11-11-2013 04:42 PM
Hi,
I want to have some very basic physical outputs from my labview program, which can be summed up as "what is the minimum hardware necessary to turn on an led?"
Can the COM port be used as a basic I/O port, can the pins be toggled?
Some people seem to use Arduino's to communicate, how easy are these to set up?
And my final option that I know about is a dedicated I/O board. I'm assuming these are plug and play, but overkill for my purposes.
Cheers,
Michael
Solved! Go to Solution.
11-13-2013 04:47 PM
Hi Michael,
I am not sure how you could control the individual pins of the COM aka USB port. I suppose it can be done in LabVIEW using VISA functions, but it would be more complicated than using an Arduino.
You can interface Arduinos with LabVIEW by using the LabVIEW Interface for Arduino (LIFA). Here are some links to get you started:
1. https://decibel.ni.com/content/groups/labview-interface-for-arduino?view=discussions - LIFA forum
2. https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-16024 - LIFA FAQs
3. https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-15971 LIFA Setup Procedure
Even easier than using an Arduino would be to use an NI myDAQ or an NI USB-6008. Although these 2 devices are some of the simplest NI produces, they are much more capable than just lighting an LED. Moreover, using them would be completely plug-and-play and you would be able to deploy LabVIEW signal acquisition/generation code in literally 5 minutes.
You can look here to see the type of projects that can be made using the myDAQ: https://decibel.ni.com/content/community/academic/products_and_projects/mydaq?view=documents
If you are a student you’ll probably get a discount for the myDAQ if you call your local NI branch.
Hope this helps.
11-14-2013 09:39 AM
11-17-2013 06:21 PM
Thank you, that worked really well, a lot simpler than I was expecting.
For others, find Visa->Advanced->Visa Property Node then Select Property -> Serial Settings -> Modem Line Settings -> and choose your I/O pin