Communicating between GPIB IEEE 488-1978 Instrument and LabView

[Sam Mason]

Hi,
I'm currently trying to convert some old BBC BASIC Code into Labview 6.1.
The BBC Computer has a GPIB Comms Unit attached to it to communicate with an old Marconi Instruments Microwave Counter 2440 using GPIB IEEE 488-1978.
I am currently trying to get Labview to communicate with the Counter using GPIB 488 vis and a NI GPIB 488.2 Card but I'm not able to get anything out of the Counter or get MAX to even acknowledge the equipment exists.
I was wondering if anyone out there knows if it is possible to communicate with a GPIB IEEE 488-1978 instrument in Labview 6.1 (or any other LV Versions) and if it is, does anyone have a driver for the instrument (Marconi Instruments Microwave Counter 2440 circa 19
84) or having any helpful tips on the protocol for talking to a IEEE 488-1978 instrument.(I have some previous experience using VISA.)

Many Thanks in Advance for your help.

Sammy Mason

[Brian_Beal]

I have done this with several instruments. It is best to get a hold of the manual for this instrument and see what commands it uses.

MAX will not find this using the *IDN? query. In MAX, open the "Communicate With Instrument" window and type "ID?" (without the quotes), and hit query. You should get some basic information back from your instrument.

I use GPIB Read and GPIB Write most often. Your instrument probably doesn't support much else. Maybe Clear and Poll.

Be careful if you are using a newer, faster computer. There are Knowledge Bases and Discussion Forum topics that discuss the problems that can arise. To prevent these problems, I created my own Read and Write VIs. They just have a few milliseconds delay before the read or writ
e takes place