Triggering With A Digital Source - National Instruments X Series User Manual

Triggering
A trigger is a signal that causes an action, such as starting or stopping the acquisition of data.
When you configure a trigger, you must decide how you want to produce the trigger and the
action you want the trigger to cause. All X Series devices support internal software triggering,
as well as external digital triggering. Some devices also support analog triggering. For
information about the different actions triggers can perform for each sub-system of the device,
refer to the following sections:
• The Analog Input Triggering
• The Analog Output Triggering
• The Counter Triggering
Note Not all X Series devices support analog triggering. For more information
about triggering compatibility, refer to the device specifications.

Triggering with a Digital Source

Your DAQ device can generate a trigger on a digital signal. You must specify a source and an
edge. The digital source can be any of the PFI, RTSI, or PXI_STAR signals.
The edge can be either the rising edge or falling edge of the digital signal. A rising edge is a
transition from a low logic level to a high logic level. A falling edge is a high-to-low transition.
Figure 11-1 shows a falling-edge trigger.
You can also program your DAQ device to perform an action in response to a trigger from a
digital source. The action can affect the following:
• Analog input acquisition
• Analog output generation
• Counter behavior
• Digital waveform acquisition and generation
section of Chapter 4,
section of Chapter 5,
section of Chapter 7,
Figure 11-1. Falling-Edge Trigger
5 V
Digital Trigger
Falling Edge Initiates Acquisition
Analog Input
Analog Output
Counters
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