FAQ

Shield FAQs

What is the difference between Shield and DSA?
The Shield system is designed for production and laboratory automation tasks. It will typically be used to create standardized data sets under the direction of a machine or test cell sequencing system. DSA 2.9 is an NVH field analyzer. As such, it is used interactively by an operator to acquire data and produce a variety of standard computations such as spectra and order cuts.

What is a results file?
Results files are in National Instruments TDMS format and contain metrics, waveforms and meta data derived from signal processing applied to an individual time history (data) files. Results files can be produced by the Shield PC application, the NVH controller and the Trove batch processor. In each case, a configuration file defines the processing of a data file to produce a results file.

What kind of file formats does Shield support?
The Shield system’s built-in file conversion utility will export to .wav, .uff, .csv, .txt, .hdf and .mat file formats. The utility will import from all but .mat files.

Can I listen to my waveform?
The Shield PC application has the ability to play out through audio any of the dynamic channels in a currently opened data file.

Can I see my calibration history for a machine?
Yes, Shield has a built-in calibration utility that will place an NVH controller into a calibration mode. During calibration, the user will present a reference source to a sensor and live data is streamed to Shield from the NVH controller while a calibration is computed. The calibration factor and history of each physical channel is then retained on the NVH controller.

I have a month’s worth of data files to process with new or altered metrics. How can I process them all at once?
In a production environment there is often a need to process many files in a new way. There is a tremendous amount of value in the production database, and Signal.X Trove provides a great way to leverage that value to obtain valid answers to “what if” questions through its Batch Processing utility. There are many features to this process by which a user can generate reports on a recurring schedule as data is acquired and stored on the controller, view large sets of waveform results, tabulate the data for presentations, and more. You can learn more about this here.

DSA 2.9 FAQs

How do I get started?
DSA includes a quick-start guide as part of the user manual, accessible from the Help menu in DSA.

Can I install DSA on multiple computers?
DSA can be installed either as a single computer license, or with a dongle option. Read more about the dongle option here.

How do I do a sensor calibration?
While there is no automated calibration routine, the process consists of a few easy steps. Watch the support video here.

How can I display overlays of results from different data files?
You can utilize the feature exporter to create spectra and order extractions from multiple files that can be overlaid and exported to a text file.

What is the maximum number of dynamic channels I can use?
Currently, DSA 2.9 supports up to 32 dynamic channels. Please contact us at [email protected] if you have larger channel count needs.

What if I have an older version of DSA?
If you have a previous version of DSA (version 2.8), please contact us for information on a no-cost upgrade to DSA 2.9.

Can I use an old NI dynamic acquisition device (PXI-4472) with a new device (PXI-4492)?
The synchronization mechanisms between the older and newer devices are fundamentally different. Therefore you cannot combine the two device types in DSA. Please refer to the white paper here.

Scout FAQs

How do I download Scout?
Please click here to visit the National Instruments page where Scout TDMS Editor is available for free download.

Where can I read and post reviews about Scout?
Please visit the Scout TDMS Editor page on the National Instruments website to read and post reviews about Scout. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

What platforms are supported?
Currently, Scout is supported on Windows operating systems including XP SP3 and later (Windows 7/8/10). The 32-bit application works on 32-bit and 64-bit systems.

What file types are supported?
Scout TDMS File Viewer is designed to open and edit National Instruments TDMS files. More information about the TDMS file format can be found here. Once your data is open in Scout, you can export to a National Instruments DIAdem, Microsoft Excel, or comma-separated text file.

Software screenshot in logomark

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