MS257 monochromator shows up in NI MAX but can't connect on LabVIEW 2011 SP1

[davenalaa]

Hi, 

I am fairly new to labVIEW so please bear with me. I am using an old monochromator (MS 257) with most documentation available here https://www.newport.com/f/ms257-1_4-m-imaging-spectrograph. I downloaded Oriel API examples and Instructions under the "Resources" section and had someone down convert them to LabVIEW 2011 SP1. I am using an RS232 to USB cable, windows detects it and it also shows up in NI MAX as a COM port.

Newport provided me with the Mono Utility software for the MS257 and it is working fine. I want to take step measurements which depends on other instruments, so using the mono utility is not practical because I want to automate the entire process. Since the mono utility software is written in LabVIEW, I figured I can get the source code and modify it such that I can do my step measurements. Problem is, the LabVIEW files  (from the website and the 2011 version is also attached) are not detecting the instrument. I am not sure how to troubleshoot this since the instrument shows up in NI MAX and the Mono Utility software (written in LabVIEW) works just fine. I attached some screenshots of what I'm seeing. 

Thank you!

[GerdW]

Hi dave,

have you tried to send commands directly to the (virtual) COM port instead of using that MS257USB dll?

After all the device seems to provide a "normal" virtual COM port…

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@davenalaa wrote:

Problem is, the LabVIEW files  (from the website and the 2011 version is also attached) are not detecting the instrument. I am not sure how to troubleshoot this since the instrument shows up in NI MAX and the Mono Utility software (written in LabVIEW) works just fine. I attached some screenshots of what I'm seeing. 

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Did you try to debug those VIs?

(The DLLs all seems to created in 2016, so they should be able to run nicely under Win10…)

[rolfk · Accepted solution]

Some questions: Does that monochromator also have an USB connection? Are you connecting it through that when using it with that Mono software?

Your ODevice interface is definitely communicating over that same interface and has no idea about the RS-232 interface you connect instead. It will simply not work as it expects directly the USB connection. Do you leave that connected as when using your device with the Mono software?

The USB device interface is proprietary so only the Oriel software can talk over it. You could use the RS-232 interface to communicate over it through NI-VISA in LabVIEW BUT!!!!! that will require you to have a documentation about the commands the device can recognize over that interface and you to write an according driver in LabVIEW that speaks this exact command language.

[davenalaa]

It has a USB connection so I unplugged the rs232 and it connected. Thanks a lot!