Xantrex PS ethernet interface and VXI-11 compliance

[pavanb]

I am trying to find if once can use VISA (or better just use NI's LV GPIB PnP driver and change the interface to ethernet from GPIB) to talk to the XFR over ethernet. I am trying to buy their instrument with their Ethernet Interface Option but I am not sure about how well their VX-11 protocol is. The communication is going to be pretty simple and I wanted to know if anyone has ever communicated with a Xantrex PS over ethernet using VISA. They have an option of plugging an ethernet or GPIB interface to their instruments and I have attached the ethernet interface information.

Instrument,
http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/102/docserve.asp

NI PnP LV GPIB driver,
http://sine.ni.com/apps/we/niid_web_display.download_page?p_id_guid=E3B19B3E93D0659CE034080020E74861

[LoganS]

First let's make sure I'm understanding you - do you want to be able to communicate with the instrument over BOTH ethernet (VXI-11) and GPIB? If so, you can use VISA to communicate with either interface.

KB:What Is VXI-11 and Is It Supported by NI-VISA?

But is that what you are really asking? Please let me know.

Logan S.

[pavanb]

1. We would like to talk to this instrument over ethernet using VISA. do you have experience with ethernet instruments or Xanterx PS and their ethernet interface.
2. We would like to use NI's LV GPIB PnP driver and change the VISA session to ethernet from GPIB. will this work.

[LoganS]

1. I personally do not have experience communicating with that particular hardware, however if it responds to communication via VXI-11, then you should be able to communicate with it with VISA.

2. If you have a device and can connect to it in two different ways - GPIB and ethernet - and the commands to communicate with it are the same regardless of the communication bus, then you should just set up a program using VISA. If you programmed the interface with the GPIB level calls, then you would be restricted to just GPIB communication -- changing to the ethernet protocol would require you to program using an entirely different API. VISA abstracts lower level details for you, and would allow you communicate with your instrument via VXI-11 or GPIB, simply depending on the VISA resource.

Logan S.

[pavanb]

The ethernet interface that Xantrex has for it's instruments is not VX-11 compliant. But I am able to test it using a VISA TCP/IP resource "TCPIP::10.15.117.167::771::SOCKET" but not communicate.

I know that the Xantrex PS is VISA compliant for GPIB and Serial. Xantrex gets it's ethernet interfaces from , bb-elec, http://www.bb-elec.com/Subcategory.asp?Subcategoryid=668, Digi One Family Single-Port Serial to Ethernet Connectivity I believe. What the Digi s/w does is that it creates a virtual/fake COM/serial port that points to the ethernet connection. The problem is it probably does some translation between COM to Ethernet port. I need to know what it does so I can do the same in VISA maybe, to make it work.

I need your help because we are using the RT platform; on windows referencing this virtual COM port works fine but I am not sure what settings their s/w does to make it work under windows. I need to do the same on RT.

Has anybody come across this before. I appreciate your help.

[pavanb]

Correction on the vendor (Digi is the correct one) and the website,
http://www.digi.com/support/productdetl.jsp?pid=1916&osvid=57&s=12

The culprit is, RealPort COM/TTY port redirection software

[JLS]

Hello,

I haven't worked with this specifially, but you noted that "the problem is it probably does some translation between COM to Ethernet port..."; have you tried contacting the manufacturer? Repost if you haven't found a solution yet and I'll try to theorize as to what's going on; perhaps you can experiment with some simple I/O to figure out what's going on!

Wishing you good luck and looking forward to your post!

Best Regards,

JLS

[pavanb]

VISA server saved my soul. RT > Power Supply hosted by the Visa Server on windows > com to ethernet redirection. It's a workaround but I would like to stick with a VX1-11 compliant instrument in the future.

[pavanb]

This issue has been resolved, referennce: repsonse on 05-04-2005 05:04 PM