General Question: Where do I start? (New to Labview)

[simplyzee]

I'm interested in finding a VI that conducts a sweep across frequencies and gives me the instance of impedance (will be using an Agilent 4263 LRC Meter)

Currently I have downloaded the Agilent 4263b operation manual which provides me information on the Impedance analyzer. I have also gone ahead and downloaded the respective driver associated with this device and see a bunch of Labview VI's that are available to run. My question is how do I know what these VI's do - I'm looking over the general operational manual and don't see a dedicated section. Is there an exclusive driver manual someone could direct me too. Am I missing something on where I can find out more about what the VI's do / how to run them ? 

Any help would be greatly appreciated  

[GerdW · Accepted solution]

Hi zee,

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@simplyzee wrote:

My question is how do I know what these VI's do - I'm looking over the general operational manual and don't see a dedicated section. 

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So you already have the device driver VIs downloaded and installed?

The information on "what they do" can be found in the (programming) manual of your Agilent device: the VIs "just" call the commands described in your manual.

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@simplyzee wrote:

I'm interested in finding a VI that conducts a sweep across frequencies and gives me the instance of impedance (will be using an Agilent 4263 LRC Meter)

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You need to write such a VI: you have all those low-level functions (like setting a sine frequency and reading an impedance value) available…

[billko]

If you know how to do the stuff manually, you'll be at a HUGE advantage because then you can just match the descriptions of the driver VIs to what you want to accomplish.

[Bob_Schor]

Just how "new" are you to LabVIEW?  Do you know how to write LabVIEW Programs?  Do you know what a LabVIEW Project is?  Do you understand Data Flow, and how it allows LabVIEW to do parallel processing?

Do you know how to use MAX (Measurement and Automation eXplorer)?  Hooking up your device and then "playing with its features" using MAX is a great way to "get acquainted with your Hardware".

Bob Schor

[simplyzee]

Yea. After some further reading and playing around with labview I got a better understanding of what the driver provides. 

I saw a bunch of folders: (Config, Data, Initialize, etc.) and thought they were all working examples for different scenarios. I come to realize they're specific "prompts" called on by the bigger VI when executing the code. First time Labview user so sorry for any overly obvious questions.

[simplyzee]

I'm pretty new to Labview. My only experience has been from youtube guides and I've come to understand there's a flow to keep in mind with VIs. Just wrapped my head around Labview needing a programming flow to operate (stuff like initializing -> Action/Status -> Utility and then close). Working my way through the single measurement example found in the base driver and breaking things apart. Don't know what MAX is, I'm using a GPIB to communicate with the device, but if there's something I'm missing or an alternative to make things easier, feel free to me know. 

Thank you for your input  

[Bob_Schor]

Greetings, Z, and welcome to the LabVIEW Community.

     It is very helpful to us (to help you) if you provide some background on your situation so that we can be more helpful.  Some things that are useful for us to know ...

• A bit of your background.  For example, are you currently a student (high school, undergrad, graduate)?  Do you have any programming experience (BASIC, C, Python, Matlab)?
• What version (year and whether 32-bit or 64-bit) of LabVIEW are you using?  Are you using Base, Full, or Community edition?
• Did you install LabVIEW yourself, or did someone else install it on the computer you are using?  What OS is the computer running?
• If you have a particular question about some program you wrote, please attach the Program itself (the .VI file).  You can also attach a picture of your code, but that doesn't let us "poke around" as freely.

The first page on this Forum includes a section called the "NI Learning Center".  I'd start there and make my way through all three entries.

So you don't know about NI MAX.  Assume you are running Windows 10, click the Start Button, scroll down the Program List, and you should find an entry "NI MAX".  If it is not there, look inside the National Instruments folder.  If it is still missing, you have a very incomplete and unlikely-to-function LabVIEW setup.

NI MAX is a (very) helpful LabVIEW utility that looks at what is attached to your computer, and tries to identify any I/O device that LabVIEW can use to send or receive data.  You use MAX to load device-specific Driver software to those devices that require it.  MAX also allows you, through its User Interface, to examine, configure, and test connected devices (including GPIB Instruments).

Bob Schor

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