Configure the Express VI:

Configure the Express VI by setting the Waveform, Frequency, and Output Voltage. The output voltage for all waveforms, except DC Output, has a range from 0 to 10 Volts, with an increment of 0.1 Volt. Selecting a sine wave waveform, with an output of 2 Volts, for example, would result in a wave that ranges from 2 to -2 Volts.

If you select DC Output as the waveform the output voltage has a range from -10 to 10 Volts, with an increment of 0.2 Volt. The LabQuest Function Generator does not allow for rapid updates of the DC Output. There is a time delay when you change the output voltage.

Test the Hardware:

When the Express VI is open, you can press the Run button to test your hardware before integrating the Express VI into the LabVIEW block diagram.

Placing the Express VI in LabVIEW:

After configuring the Express VI click on the OK button. Closing the Express popup will send you back to the Block Diagram of LabVIEW for developing your program.

All terminals that are visible on the Express VI can be updated as your LabVIEW program runs. If you do not wire a value into these terminals, the values that were set in the Express popup are used.

It is important to understand that if the Express VI shows an input terminal called “stop (F)” and an output terminal called “stopped”, this means that the Express VI should be placed within a loop, and that the Express VI should be terminated prior to terminating the loop.

To accomplish this, wire a Boolean control (such as a front panel stop button) into the stop (F) terminal and wire the stopped terminal output into the While Loops’ conditional terminal. Note that an easy way to create the Front Panel stop control is to right click on the stop (F) terminal and select Create>Control from the menu.