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EET 2259 Unit 14 Instrument Control. Read Bishop, Appendix A. Homework # 14 due next week. Instrument Control. You can use LabVIEW to control instruments ( multimeters , oscilloscopes, etc.) if your computer and the instrument have ports that let them talk to each other.
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EET 2259 Unit 14Instrument Control • Read Bishop, Appendix A. • Homework #14 due next week.
Instrument Control • You can use LabVIEW to control instruments (multimeters, oscilloscopes, etc.) if your computer and the instrument have ports that let them talk to each other. • Two ports commonly used for instrument control are: • RS-232 port (the “serial port” found on many computers) • GPIB port (General Purpose Interface Bus)
Many Bus Standards • There are dozens of bus standards in common use. From Wikipedia’s article on the USB bus:
Terminology: Serial vs. Parallel • Some bus standards apply to serial communication (1 data bit transferred at a time). • Others apply to parallel communication (several data bits—usually 8—transferred at a time).
Terminology: Bits per Second and Baud Rate • These are two common measures of speed in communications. Many writers loosely treat these as being synonyms, but this is not strictly correct. • Bits per second (bps) is the easier to understand. Often expressed as kbps or Mbps. • In the simplest cases, baud rate equals bps. In more sophisticated schemes, the two are related but not equal. Traditional baud rates are 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200.
RS-232 Standard • First version created in early 1960’s. • Obsolete in some respects, but still very widely used. Many PCs have one or two RS-232 ports, although they’re becoming less common as USB becomes more popular. • In recent years, has been applied in ways that its original creators never imagined, sometimes leading to problems. • Original spec defined 25 lines, but often only 9 or fewer are used.
Terminology: DCEvsDTE • In any RS-232 application, each device is designated as either Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) or Data Communications Equipment (DCE). • Simple case: When you connect a personal computer to a modem, the computer is the DTE and the modem is the DCE.
Connectors • Original RS-232 standard called for a DB-25 connector. Since many later applications didn’t use most of the pins, it became common to use DE-9 connectors (often mistakenly referred to as DB-9).
RS-232 Signals • The nine most important signals:
RS-232 Handshaking • The four handshaking signals defined in RS-232 are: • Request to Send (RTS) • Clear to Send (CTS) • Data Terminal Ready (DTR) • Data Set Ready (DSR)
RS-232 Voltage Levels • Roughly speaking, TTL voltage levels are: • 0 V for a binary 0 • +5 V for a binary 1. • This scheme is “unipolar” because it doesn’t use negative voltages. • For transmission over a cable, it’s undesirable to have either logic level close to 0 V. • RS-232 uses a “bipolar” scheme, with: • +3 V to +25 V for a binary 0 (“space”) • -3 V to -25 V for a binary 1 (“mark”)
Limitations of RS-232 • While RS-232 is still widely used, it has many technical limitations. The most obvious are: • Maximum speed: 20 kbaud • Maximum cable length: 50 feet • “Point-to-point” communication: just two users communicating
Some Parallel Bus Standards • Original PC Printer Port (“Centronix Port”) • IEEE 488 (“GPIB”) • SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)
IEEE 488 Standard (“GPIB”) • GPIB = “General Purpose Interface Bus” • Formerly known as HPIB (“Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus”) • First version created in late 1960’s. • Primarily used to connect test equipment (power supplies, function generators, multimeters, oscilloscopes, etc.) and let them be controlled by a computer.
GPIB Controller, Talker, & Listener • In any GPIB application there must be one (and only one) controller. • There can also be up to 14 other devices, which are categorized as talkers, listeners, or talker/listeners. • Each device must be assigned a unique address within the network.
GPIB Connectors • The GPIB standard calls for a 24-pin connector: • 8 data lines • 8 ground lines • 8 control lines (= 3 handshake lines and 5 bus-management lines)
GPIB Control Lines • The 3 handshake lines: • The 5 bus management lines:
Ports on our Fluke 45 DMMs IEEE 488 (“GPIB”) option not installed (Parallel) RS-232(Serial)
Ports on our Tektronix TDS2014s RS-232(Serial) Printer (Parallel) IEEE 488 (“GPIB”) (Parallel)
Instrument Control without LabVIEW • Without LabVIEW, it’s still possible to establish communications between a computer and an instrument with an appropriate port. • Free software such as Windows Hyperterminal lets you communicate with any device connected to the computer’s RS-232 port.
Using Hyperterminal with a Fluke 45 Multimeter Connect serial cable. Meter setup: 2ndRate, 9600, n, on. Connect meter’s leads to func gen set for half-max amplitude & 5 kHz. Hyperterminalsetup: COM1, 9600, 8, N, 1, XON/XOFF. Commands: *IDN?VAC FREQ2 VAL?
Using Hyperterminal with a Tektronix TDS2014 Oscilloscope Connect serial cable. Scope setup: Utility> Options> RS232> 19200, Hard, LF/CR, None. Connect probe to compensation terminal. Hyperterminalsetup: COM1, 19200, 8, N, 1, HARDWARE. Use Notepad to create text file:*IDN?Autosetexecutemeasurement:immed:sourcech1measurement:immed:typepk2measurement:immed:value? Save file & send it from Hypterminal using Transfer > Send Text File.
Instrument Control Using LabVIEW • LabVIEW gives you a few different ways to control instruments: • Using the same low-level commands that we’ve been using in Hyperterminal. • Using an Instrument Driver, which typically is written by an employee of the company that manufactured the instrument. • Using the Instrument I/O Assistant. • Option #2 is usually the best and easiest way to go, assuming that an Instrument Driver is available.
Option #1: Using Low-Level Commands • Within LabVIEW’sInstrument I/O palette are several sub-palettes, including the Serial sub-palette. This contains functions that let you send the same commands we’ve been entering in Hypterterminal.
Option #2: Using an Instrument Driver • NI’s website contains Instrument Drivers for thousands of instruments manufactured by dozens of companies:http://www.ni.com/downloads/instrument-drivers/ • A typical instrument driver consists of one or more llb (LabVIEWlibrary) files containing VIs to designed to control a specific device. • Usually one of these VIs is named “Getting Started,” and you should start with that one.
Option #3: Using the Instrument I/O Assistant • If you can’t find an Instrument Driver for your instrument, LabVIEW’s Instrument I/O Assistant provides a wizard-type dialog box to help you configure and control your device.