Interaction between VISA and NI488.2

[kbarkley]

I am trying to control an HP4142B along with a Tek scope that uses USB.

I want to use VISA for the scope and NI488.2 with the HP4142.

I am using Windows, .Net, C# and the .net assemblies

I wrote a playground with NI488 only that controls the HP4142 just fine. (Once I learned to put a 'at the end of every command)

Once I add the visa assemblies and do a "get resource" to actually load the libraries, the NI488 Device.ReadString() generates a timeout error.

I have tried numerous combinations of termination characters, but again, it works fine with the NI488 only.

I suppose, I will have to go all VISA for the time being, but I would really like to get this figured out.

A more modern instrument, i.e., from this millennium, a Tek AFG3022C, has no issues and immediately returns from an *IDN? command with the proper response.

[santo_13]

You can still use VISA for NI488.2 as well

[kbarkley]

I don't understand your answer.

I know I can use VISA, the question is what causes the interaction between VISA and NI488.2 with just this instrument.

It is weird, for a while on Friday everything was working fine, VISA for the USB instrument and NI488.2 for GPIB, but now after re-powering everything on Monday, it is back to its old problem. ARRGGHH!

[kbarkley]

OK, I did a bus capture.

For the No-VISA case I get a pretty normal interaction: (Sorry, it does not look like there are any fixed width fonts

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Event #   M        Timestamp          Data             Control
                mi  s  ms  us  ns  A  H   87654321  E A S R I NR ND D
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1                0  0   0   0  50  @  40  01000000  0 1 0 1 0  0 1 1  TA0
2                0  0   0   1 950  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 1 0  0 1 1  UNL
3                0  0   0   6 250  1  31  00110001  0 1 0 1 0  0 1 1  LA17
4                0  0   0 120 550  *  2a  00101010  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
5                0  0   0 247 600  I  49  01001001  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
6                0  0   0  28 150  D  44  01000100  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
7                0  0   0  28 150  N  4e  01001110  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
8                0  0   0  28 150  ?  3f  00111111  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
9                0  0   0  28 150     a   00001010  1 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB  END
10               0  0   0 488 550  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 1 0  0 1 1  UNL
11               0  0   0   1 950     20  00100000  0 1 0 1 0  0 1 1  LA0
12               0  0   0  11 650  Q  51  01010001  0 1 0 1 0  0 1 1  TA17
13               0  0   2 285 950  H  48  01001000  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
14               0  0   0  24 750  E  45  01000101  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
15               0  0   0  24 700  W  57  01010111  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
16               0  0   0  24 750  L  4c  01001100  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
17               0  0   0  24 700  E  45  01000101  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
18               0  0   0  24 750  T  54  01010100  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
19               0  0   0  24 700  T  54  01010100  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
20               0  0   0  24 750     20  00100000  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
21               0  0   0  24 700  P  50  01010000  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
22               0  0   0  24 750  A  41  01000001  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
23               0  0   0  24 700  C  43  01000011  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
24               0  0   0  24 750  K  4b  01001011  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
25               0  0   0  24 700  A  41  01000001  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
26               0  0   0  24 750  R  52  01010010  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
27               0  0   0  24 750  D  44  01000100  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
28               0  0   0  24 700  ,  2c  00101100  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
29               0  0   0  24 750  4  34  00110100  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
30               0  0   0  24 700  1  31  00110001  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
31               0  0   0  24 750  4  34  00110100  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
32               0  0   0  24 700  2  32  00110010  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
33               0  0   0  24 750  B  42  01000010  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
34               0  0   0  24 700  ,  2c  00101100  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
35               0  0   0  24 750  0  30  00110000  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
36               0  0   0  24 700  ,  2c  00101100  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
37               0  0   0  24 750  4  34  00110100  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
38               0  0   0  24 700  .  2e  00101110  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
39               0  0   0  24 750  2  32  00110010  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
40               0  0   0  24 750  0  30  00110000  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
41               0  0   0  24 700     d   00001101  0 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB
42               0  0   0  26 700     a   00001010  1 0 0 1 0  0 1 1  DAB  END
43               0  0   0 583 400  @  40  01000000  0 1 0 1 0  0 1 1  TA0
44               0  0   0   4 500  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 1 0  0 1 1  UNL
45               0  0   0   9 300  1  31  00110001  0 1 0 1 0  0 1 1  LA17
46               0  0   0   1 950     4   00000100  0 1 0 1 0  0 1 1  SDC

For the case where I get Visa Interaction and timeout, I get this:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Event #   M        Timestamp          Data             Control
                mi  s  ms  us  ns  A  H   87654321  E A S R I NR ND D
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1                0  0   0   0  50  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
2                0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
3                0  0   0   2 850  !  21  00100001  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA1
4                0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
5                0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
6                0  0   0   2 800  "  22  00100010  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA2
7                0  0   1 677 450  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
8                0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
9                0  0   0   2 800  #  23  00100011  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA3
10               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
11               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
12               0  0   0   2 850  $  24  00100100  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA4
13               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
14               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
15               0  0   0   2 800  %  25  00100101  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA5
16               0  0   1 677 450  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
17               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
18               0  0   0   2 800  &  26  00100110  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA6
19               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
20               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
21               0  0   0   2 850  '  27  00100111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA7
22               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
23               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
24               0  0   0   2 800  (  28  00101000  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA8
25               0  0   1 677 450  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
26               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
27               0  0   0   2 800  )  29  00101001  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA9
28               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
29               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
30               0  0   0   2 850  *  2a  00101010  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA10
31               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
32               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
33               0  0   0   2 800  +  2b  00101011  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA11
34               0  0   1 677 450  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
35               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
36               0  0   0   2 800  ,  2c  00101100  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA12
37               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
38               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
39               0  0   0   2 850  -  2d  00101101  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA13
40               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
41               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
42               0  0   0   2 800  .  2e  00101110  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA14
43               0  0   1 677 450  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
44               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
45               0  0   0   2 800  /  2f  00101111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA15
46               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
47               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
48               0  0   0   2 850  0  30  00110000  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA16
49               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
50               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
51               0  0   0   2 800  1  31  00110001  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA17
52               0  0   1 677 450  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
53               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
54               0  0   0   2 800  2  32  00110010  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA18
55               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
56               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
57               0  0   0   2 850  3  33  00110011  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA19
58               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
59               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
60               0  0   0   2 800  4  34  00110100  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA20
61               0  0   1 677 450  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
62               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
63               0  0   0   2 800  5  35  00110101  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA21
64               0  0   1 674 200  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
65               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
66               0  0   0   2 800  6  36  00110110  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA22
67               0  0   1 677 450  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
68               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
69               0  0   0   2 800  7  37  00110111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA23
70               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
71               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
72               0  0   0   2 850  8  38  00111000  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA24
73               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
74               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
75               0  0   0   2 800  9  39  00111001  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA25
76               0  0   1 677 450  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
77               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
78               0  0   0   2 800  :  3a  00111010  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA26
79               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
80               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
81               0  0   0   2 850  ;  3b  00111011  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA27
82               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
83               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
84               0  0   0   2 800  <  3c  00111100  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA28
85               0  0   1 677 450  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
86               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
87               0  0   0   2 800  =  3d  00111101  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA29
88               0  0   1 677 400  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
89               0  0   0   1 950  _  5f  01011111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNT
90               0  0   0   2 850  >  3e  00111110  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA30
91               0  0   1 673 800  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
92               0  7 966 799 400  @  40  01000000  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  TA0
93               0  0   0   4 500  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
94               0  0   0   9  50  1  31  00110001  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA17
95               0  0   0 120 550  *  2a  00101010  0 0 0 0 0  0 1 1  DAB
96               0  0   0 253  50  I  49  01001001  0 0 0 0 0  0 1 1  DAB
97               0  0   0  28 150  D  44  01000100  0 0 0 0 0  0 1 1  DAB
98               0  0   0  28 150  N  4e  01001110  0 0 0 0 0  0 1 1  DAB
99               0  0   0  28 150  ?  3f  00111111  0 0 0 0 0  0 1 1  DAB
100              0  0   0  28 150     a   00001010  1 0 0 0 0  0 1 1  DAB  END
101              0  0   2 124 500  ?  3f  00111111  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  UNL
102              0  0   0   1 950     20  00100000  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  LA0
103              0  0   0  11 650  Q  51  01010001  0 1 0 0 0  0 1 1  TA17

Note that it goes through looking for a device at *every* address, And that the REN line is never asserted.

Is this a clue for anyone?

[kbarkley]

Also, does anyone know where the NI488.2 .net class library docs ended up? NI used to have the Device and Board Class library docs, but I can't find them.