teac xr-7000 driver conversion

[Milon]

Hello,

I am trying to convert the existing LabWindows/CVI "te5000" drivers that support the XR 7000 series TEAC analog data recorders to LabVIEW drivers.  When I attempt the conversion using the NI conversion tool I get an error stating that either the fp file is invalid or the version is too old.

The driver page states that the drivers are CVI 6.0, which is higher than the error-specified 5.0 requirement.  I have experimented with drivers for other TEAC equipment, for instance the RD200T drivers, which are just as old.  These drivers successfully converted. 

Has anyone had any success converting these old drivers into functional LabVIEW drivers?

Or, has anyone had success interfacing (through GPIB) the TEAC XR-7000 recorder with LabVIEW at all?  If so, how did you go about it?

[ColeTrain]

Hello Milon and welcome to the forums,

Out of curiosity, are you doing this the manual way discussed in this DevZone from CVI or the automated tool from LabVIEW?  Either way, I went and saved the .fp from CVI 9.0 and have it attached here.  Let me know if this one works for you.  I have it in a zip file as the forums won't let em put it up as a .fp.  

[Oswald_Branford]

Hi Milon!

Im attaching the vi's in a zip file and the dll i created on CVI. Hope this helps, i had some issues while creating the llb so you might need to add the VIs again. Also, if you see a broken arrow you might want to relink to the DLL.

Take care and have a great day!

Oswald Branford

[Milon]

Thanks to both of you for your help!

The drivers you supplied all appear correct and I anticipate they will work, however we have yet to actually get them working - reading some walkthroughs may now be in order since we have hopefully working drivers.  Any advice on how to go about actually setting these up to work with our equipment?

[Milon]

Hello,

So far we haven't had any luck with the drivers.  They appear to be missing expected outputs - for instance I would expect to see an output from the Initialize VI, however there are none - and most of the drivers are this way.  Problem is we don't know our way around the interface well enough to determine if we're just doing it wrong, or if the drivers are actually not functional.

Any input regarding how we go about getting these to work would be appreciated.

[Oswald_Branford]

Hi Milon!

I just noticed what you said. You need to create an indicator for each one of the outputs given by the call library function node after you link to the dll. Open the subVI, for example initialize and right click on the output, then select create indicator. On the front panel you need to go to the Connector Pane and make sure the output is set.You might need to do this for each subVI as it seems the utility didnt create the library correctly.

Hope this helps!

Take care

[Milon]

I think I see what you're getting at - I noticed that I can step into the subVI and get outputs where I would expect them...I've played around with it a bit but again, no luck yet.  You can tell I'm a novice when it comes to LabVIEW.

You mention needing to link to the dll - is there something I have to do by hand to do this, or does LabVIEW know to look for it in the directory?

[Milon]

Oswald -hope I'm not violating any board policies, but is there any chance we could engage you in person for some help with this?  Getting this device working is critical, we're short on time, and thus far you're the only person that's been able to get us moving.  If you are interested/willing please contact my assistant Albert at albert@mdpsi.com.

[Oswald_Branford]

Hey Milon!

Its np, ill send you an email. Im trying to create a simple example for you to test, the thing is we need to include error clusters on all the subvis to make sure the flow of the program is correct in LV and guarantee a dataflow. For starters we need to know the GPIB Address of your device, what kind of interface are you using? if its an NI GPIB Card you should be able to see and set the address on MAX. 

What imtrying to figure out is how to handle that relation with every subVI. What i mean with manually adding the dll is this: you go to the block diagram of each subVI (window> show block diagram) and then you double click the call library function node. Once you do this you will see the definition of all the functions, parameters, etc; all being called from the dll included on the .zip file i attached in a previous post.

Let me see if i can handle the creation of the example. Make sure you know the address of the device and we can go from there.

Have a great day!!

[Milon]

Oswald -

This is Albert responding under Milon's login, hello and thanks for your help. 

The device address is 6, at the moment.  That's what it reports in MAX and the I/O Assistant Express VI, in any case.

Here's the hardware layout- TEAC XR-7000 -> onboard AR507 A/D GPIB board ->  NI GPIB-USB-HS Controller cable -> PC

I have played around with the device some already and had success communicating with easy stuff like the I/O Assistant Express VI.  I've had limited success sending the device commands straight from the I/O Assistant Express VI.  Commands that are a logical Query/Parse like "STA?" for status have been working.  Other commands have been problematic - I was able to get the tape servo to work once, for instance, but now it won't respond similarly...

 The problem is I need the "real" functionality of the machine, not just the ability to send single commands, I'm hoping getting the drivers up and running will simplify most of the device control.  I'll look for your email - albert@mdpsi.com is me, as previously mentioned, and you can reach Milon at milon@mdpsi.com.

Thanks for your help so far, you've already gotten us further than NI support has in the last couple of days. 🙂