Read data in real time and save as an excel file

[JoanPotter]

Hi,

I want to write a LabVIEW progarmme which able to read data in real time and save it as an excel file from Varian Vacuum muli-gauge.

It is using RS232 port.

Can anyone give me some examples or point me in the right direction?

I am a beginner of LabVIEW. Hope anyone can help me.

Thank you very much!!

Joanne

[Anna_K.]

In LabVIEW all the examples reside in Help >> Find Examples. You can then search for VISA - this is the higher level driver API that you can use to communicate with your serial port. ( make sure that you install the NI VISA driver to be able to run these examples ).

Then in the example finder you can also search for Excel and this will show you examples on writing to an Excel file. You can also search for examples on ni.com to get a wider breadth of choices.

Thanks,

[Jeorainc]

Thanks for your reply.

I just use MAX to verify that the rs232 port is operational.

However, there is an error (please refer to the attachment).

One possible reason is in MAX I am trying to do the default command *idn? ...but it doesn't work.

I read the vacuum multi-gauge manual but I don't know which command should I use...

I attached the manual and can you tell me which command should I use?

Or can you tell me other possible reason for this error code?

Thank you very much. 

Joan

[Anna_K.]

The error you are seeing is a timeout error, you must add a termination character such as a Line feed  or a carriage return .

To accomplish this, either explicitly append a termination character onto the end of each command,  or set a global attribute of the VISA session to automatically append a termination character. For example, if your termination character is \n then you must write *idn?\n to the instrument.

However this all depends on what commands your instrument expects so that it can understand what you want to send to it. It is up to you familiarize yourself with the instrument or contact the manufacturer for assistance.

Thanks and let us know if you have proper communication after adding the termination character.

[JoanPotter]

Hi Anna K,

Thanks for your help.

Unfortunately, the time out error is still exist although I added a terminate letter.

I used the LabVIEW example Troubleshooting Serial Line Monitor to test whether the RS232 is function well.

Please see my attachments.

However, I don't know what is the meaning of these signals.

Can you help me?

Thank you so much!!

Joan