Introduction

Transferring SPI data with the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver is a common use case for the Aardvark Adapter. The Aardvark LabVIEW Driver supports Windows operating system and includes examples. The user can use the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver to control the Aardvark adapter, and to write a custom program to achieve his goals. This article focuses on how to install the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver, and run a few of the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver examples. Although the following describes transferring SPI between two Aardvark adapters, similar steps can be used for transferring SPI data between Aardvark adapter and another SPI device.

Overview

This article describes two Aardvark LabVIEW Driver examples: connect and spi.

• connect example - Indicates if the I2C/SPI/GPIO functions are available, and displays the port number, Aardvark handle, Serial Number, HW version, and FW version for the connected Aardvark adapters.
• spi example - Reads and writes SPI data between two Aardvark adapters. In this example, one Aardvark adapter is the SPI master and the other Aardvark adapter is the SPI slave.

Aardvark LabVIEW Driver Installation Guidelines

1. Download and run the latest version of the Total Phase USB Drivers Installer.
2. Download and install the latest version of Aardvark LabVIEW Driver following the README file in the driver package.
   1. Be sure to place the aardvark.dll into a directory that is listed in the system search path. The Windows system32 directory (on 32-bit Windows) is a good location for the aardvark.dll.
3. Connect the two Aardvark adapters to the PC via the USB connector.
4. Connect the two Aardvark adapters to each other via the I2C/SPI connector.
5. Install 32-bit LabVIEW for Windows from the LabVIEW website.
   1. Be sure to use 32-bit LabVIEW as the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver is currently only provided in a 32-bit package.
6. Launch Aardvark LabVIEW Driver by clicking on the icon …/aardvark-labview-v5.03/aardvark/aardvark.llb.
7. Run the original connect Aardvark LabVIEW Driver example as provided in the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver package.
   1. Go to the Aardvark Example Connect.vi window.
   2. Click Operate → Run.
   3. Verify that the computer detects the first Aardvark adapter, and that the Aardvark parameters are correct including: Aardvark Handle, Aardvark Port; Aardvark Serial Number String, Hardware Version String, and Firmware Version String.

      

8. Send SPI data between two Aardvark adapters with the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver SPI example.
   1. Go to the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver Example SPI.vi window.
   2. Click Operate → Run.
   3. Verify that the Aardvark parameters are correct including: Aardvark Handle 1, Aardvark Handle 2, Msg received by master, and Msg received by slave.

      

Notes

For additional information, take a look at the Aardvark adapter user manual, and Aardvrak LabVIEW package readme file.