VISA Find Resource only finds GPIB INTFC, not the GPIB INSTR that is connected

[leec]

I am trying to have my LabVIEW program detect the GPIB address of my instrument and open a VISA session to the instrument in my initialize stage. It works for one instrument (HP8566A Spec. Analyzer), but not for another (Fluke 8502A DMM). For the DMM, all that is returned from the VISA Find Resource VI is the GPIB INTFC.

Is there another way to try to get my program to detect which address the device is on?

Thanks for any input,
Chris

[DiegoF]

Hi Chris,

The GPIB::INTFC is the resource for the GPIB board itself. It is always present whenever you have a GPIB inteface.

Go to MAX (Measurement & Automation eXplorer), right-click on the GPIB interface and select Scan for Intstruments. Are the instruments detected? What shows up in MAX?. What are the addresses of the instruments?

The Scan for instruments uses only the lowlevel NI-488.2 driver to detect the instruments on the bus. VISA uses the information there to show the available resources.

DiegoF
National Instruments.

[Siexto]

I'm having this same problem.  I am trying to interface with a SRS PS350 using the NI PS35xx drivers but the device is not detected in MAX.  I only have one GPIB to USB cable, but it has always worked in the past.  Also, I do have GPIB INTFC string returned by FindVisaResource vi.

[Dennis_Knutson]

If you can detect a different instrument with the GPIB controller, then there is something wrong with this instrument. Verify that GPIB is enabled. Some instruments require you to turn it on. Otherwise, short of getting a GPIB analyzer, there's not much you can do except contact the vendor. Until you can detect it MAX, there is no way you will be able to program it.

[Siexto]

I've tried with a second identical SRS PS350 and got the same in MAX.  Does seeing the INTFC in MAX mean that my cable (and I guess GPIB interface board) are working but I am missing something when setting up the instrument itself? 

[Dennis_Knutson]

The INTFC is the controller and none of the handshaking lines need to be working in order for the controller to detect itself.

[tomihassinen]

One possibility for the conflict is the one that has happened to me and my colleague in different computers and set-ups. If you have installed Agilent software, there might be Agilent IO Control or such communication software installed on your PC. It can reserve the resource. It does it on computer boot by default, so you don't even realize that it is running on the background.

This produces exactly the same error, when VISA tries to connect to the same resource.

[eeko123]

Hello,

I have same problems with all GPIB devices. I can not see Connected Instruments box in the bottom of GPIB measurement & automation explorer and there is no Instrument line below NI-USB-HS in My System. Do I missing something or what?

Br, eeko123

[RTSLVU]

I have done similar things in the past but I just basically did an *IDN? query on GPIB addresses, ignore the nonexistent device errors, and parse the response for the instruments.