QL355P

[FilipTTI]

Dear,

We recently bought a programmable power supply (QL355P from the company TTI). We want to address
the power supply with a Labview program through a USB cable. The problem is
that one way or the other, the machine doesn't respond to the "initialize
block", delivered with the drivers on a CD (the machine refuses to go to
"remote control" even though it is recognised by the computer). We also
tried a GPIB cable but it failed also. Because some of my colleagues are
experienced with Labview, we suppose that the problem lies within the
hardware. So therefore my question whether there are some test programs,
written in Labview for instance, to test our QL335P? Or is there something
we can do during the installing, something we might have forgotten,...

Thank you in advance

Sincerely

Filip

[Dennis_Knutson]

Looking at the datasheet from the vendor, it looks like the USB connection emulates a serial port. So, asssuming that you have installed the driver for the USB connection, the first thing to check is whether the USB connection shows up in MAX as a serial port. If it appears there, then you should be able to talk to the instrument with MAX or even Hyperterminal. If you are using a GPIB connection, then in MAX you can do a scan for instruments to see whether it appears.

Only when you can get the USB or GPIB connection to appear in MAX should you try the instrument driver. If the driver is written with VISA (and make sure you have VISA installed on your PC), then there should be VISA Resource Name control on the front panel. There is a little arrow on the right side that you can click to get a list of all VISA resources. Select the one that matches what you found in MAX. If you run the driver and get an error, be sure to post back with the error code.

[FilipTTI]

Ok - I will try this out and come back to you if there is still a problem...

Thanks,

Filip

[FilipTTI]

Hi,

We tried to use hyperterminal and for the first time, the machine went into
remote control but it blocked. So every time we start hyperterminal and make
a connection, the machine goes into remote control from the moment we start
typing. The problem is however that it doesn't respond our comments (but we
are no hyperterminal or MAX (which we don't know) experts). In Labview
itself, we installed the driver some weeks ago and one of the building
blocks is the "initialize" block. This block however gives the same error
every time. This is: "Error -1074135040 occurred at TQLP Initialize.vi" and
"Possible reason(s): Driver Status:  (Hex 0xBFFA0000)", which is the same
error when you plug out the machine. So it seems that Labview (or the
initialize block) doesn't know where the power supply is located, which is
strange because in my device manager (of Windows XP), the power supply is
recognized as a COM port and seems to work just fine.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

Thanks,

Filip

[Dennis_Knutson]

That error code is undefined and I'm not sure what the problem could be. Without having the driver to look at, it would be hard to say what the problem is. Do you happen to know whether it's a native LabVIEW or an IVI driver?

You should also open MAX and expand the device and interfaces listing. If the USB->RS232 converter is listed there as a com port, then it should be useable in LabVIEW and the driver.

[FilipTTI]

Hi,

We succeeded to give commands to the power supply and this with the help of
MAX. The commands were given in the manual but do not correspond with the
building blocks of Labview. I have the drivers on a CD, but they are also
available on the net: http://www.tti-test.com/downloads/drivers-download.htm
(the last one in the list). It seems that the building blocks they provide
do not work. The blocks that do work are from Labview itself (like the "open
VISA" building block). The problem is now that I have to make all the
subvi's myself while the blocks were so called given. If you have any idea
what could be wrong with those blocks (especially the initialize block), you
would help me a lot further, otherwise I will rewrite all the blocks myself.

Thanks for your kind help.

[Dennis_Knutson]

They are IVI drivers with a LabVIEW wrapper around them. Do you have the IVI Compliance Package installed?

[RALSTU]

Did anyone actually manage to get the TQLP initialize.vi working, I really need some help with this. if anyone has any advice, or a vi that works then I would be really grateful

[gouvi]

Yes, I just wanted to accompany RALSTU by asking the same thing, too. Since there's no helpful info on the Internet about it.

G.

[FilipTTI]

Hi,

We never succeeded in making the initialize.vi work for the QL355P. In stead, we used direct commands sent via the GPIB connector. This worked without a problem. For everyone having trouble with initializing this device, I would suggest to try the same method. You can find the appropriate commands in the device manual.

Best regards,

Filip