How do I communicate with a FP-1601 module via .NET?

[scrissman]

I have a VI which talks with a FP-1601, telling it to send an analog output through one of the connected modules. The VI determines what values should be output based upon a text file, which is the output of another application, which is not a VI, and not developed using any NI equipment. This works, but there are issues with the text file being left open by users, etc., which make it a non-ideal solution.

We would like to stop using the VI to parse the file and communicate, and instead, modify the application to talk directly with the FP-1601. At first, I thought this would be a simple matter of using sockets in .NET and sending the proper commands to the 1601, but from what I've been able to find on the site, the ethernet protocol used to communicate with the 1601 is un-documented and private, so we will have to go through some other route to accomplish this.

I have a fair amount of experience coding in VB, and VB.net, and some small experience using LabView Express. I have no other experience in tying the two together, or using NI's other APIs, etc. Can someone direct me as to how to send the commands to the analog out module through the FP-1601 using an application developed in Visual Studio .NET?

Thanks for your help in this,

Spencer

[Otis]

Hi Spencer,

It sounds like you are running into a little trouble as to how to program your FieldPoint module thru vb.net.

I did a search for 'vb fieldpoint' and found this example program:

Multi-Channel Analog Input Using FieldPoint and VB.NET

This example demonstrates how to communicate with an 8 or 16 channel Analog Input FieldPoint module using DataSocket in Visual Basic .NET 2003. This example will connect to the National Instruments FieldPoint OPC server through DataSocket.

Instructions:
1) Make sure that the FieldPoint bank is set up in Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) and that you saved the current .iak file.

2) Click the "Select URL" button. This will open the DataSocket Select URL dialog box.

3) In the DataSocket Select URL dialog box, expand My Computer >> National Instrument.OPCFieldPoint. Listed here will be all of the FieldPoint banks configured in the current .iak file.

4) Expand the bank and module with which you would like to communicate. Then select the "All" channel to read in all channels. Click "OK".

5) Now click on "Read Data" to read in data from the selected FieldPoint Module.

When you click on "Read Data," the application will read continuously from the selected FieldPoint module until the "Stop Button" is clicked.

I hope this helps you out.

Regards,