Read from serial-usb converter?

[superomario]

I have an oxygen detector with serial out

link to the owners manual with serial info 

http://www.yokogawa.com/an/download/manual/IM11M10B01-01E.pdf

 and I want to hook it up to my laptop to record the data but i am having trouble as my laptop has no serial port. so i bought this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812120901&nm_mc=OTC-Channel&cm_mmc=OTC-channel... 

How do i read from the usb converter? I can program serial in with the visa on an old pc no problem, but this is giving me some trouble. Any advice would be appreciated thankyou.

[Dennis_Knutson]

Using a converter is no different than using a built in port. Saying you have ' trouble' is an inadequate description. Provide details such as error codes and messages.

[Henrik_Volkers]

And install the VISA driver 😉

[superomario]

I have installed all the drivers i think. I guess my problem is getting started. I don't know how to tell labview to look for a plugged in usb device. Normally with serial I just use the serial configure block and take it from there, but i can't seem to find one for usb, and it does not report anything back for the converter.

[NIquist]

Does the new COM port show up in your PC's Device Manager?  If not, you didn't install its drivers.  If you see it, note the COM port number so you can set it in LabVIEW VISA.  Beware, it could be assigned to any random COM port number and sometimes it MAY get re-assigned a new COM port after a reboot.  This is not always the case but those USB to COM converters are a notorious source of trouble for many people.

[MarcoMauri]

A serial port, even plugged through a serial-USB converter is usually seen just as a serial port.

So:

1) Find out with MAX the serial port name (e.g. "COM2"). Note: in the description of the serial port you may find some hint about it coming from a USB converter.

2) Use the VISA Vis as usual pointing to the serial port you have just found

Marco

[superomario]

Where would the number be? I am in the devices and printers section on the control panel on windows 7 and if i hit properties i can see this for the com name maybe? Port_#0004.Hub_#0005

[superomario]

I just ran the driver setup wizard in visa and got this error for the keyspan dongle.

[NIquist]

No.  You're looking for COMxx where xx is a number assigned to the port.  I don't use Win7 but there must be a Device Manager.  In WinXP it's right-click My Computer > Properties > Hardware > Device Manager > Ports.  A Win7 user will have to help if that doesn't get you there.

As noted above, NI MAX also provides this info: Devices and Interfaces > Ports.

[NIquist]

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@superomario wrote:

I just ran the driver setup wizard in visa and got this error for the keyspan dongle.

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That might be bad news.  My company actually assigned an engineer to buy every USB to COM converter he could find and test them all with as many apps as possible.  There were many models that were problematic.  You might need to just try another brand (or two (dozen!)).

Still, check the Device Manger or MAX just in case you get lucky...