Hello all, I'm looking for recommendations for debugging test equipment
through their GPIB interface. I'm just getting started in the field of
test equipment repair, (after having been a tech for over 20 years, but
*no* GPIB experience) and have found that some equipment will only respond
to test diagnostics through their GPIB port. For example, I have a number
of HP 3457A DMM's where the power on self test fails. In the
(50MB!)service manual
http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/...N&cc=US&lc=eng
(pg 8-36 and 8-37), it states that a ERR? command or an AUXERR? command
must be sent to the DMM in order to retrieve a bitmask of what test
actually failed.

I currently have no GPIB hardware or software, but have taken a look at
National Instruments who have both a USB and a PCI based GPIB card which I
suppose come with drivers. http://www.ni.com/gpib/ Is this all I need to
get a simple terminal-like interface which will enable me to communicate
with the meter? Looking through the docs on these two devices tell me
nothing but how to install the hardware, not how to use them. I don't want
to have to fork over $1000 or more for a sophisticated program like
Labview (and have a huge learning curve to learn the software!) when all I
need is a simple user interface similar to Hyperterminal or some such. My
programming skills are practically nil, unless you count simple BASIC
stuff... (And I mean VERY simple - hey, I'm a hardware guy!)

Thank you for any help or recommendations, I really appreciate it.

JW wrote:
Hello all, I'm looking for recommendations for debugging test equipment
through their GPIB interface. I'm just getting started in the field of
test equipment repair, (after having been a tech for over 20 years, but
*no* GPIB experience) and have found that some equipment will only respond
to test diagnostics through their GPIB port. For example, I have a number
of HP 3457A DMM's where the power on self test fails. In the
(50MB!)service manual
http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/...N&cc=US&lc=eng
(pg 8-36 and 8-37), it states that a ERR? command or an AUXERR? command
must be sent to the DMM in order to retrieve a bitmask of what test
actually failed.

I currently have no GPIB hardware or software, but have taken a look at
National Instruments who have both a USB and a PCI based GPIB card which I
suppose come with drivers. http://www.ni.com/gpib/ Is this all I need to
get a simple terminal-like interface which will enable me to communicate
with the meter? Looking through the docs on these two devices tell me
nothing but how to install the hardware, not how to use them. I don't want
to have to fork over $1000 or more for a sophisticated program like
Labview (and have a huge learning curve to learn the software!) when all I
need is a simple user interface similar to Hyperterminal or some such. My
programming skills are practically nil, unless you count simple BASIC
stuff... (And I mean VERY simple - hey, I'm a hardware guy!)

Thank you for any help or recommendations, I really appreciate it.

Go with the HP card and drivers. Still not cheap for a PCI card. Which
leaves ebay for an older card using the AT interface and maybe DOS or
Win95 and a bit of ingenuity. Go digging through the HP website and you
may find the drivers for this stuff. Haven't used any of this stuff in
years, and when I did it was seriously buried.

Andrew

Sounds like you'll be doing some very basic HPIB
work. Consider getting an old HP-85 computer. These
have HPIB, a monitor, keyboard, printer, and BASIC
language built in. Nice small package as well. Been using
mine for years. Be sure to get the books.

Steve

On Tue, 01 May 2007 05:54:28 -0400, JW put finger to
keyboard and composed:

Hello all, I'm looking for recommendations for debugging test equipment
through their GPIB interface.

Make your own serial to GPIB converter?
http://home8.inet.tele.dk/jan_p/micro/micro1.htm

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Hi,

Hello all, I'm looking for recommendations for debugging test equipment
through their GPIB interface.
[...]
I currently have no GPIB hardware or software, but have taken a look at
National Instruments who have both a USB and a PCI based GPIB card which
I suppose come with drivers. http://www.ni.com/gpib/ Is this all I need
to get a simple terminal-like interface which will enable me to
communicate with the meter?

Go with the HP card and drivers. Still not cheap for a PCI card. Which
leaves ebay for an older card using the AT interface and maybe DOS or
Win95 and a bit of ingenuity.

Even easier ... apart from Steve's idea with the HP-85, I would suggest to
get some old PC with an ISA slot, plus an ISA-slot GPIB card such as the
HP82335 (which you can get *much* cheaper than any PCI card today).

Install Linux on the PC, install the linux-gpib package, and off you go :-)
If you need some sample code - command line only, no GUI involved - feel
free to have a look at my website (link below).

In my home "lab", I'm using such a setup on a P-II (recently replaced by a
P-III, whew!) for several years now, and it has all the functionality that
I need to read out several DMMs, control a power supply, etc.

Cheers + HTH,

- Joerg


--
joerg dot hau at swissonline dot ch * Lausanne, Switzerland
http://homepage.sunrise.ch/mysunrise/joerg.hau/
"All standard disclaimers apply".
remove the obvious from my address to reply

On Wed, 02 May 2007 22:06:48 +0200 Joerg Hau
wrote in Message id:
:

Hi,

Hello all, I'm looking for recommendations for debugging test equipment
through their GPIB interface.
[...]
I currently have no GPIB hardware or software, but have taken a look at
National Instruments who have both a USB and a PCI based GPIB card which
I suppose come with drivers. http://www.ni.com/gpib/ Is this all I need
to get a simple terminal-like interface which will enable me to
communicate with the meter?

Go with the HP card and drivers. Still not cheap for a PCI card. Which
leaves ebay for an older card using the AT interface and maybe DOS or
Win95 and a bit of ingenuity.

Even easier ... apart from Steve's idea with the HP-85, I would suggest to
get some old PC with an ISA slot, plus an ISA-slot GPIB card such as the
HP82335 (which you can get *much* cheaper than any PCI card today).

Install Linux on the PC, install the linux-gpib package, and off you go :-)
If you need some sample code - command line only, no GUI involved - feel
free to have a look at my website (link below).

Thanks, and thanks to everybody who responded, I appreciate your time.
I'll be sure take a look at your stuff. Somebody also emailed me with
regards to this, and mentioned a cheap ($149) Prologix USB adapter
http://prologix.googlepages.com/home and FREE software for Windows
http://www.thegleam.com/ke5fx/gpib/readme.htm As a bonus (for you
programmer types, not me) the source code comes with it.

Thanks again.

On Fri, 04 May 2007 05:47:23 -0400 JW wrote in Message id:
:

On Wed, 02 May 2007 22:06:48 +0200 Joerg Hau
wrote in Message id:
:

Hi,

Hello all, I'm looking for recommendations for debugging test equipment
through their GPIB interface.
[...]
I currently have no GPIB hardware or software, but have taken a look at
National Instruments who have both a USB and a PCI based GPIB card which
I suppose come with drivers. http://www.ni.com/gpib/ Is this all I need
to get a simple terminal-like interface which will enable me to
communicate with the meter?

Go with the HP card and drivers. Still not cheap for a PCI card. Which
leaves ebay for an older card using the AT interface and maybe DOS or
Win95 and a bit of ingenuity.

Even easier ... apart from Steve's idea with the HP-85, I would suggest to
get some old PC with an ISA slot, plus an ISA-slot GPIB card such as the
HP82335 (which you can get *much* cheaper than any PCI card today).

Install Linux on the PC, install the linux-gpib package, and off you go :-)
If you need some sample code - command line only, no GUI involved - feel
free to have a look at my website (link below).

Thanks, and thanks to everybody who responded, I appreciate your time.
I'll be sure take a look at your stuff. Somebody also emailed me with
regards to this, and mentioned a cheap ($149) Prologix USB adapter
http://prologix.googlepages.com/home and FREE software for Windows
http://www.thegleam.com/ke5fx/gpib/readme.htm As a bonus (for you
programmer types, not me) the source code comes with it.

Thanks again.

As a somewhat unrelated question, A lot of test equipment is built in a
backplane or plug-in type architecture. How the heck to you access the
boards/modules when you need to probe them? I figure that the OEM had
specially made extender cards for their techs; is there any aftermarket
company who sells these things? I had very little luck in finding anything
on this, except for common busses like PCI, ISA, VME, etc.

Thanks again!

Joerg Hau wrote in
news
Hi,

Hello all, I'm looking for recommendations for debugging test
equipment through their GPIB interface.
[...]
I currently have no GPIB hardware or software, but have taken a look
at National Instruments who have both a USB and a PCI based GPIB card
which I suppose come with drivers. http://www.ni.com/gpib/ Is this all
I need to get a simple terminal-like interface which will enable me to
communicate with the meter?

.....


Or for a 'more modern approach' a GPIB/USB interface such as
http://www.techsoft.de/htbasic/82357am.htm?82357a.htm






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