TDS3034: how to set "data:width" to 2 (16 bits per point) using Labview, and the NI drivers?

[alessandra]

I try to use labview with a Tektronix 3034 digital oscilloscope.
In the programmer manual command description it is mentioned the possibility to set the number of bytes per data point in the waveform transferred using the command "data:width" and setting as 2. Is it possible to do the same with labview NI drivers? And How? Thanks

[Randy Solomonson]

Hello-

There is an IVI driver available at ni.com/idnet. The documentation for this IVI class is in the "IVI Spec" section of ivifoundation.org.

Randy Solomonson
Application Engineer
National Instruments

[mikeporter]

Yes it is possible to do what you ask (and without taking on the added overhead of IVI). Do you have a basic set of drivers for the instrument? If so, inside one of the functions should be a subVI that sends a command to the instrument and reads the response. Copy this subVI to a new document and wire to the command string input, your command for setting the number of bytes per datapoint. You should be able to copy the command right out of the book. When you run this new VI it should set the instrument in the way you want.

You can save this new VI (after adding things like error handling) and now you have a function to do what you need.

Mike...

[alessandra]

Thanks. Probably my question was not properly done: I would like to use the IVI driver I have downloaded from the NI web pages: they are almost optimal for my purpose.

[Dennis_Knutson]

To modify an IVI driver, you'll need LabWindows/CVI.

[mikeporter]

Yet another good reason to avoid IVI...

Mike...

[Dennis_Knutson]

It's discouraging to find new drivers only available as IVI instead of the traditional G code. I can understand some of the reasons but since I have seldom found a driver that does 100% what I need, the work arounds can be pretty frustrating.

[alessandra]

The driver I need to use are available only as IVI.

[mikeporter]

The driver is available from NI in IVI form only. The driver is undoubtedly available elsewhere using standard GPIB calls. Or you could write a set of drivers yourself. I downloaded a copy of the instrument's programmers manual from the Tektronix website and the instrument doesn't seem that hard to talk to.

In a way, that is part of the issue with IVI. NI scares users into thinking that programming instruments is so hard that the only way to really get it done right is to let them do it. Theres's two problems with this line of reasoning. First, programming instruments isn't that hard and if you did the sums, you would probibly find you spent more time trying to workaround problems in existing drivers than
it would have taken to write your own. Second, it ignores the point that NI never could write a decent instrument driver--and now if something is broken you have to buy another development environment from them to fix it.

Kind of make you wonder what the real motivation behind IVI is...

Mike...

[btejani]

If you click on "View All Answers" above, you will see another answer to this question that is unrelated to this thread but addresses the original question.

--Bankim