LabVIEW
Timeout error in the VISA testing panel
It should be the same for all of them. The manual says it accepts either linefeed (LF) or carriage return (CR). If you are using LabVIEW or NI MAX use \n (new line) or \r (carriage return). If using Termite just select the settings (shown above) that will automatically append message with one and or the other.
I would do a loopback test at this point just to verify that you are sending and receiving data. Keep the cable connected to the PC, disconnect it from the device and short pins 2 and 3 (assuming they are the TX and RX pins). Make sure you are not using any kind of flow control. Then when using termite if you send any text you should receive the same text.
If you are getting data then either you are using a crossover cable or there is some issue with the device. You will have to troubleshoot from there.
If you are not getting a response something is wrong on the cable/pc side.
@StevenD wrote:
It should be the same for all of them. The manual says it accepts either linefeed (LF) or carriage return (CR). If you are using LabVIEW or NI MAX use \n (new line) or \r (carriage return). If using Termite just select the settings (shown above) that will automatically append message with one and or the other.
I would do a loopback test at this point just to verify that you are sending and receiving data. Keep the cable connected to the PC, disconnect it from the device and short pins 2 and 3 (assuming they are the TX and RX pins). Make sure you are not using any kind of flow control. Then when using termite if you send any text you should receive the same text.
If you are getting data then either you are using a crossover cable or there is some issue with the device. You will have to troubleshoot from there.
If you are not getting a response something is wrong on the cable/pc side.
I would set the transmitted text to either "Append CR" OR "Append LF", not both. Since the instrument can read either one, it is liable to interpret this as a command followed by an empty line. This may or not be critical, but it would be safest just to use on or the other.
Hello Steven and Bill,
we tried a loopback test with the technician guy and what should I say? It doesnt worked out. So the cable was the problem. After I got a new cable, everything worked out and I could communicate with the device. Here is a picture:
But here comes the next problem. After I did the Visa testing panel. What should I do next? For GIPB or other interfaces, normally you scan for the instrument and then add it as I understood. But in my case for the serial interface, I didnt get such an option, so the instrument wasnt added to the register. So I read a bit, but I didnt get how I can add the instrument via MAX. First my device has to be added and then I am able to search for the plug&play and then download it. Does it work differently for serial interfaces? Refering to NI, I am now at point 6 (http://www.ni.com/tutorial/2897/en/), where it says: "After completing your configuration and verifying communication with the instrument, you can easily transition from interactive mode to programming mode by using an instrument driver." For GIPB I understood, how I could install it (https://www.ni.com/getting-started/set-up-hardware/instrument-control/d/drivers), but first my device has to be added to the register. Shouldnt it be the same for serial devices? I really didnt understand, what the next step in the case of serial interfaces is. I hope you might help me to find the next step.
Kind regards,
Sailor Moon
@SailorMoon wrote:
Shouldnt it be the same for serial devices? I really didnt understand, what the next step in the case of serial interfaces is. I hope you might help me to find the next step.
Your VISA Session just needs to be the serial port.
Not sure what you mean "the instrument wasnt added to the register".
But you now know you can communicate with the device over 232. There is a NI driver for the Stanford Research 810 lock-in amplifier here
It is written for GPIB but I think it can be modified pretty easily for 232 communication. Just use "VISA Configure Serial Port" in the initialization and set the baud, parity, etc, etc. You may have to also check for the "OUTX" commands and change them as needed.
Thanks you all for your fast responses!
@: Do I not have to use MAX anymore? Because for GIPB the panel in MAX looks different. As you see in the following picture (taken from http://www.ni.com/getting-started/set-up-hardware/instrument-control/d/drivers😞
In green you see the device added in the register for GPIB and then you click on it, so you can then choose the instrument drivers for downloading (marked in red). But in the serial interface neither I see the instrument in the register, nor I see this VISA properties page. So thats my question. For serial interfaces I didnt really understand how I should go further. So as I understand your responses, am I done in in MAX? I wanted to do the rest as you suggested Steven, because I already found the Plug&Play before. Also I know I had to change it for serial interface. I already saw some good videos how to set serial interface in Labview and an old thread, where someone put an VI for the serial interface. So I hope, I have good examples to start the programming. But I think, I still need a step to add the instrument as in the picture above. Hope I could explain my problem. I will do further research, but maybe you understood my problem and can give me some hints. Thanks again for all your helpful and nice advices!
Lovely regards
Sailor Moon
There is no configuration in NI-MAX left to do - unless you want to assign an alias to it - but that's optional. Just select that COM port for your VISA resource.
