How to use Extech Instruments model 407123 with Labview 7.1

[Dennis_Knutson · Accepted solution]

You can translate the string to numbers or you can modify the Write to Spreadsheet to accept strings. The instructions for that are on the block diagram and are simple to do. You just have to make sure to save the VI with a new name and in a new location. You can use the Write to Measurement File as easily as the Write to Spreadsheet if you correctly convert the strings to numerics. I have no idea why you are having problems with this. Write to Measurement is no more designed to work with the Instrument I/O Assistant than any of the other file functions. Write Characters to File can also be used. You just have to provide the proper separator - just like Write to Spreadsheet and Write to Measurement File do. All of those create text files. None of them create an Excel file.

If you want additional help, run the VI until you have data displayed. Then go to Edit>Make Current Values Default. Save the VI and attach it.

[sdwndr521]

Thanks for your help.  I'm not sure what my difficulty was before, but the system is doing what I want it to now.  It turns out that the termination character 13 wasn't actually correct, but your suggestion got me thinking, and I was able to download a free hexidecimal code editor to translate the readings coming in.  With that I found out that my termination character was actually a 0D.  Once I started using that as a termination character, the example vi started to behave much differently, and it became much simpler to add the Measurement File sub vi.

I'm not sure what happened the first time with the Measurement File.  I was unable to get it to work with the serial read before, even with translations, but when I tried again, a simple string to decimal converter did the trick just fine.  Perhaps the problem was in my lack of termination character specification.

Any way, I appreciate everybody who checked back on this topic to help me out.

[RavensFan]

A termination character of 13 in decimal is a carriage return.  That is the same thing as 0D in hexadecimal.  Perhaps you tried entering 13 into a constant or control that was set for Hex display, in which case that is decimal 19, or the DC3 character in the ASCII table.

[sdwndr521]

I see.  Well that is good to know as well.  I'm pretty sure the vi I was using was asking for a termination character in terms of hexidecimal, and if 0D is the same is 13 in decimal that would explain why 13 was suggested but didn't work.  Thanks, I'll keep that in mind for the future.