Controlling 6015 DAQPad (USB) Programatically

[ChrisB2012]

Hello:

I am working on a C#.NET WinForms project that involves controlling an NI 6015 DAQ Pad (USB) programatically.  I would appreciate any insight into the following questions:

  -  We are currently using the latest version of the NI-VISA driver for the control of instruments.  Will this driver work with the 6015 DAQ Pad as well?  If not, what driver should be used?

  -  I do not have any experience communicating with NI instruments.  Are there any good examples or tutorials available that demonstrate controlling the 6015 DAQ Pad from within a .NET application (i.e.. not using LabView)? 

-  Is any documentation available for the 6015 DAQ Pad that lists the specific commands that should be used when reading from and writing to the instrument?  For example, how do I tell the 6015 DAQPad to send 5 volts to, say, channel 5?

- Our application will eventually run in Windows 7.  Will this present any compatibility issues with the 6015?

Thanks for your assistance!

Chris

[Jeff-P · Accepted solution]

Hi,

The drivers you will need to communicate with the DAQPad are the DAQmx drivers (the latest is 9.4 and can be downloaded here). The 6015 is quite an old device, it is supported by 9.4 but it is not supported in Windows 7. If you search in the DAQmx driver readme for 6015 you can find all the relevant information. As for examples of how to use the DAQmx driver to communicate with a NI instrument, the driver ships with several examples (.h and .c files) that can be found at the location described in this document.

If you are planning on moving to Windows 7, I would recommend upgrading to more current hardware that is fully supported. I hope that helps!

Regards,

[ChrisB2012]

Thank you for taking the time to address my questions, Jeff.

This was very helpful.

Chris

[Jeff-P]

Glad to have helped! Good luck with your application!

Regards,