sr 400 photon counter (stanford research system)

[josan]

hi,

i need help regarding sr400 two channel gated photon counter(SRS)

my problem is:

i open getting start wizard ,it shows.

hardware presence verified

software  "        ''          ' '

interface sequential verified

upto here it is ok .but when i goto max and open NI488.2 communicator and write string in send string(*IDN?), IT GIVE ERROR

iberr=EABO

i tried the same with interactive control and when i write

GPIB0: ibwrt" *idn?"

it gives

[c100] <errtimo cmpl>

error: EABO

count : 0

so can u plz tell how to tackle that problem.

thanks

[Dennis_Knutson]

The command fails probably because the instrument doesn't support the *IDN? query. Many older instruments don't check the programming manual to see if the command is actually listed. I know that the *IDN? command is not in the CVI driver available from NI.

[josan]

ya i also thought that.but how to check command in manual that it exist.

i have downloaded the driver of sr400 from ni website.i am sending u the mannual can u plz tell which are the commands that  i have to use

thanks

josan

[Dennis_Knutson]

You have a detailed command list on page 39. I don't see *IDN?. The commands you have to use will depend on how you want to program the instrument. Setup the instrument manually to perfrom your tests and see what programming commands have to run in order to duplicate it. You'll also have to decide whether to create a full driver or whether you just want something one-off. The Instrument I/O Assistant is great for those sort of things.

[xseadog]

Hi Josan
if you check the pdf file then you will see that the appropiate section starts on page 53 titled SR400 with the GPIB interface.
Unfortunately the *IDN? is not available.

If you check the example program on page 54 that is written in basic you can 'cut' the essential commands and utilise to interogate
the instrument.
Looking at the code it might be possible to use following string-
The following command should be sent as a string
IFC UNT UNL REN MTA LISTEN 23 SDC
  : the 23 refers to instrument address. Change to instrument address

Has the local remote button disabled the front panel keys?
If so you have established contact.
The actual example set up the instrument up to 10 Mhz.
Suggest the you have NI spy running at the same time, as this provide further help with debugging. Any lines in red indicate a problem.

Go for it

xseadog

[josan]

hi xsea,

well it give the same EABO error

when i send  IFC UNT UNL REN MTA LISTEN 23 SDC as a string in communicator it gives the sme error.

my instrument  gpib address is 23. i am sending u the ni-spy capture ,it also shows the same error.

thanks

[xseadog]

Hi Josan
have you checked that SR400 is in the liasten mode?
Requires an L4 command according to pdf file.

You could try manualling starting the counter then sending a CR command which would reset the counter !!

xseadog

[Dennis_Knutson]

You need to understand the difference between the GPIB bus commands and instrument commands. You seemed to have looked at the basic example that's in the manual. The first line in the example does some things to the GPIB bus's interface management lines like interface clear (IFC) and remote enable (REN). You do not issue these commands in MAX's communicator when you want to program the instrument. Those sort of commands are available but you don't normally have to do any of that. You do need to issue the commands that are listed in the section on remote programming. The very first example listed is the command "CM". As the manual states, if you send CM {j} where {j} is 0-3, you set the counter mode. If you send just "CM", the instrument returns the counting mode. You will not get a response back from the instrument when you set something. You will only get data back from the instrument when you issue a specific command that tells the instrument to return something. Instruments designed within the last 20 years have better command sets than what you have to work with. These "newer" instruments use a "?" at the end of every command that tell the instrument to return data.

Before you do much more, I would recomend that you do a little studying on the GPIB bus. There are some tutorials and app notes at : http://zone.ni.com/devzone/devzone.nsf/webcategories/3992D796622FADB1862567BD006DBD98.

[josan]

hi,

i have the same problem regarding interface with sr 400 counter.

actually we use gpib-usb-hs. to communicate with instrument.

i talk to my NI area manager.he said me before interfacing u have to configure the port in setup config and its better to talk ro developer zone team.

[roccea]

Hi

I just encountered the same problem (using a usb-GPIB-hs link between my computer and a SR400) : did you finally fixed your problem and how?

thanks for help!