Supported Signal Frequencies on PXI Chassis Trigger Lines

Updated Jul 28, 2023

Reported In

Hardware

  • PXI Chassis

Issue Details

What signal frequencies do the PXI Trigger and PXI Star Trigger lines on the back plane of a PXI Chassis support? 

Solution

  • ​PXI Trigger
    Transmitting signals over 20 MHz through the PXI Trigger is not recommended by NI. This parallel bus provides trigger lines that can be used to send triggers or signals between devices. Because the bus is a parallel bus, skew can be introduced by bus load and trace-length mismatch. 
     
  • PXI Star Trigger
    The PXI Star Trigger line is a dedicated single-ended transmission line. NI has validated that signals of up to 150 MHz will operate to the specifications detailed in the manual. Signals higher than 150 MHz may be placed on the Star Trigger, however the signal integrity may be degraded.

Additional Information

A diagram of the PXI Chassis back plane is shown below: