Activity No. 2 Getting Familiar with LabVIEW (Part II) Page 3

Signals, Spectra and Signal Processing

6.
Click
on
View
>
Tools
Palette
and
the
Tools
Palette
window
appears.
Here,
various
tools
in
debugging
and
interpreting
the
BD
can
be
seen.
Click
on
the
Probe
Data
icon
(
)
to
place
probes
on
wires.
The

Probe
Watch Window
appears.
When
the
VI
is
run,
data
that
passes
through
this
probe
is
displayed
in
this

window.
You
can
add
text
in
the
BD
by
using
the
Edit
text
tool
(
)
to
add
comments
and
describe
the
functionalities
of
certain
parts
of
the
BD.
The
Breakpoint
tool
(
)
can
be
placed
on
wires
to
pause
the

execution
of
VI
when
it
encounters
the
breakpoint.
Click
the
Continue
button
to
resume
the
operation
of
VI.
Click
the
Breakpoint
icon
again
to
remove
the
placed
breakpoints
and
to
stop
placing
breakpoints.

Question:
What
is
the
difference
between the
Probe
Data
and the
Breakpoint
tools
of
LabVIEW?

Activity
2.2

Building
a
System
VI
with
Express
VIs

1.
Create
the
VI
act02-02.vi.
Build
the
following
BD
and
FP.

In
the
BD,
insert
Simulate
Signal
Express
VI
(Functions
Palette
>
Express
>
Signal
Analysis
>
Simulate
Signal).
The
Configure
Simulate
Signal
window
appears.

In
this
window,
set
the
Frequency
(Hz)
to
200,
Amplitude
to
100,
Samples
per
second (Hz)
to
8000,
uncheck
the
Automatic
checkbox
under
the
Number
of
Samples
category
and
set
it
to
128.
This
generates
a
signal
whose
amplitude
is
between
100
to
-100,
frequency
of
200
Hz.
The
timing
Activity No. 2 Getting Familiar with LabVIEW (Part II)
Page 4
Signals, Spectra and Signal Processing

information
enables
one
to
see
clearly
the
signal
by
setting
the
sampling
rate
(Samples
per
second)
and
the
number
of
samples
correctly.
Click
OK.

Place
a
Scaling
and
Mapping
Express
VI
(Functions
Palette
>
Express
>
Arithmetic
&
Comparison
>
Scale
and
Map).
The
Configure
Scaling
and
Mapping
window
appears.

In
this
configuration
window,
choose
Linear
and
set
the
Slope
(m)
to
5.
This
will
scale
the
amplitude
(or
amplify)
the
input
5
times.
Click
OK.

Wire
the
Sine
output
of
the
Simulate
Signal
Express
VI
to
the
Signal
input
of
the
Scaling
and
Mapping
Express
VI.
Note:
The
wire
used
for
connecting
the
Express
VI
together
is
for
a
dynamic
data
type,
that
is,
it
carries
dynamic
data
or
data
that
change
over
time.

Switch
to
FP.
Insert
a
Waveform
Graph
(Controls
Palette
>
Express
>
Graph
Indicator
>
Waveform
Graph).
Right-click
on
the
Waveform
Graph,
choose
X
Scale
and
uncheck
the
Loose
Fit
option
and
Ignore
Time
Stamp.

Right-click
on
the
Waveform
Graph
then
choose
Properties.
On
the
Display
Format
tab,
under
the
Default
Editing
Mode,
set
the
Time
(X-Axis)
axis
data
Type
to
Floating
point.
Then
choose
Digits
of
Precision
as
the
Precision
Type.
Set
the
Digits
to
2.

Switch
back
to
BD.
The
terminal
icon
for
the
Waveform
Graph
should
have
appeared.
Connect
the
outputs
of
the
Scaling
and
Mapping
and
Simulate
Signal
Express
VIs
to
the
Waveform
Graph.
On
the
process,
the
Merge
Signals
node
appears
automatically.

Enclose
the
diagram
with
a
While-Loop
structure
to
make
the
program
run
continuously.
2.
Save
and
run
the
VI.
Question:
Describe
the
functionality
of
the
VI.

Question:
If
the
Loose
Fit
option
of
the
X-Scale
of
the
Waveform
Graph
is
enabled,
what
happens
to
the
plot?

Activity No. 2 Getting Familiar with LabVIEW (Part II)

Page 5
Signals, Spectra and Signal Processing

Question:
The
reading in the
Waveform
Graph runs
too fast.
What
can be
done
about
this?

Question:
How
does
the
Sampling
Frequency
and the
Number
of
Samples
parameters
of
the
Express
VI
affect
the
VI? Adjust
the
values
and observe.

Activity
2.3

Building
a
System
with
Regular
VIs

1.
Create
a
blank
VI
named
act02-03.vi.
Build
the
BD
and
FP
as
shown.
Note:
To
aid
in
configuring
this
VI,
open
the
Context
Help
for
this
VI.
Click
Help and
select
Show
Context
Help
(or
press
Ctrl+H).
The
Context
Help
window
appears.
The
terminals
for
selected
VIs
will
be
shown

Activity No. 2 Getting Familiar with LabVIEW (Part II) Page 6

Signals, Spectra and Signal Processing

here.
Click
on
the
Basic
Function
Generator
VI
to
show
context
help
for
that
VI.
A
more
detailed
help
is
provided
when
the
Detailed
Help
link
at
the
bottom
is
clicked.

Insert
a
Basic
Function
Generator
VI
(Functions
Palette
>
Programming
>
Waveform
>
Analog
Waveform
>
Waveform
Generation
>
Basic
FuncGen).
The
parameters
of
this
function
generator
will
be
configured
using
constants
and
controls.

Right-click
on
the
Signal
Type
terminal
and
choose
Create
>
Constant.
An
Enum
(enumerated)
type
constant
appears,
the
default
being
Sine
Wave.
Note:
An
Enum
data
type
is
one
in
which
a
string
value
is
associated
with
a
numeric
value,
from
zero
to
n

1,
n
being
the
number
of
choices.The
Enum
constant
for
the
Signal
Type
input
includes
Sine
Wave
(value
is
0,
the
default
value),
Triangle
Wave
(value
is
1),
Square
Wave
(value
is
2)
and
Sawtooth
Wave
(value
is
3).

Right-click
on
the
Frequency
terminal
and
create
a
constant
whose
value
is
200
(the
default
unit
of
this
terminal
is
hertz).
Right-click
on
the
Amplitude
terminal
and
create
a
constant
whose
value
is
100.
Right-click
on
the
Sampling
Info
terminal
and
create
a
constant
in
this
terminal.
There
are
two
constants
to
be
defined.
Put
8000
in
the
Sampling
Rate
(Fs)
and
128
in
the
Number
of
Samples
(#s).
Note:
These
are
the
values
we
have
set
in
the
previous
activity.

Insert
a
Multiply
function.
Wire
the
Signal
Out
of
the
Basic
Function
Generator
VI
to
one
of
the
inputs
of
the
Multiply
function,
while
on
the
other
one,
create
a
constant
with
a
value
of
5.

Insert
a
Build
Array
(Functions
Palette
>
Programming
>
Array
>
Build
Array)
node.
Drag
down
another
element
of
the
node
so
that
two
arrays
can
be
appended.
Wire
the
output
of
the
Basic
Function
Generator
VI
on
the
first
input
terminal
and
the
output
of
the
Multiply
node
on
the
second
input
terminal.

Switch
to
FP.
Insert
a
Waveform
Graph.
Right-click
on
the
graph
and
disable
the
Loose
Fit
option
in
the
X
Scale
and
the
Autoscale
Y
in
the
Y
Scale
options
of
the
graph.
Change
the
limits
of
the
y-
axis
of
the
graph
by
clicking
on
the
maximum
and
minimum
values
and
changing
it
to
600
and
-600
respectively.

Right-click
on
the
Waveform
Graph
then
choose
Properties.
On
the
Display
Format
tab,
under
the
Default
Editing
Mode,
set
the
Time
(X-Axis)
axis
data
Type
to
Floating
point.
Then
choose
Digits
of
Precision
as
the
Precision
Type.
Set
the
Digits
to
2.

Switch
back
to
BD.
Enclose
the
entire
VI
inside
a
While-Loop
structure.
Insert
a
Wait
(ms)
(Functions
Palette
>
Programming
>
Timing
>
Wait
(ms)).
Right-click
on
the
milliseconds
to
wait
terminal
of
the
Wait
(ms)
node
and
enter
200.
This
will
delay
the
execution
of
the
While-Loop
by
200
ms
per
iteration.
Activity No. 2 Getting Familiar with LabVIEW (Part II)
Page 7
Signals, Spectra and Signal Processing

2.
Save
and
run
the
VI.
Question:
Describe
the
functionality
of
the
VI.
Compare
it
with
the
VI
in
the
previous
activity.

Question:
Which
one
(act02-02.vi
or
act02-03.vi)
is
easier
to
build?
Why?

Question:
What
does
the
Build
Array
function
do?

IV.
CONCLUSIONS
Activity No. 2 Getting Familiar with LabVIEW (Part II) Page 8
Signals, Spectra and Signal Processing

V.
MACHINE
PROBLEM
1.
Modify
act02-02.vi
to
make
it
interactive,
that
is,
the
frequency
of
the
input
signal,
and
the
gain
of
the
amplifier
can
be
changed
by
the
user.
Refer
to
the
FP
below
as
an
example.
Design
a
more
appealing
and
functional
FP.
Name
the
VI
as
macpro02-01.vi.
2.
Modify
act02-03.vi
to
make
it
interactive.
The
frequency,
gain
and
the
signal
type
of
the
input
signal
must
be
user-defined.
Refer
to
the
FP
below
as
an
example.
Design
a
more
appealing
and
functional
FP.
Name
the
VI
for
this
case
study
as
macpro02-02.vi.
VI.
REFERENCE
Kehtarnavaz,
N.
&
Kim,
N.
(2005).
Digital
Signal
Processing
System-Level
Design
Using
LabVIEW.
Oxford,
United
Kingdom:
Elsevier,
Inc.

Activity No. 2 Getting Familiar with LabVIEW (Part II) Page 9