USB / GPIB Converter Issues

[Paul]

I recently purchased a USB/GPIB converted model 82357A made by Agilent Technologies http://www.bellnw.com/npro/agilent/82357A.htm. I first ran into the initial problem of the computer "accepting" this converter. I say accepting and not recognizing, because it does allow me to see it, install all of the software and drivers for it but not to use it. I called the AE's at AT and they are stumped on what the problem can be. I then decided to call NI and they said that even if the converter would be working properly I would not be able to use in in labview because 1) no labview driver exists for it and 2) it wouldn't even appear in MAX because it's not made by NI. Has anyone encountered these problems before that can offer some advice?

[Michael Aivaliotis]

Well, for starters, why would you buy an Agilent device to use with LabVIEW? Are you trying to make your life more difficult? If I were you, I would try my best to contact your supplier and ask for a refund. Even if they charge you a restocking fee, it is worth it. NI sells a USB GPIB controller called: NI GPIB-USB-B which works well with LabVIEW.

In any case, there is an application note at NI's site that describes how to use an Agilent GPIB plug-in Board with LabVIEW. Now I realize that you are using USB however there may be something there that may give you some hints of things to try out:

How Can I Use an HPIB Board with LabVIEW or CVI?

To summerise the content goes like this:

1. If you have HP-VISA already installed then you must uninstall it first.

2. Install HP-SICL. This was included with your Agilent\HP controller.

3. Remember to configure the Agilent\HP card using the Agilent/HP I/O Config utility.

4. Install the NI-VISA driver.

5. After you have installed the NI-VISA run-time library, go into the Measurement & Automation Explorer, select "Tools>>NI-VISA>>VISA Options", choose the Passports tab, and enable the NiVisaTulip.dll Passport.

6. NI-VISA will automatically find and access any GPIB or VXI devices. However, NI-VISA will not configure the Agilent/HP hardware; you must still do that with the Agilent/HP I/O Config utility.

You should now be able to use LabVIEW to communicate via your Agilent\HP GPIB controller.

If you have both National Instruments and Agilent/HP controllers in the same system, you must configure the cards at different system addresses, such as GPIB0 and GPIB1. If both vendors try to use the same interface address, NI-VISA will report an error from VISA Find Resources.