National Instruments PXI-GPIB, PMC-GPIB Getting Started

Getting Started with Your

PXI-GPIB or PMC-GPIB and

the GPIB Software

for Windows NT

PXI-GPIB/PMC-GPIB for Windows NT

January 1998 Edition

Part Number 321384B-01

© Copyright 1996, 1998 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved.

Internet Support

E-mail: [e-mail]
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Web Address: http://www.natinst.com

Bulletin Board Support

BBS United States: 512 794 5422
BBS United Kingdom: 01635 551422
BBS France: 01 48 65 15 59

Fax-on-Demand Support

512 418 1111

Telephone Support (USA)

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

International Offices

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Finland 09 725 725 11, France 01 48 14 24 24, Germany 089 741 31 30, Hong Kong 2645 3186,
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Netherlands 0348 433466, Norway 32 84 84 00, Singapore 2265886, Spain 91 640 0085, Sweden 08 730 49 70,
Switzerland 056 200 51 51, Taiwan 02 377 1200, United Kingdom 01635 523545

National Instruments Corporate Headquarters

6504 Bridge Point Parkway Austin, Texas 78730-5039 USA Tel: [phone]

Important Information

Warranty

The GPIB hardware 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 opti on, repair or replace
equipment that proves to be defective during the warranty period. This warranty includes parts and labor.

The media on which you receive National Instrum ent s soft ware are warranted not to fai l to execute pro gramm ing
instructions, due to defects in materials and workmanship, for a period of 90 days from date of shipment, as evidenced
by receipts or other documentation. National Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace software media that do not
execute programming instructions if National Instrument s recei ves noti ce of s uch defects d uring th e warranty p erio d.
National Instruments does not warrant that the operat ion o f t he soft ware shall be unint errupted or error free.

A Return Material Authorization (RMA) number must be obtained from the factory and clearly marked on the outside
ofthe package before any equipment will be accepted for warranty work. National Instruments wi ll 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 doc ument 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 thi s do cu me nt wi th out p rio r no ti ce to ho ld ers o f t his ed itio n. The read er sh ould
consult National Instruments if errors are suspected. In no event shal l N ati onal In strum ent s be liable for any damages
arising out of or related to this docume nt or th e in formati on con tained in it .

XCEPT AS SPECIFIED HEREIN

E

ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
BY FAULT OR NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT THERETOFORE PAID BY THE
CUSTOMER
OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF

National Instruments will apply regardless of the form of acti on, wh et her in contract or t ort, i ncludi ng neg ligen ce.
Anyaction against National Instruments must be brou ght wit hin o ne y ear after the caus e of act ion accru es. Nati on al
Instruments shall not be liable for any delay in perform ance d ue to cau ses beyond it s reason abl e control . T he w arranty
provided herein does not cover damages, defects, malfun ct ions , o r s ervice failu res cause d by owne r’s failur e to fol low
the National Instruments installati on, op eration, or mai nte nance ins tru ction s; ow ner’s mo dificat ion o f th e pro duct ;
owner’s abuse, misuse, or negligent acts; and power failure or surges, fire, flood, accident, actions of third parties, or
otherevents outside reasonable control.

ATIONAL INSTRUMENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOSS OF DATA, PROFITS, USE OF PRODUCTS

. N

ATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS

, N

USTOMER’S RIGHT TO RECOVER DAMAGES CAUSED

. C

. This limitation of the liability of

,

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 Inst rume nts Co rpo rat i on.

Trademarks

CVI™, HS488™, LabVIEW™, NAT4882™, natinst.com™, NI-488™, NI-488.2™, NI-488.2M™, TNT4882™C, and

™

Turbo488
Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

are trademarks of National Instruments Corpo rat io n.

WARNING REGARDING MEDICAL AND CLINICAL USE OF NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS

National Instruments products are not designed with com po nents and testing in ten ded to ensu re a le vel of reliabil it y
suitable for use in treatment and diagnosis of humans. Applications of National Instruments products inv olvin g med ical
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 prod ucts are being used. Nation al Instruments p roducts 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 Class A 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. Classification
requirements are the same for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Canadian
Department of Communications (DOC). This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the
following two regulatory agencies:

Federal Communications Commission

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant
to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates,
uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction
manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. 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.

Notices to User: Changes or modifications not expressly approved by National Instruments could void

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: Interference to Home
Electronic Entertainment Equipment Handbook. This booklet is available from the U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

the user’s authority to operate the equipment under the FCC Rules.
This device complies with the FCC rules only if used with shielded interface cables

of suitable quality and construction. National Instruments used such cables to test
this device and provides them for sale to the user. The use of inferior or nonshielded
interface cables could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment under the
FCC rules.

Canadian Department of Communications

This Class A digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment
Regulations.

Cet appareil numérique de la classe A respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matériel brouilleur
du Canada.

About This Manual

How to Use the Manual Set.............................................................................................vii

Organization of This Manual...........................................................................................viii

Conventions Used in This Manual...................................................................................ix

Related Documentation.......................................... ..........................................................x

Customer Communication...............................................................................................x

Chapter 1
Introduction

How to Use This Manual.................................................................................................1-1

What You Need to Get Started ........................................................................................1-2

Optional Equipment................................................................................. ........................1-2

GPIB Hardware Overview...............................................................................................1-2

GPIB Software Overview................................................................................................1-3

Time-Saving Development Tools....................................................................................1-4

Contents

Chapter 2
Installation and Configuration

Install the Hardware......................................................................................................... 2-1

Install the PXI-GPIB .........................................................................................2-1

Install the PMC-GPIB .......................................................................................2-3

Install the GPIB Software................................................................................................2-5

Configure the GPIB Software..........................................................................................2-6

Chapter 3
Verify the Installation

Chapter 4
Begin to Use the GPIB Software

Getting Started with LabVIEW .......................................................................................4-1

Getting Started with LabWindows/CVI ..........................................................................4-1

Introduction to the Win32 Interactive Control Utility.....................................................4-2

Introduction to the NI Spy Utility....................................................................................4-3

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National Instruments Corporation v PXI-GPIB/PMC-GPIB for Windows NT

Contents

Running Existing GPIB Applications ................................ .............................................4-3

General Programming Considerations ............................................................................4-4

Appendix A
Uninstalling the Hardware and Software

Appendix B
Troubleshooting and Common Questions

Appendix C
Specifications

Appendix D
Customer Communication

Glossary

Figures

Figure 2-1. Installing the PXI-GPIB.......................................................................... 2-2

Figure 2-2. Installing the PMC-GPIB........................................................................ 2-4

Figure 2-3. GPIB Software for Windows NT Setup Dialog Box.............................. 2-5

Figure 2-4. PCI-GPIB Configuration Dialog Box.....................................................2-7

Figure 3-1. Diagnostic Utility after Testing ..............................................................3-1

Figure A-1. Board Type Dialog Box......................................................... .................A-1

Figure A-2. Add/Remove Programs Properties Dialog Box......................................A-2

Figure A-3. Removed Shared Component Dialog Box..............................................A-3

Tables

Table C-1. Hardware Characteristics for the PXI-GPIB...........................................C-1

Table C-2. Hardware Characteristics for the PMC-GPIB.........................................C-2

Table C-3. GPIB Software Transfer Rates for the PXI-GPIB and PMC-GPIB ....... C-2

PXI-GPIB/PMC-GPIB for Windows NT vi

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National Instruments Corporation

This manual contains instructions for installing and configuring the
National Instruments PXI-GPIB or PMC-GPIB interface and the GPIB
software for Windows NT. The GPIB software is intended for use with
Windows NT version 4.0 or higher.

This manual assumes that you are already familiar with Windows NT.

How to Use the Manual Set

About

This

Manual

Getting Started

Manual

Installation and

Configuration

Novice

Users

GPIB User
Manual for

Windows 95

and Windows NT

Application

Development

and Examples

Experienced

Users

NI-488.2M Function

Reference Manual

for Win32

Function
and Routine
Descriptions

Use this getting started manual to install and configure your GPIB board
and the GPIB software for Windows NT.

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National Instruments Corporation vii PXI-GPIB/PMC-GPIB for Windows NT

About This Manual

Use the GPIB User Manual for Windows 95 and Windows NT to learn the
basics of GPIB and how to develop an application program. This manual
also contains application examples and troubleshooting information.

The NI-488.2M Function Reference Manual for Win32 contains specific
NI-488 function and NI-488.2 routine information, such as format,
parameters, and possible errors.

Organization of This Manual

The Getting Started with Your PXI-GPIB or PMC-GPIB and the GPIB
Software for Windows NT manual is organized as follows:

• Chapter 1, Introduction, explains how to use this manual, lists what
you need to get started, and briefly describes the GPIB hardware and
software.

• Chapter 2, Installation and Configuration, describes how to install and
configure your PXI-GPIB or PMC-GPIB and the GPIB software for
Windows NT.

• Chapter 3, Verify the Installation, describes how to v erify the hardware
and software installation.

• Chapter 4, Begin to Use the GPIB Software, helps you get started with
the GPIB software for Windows NT.

• Appendix A, Uninstalling the Hardware and Software, describes how
to uninstall your PXI-GPIB or PMC-GPIB and the GPIB software
from Windows NT.

• Appendix B, Troubleshooting and Common Questions, describes how
to troubleshoot and answers some common questions.

• Appendix C, Specifications, describes the electrical, physical, and
environmental characteristics of the PXI-GPIB and PMC-GPIB,
transfer rates of the GPIB software, and the recommended operating
conditions.

• Appendix D, 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 description of terms that
appear in this manual, including abbreviations, acronyms, metric
prefixes, mnemonics, and symbols.

PXI-GPIB/PMC-GPIB for Windows NT viii

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National Instruments Corporation

About This Manual

Conventions Used in This Manual

The following conventions are used in this manual:

» The » symbol leads you through nested menu items and dialog box options

to a final action. The sequence File»Page Setup»Options»Substitute
Fonts directs you to pull down the File menu, select the Page Setup item,
select Options, and finally select the Substitute Fonts options from the
last dialog box.

This icon to the left of bold italicized text denotes a warni ng, which advises
you of precautions to take to avoid being electrically shocked.

bold Bold text denotes the names of menus, menu items, parameters, dialog

boxes, dialog box buttons or options, icons, windows, Windows 95 tabs,
or LEDs.

bold italic Bold italic text denotes an activity objective, note, caution, or warning.
IEEE 488 and IEEE 488 and IEEE 488.2 refer to the ANSI/IEEE Standard 488.1-1987

IEEE 488.2 and the ANSI/IEEE Standard 488.2-1992, respectively, which define the

GPIB.

italic Italic text denotes variables, emphasis, a cross reference, or an introduction

to a key concept. This font also denotes text from which you supply the
appropriate word or value, as in Windows 3.x.

monospace Text in this font denotes text or characters that you should literally enter

from the keyboard, sections of code, programming examples, and syntax
examples. This font is also used for the proper names of disk drives, paths,
directories, programs, subprograms, subroutines, device names, functions,
operations, variables, filenames and extensions, and for statements and
comments taken from programs.

monospace bold Bold text in this font denotes the messages and responses that the computer

automatically prints to the screen. This font also emphasizes lines of code
that are different from the other examples.

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National Instruments Corporation ix PXI-GPIB/PMC-GPIB for Windows NT

About This Manual

Related Documentation

The following documents contain 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 488.2-1992, IEEE Standard Codes, Formats,
Protocols, and Common Commands

• Microsoft Windows NT System Guide, Microsoft Corporation

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 D, Customer

Communication, at the end of this manual.

PXI-GPIB/PMC-GPIB for Windows NT x

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National Instruments Corporation

Chapter

Introduction

This chapter explains how to use this manual, lists what you need to get
started, and briefly describes the GPIB hardware and software.

How to Use This Manual

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Gather What You Need

to Get Started

Install the GPIB Hardware

Install the GPIB Software

Configure the GPIB Software

Verify the Installation

1

Chapter 3

Passes?

Yes

Run Interactive Control Utility

Chapter 4

Review Programming

Considerations

User Manual and

Function Reference

Manual

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National Instruments Corporation 1-1 PXI-GPIB/PMC-GPIB for Windows NT

Write Application Program

No

Troubleshooting

Chapter 1 Introduction

What You Need to Get Started

Make sure you have all of the following items before you install your GPIB
hardware and software for Windows NT:

❑ PXI-GPIB or PMC-GPIB board, which your kit contains
❑ The following 3.5 in., high density (1.44 MB) disks, which your kit

contains:

GPIB Software for Windows NT (Disk 1 of 2)
GPIB Software for Windows NT (Disk 2 of 2)

❑ GPIB cable for the PXI-GPIB—single-shielded or double-shielded,

Type X1, X2, X4, X5, or X11, which you can order from National
Instruments

or
GPIB cable for the PMC-GPIB—Type X13, which is included in

your kit

❑ Windows NT version 4.0 or higher installed on your system

Optional Equipment

Call National Instruments for more information about the following
optional equipment:

• Serial or parallel bus extender and cables

• Bus expander/isolator

GPIB Hardware Overview

The Plug and Play GPIB hardware, along with the GPIB
software, transforms your sy stem into a fully functional GPIB
Talker/Listener/Controller that has complete communications and bus
management capability. The TNT4882C chip on each Plug and Play GPIB
board combines the circuitry of the NAT4882 ASIC, the Turbo488 ASIC,
and GPIB transceivers to create a single-chip IEEE 488.2 interface. The
TNT4882C also implements the HS488 high-speed protocol, which
increases the maximum data transfer rate to up to 7.8 Mbytes/s, depending
on the system and the system configuration. For more information about
transfer rates, refer to Appendix C, Specifications, in this manual. For

PXI-GPIB/PMC-GPIB for Windows NT 1-2

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National Instruments Corporation

more information about HS488, refer to Chapter 7, GPIB Programming
Techniques, in the GPIB User Manual for Windows 95 and Windows NT.

The PXI-GPIB and PMC-GPIB each contain one GPIB load; you can
connect up to 14 instruments to one of these interfaces. If you want to use
more instruments, you can order a bus extender or expander from National
Instruments. Refer to Appendix C, Specifications, for more information
about the GPIB hardware specifications and operating conditions.

GPIB Software Overview

The GPIB software for Windows NT includes a loadable Windows NT
kernel device driver and supporting utilities.

The GPIB software includes the following components:

• Device driver

• Diagnostic test utility

• Configuration utility

• Utilities for software development and debugging

• Language interface libraries for Microsoft Visual C/C++ 2.0 or
later, Borland C/C++ 4.0 or later, and Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0
or later

• Virtual device driver and special DOS and Windows 3 drivers for
running existing NI-488.2 for DOS and Windows 3 applications under
Windows NT

• Example programs that use NI-488 functions and NI-488.2 routines

Chapter 1 Introduction

For a detailed list of files, refer to Chapter 1, Introduction, in the GPIB
User Manual for Windows 95 and Windows NT. Refer to Appendix C,

Specifications, for information about the GPIB software transfer rates.

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National Instruments Corporation 1-3 PXI-GPIB/PMC-GPIB for Windows NT

Chapter 1 Introduction

Time-Saving Development Tools

Your kit includes the GPIB software for Windows NT. In addition, you
can order the LabWindows/CVI or LabVIEW software from National
Instruments to speed your application development time and make it
easier to communicate with your instruments.

LabVIEW is an easy-to-use, graphical programming environment you
can use to acquire data from thousands of different instruments,
including IEEE 488.2 devices, VXI devices, serial devices, PLCs, and
plug-in data acquisition boards. After you have acquired raw data, you
can convert it into meaningful results using the powerful data analysis
routines in LabVIEW. LabVIEW also comes with hundreds of
instrument drivers, which dramatically reduce software development
time, because you do not have to spend time programmi ng the low-level
control of each instrument.

LabWindows/CVI is similar to LabVIEW, except that it combines an
interactive, easy-to-use development approach with the programming
power and flexibility of compiled ANSI C code.

For ordering information, or to request free demonstration software,
contact National Instruments.

PXI-GPIB/PMC-GPIB for Windows NT 1-4

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National Instruments Corporation