Help with RS232 to USB

[Ingram]

First-time poster here - hello!

I  am using LabView 7.0 Express to read data from two intruments - an Ohaus balance (with an NI driver) and a Thermo pH/Conductivity meter (no driver).  Both have serial RS232 outputs, and I have no trouble communicating with the balance.  Since there is no driver that I know of yet written for the Thermo meter, I think I should use the Driver Wizard that is part of VISA.  However, one of the first options is whether the device is PCI or USB.  That makes me think that I need a RS232 to USB converter to even develop a driver with the wizard (I have little programming knowledge).   Is there an easier way to control the serial device perhaps without a driver?

Thanks - I look forward to contributing what I can to the NI community.

Ingram

[Dennis_Knutson]

You do not use the VISA driver wizard at all. The type of driver that creates is not at all applicable. With that, you can do low level read/writes to pci or usb devices. You are not trying to communicate to either. You are trying to communicate to a serial instrument. You just have to use the VISA Read and Write functions or the Instrument I/O Assistant. There are shipping examples for serial communication.