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How to see data from anemometer in labview?

I'm attempting to see the data from my anemometer via labview...when that didn't work I wanted to make sure the instrument was working, so I tried to set it up in HyperTerminal like the anemometer instruction manual suggested. Now HyperTerminal won't let me connect to the anemometer using that port (keeps saying another program is using Com5, and to try again later!)
Any suggestions on how to just basically See the data in labview from my anemometer(or hyperterminal if you're better at trouble shooting that!!)??
Thanks!
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It's possible that Com5 isn't the correct port to read the data from. Since the built in serial port on most PCs is setup to be Com1, you might just be talking to wrong port. Of course if you've changed the default system setup or have added some extra serial ports, this may not be the issue. Hyperterminal probably isn't working because you have opened the port in LabVIEW but have not properly closed it. The operating system won't let more than one application at a time to access a serial port. Try shutting down LabVIEW, then try Hyperterminal. That should release the port. You might need to reboot. If you still get the error in Hyperterminal, then you are trying to access a port that is already in use by something else.

Since your anemometer is a serial instrument, the easiest way to simply read data from it would be to use the Instrument Assistant Express VI. (assumming you're using LabVIEW 7.0 or 7.1 here)The Instrument Assistant is pretty good at hepling you figure out how to talk to your device. But if you're going to be using this in an application, you should look into using the VISA functions.

Have a look through the LabVIEW examples (look in the help menu for "Find Examples") for plenty of serial examples. And remember to always close the port at the end of your application and don't use the Abort button on the toolbar to stop your application. Put everything in a While loop and use a boolean Stop button. The examples will show how to set this up.

Ed


Ed Dickens - Certified LabVIEW Architect - DISTek Integration, Inc. - NI Certified Alliance Partner
Using the Abort button to stop your VI is like using a tree to stop your car. It works, but there may be consequences.
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If you can't reach your serial device with LabVIEW or Hyperterm

Some pitfalls I happened to see time by time:

- If you have notebook: booting without line power switch off the power to the COMports.
- Palm Hotsync likes to grep the ports on start-up
- Using USB-RS232 boxes: Your COM port number depends on the USB address (USB port and hubs in between)
- Your OS identifies your serial device on boot up as a mouse or whatever system-device : plug it in after boot up

You can try a VISA find to look for reachable COMs (see help)
Greetings from Germany
Henrik

LV since v3.1

“ground” is a convenient fantasy

'˙˙˙˙uıɐƃɐ lɐıp puɐ °06 ǝuoɥd ɹnoʎ uɹnʇ ǝsɐǝld 'ʎɹɐuıƃɐɯı sı pǝlɐıp ǝʌɐɥ noʎ ɹǝqɯnu ǝɥʇ'


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One point, if you are running Labview in parallel with Hyperterminal and have opened the port in Labview, then there is a good chance that Labview will hang on to the COM port untill death... or at least until you exit Labview.
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