upgrade to 488.2?

[mike]

I finally bit the bullet and bought a PCII/PCIIA card and got gpib
working. But I need another one for debugging code.

I have a GPIB-PCIIA card that I bought before I figured out that
a PCIIA card does not have the same funtionality as a PICII/PCIIA
card in PCIIA mode...sigh...
It's got the standard 7210 chip and won't work. Is the upgrade to 488.2
as simple as swapping out the 7210 chip?

Where can I buy just one compatible chip?
Thanks, mike
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[ScottieB]

Mike,

Specifically what functionality are you looking for that your PCIIA card is not providing? Swapping out the 7210 chip on the ISA boards is not something that we recommend; it will certainly void your warranty. If you require PCII/IIA functionality, it sounds like you may have to purchase another card.

Let me know what you're looking for and I'll do the best I can to help.

Thanks,
Scott B.
GPIB Software/Hardware
National Instruments

[mike]

ScottieB wrote:
> Mike,
>
> Specifically what functionality are you looking for that your PCIIA
> card is not providing? Swapping out the 7210 chip on the ISA boards
> is not something that we recommend; it will certainly void your
> warranty. If you require PCII/IIA functionality, it sounds like you
> may have to purchase another card.
>
> Let me know what you're looking for and I'll do the best I can to
> help.
>
> Thanks,
> Scott B.
> GPIB Software/Hardware
> National Instruments

Hi Scott,
Thanks for the reply.

Short answer is that I don't have any idea what I'm doing.

I don't think I need any specific 488.2 functionality...I'm talking to
my scpope with a few dozen lines of code on a PIC processor, so it
can't be too complicated. Just sending strings back and forth. Need
hardly any of the full GPIB functionality. Although the PIC code works,
it's not compatible with anything.

What I want is for the National drivers to work.
MAX2.0 lets me install the card as a PCIIA, but I can't talk to anything
with it. PCII/IIA card works fine. I'm using visual basic, so I don't
think the old DOS drivers for the PCIIA will help me. I'm debugging code
on one machine to run on another, so compatibility of the interface is
critical.

My objective is to debug visual basic code on one machine with the
PCIIA, then run the executable on another machine with a PCII/PCIIA.
If it's just a matter of changing the chip, that ought to be the
cheapest option??? I have the skills to change the chip. I'm not
too concerned about voiding the warranty on something that isn't working
for me.

I also have a couple of GPIB-PC cards, 180100-02 REV.H cards.
There's a sticker on them that says they're GPIB-PCII, but they
won't work with the 488.2 software either.
Can I change the chip on them and use them as PCII cards with the 488.2
drivers?

Thanks, mike



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[ScottieB]

Mike,

I don't quite understand...are you using the PCIIA and interfacing it with your PIC processor? Are you trying to use one of our Windows drivers for this? Is the PIC running an OS? Where does VB come into the mix? Are you running the VB code on the PIC somehow? Or on a host PC?

The PCIIA card is really, really old. If your operating systems is new (or even slightly new) then we probably won't have a driver for it. Let me know what OS you have and I'll see what I can do as far as finding a driver for you.

On the swapping of chips, I can't say that it won't work, but I am definitely not going to say that it will work. I really just don't know because the boards were not designed with that in mind.

Scott

[mike]

ScottieB wrote:
> Mike,

OK, too much information. I'll try again.
Windows 98SE.
Visual Basic 6
National 488.2 drivers. ni4882170.exe
National GPIB-PCII/PCIIA card in PCIIA mode.
This works fine.

But I have to stand up in the cold to work on the program.
I want to put an equivalent system on a different computer
for code development where I can sit down in the warm.

So, I bought a GPIB-PCIIA card thinking it was the same
as the PCII/PCIIA card in PCIIA mode. Not so. bummer.

Different drivers to run the card won't help unless they
link to the same DLL that the ni4882170.exe drivers use.
This is code development that has to run the same executable
on both machines.

IF I find another $15 PCII/PCIIA card, I'll just buy it. Meantime,
I've got other "free" cards that "might" be easily convertible.
This is a hobby. No chance that I'll buy something relatively new
(expensive).

All the smarts is in the 2710 chip??? The other stuff is just
addressing and PC bus control that should be the same???
Surely I'm not the first person who's thought of this??
There must be a zillion other cards with the same problem.

You sell "improved" 2710 chips with 488.2 functionality in
pin-compatible 40-pin dip, yes? Shouldn't they drop right in?
How do I buy one or two?

The PIC was a stopgap that started out to be an RS232-GPIB converter
but I quickly discovered that I could do the whole instrument control
application on the PIC. Only reason I mentioned it was in response to
your 488.2 question to show the simplicity of functionality that I required.

Thanks, mike





>
> I don't quite understand...are you using the PCIIA and interfacing it
> with your PIC processor? Are you trying to use one of our Windows
> drivers for this? Is the PIC running an OS? Where does VB come into
> the mix? Are you running the VB code on the PIC somehow? Or on a
> host PC?
>
> The PCIIA card is really, really old. If your operating systems is
> new (or even slightly new) then we probably won't have a driver for
> it. Let me know what OS you have and I'll see what I can do as far as
> finding a driver for you.
>
> On the swapping of chips, I can't say that it won't work, but I am
> definitely not going to say that it will work. I really just don't
> know because the boards were not designed with that in mind.
>
> Scott



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Return address is VALID.
500MHz Tek DSOscilloscope TDS520
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Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below.
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/

[GPIB_Guru]

I am not aware of any way to convert an old GPIB-PCII to a more modern GPIB-PCII/IIA. The GPIB-PCII boards used a NEC7210 while the GPIB-PCII/IIA boards use a NAT4882. These are different chips with different pinouts and footprints. I don't see having the ability to create a PCII/IIA with what you have. The old boards with the NEC7210 are not supported by any drivers since the DOS days since that chip is not compliant with the IEEE 488.2 requirements for the GPIB controller. If you really need a cheap GPIB-PCII/IIA, I suggest that you search on EBAY. Since you are looking for a Windows 98 system, you should be able to buy a GPIB-PCII/IIA, AT-GPIB/TNT (make sure it has the TNT and is not just an old AT-GPIB), or even a PCI-GPI
B. ALL of these should link to the same DLL and be compatible.

[ScottieB]

Mike,

Yes, you're probably right on the pin-compatibilities of the 7210's but I know we don't sell these individually. However, there is more to the PCII/IIA than just the 7210 chip. Replacing the chip may make it 488.2 compliant but it will not turn your PCIIA into a PCII/IIA.

Only thing I can suggest is the v1.6 driver which may work for you. The GPIB.DLL should have the same entry points in both v1.6 and v1.7 (though v1.7 may have more since it has more features). Give it a shot:

ftp://ftp.ni.com/support/gpib/ni488216/drv-english/

Scott

[ScottieB]

Mike,

It was pointed out to me that this v1.6 driver won't do anything for you...there's no Windows driver for the 488.1 cards. You really need to purchase a card that is supported in Windows and that's your only option.

Scott

[mike]

ScottieB wrote:
> Mike,
>
> Yes, you're probably right on the pin-compatibilities of the 7210's
> but I know we don't sell these individually. However, there is more
> to the PCII/IIA than just the 7210 chip. Replacing the chip may make
> it 488.2 compliant but it will not turn your PCIIA into a PCII/IIA.

I don't need a dual-mode card. All I need is a PCIIA card that works
with the 488.2 drivers. Same hardware address. Same interrupts, same
DMA. If it addresses the chip like a PCIIA card and the chip
is 488.2 compliant so the driver doesn't abort I should be good to go,
yes???


>
> Only thing I can suggest is the v1.6 driver which may work for you.
> The GPIB.DLL should have the same entry points in both v1.6 a
nd v1.7
> (though v1.7 may have more since it has more features). Give it a
> shot:
>
> ftp://ftp.ni.com/support/gpib/ni488216/drv-english/
>
> Scott



--
Return address is VALID.
500MHz Tek DSOscilloscope TDS520
Wanted, 12.1" LCD for Gateway Solo 5300. Samsung LT121SU-121
Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below.
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/

[ScottieB]

Mike,

The PCIIA (488.1 version) plus a new 488.2 chip will still not work in Windows. The Windows drivers will not recognize it.

Scott