Comms to TTi PL303-P Power supply using LXI

[morngoose]

Trying to communicate to a TTi PSU using the LAN interface.

Loaded all the IVI and LXI software, and find the device in Measurement explorer.

I believe using VISA, you can communicate to LXI devices, but I am not having much luck.

Anyone had a go at LXI and TTi Power supplies? - would love to get some advice or an example.

Thanks

[Brian_Powell]

With LXI devices, the only promise is that some kind of IVI driver can talk to the device.  Many LXI instruments support direct VISA communications, but that isn't part of the standard.

Do you have a programming reference for this device?  If so, does it show SCPI commands for sending/receiving responses to/from the instrument?  If so, VISA will probably work.

[morngoose]

TTi got back to me with the following, which solved my problem:

Our LXI products have to use the raw socket VISA connection. 

So instead of “TCPIP0:: 192.168.2.145::inst0::INSTR” you have to use "TCPIP0:: 192.168.2.145::9221::SOCKET"

[camtest]

Hmph. I've just fought with this one as well for a couple of hours, but didn't realise from the symptoms that it was a VISA alias problem.

Letting MAX create the alias automatically seemed to work - *IDN? gives the correct answer - so I moved on to other things.

Then it turns out that any command (valid or not) will produce the same response!!

One has to create the alias manually in MAX by entering IP address and port number from the instrument's webpage. In this case the port# is 9221, so it ended up as

TCPIP0::172.16.9.113::9221::SOCKET

[Shane-C]

Sounds like you were able to communicate with the device using the *IDN command, and it gives you the expected response.  Did I understand that correctly?  Is your system working as expected now, or still giving you trouble?

Regards,

Shane C

[camtest]

Hi

Oh yes I could get an *IDN? response right from the start - indeed, whatever command I sent produced the same response! I was almost reduced to making a wrapper round the web interface ...

However, once I found the correct magic incantations in MAX to create the VISA alias, all was well.

It was just very confusing that it sort-of worked when using the default VISA settings, but had such a peculiar failure mode.

thanks

John