Example VI for acquiring data from horizon H-5000 fuel cell stack controller

[aj_dee]

Hello, 

I am trying to log data from horizon fuel cell stack controller in labview. I have been watching tutorial videos but I am currently running against a deadline and I was wondering if anyone has communicated with any horizon controller in labview and already has a vi I could use? 

Thanks.

[GerdW]

Hi aj,

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@aj_dee wrote:

I am trying to log data from horizon fuel cell stack controller in labview. I have been watching tutorial videos but I am currently running against a deadline

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From their brochures and manuals I see they offer a (virtual) serial port to communicate with their controller: you can use VISA functions for communication.

What have you tried so far and where are you stuck?

Do you have a programming manual, that describes the communication protocol?

[raphschru]

On the manufacturer's website, they provide a user manual for a "Monitoring Software" that seems to be developed with LabVIEW. So maybe you can contact them and ask if they can provide you some VIs to communicate with the device.

Regards,

Raphaël.

[aj_dee]

Thanks, I noticed that but once I installed labVIEW on my PC, I lost the original vi that we were previously using to communicate with the device. 

[aj_dee]

Hi,

I have attached the manufacturer's serial communication information. So far all I have managed to do is configure the serial port (vi attached). I am trying to read temperature voltage and current data from the controller but I am unsure how to proceed. 

[raphschru]

Hi aj,

What you have is a user manual for an existing software, not a programming manual. With so little information, I'm afraid you will have to reverse engineer the existing software by monitoring the RS232 port using a serial port monitoring software. Then you can intercept the commands sent by the existing software to read voltage, current and temperature and try to recreate them in your own code.

Regards,

Raphaël.

[aj_dee]

Hi,

I am trying to recreate the monitoring software with a labview code (vi attached). I am using a write to text file to record my data but when I stop the program, the text file is blank with no data recorded. What am I doing wrongly? Also, how do I split the incoming data separately into the current, voltage and temperature signals? The manufacturer recommends a quotient for each that I want to apply. 

Thanks. 

[raphschru]

So now your problem is how to separate and save the data, but are you sure you are getting any data at all ?

Have you tried to monitor the serial port while the existing "monitoring software" is acquiring ? Without sending a command first, I wonder how you are getting any response from your device… Also, keep in mind we don't have your device, so we cannot know the kind of data you are supposed to receive, unless you do Edit->"Make Current Values Default" after your controls have received typical data, so that it is saved in the VI.

I recommend you start from one of the VISA examples (go to Help->Find Examples->Search "read serial"). Example "Continuous Serial Write and Read.vi" is a good starting point.

Regards,

Raphaël.

[GerdW]

Hi,

this video is a much better starting point to implement serial communication with LabVIEW!