PC Without GPIB Port; Can It Control A Call Box Using GPIB-USB-HS Controller (Blue Head)?

[AudiophilePhil]

I have a PC that does not have GPIB port. It only has USB ports. Can I use a GPIB-USB-HS controller device to connect the PC to a call box with GPIB port?

Have you used a PC (without a GPIB port) to control a call box from its USB port using a National Instruments GPIB-USBB-HS controller? Is this possible?

What driver can I use to make it work?

Thanks,

AudiophilePhil

[Dennis_Knutson]

I have no idea what you mean by a "call box" but if it has a GPIB port, then you can control it with whatever GPIB controller you want to use. Whether it is USB/PCI/Ethernet/Serial is transparent. All use the same driver (NI-488.2 and NI-VISA) and they come with the device. You can of course, download the drivers by going to the 'Support' link above.

[AudiophilePhil]

Hi Dennis,

Here is the whole scenario.

I loaded Windows XP Mode successfully in a PC with Windows 7 using Virtual Windows.

So I have now a PC with Windows 7 hosting a guest PC with Virtual Windows XP on top of it.

That same PC has USB ports but it does not have GPIB port.

I connected a USB device in one of its USB ports and the PC was able to detect the device and I can tell by looking at the device manager (no error).

I want to connect the said PC to a GPIB-equipped instrument (for example, Spectrum Analyzer, Call Box, etc.).

Since the PC in question does not have a GPIB port, I am using a National Instruments GPIB-USB-HS controller (blue head).

I connected the USB end of the GPIB-USB-HS controller to the PC's USB port and then the GPIB side of it to a GPIB-equipped Agilent 8960 call box.

Do you think this would work?

I would like to run a sequence file (script) in the PC to control the Agilent 8960 call box through the connection I explained above.

Do you think a PC without a GPIB port can be used to control any GPIB-equipped instrument by using the National Instruments GPIB-USB-HS controller?

I am thinking of two software installations:

1) a National Instruments driver for the GPIB-USB-HS controller to work

2) NI Visa

Thanks So Much For Replying,

AudiophilePhil

[Dennis_Knutson]

A pc with a usb controller HAS a GPIB port. Simple as that and what I said in my first post.