Beginner: help debugging LabVIEW program for TDK-Lambda power supply

[eguerrero04]

Hello,

I am interning at a company and am working on a project to program a TDK-Lambda power supply (Genesys modle 20-76). I inherited some code from one of the engineers in the company that was meant to accomplish the task but did not work for some reason. I am not too experienced with LabVIEW and was hoping I could get some help debugging the [attached] code. 

Thanks.

[aeastet]

Did you check to make sure it is the correct COM port on your computer? If it worked on his computer that is where I would start.

[eguerrero04]

from my understanding, it did not work on his computer, either

[crossrulz]

You really should be using some of the lower level VIs in that driver.  The example VI you are using resets the power supply each time it is called.  Instruments typically do not like that.  So perhaps you should start by stating what your actual requirements are and then we can help guide you from there.

[eguerrero04]

The power supply will be used to bias test boards for weekly runs. The tests usually run for 48 or 96 hours.

[Kyle97330]

I've used that same power supply before.  There's a few things that can trip you up while using it.

Check the following things:

1. You are using Serial, not GPIB, and you're plugged into the correct port on your PC.  

2. You're using the serial cable provided by the manufacturer.  Any off-the-shelf DB9 to RJ45 connector probably has the wrong pinout.

3. The power supply you're using is in fact set to be device #6, and is set to 9600 baud (turn it on, then press and hold the "REM/LOC" button on the front.  The left display should show "A 06" and the right one "9600").

4. The serial cable is plugged into the "IN" RJ45 jack (which is directly adjacent to the "OUT" jack and it can be hard to see sometimes)

5. All of the DIP switches are in the down position on the back panel.

If all of that checks out please let us know what shows up in the "error out" of the VI when it fails.  As a side note, you probably want to put a check on those while loops so that if an error occurs they stop immediately instead of looping for potentially a very long time.

[eguerrero04]

wow that actually helped, Thank you. Turns out the settings on the power supply were completely off. Now I can actually control the voltage but the current does not seem to change. Any idea why?

[billko]

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@eguerrero04 wrote:

wow that actually helped, Thank you. Turns out the settings on the power supply were completely off. Now I can actually control the voltage but the current does not seem to change. Any idea why?

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Of course.  The current drawn depends on how much current the device attached to it is drawing!  (Hint: Disconnect the device and observe that the current drops to zero.)

[eguerrero04]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if you guys could help me out once more. I'm trying to record the power supply's output voltage and current every hour. I started some code for it (attachedbelow) but I am getting a little lost. The "GENser Measure Output Voltage VI" is not working and I don't see why. Also, I know it's probably not a good idea to have two while loops running simultaneously, but I can't think of another way to do it.  Any help is greatly appreciated. 

[Wild_man]

Parallel loops are alright, and this seems like a reasonable use case for them. I would recommend doing something to slow down the loop rate though, such as using a wait function inside each loop or changing your architecture to be event based rather than polling.

The "GENser Measure Output Voltage VI" is not attached so I can't open it up. Does it work independently of this calling VI?