Connect oscilloscope to host computer

[slele]

I am using a DSA70404B Tektronix scope and want to it to communicate with my host computer. I have installed LabVIEW 2010 and LabVIEW SignalExpress. I do not have a GPIB or USB interface but I'm trying to connect the two using a null serial cable. I somehow cannot view the scope output on my computer, it doesn't get detected. Is there an additional software that I need?

[Dennis_Knutson]

How are you trying to detect it? There is no automatic method with serial connections. In MAX, your serial port will be listed and you must select that port. Try MAX or a terminal emulation program such as Hyperterminal first.

[slele]

Hi,

Actually initially i tried connecting them with an ethernet cross cable by setting their respective ip addresses. Using the cmd prompt I made sure the scope and the computer are talking to each other. But i'm not sure how to open the oscilloscope window through LabVIEW. I am quite new to LabVIEW and my purpose is to be able to record the scope output signal data and calculate the response time of my circuit. Any help will be of great help!

Sneha

[Dennis_Knutson]

For LabVIEW, you should install the driver for it (Tools>Instrumentation>Find Instrument Drivers). See here for what a driver is and how to use one. In Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX), you will probably need to configure the ethernet connection. Right click Devices and Interfaces, Create New>VISA TCP/IP Resource. Once the driver is installed, there will be one or more examples - Help>Find Examples>Hardware Input and Output>Instrument Drivers>LabVIEW Plug and Play.

Note: the driver does not support serial.

[slele]

Yes I did install the driver from MAX, I also tried creating a new configuration as you said. But it kept giving me some VISA error (something like unable to initialise VISA library with some hex error code). I tried re-installing the NI-VISA drivers from the LabVIEW DVD 2-3 times, but I keep getting the same error. So I started to think that maybe my approach is wrong. How do I get rid of it?

[RavensFan]

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@slele wrote:

But it kept giving me some VISA error (something like unable to initialize VISA library with some hex error code).

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What hex error code?  A piece of information like that can help someone help you figure out what's going on.

Otherwise it is just a big guessing game.

[slele]

The error code was 0xbfff009e (VI_ERROR_LIBRARY_NFOUND)

The description said: viOpenDefaultRM returned 0xbfff009e. (Error - A code library required by VISA could not be loaded)

Please make sure VISA is properly installed on the system.

Which is why I tried re-installing it a couple of times. Is there a separate driver that I have to install? I have installed NI LabVIEW 2010, SignalExpress 2010 and the NI Device drivers DVD. Is there anything apart from this that has to be downloaded?

Sneha

[slele]

I think by repairing VISA and rebooting I am able to now get rid of the error message.

I added the ip address I set for the oscilloscope. But when I try to open a VISA session, it gives me another error code: 0xBFFF0011.

VI_ERROR_RSRC_NFOUND.

Insufficient location information or the device or resource is not present in the system.

I am attaching the screen capture too. What could be the reason? I haven't filled in the LAN device name tab. When i browse the locan subnet, the oscilloscope does not get listed. Could that be the reason for the error?

[jdubs]

slele,

Can you ping the device?  If you can't connect to it even without all the layers of VISA and your application, then the networking issue there needs to be solved first.

Regards,

Jen W

Applications Engineer

National Instruments

ni.com/support

[slele]

Yes I can ping the oscilloscope from the computer and vice versa.

I guess there is no network issue. I have manually assigned ips to both the scope and the computer. They are both not connected to the web. I have used a cross ethernet cable between them.

Sneha