The Labview Chroma ATE 61504 drivers are unable to communicate with the hardware

[thechiman]

Hi, I am trying to use the drivers for the Chroma ATE 61504 AC source. I am having trouble communicating with the hardware. The 61504 is connected to the Labview computer via a GPIB connection. The Labview PC is running Windows XP.

Initially I was testing the 61504 via the softpanel software. The GPIB is set to channel 30. I then attempted to use the drivers in a Labview VI. The drivers would not communicate with the AC source. I tried setting an AC voltage with no response.

I then went back to the softpanel and could not connect. I set the GPIB address to 20 and matched that on the 61504. This worked. I was able to communicate with the hardware again. I then attempted to run the VI with the GPIB address set to 20 in the Labview VI. It did not work like before.

The softpanel was now unable to communicate on the GPIB address 20. I set the address to various other numbers and matched them on the hardware. No address worked.

I am missing something. Does the Labview software tie up the GPIB addresses? I have tried the usual trouble shooting methods such as restarting the PC, turning off/on the 61504. I am at a loss. Please help! Thanks.

Eric 

[thechiman]

To elaborate on my post:

I am running Labview 8.5.1 on Windows XP SP3.

When I have the Chroma 61504 turned on and set to GPIB Channel 30, I open up Labview and run a test VI that runs the Initialization sub-VI. The error out on that sub-VI is the 1073807195 error.

I then open up the NI Visa Interactive Control utility, double click on the connection representing the Chroma, which takes me to the VISA test panel. There I try entering several commands:

*IDN? will give me a response only sometimes. When I do get a response it looks like this: Chroma ATE, 61504, 000362

*RST will give me a response that looks like: 362,1.25,1.31,1.20\r\n

I then tried *TST? and got an error in the text box in the lower right hand corner: xBFFF0015

I then tried *IDN? several times and only occasionally I would get a response.

I can't get the Chroma to respond to any of the other commands in the manual such as VOLT:AC to set the AC voltage. It seems very inconsistent whether or not the Chroma will respond to the commands I send. Does anyone here have experience with this particular AC source?

Eric 

[Dennis_Knutson]

Have you done anything regarding the -1073807195 error? Is the GPIB controller in fact configured? Is this an NI controller or not?

The *RST command is not supposed to return anything so I don't know how you could get that data unless you have not emptied the buffer from a previous query.

[thechiman]

I will look up how to configure the GPIB. I've never used GPIB before. The controller is an NI PXI 8106 embedded controller.

[thechiman]

I do not quite understand what you mean by "configuring the GPIB". I have confirmed that the PCI(PXI?)-GPIB controller board is installed. The drivers are version 2.5.2.1 (3/1/2007). XP says that the GPIB board is operating correctly.

When I run the NI-488.2 Troubleshooting Utility, it gives a PASS for both the "Software (NI-488.2)" and the GPIB29(PCI-GPIB) tests.

When I tried to open the GPIB Analyzer, I got the following error:

"MISSING CARD ERROR : Supported GPIB+ interface not found. Supported GPIB+ interfaces include PCI-GPIB+ and PCMCIA-GPIB+. Capture and Bus Monitor features will be disabled. However, you can still use the Analyzer application..."

I don't understand. The GPIB interface is built into the PXI-8106. How do I reinstall the interface? 

[thechiman]

Update: I uninstalled the PCI-GPIB drivers using the Device Manager and restarted my system in hopes of reinstalling them to see if that would fix my connection problem. I did that and went back to DM to reinstall the drivers. DM could not find the appropriate drivers. While it was searching for the drivers, I opened up VISA Interactive Control Utility. I sent the *IDN? command and it responded with the full "Chroma ATE 61504, 000362, 1.25, 1.31, 1.20 \r\n" response. I then sent "VOLT:AC 120" and it set the AC source to 120 Volts AC!! Where this message was not working before it is now for some reason.

The attempt to reinstall the drivers failed because XP couldn't find the appropriate drivers, however it seems like they were never uninstalled in the first place. This is very confusing.

I tried the Soft Panel and that still does not work. I tried the Labview sub-VIs and they still give me the -1073807195 error.

I am at a complete loss for what to do next. Please help. Thank you.

Eric 

[Dennis_Knutson]

You've done the configuration by passing the tests.

There does not seem to any need to reinstall anything. You don't have a '+' version of a GPIB controller so the analyzer option is supposed to return that message.

Since the controller seems to be okay, right click on the controller in MAX and select 'Scan for Instruments'. The instrument should get listed. If it is, right click on the instrument and select 'Communicate with instrument'. In the query window, the default text should be *IDN?. Run that several times and make sure you get the correct information each time. This is a little different than the VISA interactive utility. You should be getting response each and every time with no errors. If you don't get a response or get an error, then first try a different GPIB cable. If that does not fix the issue, try communicating to a different instrument (and make sure the Chroma is not connected). If you have no problems with a different instrument, I would suspect that soemthing might be wrong with the GPIB interface of the Chroma.

[thechiman]

I have performed the tasks you set in the last post: Opened MAX, scanned for instruments, and communicated with the Chroma. The *IDN? query gave no errors no matter how many times I clicked on Query. It consistently return the string "Chroma ATE, 61504...".

So this tells me, I'm assuming, that the connection with the Chroma over the GPIB interface is working. However, when I open the Softpanel: "Chroma615_616xx Soft Panel.vi" it gives me a Connection Error. I try setting the GPIB address to something other than 30 but that still does not work.

In addition, when I try using the Chroma Labview drivers, I still get the -1073807195 error from the Initialize sub-VI.

Where do I go from here?

Eric 

[Dennis_Knutson]

I just noticed that these are IVI drivers. Do you have the IVI Compliance Package installed and what version?

[thechiman]

I believe I have the IVI Compliance Package installed as there are IVI help files in a folder in my NI folder under All Programs in XP. The HTML file "IVI Compliance Package Readme" refers to IVI 3.2; how do I confirm that I have IVI installed?