Sending Commands via Serial Port Only One Time

[crossrulz]

Please post your updated code so we know what you currently have instead of making assumptions.

Something might help here would be to create a VI that takes in the command, appends the Carriage Return, writes the updated command, and reads the response.  It could also parse for the error if there is one.  This would be useful for when you send a command.

[Spectrometer]

Here is my updated VI, not much has changed other than the termination character and the number of times the loop runs through.

Here is what the buffer is reading when the "?PS " command is sent once:

"

>"

Here is what the buffer reads when the "?PS " command is sent more than once:

"

(number of steps)>"

The termination character always prints, but the number of steps is only printed if I send it more than once.

Thank you again!!

[crossrulz · Accepted solution]

1. The Termination Character is an input on the VISA Configure Serial Port, so you don't need another property node.

2. You are not reading the responses from your commands.  So you are just reading the responses from the previous commands.

Again, I recommend making a VI specific for sending a command and parsing out the response similar to below.  This will greatly simplify your VI as you can reuse this command VI over and over again.

[Spectrometer]

Again, thank you for your response, I just have a couple questions:

Which property nodes do I not need?

What do you mean by "You are not reading the responses from your commands.  So you are just reading the responses from the previous commands." and how would you solve this?

[AeroSoul]

You don't need this

instead you can do this

According to the user manual you provided, the instrument responds to each command with [CR][LF]>, so by writing "Shutter 0, !GS 0, ?GRAT and only then reading a response, you are basically getting a response from 3 commands, except that read terminates on >, so you are reading 2 or 3 responses in the past before you read the response you want.

After each write add a read (you can even do error checking this way) and then it should work.

[wiebe@CARYA]

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@Spectrometer wrote:

What do you mean by "You are not reading the responses from your commands.  So you are just reading the responses from the previous commands." and how would you solve this?

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You're sending "!Shutter 0", "!GS 0" and "?GRAT". Then you read once, and this probably returns the answer to "!Shutter 0". Then you write "?GRAT" again, and read. This 2nd read probably returns the answer to "!GS 0". This answer leaves the for loop.

As you write 4 times, and only read 2 times, the next iteration will read old messages. A visa init will probably clear those, but when you start communicating in a loop, this will become a problem.

Make a "Write And Read.vi", as suggested. You could call it "Send Command.vi". I almost always end up with a VI like that, simply because that is the way to communicate to a device like this. Every command returns a reply. I assume. I haven't read the manual 🙄.

EDIT: That's exactly what AeroSoul said. Should have scrolled down his message.

[Spectrometer]

Thank you for your help, I finally managed to get it to work by reading the buffer after every write and entering the termination character.

[wiebe@CARYA]

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@Spectrometer wrote:

Thank you for your help, I finally managed to get it to work by reading the buffer after every write and entering the termination character.

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Great idea! 😂

Glad you got it working...

I'd advice you to put it in a sub VI, so you don't have all those copies of exactly the same code! And next time make the sub VI before copying it n times.