04-13-2010 01:49 PM
04-14-2010 11:24 PM
Hi Dave M-Prx,
Is there any reason there would be noise on the RS-232 cable? Have you tried different cables? Have you tried different baud rates? What are the LEDs on the controller doing?
Aaron P
National Instruments
Applications Engineer
04-15-2010 08:45 AM
Aaron,
Thanks for your response. I don't think there is any reason for the cable to be noisy. There are some 110V power cords nearby, so I've tried to keep the RS-232 cable as far from them as practical. I'm certain that there is not more noise from them now than with the old PC. I have tried a couple of different cables with no success. One thing I didn't mention in my first post is that I'm using a USB to RS-232 converter. I did try connecting directly to the serial port on the computer at one point and still had the error, so I don't think the converter is the issue. I have not tried different baud rates, but I will do so. The LEDs on the controller blink seemingly normally until I get the error, then they completely stop blinking.
Dave
04-15-2010 09:59 AM
Dave,
Same OS on new PC? Is the new PC a lot faster than the old?
04-15-2010 10:15 AM
Old PC: Windows 2000 Pro, P4 1.7GHz, 784MB RAM
New PC: Windows XP, Pentium Dual Core 1.8GHZ, 1GB RAM
04-15-2010 10:23 AM
Dave,
Just a couple of thoughts. Is new pc that much faster as to cause a problem with how the code executes? Some kind of compatability issue with WinXP and the version of LV software/drivers you have loaded? A problem with the USB driver and WinXP?
04-15-2010 03:56 PM
Wayne,
Thanks for the suggestions. This new computer is faster than the old one, but I have a loop timer in my vi which should mean that the code executes at the same rate as before. I realize that's not completely true, but its a very simple vi so I doubt there's much of a difference. I'm sure its possible that somehow my drivers aren't correct for the OS, where can I find a list of which drivers I should be using? I'm using Labview 8.2 which I know is XP compatible. Again with the USB to RS-232 converter, its possible that there is a conflict with the OS, but I'm not sure how to tell. I've used this same type of coverter (with the same driver) on other applications running XP and never had an issue so it seems unlikely.
Dave
06-18-2010 05:17 PM
We have nearly the identical problem, but ours crashes every time the vi starts to run not frequently like yours. Did you ever get this resolved? We still have the old computer installed and running most of the time and it works fine. To try the new computer and upgraded LabVIEW we just switch a few connections and completely disconnect the old computer. However, the VI crashes every time. In MAX we get an error of the component is offline or something like this. However, just moments before the fieldpoint modules was working fine on the old computer. Old computer has LabVIEW 5.1 and the new one has LabVIEW 2009 with re-written/updated VI's. Fieldpoint drivers were updated on the new computer also.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
I know too little about LabVIEW to be very effective, but enough to be dangerous
06-21-2010 05:17 PM
Hi mbuis,
Can you elaborate a little more on how you upgraded your VI? Moving from LabVIEW 5.1 to 2009 is quite a jump, so we need to make sure that the new VI has been upgraded correctly. What driver are you using on the new computer? Are you configuring your hardware in MAX? Can you write a new simple VI and communicate with your device in LabVIEW 2009?
Aaron P
National Instruments
Applications Engineer
06-22-2010 09:27 AM
We paid someone with a lot more experience they I have to upgrade the VI. The drivers on the new computer are up to date.
We discovered what we believe to be the error with the help of the fine people at NI. We have FieldPoint modules FP-1001. We thought these were RS-232 connections. Turns out they are RS-485. The old computer had a matchmaking card in it that must be RS-485. We ordered a USB to RS-485 adapter cable that should be in this week. So, hopefully this will take care of things.
Thank you for taking the time to try and help. If the adapter cable works, I will try and remember to post it here in case anyone else ever has this problem.