new HPIB card for HP 5995 GC-MS

[andhra]

hi,
i want to connect my HP 5995 GC-MS to a pentium4 computer. i have the original software in flopies which runs on a dos system. The problem is that the computer that came with the instrument is not working. Which GPIB card should i use so that i can connect the instrument to the latest computer. is it possible to use labview to run this instrument? in worst case, i do not mind running it on DOS mode. also tell me how must does it cost for this upgradation?
thanks.
rajesh

[Dennis_Knutson]

The main page for NI's GPIB products is http://www.ni.com/gpib/. You might also want to contact your local NI Sales Engineer or call NI directly if you need help in deciding which controller would best fit your needs.

[JoeLabVIEWEngineer]

My Friend:

                     The best thing you could do right now is digging a little deeper. Get the manual of HP 5995, if it were aviable to you. It is GPIB device. that is a great news. You can simply write command to the instrument directly. If you are not the programmer, you may be in the tuff spot. I believe the manual would be the help to you. Try out. You will like it.

[andhra]

dear joe,
i have checked out the mannual. it says that it is a HP-IB card, i presume thats a earlier version of GP-IB card. as i am not a programmer i want to keep things simple. my question is:can i put a new GPIB card in a computer, load the same OS that has come with the instrument in DOS mode, and run the instrument. this is critical because the current HPIB card doesnt fit in a PCI slot.
and how much does a GPIB card cost?
help me out.

[Dennis_Knutson]

You are asking a couple of conflicting questions. You first asked if you could use LabVIEW. that would presume that you want to write a new program to control the instrument. In that case, you could buy any of the cards that are listed on the link I gave you (prices are there as well). If you want to run the old software, then you probably need a direct replacement. Any car labeled as HPIB was probably made by Hewlett-Packard (now Agilent) and you should be talking to them about a replacement. the low level calls to a card made by HP and and card made by NI are not the same.

[JoeLabVIEWEngineer]

Rajesh:

             I don’t blame you to stick with HP. HP is really making a good equipment, and if you upgrade to the modern device. It will add complexity to the system which is you don’t want to.

            Now from the conversations, you are facing with the money issue, and your sweat equity (time & hard work). It seems you have limit budget (every body does), and don’t want to put effort in it if you can avoid. It is understandable. In this case, it is unavoidable.

            In this case you must put either one of them time or your effort. Good news is only one would be sufficient for you. But you must put one of them. Sorry that there is no free lunch here.

            Here are the routes you can take.

1)      Call HP up asked for the advice, which in turn will cost you a lot of money. (If I were you I would not do so).

2)      Buy really cheap GPIB interface, and put yourself to work, and work. This is the prefer method for cheap, and nothing can be substitute for hard work, and hard work, and hard work. It sound unpleasant, but I believe you can do it.

3)      Hire some one to help you out. Even though this would cost you money, but it would cost you less than option 1) no matter what, and it generates the result.

Hope this would help you out clarify your though.  

If you want to discuss some more, you can get in touch with me by e-mail. I publish my e-mail address in the profile. You can get in touch with me this way.

If somehow you can not get my e-mail from the profile, ask. If you don’t ask, I would not know what your directions are.

Good Luck.

It is not hard than you thought. You can do it.