Instrument Control (GPIB, Serial, VISA, IVI)

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

What is the default hex address for PCI GPIB controller cards?

That's it.
0 Kudos
Message 1 of 5
(3,789 Views)
Why do you need to know the address for the PCI-GPIB board?

There is no default hex address for any PCI board. Due to the plug-and-play nature of PCI, each card is given a base address by either the BIOS or the Operating System. However, if your system does not change, your hardware should be give the same address on subsequent reboots. Hoever, adding a new card or changing the slot of the card can often change the address that the board is assigned.

Also note that the PCI-GPIB board has two base addresses, pBAR0 and pBAR1.

If you are in Windows, you can determine the address of the PCI-GPIB board by looking in the device manager.

If you are using a different operating system, it likely provides a way to ascertain this information. For example, V
xWorks has a method pciDeviceShow to obtain the device number. You can pass the device number to pciHeaderShow to obtain the different base addresses.
0 Kudos
Message 2 of 5
(3,789 Views)
What it boils down to is that we have some old "Relay Test" software for a Keithley 707 Switching Matrix. The program supposedly requires a CEC board, as that was what Keithley sold back then. It asks for the hex address of the CEC board. This is just an attempt to see if the software will work with an NI board without any modifications.

Of course, this software was created well before the advent of PnP devices. It originally came on a 5.25" floppy and Keithley representative himself referred to the program as "esoteric".

Thanks for the help though.
0 Kudos
Message 3 of 5
(3,789 Views)
Ahhh.. When they are asking for a hex address, they mean the I/O address. Think ISA board. I am not sure what chipset they used, but you would probably be best trying a GPIB-PCII board. That boots up looking essentially like a 7210 or 9914 based on a jumper switch. The base address is configurable with jumper switches. This will not work with a PCI board since a PCI board is memory mapped and they are likely using an I/O mapped protocol.

I can't make any guarantee that a PCII will work, but it is probably your best bet.

Good luck!
0 Kudos
Message 4 of 5
(3,789 Views)
Ah, I think I get it now. Good explanation. Unfortunately, we only have PCI cards here. I'll take a look at what's available.

Thanks again!
0 Kudos
Message 5 of 5
(3,789 Views)