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Netherlands 03480-33466, Norway 32-848400, Spain (91) 640 0085,
Sweden 08-730 49 70, Switzerland 056/20 51 51, U.K. 0635 523545
MicroGPIB Products
National Instruments has developed the MicroGPIB product line to offer a
series of high performance, low cost IEEE 488 support items that are
packaged in small all-metal cases, capable of being rack mounted.
Limited Warranty
The GPIB-BUF is warranted against defects in materials and workmanship
for a period of two years from the date of shipment, as evidenced by
receipts or other documentation. National Instruments will, at its option,
repair or replace equipment that proves to be defective during the warranty
period. This warranty includes parts and labor.
A Return Material Authorization (RMA) number must be obtained from the
factory and clearly marked on the outside of the package before any
equipment will be accepted for warranty work. National Instruments will
pay the shipping costs of returning to the owner parts which are covered by
warranty.
National Instruments believes that the information in this manual is
accurate. The document has been carefully reviewed for technical accuracy.
In the event that technical or typographical errors exist, National
Instruments reserves the right to make changes to subsequent editions of
this document without prior notice to holders of this edition. The reader
should consult National Instruments if errors are suspected. In no event
shall National Instruments be liable for any damages arising out of or
related to this document or the information contained in it.
EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED HEREIN, NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MAKES NO
WARRANTIES
ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE
CAUSED BY FAULT OR NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF
INSTRUMENTS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT THERETOFORE
PAID BY THE CUSTOMER
LIABLE FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOSS OF DATA
USE OF PRODUCTS, OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES,
EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF. This limitation of the
liability of National Instruments will apply regardless of the form of action,
whether in contract or tort, including negligence. Any action against
National Instruments must be brought within one year after the cause of
, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS
. CUSTOMER’S RIGHT TO RECOVER DAMAGES
NATIONAL
. NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS WILL NOT BE
, PROFITS,
action accrues. National Instruments shall not be liable for any delay in
performance due to causes beyond its reasonable control. The warranty
provided herein does not cover damages, defects, malfunctions, or service
failures caused by owner’s failure to follow the National Instruments
installation, operation, or maintenance instructions; owner’s modification of
the product; owner’s abuse, misuse, or negligent acts; and power failure or
surges, fire, flood, accident, actions of third parties, or other events outside
reasonable control.
Copyright
Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or
transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in
whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments
Corporation.
Trademarks
MicroGPIB® is a trademark of National Instruments Corporation.
Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their
respective companies.
Warning Regarding Medical and Clinical Use
of National Instruments Products
National Instruments products are not designed with components and testing
intended to ensure a level of reliability suitable for use in treatment and
diagnosis of humans. Applications of National Instruments products
involving medical or clinical treatment can create a potential for accidental
injury caused by product failure, or by errors on the part of the user or
application designer. Any use or application of National Instruments
products for or involving medical or clinical treatment must be performed by
properly trained and qualified medical personnel, and all traditional medical
safeguards, equipment, and procedures that are appropriate in the particular
situation to prevent serious injury or death should always continue to be
used when National Instruments products are being used. National
Instruments products are NOT intended to be a substitute for any form of
established process, procedure, or equipment used to monitor or safeguard
human health and safety in medical or clinical treatment.
FCC/DOC Radio Frequency
Interference Compliance
This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in strict accordance with the instructions in this manual,
may cause interference to radio and television reception. This equipment
has been tested and found to comply with the following two regulatory
agencies:
Federal Communications Commission
This device complies with Part 15 of the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) Rules for a Class A digital device. Operation is subject
to the following two conditions:
1.This device may not cause harmful interference in commercial
environments.
2.This device must accept any interference received, including
interference that may cause undesired operation.
Canadian Department of Communications
This device complies with the limits for radio noise emissions from digital
apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian
Department of Communications (DOC).
Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de bruits radioélectriques
dépassant les limites applicables aux appareils numériques de classe A
prescrites dans le règlement sur le brouillage radioélectrique édicté par le
ministère des communications du Canada.
Instructions to Users
These regulations are designed to provide reasonable protection against
harmful interference from the equipment to radio reception in commercial
areas. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause
harmful interference, in which case the user will be required to correct the
interference at his own expense.
There is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. However, the chances of interference are much less if the
equipment is installed and used according to this instruction manual.
If the equipment does cause interference to radio or television reception,
which can be determined by turning the equipment on and off, one or more
of the following suggestions may reduce or eliminate the problem.
•Operate the equipment and the receiver on different branches of your
AC electrical system.
•Move the equipment away from the receiver with which it is interfering.
•Reorient or relocate the receiver’s antenna.
•Be sure that the equipment is plugged into a grounded outlet and that
the grounding has not been defeated with a cheater plug.
Notice to user:Changes or modifications not expressly approved by
National Instruments could void the user’s authority to
operate the equipment under the FCC Rules.
If necessary, consult National Instruments or an experienced radio/television
technician for additional suggestions. The following booklet prepared by
the FCC may also be helpful: How to Identify and Resolve Radio-TVInterference Problems. This booklet is available from the U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, Stock Number 004-000-00345-4.
Contents
About This Manual ..........................................................................ix
Introduction to the GPIB-BUF ...................................................ix
Organization of This Manual......................................................ix
Conventions Used in This Manual .............................................x
Related Documentation ..............................................................x
Customer Communication ..........................................................x
The GPIB-BUF is one of National Instruments family of MicroGPIB
products. These products are high-performance, low-cost IEEE 488
support items, packaged in small all-metal cases, capable of being rack
mounted.
Organization of This Manual
This manual is organized as follows:
•Chapter 1, Description of the GPIB-BUF, contains general information
about the National Instruments GPIB-BUF and lists components and
accessories.
•Chapter 2, Installation and Operation, describes the procedures for
installing and operating the GPIB-BUF.
•Chapter 3, Technical Information, contains a more detailed description
of the operation of the GPIB-BUF. The timing characteristics of the
parallel port are provided in this chapter.
•Appendix A, Hardware Specifications, contains tables which specify
the electrical, environmental, and physical characteristics of the
GPIB-BUF.
•Appendix B, Customer Communication, contains forms you can use to
request help from National Instruments or to comment on our products
and manuals.
•The Glossary contains an alphabetical list and a description of terms
used in this manual, including abbreviations, acronyms, metric
prefixes, mnemonics, and symbols.
The following conventions are used in this manual.
italicItalic text denotes emphasis, a cross reference,
or an introduction to a key concept.
bold italicBold italic text denotes a note, caution, or
warning.
boldBold text denotes the name of light-emitting
diode (LED).
Abbreviations, acronyms, metric prefixes, mnemonics, symbols, and terms
are listed in the Glossary.
Related Documentation
The following document contains information that you may find helpful as
you read this manual.
•ANSI/IEEE Standard 488.1-1987, IEEE Standard Digital Interface for
Programmable Instrumentation
•ANSI/IEEE Standard 488.2-1987, IEEE Standard Codes, Formats,
Protocols, and Common Commands.
Customer Communication
National Instruments wants to receive your comments on our products and
manuals. We are interested in the applications you develop with our
products, and we want to help if you have problems with them. To make it
easy for you to contact us, this manual contains comment and configuration
forms for you to complete. These forms are in Appendix B, Customer
This chapter contains general information about the National Instruments
GPIB-BUF and lists components and accessories.
Introduction
The GPIB-BUF, shown in Figure 1-1, is an IEEE 488 (GPIB) data buffer
which increases GPIB performance by isolating a slow GPIB data acceptor
from the rest of the GPIB system. This increase in performance is reflected
both in an increase in the GPIB bandwidth and a quicker release of the
GPIB talker from the task of transferring data to a slow GPIB device. In
most cases, the GPIB talker is a computer with other tasks to perform. The
faster it transfers data, the sooner it can perform its next task.
The GPIB-BUF has two isolated GPIB ports and is placed in-line between a
GPIB system and a single, slower GPIB device (usually a printer or plotter).
The GPIB-BUF automatically buffers all device-dependent data sent to the
slower device. Because the GPIB-BUF can talk or listen on either port at
any time, the GPIB-BUF provides fully transparent bi-directional data
transfers. The target GPIB device appears to be connected directly to the
IEEE 488 bus.
What Your Kit Contains
Your kit should contain the following components:
ComponentPart Number
One of the following boxes:
•GPIB-BUF (256 KB RAM - 115 VAC)776226-02
•GPIB-BUF (1 MB RAM - 115 VAC)776226-03
•GPIB-BUF (256 KB RAM - 230 VAC)776226-32
•GPIB-BUF (1 MB RAM - 230 VAC)776226-33
•GPIB-BUF User Manual320125-01
Optional Equipment
ComponentPart Number
Rack Mount Kit:
Single (1 unit)180480-01
Dual (2 units)180480-02
Double-Shielded GPIB Cables:
GPIB Type X2 Cable – 1 m763061-01
GPIB Type X2 Cable – 2 m763061-02
GPIB Type X2 Cable – 4 m763061-03