Accessing IVI-COM Driver through TestStand ActiveX Steps

[revillo]

Hello

I need to control a Agilent 6691 PowerSupply with TestStand. For this PowerSupply only an IVI-COM Driver exists, no IVI-C Driver. I tried to access it with the ActiveX Adapter Step. But when I try to create a IAgilent66xx object it produces an error without an meaningfull error message.

Is there any way to get this working ?
Thanks
Olli

[Anand_Jain]

Hi
To help resolve the issue can you please post the sequence file and the error msg/dialog that you get when run the sequence.

Regards
Anand Jain
National Instruments

[revillo]

Hello Anand

thanks for the reply !

First I installed the IVI-COM Driver from Agilent (Version 1.0.4)

The error message pops up at the first step and says
Details: none available
Code: -18351; An error occurred reading an ActiveX Automation server type library.

I included the driver help file in the attachment.
Hope the information will help
Olli

[Sergei]

Hi Olli,

Unfortunately, you have not possibility to accessing IVI-COM Driver through TestStand ActiveX/COM adapter, but You can use LabView adapter to control an Agilent 6691 Power Supply, below here is a link to web page:

http://sine.ni.com/apps/we/niid_web_display.drv_results?p_app_area=&p_man=agilent&p_keywords=6691&p_inst_type=&p_env=&p_drv_type=&p_int=

Br, Sergei

[Sergei]

Hi,

Attached is an Agilent 669xA Series DC Power Supplies VXIplug&play Instrument Driver and then you have to control an Agilent 6691 Power Supply with TestStand C/C++ DLL Adapter. Hope this help you.

[revillo]

Hi Sergei

I first tried the C-Driver but it doesn't support that special PowerSupply, but the LabView Driver works....hurraaaa !

I woudn't have had the idea to look for an LabView Driver

Thanks a lot

Olli

[Scott_Richardson]

Olli -
Just wanted to let you know that we will look into why TestStand cannot read the type library and address this in the future.

[Scott_Richardson]

Olli -
Just to let you know. I tried to use Microsoft's OLEView application from VC7 to view the type library in the HP IVI COM Agilent66xx.dll and the following reference cannot be resolved by the viewer application:

[propget, helpstring("Returns an handle of type IFormattedIO488 ..."), helpcontext(0x00000618)]
HRESULT _stdcall IO([out, retval] ;<GetRefTypeInfo failed;>** pVal);

It appears that when the type library was created, the developer did not add an importlib statement for the IFormattedIO488 interface from VISA COM 3.0 (C:\VXIpnp\VisaCom\GlobMgr.dll). The only option that we have is to make TestStand more tolerant in the future, possibly just not allow that method to be called.

[Scott_Richardson]

Olli -
More followup. It appears that the VISA COM library that I mentioned earlier has a 1.0 and a 3.0 type library embedded. I think the 1.0 version is what the HP driver uses. My system did not have the 1.0 version of the library registered, but only had the 3.0, but they use the same DLL. I stalled the VISA COM component of the Adgilent IO library and the appropriate 1.0 registration appeared and TestStand had no problem reading the type library.

Hope this helps...

[ars]

Hi !,

- I am working on similar need (using Tek scope IVI-COM driver) and currently facing some problems, I was looking for help and saw this thread of discussion almost two year old. Is there any solution to this problem that is now found within two years ?

- I am trying to use IVI-COM driver for scope using ActiveX/COM adapter in TestStand (Ver. 3.5) and when I try to execute sequence I get message as ""Attach to Active Object" in automation call failed. Operation unavailable". Attached is sequence file I am working on.