SCPI commands

[LokeshSavadi]

Dear all,

I'm  a new user of labview. I have read few tutorial and basic books suggested at NI site and developed little bit of understanding abt programming in labview. I have a few queries in general(As a new user I believe anyone who starts using labview will have the queries). I have given them below:

Regarding SCPI commands, How to execute the SCPI commands through labview(or any other tool)?. Is there any use of them. The instrument user manuals literally dedicates lot of pages discussing abt the commands and syntax. For instance I'm using Agilent 33250A and I want to execute the following command: "APPL:SIN 5.0E+3, 3.0, -2.5". How to do it? . I do understand that it is a low level command, anyways please do answer the query.

Regards,

Lokesh

[Norbert_B]

Lokesh,

SCPI is the abbrevation for Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments and has nothing to with LV.

This set of commands is defined for external instruments (if the manufactorer chooses to make the instrument SCPI compatible!). So the commands have to be send to the instrument and the instrument has to react on this command.

SCPI commands can be sent using different physical transfer layers like GPIB, serial or Ethernet. The best way to send commands using LV is by using VISA because VISA abstracts those physical layers for you (so it does not matter if the instrument is connected using GPIB or serial).

You can/should use the Instrument I/O Assistant to get used to work with instruments. You can create LV code from this assistant and then (if desired) modify the code later on manually.

hope this helps,

Norbert

[GerdW]

Hi Lokesh,

you don't "execute" those SCPI-commands. The device is executing them, after you have send the command to the device!

Load the device driver and look there how writing/reading with a device is done...

[LokeshSavadi]

Thanks Norbert,

That was the exact thing I was looking for.

Regards,

lokesh