Is it possible to use the NI-6008/labview to send/receive TTL UART at 19.2K 8N1?

[jackammo]

I'm planning to control a robot motor position controller which uses TTL
UART
at 19.2Kb/sec, 8-bit frame, a stop bit, no parity.  How can I use labview
to
send and receive the commands?  Can I use the DIO of the NI-6008?  Can I
use
the serial output of my laptop?

Here's the position controller I'm trying to control: Parallax #29319

I'm somewhat familiar with using labview to interface with measurement
instruments such as spectrum analyzer thru GPIB/serial.

Thanks,
jackammo

NI Software :  LabVIEW  version 8.2
NI Hardware :  Multifunction DAQ device USB-6008
Driver Version :  latest, I just bought it
OS :  Windows XP
Customer Information :

[Dennis_Knutson]

You can't use the 6008 but you should be able to use the serial port on your laptop if you do some level conversion. The standard RS-232 voltage levels are not TTL compatible.

[JÞB]

I would definately recommend using the serial port.  TTL - RS232 adaptors are cheap and readilly available.  The laptop OS can handle all the data traffic controll leaving your labVIEW application much cleaner and easier to read.

[jackammo]

Thanks for the quick response.  I'll go ahead and use serial/VISA with a TTL level coverter to communicate with the parallax motor controller.  I have a vague idea on how to send the commands using VISA.  Here is one of the commands that I'll be dealing with:

Command:                  Hex            Binary                     Description

Querry Position           0h08          0001:000                 Returns the current position as 16-bit signed value.  The value is

                                                                                      returned high byte first (valueH), then low byte (ValueL).

Transmit Data format:  [command(5 bits): address(3 bits)]

Receive Data format: [ValueH],[ValueL]

Questions:

1.  What would be the most straightforward way of implementing this using VISA?  I'm guessing that I have to convert the hex or binary value of the command into decimal string, then use it as an input to the VISA write buffer.

2.  My laptop does not have a comm port.  Can I use a generic USB-serial232 converter?

You guys are really helpful.  I'll tell my classmates to check out this forum.  Our group is probably one of the first few groups to use Labview at our university (UAA).

[jackammo]

Thanks for the quick response.  We'll go ahead and use serial with TTL adapter to communicate with the Parallax position controller.

Here's one of the commands I'll be using:

Command:          Hex Value            Binary Value           Description

Querry Position     0h08                   00001:000              Returns the current position as a 16-bit signed value.  The value is returned

                                                                                        high byte first (ValueH), then low byte (ValueL)

Transmit Data Format:  [command(5 bits):address(3bits)]

Receive Data Format:  [ValueH], [ValueL]

Questions:

1.  What would be the most straightforward method to send/receive this command/response using Labview VISA?  I'm guessing that I'll have the convert the hex or binary value of the command into a decimal string, then use the string as an input to the Visa write buffer.

2.  Can I use a generic USB-232 adapter?  My laptop does not have a comm port :{

Thanks a lot for your help.  I'll tell my classmates to visit this forum.  

jackammo