Why does LabVIEW think the Analyser is not connected?

[George Gall]

Hi All,

        this almost works but not quite.

        I have a specialised analyser from LeCroy called a CATC Protocol Analyser System Model 10k. It is for observing and supplying traffic on a SATA disc interface. LeCroy supply an automation library of ActiveX components for controlling it called SataAutomation.tlb. After registering this with a utility I found called ccrpregutil.exe the automation library became visible in labVIEW.

        As an exercise to prove that this can work from LabVIEW I have written a small vi, called Code Interface.vi on file and uses two of the (simplest) methods from within it. They should return the Serial number and the firmware version. The analyser is connected (via usb) to the computer and is powered up. Running the attached vi results in the following message. "Error -2147220975. Exception occured in CATC.SataAnalyser.1: Analyser device is not connected Code Interface.vi.".

So it thinks the analyser is not connected when physically it is. Does anyone know if I have to do something extra to "Connect" it. There is  not a method in the .tlb file to do this. All the methods seem to assume it is connected.

The chances that anyone has seen this exact problem with this exact instrument are small but perhaps someone has seen something similar.

thanks

George

ps this is LabVIEW2009

[aeastet]

Did you install the device drivers for the device. If it is communicating via USB there are probably drivres that need to be installed. Did you get software from LeCroy with this device and can you talk to it with there software?

[George Gall]

Hi, when first connected the Windows "Found New Hardware" program popped up and I asked it to find the drivers automatically. This it reported doing successfully. There is a LeCroy program called SataSuite which runs quite happily and ineracts properly with the analyser. My miniscule trial LabVIEW program always reports that the anlyser is not connected. I asked this question on this forum because the local LeCroy support man was away for a few days and I was hoping someone, somewhere might have had and solved a similar problem. Apparently he's back tomorrow and we're going to have a web based debug session. With any luck this should resolve the problem. I'll post the outcome...

Thanks

George

[Andrew McL]

Hi George,

I have been looking into this problem for you. First of all, I must advise you that it is not possible for us to replicate this problem since we do not have the required hardware. As a result, the support I am going to be able to provide on this issue is limited. I had a look into the error that you are receiving and it seems that LabVIEW can offer no explanation as it is undefined, it may be that this is a custom error message/code that was created by LeCroy.

I found this link to a Knowledge Base (KB) article that may be of use for you, it relates to communicating with 3rd party hardware in LabVIEW. Do you know if LeCroy provide another methodology you can try for controlling the device such as LabVIEW VIs or a DLL? Otherwise, I can only advise that a high success rate is usually achieved when using ActiveX with LabVIEW and that this issue may be due to a problem in the ActiveX library that is provided by LeCroy. For more information on ActiveX in LabVIEW, see this link. I will continue looking into this for you but I must reiterate that there is only so much I can do without having the hardware to recreate the problem.

Best Regards,

Christian Hartshorne 

Application Engineer

National Instrument

[Christian_Hartshorne_NIUK]

Hi George,

I have been looking into this problem for you. First of all, I must advise you that it is not possible for us to replicate this problem since we do not have the required hardware. As a result, the support I am going to be able to provide on this issue is limited. I had a look into the error that you are receiving and it seems that LabVIEW can offer no explanation as it is undefined, it may be that this is a custom error message/code that was created by LeCroy.

I found this link to a Knowledge Base (KB) article that may be of use for you, it relates to communicating with 3rd party hardware in LabVIEW. Do you know if LeCroy provide another methodology you can try for controlling the device such as LabVIEW VIs or a DLL? Otherwise, I can only advise that a high success rate is usually achieved when using ActiveX with LabVIEW and that this issue may be due to a problem in the ActiveX library that is provided by LeCroy. For more information on ActiveX in LabVIEW, see this link. I will continue looking into this for you but I must reiterate that there is only so much I can do without having the hardware to re-create the problem.

Best Regards,

Christian Hartshorne 

Application Engineer

National Instrument

[George Gall]

Christian,

              thanks for reply and the links. I appreciate that you wouldn't have the hardware and thus it was a long shot that someone might recognise the issue. Fortunately the LeCroy support man is available tomorrow and I expect we'll make some progress then. I'll post the result.

Thanks once again.

George