I. Product Introduction (Core Positioning + Features) Basic Information

Model: PCI‑8330 (Copper Cable MXI‑3)

Part Number: 186943B‑01 / 186943B‑03

Type: PCI 32-bit → MXI‑3 High-Speed Serial Bus Interface Card

Purpose: PC Control PXI Enclosure, Multi-PXI Enclosure Cascading, Remote PCI Device Expansion

Status: EOL停产； Replacement： PXIe‑838x (PCIe MXI‑4)

Core Functions and Features

MXI‑3 High-Speed Interconnection (1.5 Gbps Serial)

Bandwidth： Peak 132 MB/s， Continuous > 91 MB/s

Latency： Low Latency， Hardware Transparent (No Driver Modification Required)

Topology: Star / Daisy Chain， Up to 255 Buses

Connection Distance (Copper Cable Version)

Copper Cable (HSSDC)： Maximum 10 m

Optical Fiber Version (PCI‑8331)： Maximum 200 m

PCI Bus (32-bit / 33 MHz)

Bus Master DMA， Fully Compatible with PCI 2.2

Size： Half-Length PCI Card (15.5 × 9.7 cm)

Interfaces and Indicators

Panel： 2 × HSSDC High-Speed Serial Ports (Copper Cable)

LED： Link (Link)， Act (Active)， Err (Error)

System Transparency (Critical)

Remote PXI/PCI Devices are Directly Displayed as Local Devices on the PC

Support： Windows 2000/XP/7， LabVIEW， NI‑DAQ

Typical Applications

ATE Automatic Test System： PC Controls Multiple PXI Enclosures (e.g.， 1 PC → 4 PXI Enclosures)

Distributed Measurement： Remote PCI Device Expansion (within 10 m)

Multi-Enclosure Synchronization： Trigger / Clock Sharing Between PXI Enclosures

Industrial Automation： Long-Distance， High-Reliability Equipment Interconnection

II. Instructions for Use (Hardware + Software + Basic Operations)

1. Hardware Installation (PCI Slot)

Shut down the system, disconnect the power, open the chassis.

Insert an empty 32-bit PCI slot (not PCIe, physically incompatible).

Tighten the retaining screws, close the chassis.

Connect the MXI-3 cable:

Use HSSDC copper cable (PCI-8330 ↔ PXI-8330)

Connector end: Any HSSDC port (master / slave auto-detection)

Chassis end: PXI chassis MXI-3 port (e.g. PXI-1042)

Power on, the system recognizes the new hardware.

2. Software Driver Installation (Windows Recommended)

Supported Systems

Windows 2000 / XP / 7 (32/64 bit)

Windows 10/11 (no official driver, compatibility mode unstable)

Installation Steps (Official)

Download / Insert NI-MXI-3 driver CD (old version library at ni.com).

Run the installation, check:

NI-MXI-3 Core Driver (core)

LabVIEW MXI-3 VIs (optional)

Reboot the computer after installation.

Device Manager Verification:

National Instruments → PCI-8330 / MXI-3 Controller (no exclamation mark)

Expand to see the remote PXI chassis and devices (e.g. PXI-6251)

3. Basic Usage (System Transparent Operation)

Hardware Connection: PC (PCI-8330) → HSSDC cable → PXI chassis (PXI-8330)

System Recognition: After powering on, all boards in the PXI chassis automatically appear in the PC device manager

Software Control:

Directly access PXI devices using LabVIEW / NI-DAQ (as if it were a local PCI card)

No additional programming required, the driver is completely transparent

Multi-Chassis Cascading:

Daisy Chain: PC → Chassis 1 → Chassis 2 → … → Chassis N

Star Type: PC multiple PCI-8330 → Each chassis independently connected

4. Common Problems and Precautions

PCI not PCIe: Only supports 32-bit PCI slots, PCIe incompatible

Driver must be installed as NI-MXI-3: The system's built-in driver cannot recognize MXI-3 devices

Cable Distance Limitation: ≤ 10 m; Use PCI-8331 (fiber optic, 200 m) for long distances

Power Supply and Cooling: PCI slot power supply (+5 V), the chassis needs good cooling

System Limitations: Windows 10/11 has no official driver, use PXIe-838x (PCIe) for new projects