DOES NI-488DDK support GPIB/TNT5004 chipset?

[GeorgeP]

We are currently updating our SGI servers and need to switch to the newer NI PCI GPIB/TNT5004 cards from the older PCI -GPIB+ Assy 183617C-01 cards with Chipset TNT 4882C-AQ.  We have two cards per server, and it appears that my kernel driver identifies both cards, but they both are assigned gpib0.  The HW_Layer files nitn_chw.c and nitn_chw.h TNT chip dependent files do not call out the TNT5004 specifically.  Are there new versions of these files available?  What are the differences between the 4882 and 5004 chipsets?  Is there specific information I can get on the 5004 chip?

Thanks,

George

[MXI Master]

George,
The 488DDK does support the GPIB/TNT5004, you should not have to make any changes in the hardware layer of the Driver. As for the addressing issue, I will look into using two GPIB cards with the DDK. But you should not need two GPIB cards with most applications. More details here would be helpful.

[GeorgeP]

We use two independent strings of equipment, each controlled by one GPIB controller.   We also had two TNT4882C controllers in the old server, and they were identified as gpib0 and gpib1 correctly. 

Thanks for the help,

George

[MXI Master]

George,

I found some information in a Knowledge Base article on how to use configure 2 GPIB boards in the DDK. Here is an except from the KB:

To change the address of the board from, for example, gpib0 to gpib1, you will need to modify the source code in ib.c. In the ib.c file, you will need to make sure you have certain parameters correct for the board(s) you are using.

1) You will need to change the TOTAL_PCI or TOTAL_AT constant. It's okay to have more listed than what is in your system, but if you have 2 PCI family boards, you need to make sure TOTAL_PCI is 2 or greater.

2) In the Default Board Configurations section, the confData table should change from HW_ATGPIB to HW_PCIGPIB for the interfaces that are PCI, not AT.

3) Under Hardware Installation Settings, the ibinfo table should have the correct PCI or AT settings. The default has gpib0 with AT settings, and gpib1, gpib2, and gpib3 with PCI settings to show both types.

4) Try the ibfind utility.

This should get you going, tell me if you still are having trouble with your new cards.

Cheers,