GPIB Instrument Control Tutorial

Publish Date: Oct 02, 2015

Table of Contents

1.
2.
3.
4.

Overview of GPIB
Assembling GPIB Instrument Control System
How to Create a VISA Resource for an Instrument in MAX
Related Links

1. Overview of GPIB

(http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/4359)For more than 40 years the IEEE 488 bus, also known as
the general-purpose interface bus (GPIB), has provided a standard, high-speed interface for
communication between instruments and controllers from a multitude of vendors. GPIB (
http://www.ni.com/gpib/) is used across a wide variety of industrial instrument control (
http://www.ni.com/instrumentcontrol/) applications.
For more information see The History of GPIB (http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/3419).
2. Assembling GPIB Instrument Control System

A basic GPIB Instrument Control system consists of four parts:

1. PC
2. GPIB controller
3. GPIB cable
4. GPIB instrument
Setting up the PC. PCI-based GPIB controller boards offer a simple, seamless bridge between the PC and the GPIB instrument.
Additionally, stand-alone GPIB controllers communicate via serial, USB, or Ethernet/LXI (http://www.ni.com/lxi/). As a result GPIB
instruments can transmit their data across the room or around the world. Additionally, the National Instruments Instrument Driver
Network (http://www.ni.com/devzone/idnet/) has more than 7000 instrument drivers to choose from, as well as tutorials on how to
use them to control your instrument.
Configuring the Controller. Depending on the GPIB controller manufacturer, some kind of instrument control software (
http://www.ni.com/instrumentcontrolsoftware/) driver will need to be installed before the device will function. National Instruments
GPIB controllers come with their own GPIB driver and Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX). MAX scans for connected
instruments, confirms communication, and creates the necessary handles for programming.
Connecting GPIB Controller to Instrument. Once the controller is installed and working properly, the GPIB cable can be
connected from the controller to the instrument. In accordance with the IEEE 488.2 standard, with a single controller you can
control up to 15 different instruments connected in either a daisy-chain or star topology.
3. How to Create a VISA Resource for an Instrument in MAX

If you are using a GPIB controller from Agilent/HP (HPIB), and want to use LabVIEW or another National Instruments program to
control it, please refer to Can I Use Both National Instruments (GPIB) and Agilent/HP (HPIB) Controllers in the Same System? (
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/websearch/3B3626D9C1F999218625694200791AD7?OpenDocument)
If you are using a National Instruments controller, the MAX utility comes with the NI-488 driver for your controller. MAX makes
GPIB instrument detection and control easy by providing you tools to search for connecting instruments, and send and receive
communication with your device.
Open MAX by going to Start>>Programs>>National Instruments>>Measurement & Automation.

1/3

www.ni.com

Figure 1. MAX Main Menu

To confirm that your GPIB device is connected properly, expand the Devices and Interfaces subdirectory below My System.
Then, select your GPIB controller. In this tutorial we are using a PCI-GPIB controller. If you are using a USB, serial, or Ethernet
controller, the name may be slightly different. Click on Scan For Instruments.

Figure 2. Scanning for Instruments in MAX

If your GPIB device is SCPI compliant, the name and address will appear in main window.

Figure 3. GPIB Device Found

If your device did not appear, please refer to GPIB Installation/Configuration Troubleshooter (
http://www.ni.com/support/gpib/max/property.htm). Also refer to KnowledgeBase 1UO68A5P: "Scan for Instruments" Fails in
Measurement and Automation Explorer (
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/72FAD7156202DDF9862568900048F006?OpenDocument).
2/3

www.ni.com

MAX takes care of creating the necessary resources for VISA communication with your GPIB instrument. By selecting the
instrument in from the subdirectory on the left, and then selecting its VISA Properties tab (circled in red at the bottom of Figure
4), you can change the VISA Resource Name of the device and communicate with it by clicking on Communicate with Instrument
(SCPI commands), or Open VISA Test Panel (non-SCPI commands).

Figure 4. Opening VISA Properties Tab

4. Related Links

NI-VISA Help (http://digital.ni.com/manuals.nsf/websearch/F18AFBCF54BF133A862574CE004B9B97)

Developer Zone Tutorial: Instrument Control Fundamentals: Main Page (http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/4359)
Developer Zone Tutorial: Instrument Control Fundamentals: Instrument Control Software (
http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/4357)

PRODUCT

SUPPORT

COMPANY

Order status and history (http://www.ni.com/status/)

Submit a service request (

https://sine.ni.com/srm/app/myServiceRequests)

About National Instruments (http://www.ni.com/compa

Order by part number (

http://sine.ni.com/apps/utf8/nios.store?action=purchase_form)

Events (http://www.ni.com/events/)
Manuals (http://www.ni.com/manuals/)
Careers (http://www.ni.com/careers/)

Activate a product (
http://sine.ni.com/myproducts/app/main.xhtml?lang=en)

Drivers (http://www.ni.com/downloads/drivers/)
Alliance Partners (http://www.ni.com/alliance/)

Order and payment information (http://www.ni.com/how-to-buy/)

MISSION
NI equips engineers and scientists with systems that accelerate productivity, innovation, and discovery.

(http://twitter.com/niglobal)
http://www.linkedin.com/company/3433?trk=tyah)

(http://www.facebook.com/NationalInstruments)
(http://www.ni.com/rss/)

(http://www.youtube.com/nationalins

Contact Us (http://www.ni.com/contact-us/)

(//privacy.truste.com/privacy-seal/National-Instruments-Corporation/validation?rid=bc6daa8f-7051-4eea-b7b5-fb24dcd96d95)
Legal (http://www.ni.com/legal/) | National Instruments. All rights reserved. | Site map (
http://www.ni.com/help/map.htm)

3/3

www.ni.com