OT: Prologix GPIB and HP3478A...
Hi Gang!
I just bought a Prologix GPIB <-> USB converter model, version 5.00,
and I am having some problems. It works fine on some of my instruments,
but it just locks up when I hook it to an HP3478A DVM. The DVM is
known good, and works great with my HP85B (doesn't everything?).
Basically, if I do any commands that require bus activity, the Prologix
locks up and refuses to respond to even the ++ver command. When I unplug
the HP3478A, the Prologix once again finds its happy spot, and responds
normally.
Any ideas?
-Chuck Harris
Chuck,
I have used my HP 3478A with my Prologix controller (and several other GPIB
controllers), but I have not upgraded the firmware to 5.0 (I think I am
still at 4.61 or something like that). I will try and let you know.
The 3478 is a relatively recent instrument (as far as GPIB
features/capability/compliance is concerned), so I am surprised you would
have problems.
Didier KO4BB
-----Original Message-----
From: time-nuts-bounces@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-bounces@febo.com] On
Behalf Of Chuck Harris
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 9:34 PM
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
Subject: [time-nuts] OT: Prologix GPIB and HP3478A...
Hi Gang!
I just bought a Prologix GPIB <-> USB converter model, version 5.00, and I
am having some problems. It works fine on some of my instruments, but it
just locks up when I hook it to an HP3478A DVM. The DVM is known good, and
works great with my HP85B (doesn't everything?).
Basically, if I do any commands that require bus activity, the Prologix
locks up and refuses to respond to even the ++ver command. When I unplug
the HP3478A, the Prologix once again finds its happy spot, and responds
normally.
Any ideas?
-Chuck Harris
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to
https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.
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11:40 AM
Hi Chuck:
It may be timing. The 85 and the 3478 are old and slow. Have you tried adding
wait statements after you send any command to give the 3478 time to think
about it? Also it may be good to send <CR><LF><EOI> after each command then do
the wait.
Have Fun,
Brooke Clarke
http://www.PRC68.com
http://www.precisionclock.com
http://www.prc68.com/I/WebCam2.shtml 24/7 Sky-Weather-Astronomy Cam
Chuck Harris wrote:
Hi Gang!
I just bought a Prologix GPIB <-> USB converter model, version 5.00,
and I am having some problems. It works fine on some of my instruments,
but it just locks up when I hook it to an HP3478A DVM. The DVM is
known good, and works great with my HP85B (doesn't everything?).
Basically, if I do any commands that require bus activity, the Prologix
locks up and refuses to respond to even the ++ver command. When I unplug
the HP3478A, the Prologix once again finds its happy spot, and responds
normally.
Any ideas?
-Chuck Harris
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.
Hello Chuck,
It appears that 3478A sends data continuously as soon as it is addressed to
talk. Since the Prologix adapter is busy processing GPIB data it is unable
to respond to USB commands.
One solution is to turn read-after-write off (++auto 0) before connecting
the adapter to 3478A, and then use ++read command to read one measurement at
a time. Please see the manual (www.prologix.biz) for ++read command options.
The other option is to set 3478A to one-reading-per-trigger mode using "T3"
device command. See HP3478 manual (pages 39, 59). Then use the ++trg command
to trigger the device. ++auto must be set to 1 in this case.
Regards,
Abdul
-----Original Message-----
From: time-nuts-bounces@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-bounces@febo.com] On
Behalf Of Chuck Harris
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 7:34 PM
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
Subject: [time-nuts] OT: Prologix GPIB and HP3478A...
Hi Gang!
I just bought a Prologix GPIB <-> USB converter model, version 5.00,
and I am having some problems. It works fine on some of my instruments,
but it just locks up when I hook it to an HP3478A DVM. The DVM is
known good, and works great with my HP85B (doesn't everything?).
Basically, if I do any commands that require bus activity, the Prologix
locks up and refuses to respond to even the ++ver command. When I unplug
the HP3478A, the Prologix once again finds its happy spot, and responds
normally.
Any ideas?
-Chuck Harris
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to
https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.
Chuck,
Sending
++addr 09;
++read 10;
with my Prologix to the HP 3478A returns a single reading just fine.
Didier KO4BB
-----Original Message-----
From: time-nuts-bounces@febo.com
[mailto:time-nuts-bounces@febo.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Harris
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 9:34 PM
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
Subject: [time-nuts] OT: Prologix GPIB and HP3478A...
Hi Gang!
I just bought a Prologix GPIB <-> USB converter model,
version 5.00, and I am having some problems. It works fine
on some of my instruments, but it just locks up when I hook
it to an HP3478A DVM. The DVM is known good, and works great
with my HP85B (doesn't everything?).
Basically, if I do any commands that require bus activity,
the Prologix locks up and refuses to respond to even the
++ver command. When I unplug the HP3478A, the Prologix once
again finds its happy spot, and responds normally.
Any ideas?
-Chuck Harris
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe,
go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.
Hi Brooke,
I'm sending the commands as I type them in Kermit. Surely that is slow
enough.
I cannot send any commands to the 3478A. The simple act of asking the
prologix to do anything other than ++ver, locks up the prologix so it
ignores all USB traffic.
The Prologix works fine with a 3438A, which is about as old as GPIB
gets. Also with a 3437A, which is pretty old too.
Something is broken here. The prologix is probably violating some timing
requirement in the handshaking, and the 3478A isn't playing along.
-Chuck Harris
Brooke Clarke wrote:
Hi Chuck:
It may be timing. The 85 and the 3478 are old and slow. Have you tried adding
wait statements after you send any command to give the 3478 time to think
about it? Also it may be good to send <CR><LF><EOI> after each command then do
the wait.
Have Fun,
Brooke Clarke
Chuck,
The commands I copied in my previous post were sent very fast. My program
sends the strings automatically when I click on a button, so fast timing is
perfectly acceptable by the Prologix/3478A combination.
Let me know if you need me to give you any particular configuration
information of my setup.
I use a program I wrote in Visual basic under XP, but I cannot see why it
would not work from the keyboard, even though I have not tried... I have
tried from the keyboard with the HP 3456A voltmeter at one time when Abdul
asked me for testing purposes (the Prologix did not completely lock out, but
was clearly overwhelmed by the amount of data returned by the meter), and
after Abdul added the ++read eoi command, it worked fine too.
I know you use Linux, so this program won't do you any good, and I do not
have a Linux box handy in the shack at the moment, but if you wanted to try
it, let me know.
Didier KO4BB
-----Original Message-----
From: time-nuts-bounces@febo.com
[mailto:time-nuts-bounces@febo.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Harris
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 11:55 PM
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
Subject: Re: [time-nuts] OT: Prologix GPIB and HP3478A...
Hi Brooke,
I'm sending the commands as I type them in Kermit. Surely
that is slow enough.
I cannot send any commands to the 3478A. The simple act of
asking the prologix to do anything other than ++ver, locks up
the prologix so it ignores all USB traffic.
The Prologix works fine with a 3438A, which is about as old
as GPIB gets. Also with a 3437A, which is pretty old too.
Something is broken here. The prologix is probably violating
some timing requirement in the handshaking, and the 3478A
isn't playing along.
-Chuck Harris
Brooke Clarke wrote:
Hi Chuck:
It may be timing. The 85 and the 3478 are old and slow.
Have you tried adding
wait statements after you send any command to give the
3478 time to
think about it? Also it may be good to send <CR><LF><EOI>
after each
command then do the wait.
Have Fun,
Brooke Clarke
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe,
go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.
Did you try sending ++auto 0 before powering up the 3478A?
This setting is persistent, so you should only have to do it once to keep
the board from automatically addressing the 3478A to talk.
Also try disconnecting any/all other RS-232 devices from your PC during
initial testing, and/or try a different USB port.
-- john, KE5FX
-----Original Message-----
From: time-nuts-bounces@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-bounces@febo.com]On
Behalf Of Chuck Harris
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 9:55 PM
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
Subject: Re: [time-nuts] OT: Prologix GPIB and HP3478A...
Hi Brooke,
I'm sending the commands as I type them in Kermit. Surely that is slow
enough.
I cannot send any commands to the 3478A. The simple act of asking the
prologix to do anything other than ++ver, locks up the prologix so it
ignores all USB traffic.
John Miles wrote:
Did you try sending ++auto 0 before powering up the 3478A?
Yes. It does not prevent the lockup (lockout?)
As I said in an earlier post, the 3478A is not giving any indication
that it is addressed, or connected to the bus at all. It always does
when the HP85B is connected as the controller.
This setting is persistent, so you should only have to do it once to keep
the board from automatically addressing the 3478A to talk.
Also try disconnecting any/all other RS-232 devices from your PC during
initial testing, and/or try a different USB port.
The port is the only one the laptop has, and it works just fine. The
laptop is running kermit under linux, so it is a very basic connection.
The problem is clearly entirely within my Prologix. I cannot yet say
whether it is a bug in the firmware, a circuit failure, or a design flaw.
The 3478A, and the cables used work just fine with an HP85B.
-Chuck Harris
Hi Didier,
I have exercised this problem both with kermit (a terminal emulator),
and with a Python script under linux. It occurs both fast and slow.
At no time does the 3478A give any appearance that it thinks it is on
the bus.
I am pretty sure that the Prologix is, uhmmm, speaking out of turn.
It thinks the 3478A should be at a different point in the handshake
sequence than the 3478A thinks it should be in. The main clue is in
that the Prologix restores itself when I disconnect it from the 3478A.
-Chuck Harris
Didier Juges wrote:
Chuck,
The commands I copied in my previous post were sent very fast. My program
sends the strings automatically when I click on a button, so fast timing is
perfectly acceptable by the Prologix/3478A combination.
Let me know if you need me to give you any particular configuration
information of my setup.
I use a program I wrote in Visual basic under XP, but I cannot see why it
would not work from the keyboard, even though I have not tried... I have
tried from the keyboard with the HP 3456A voltmeter at one time when Abdul
asked me for testing purposes (the Prologix did not completely lock out, but
was clearly overwhelmed by the amount of data returned by the meter), and
after Abdul added the ++read eoi command, it worked fine too.
I know you use Linux, so this program won't do you any good, and I do not
have a Linux box handy in the shack at the moment, but if you wanted to try
it, let me know.
Didier KO4BB