communicating with a device

[Se]

I’m trying to communicate with a new instrument e.g to control such as moving to the left or right in a specified time given, get the reading out of it etc. I’m using serial communication, and the instrument does not have a driver. Does it mean that I need to create a driver? If that’s the case what kind of things that I need to know?

[Dennis_Knutson]

You don't necessarily need to create a driver but it would make your program easier to maintain, among other things. You will need the programming manual from the manufacturer and NI has a lot of resources. I would recomend going here and look at the LabVIEW Driver section. Also, since the instrument uses serial communication, I would recomend starting with Hyperterminal to get an understanding of the instrument's commands before you jump into the LabVIEW program. You'll also have to decide whether to use the old traditional serail functions or VISA.

[Se]

Dennis,
I tried terminal exe as you sugested, some of the commands are working fine but some aren't. Why is that the case?
Se.

[Dennis_Knutson]

Without the instrument or at least the instrument manual, I would have no idea. Serial communication, imho, is never nice and clean and I will gladly pay a manufacturer any kind of premium for any alternative that they offer like GPIB, or TCP/IP. In a case like yours, I would suggest digging deeper into the manual and getting on the phone to the instrument manufacturer.