IFR AN930A (0xBFFF0015 (VI_ERROR_TMO) Timeout expired before operation completed)

[julian1982]

Hi,

I'm trying to set up an old IFR AN930A Spectrum Analyzer for an automated test with LabView 8.5.
I have no problem sending the hardware commands.  However, when I try to read from it, this message appears in NI Spy:

0xBFFF0015 (VI_ERROR_TMO) Timeout expired before operation completed.

The VI only gives me that message when I add the VISA Read.  It gives me the same message when I replaced the VISA blocks with GPIB Write/Read blocks.

Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Julian

[Dennis_Knutson]

You are getting a timeout error on the VISA/GPIB Read because there is nothing to read. All that you have done is send a command to the instrument. You haven't issued a query requesting the instrument to return any data. Most instruments use a command set based on SCPI and a SCPI query is a command that is terminated with a '?'. For example, if you wanted to know the current marker frequency, you might issue a 'MARK:FREQ?'. Most instrument manuals come with a section on basic communication and distinguish between commands and queries. You might also want to see if the vendor has a similar instrument at http://sine.ni.com/idnetwork/. Is this an Aeroflex analyzer? If so, that model does not have a driver but some of the existing drivers could provide a good starting point.

[julian1982]

Thanks for your help!