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HELP..Agilent ISA/PCI Gpib Controller Board Questions

Hello... I need some answers that I cannot seem to get from Agilent. With the National Instruments, NI-488 function library, it is possible to set one of their Gpib cards to a 'Listen-Only' mode. The Agilent cards only support their SICL and VISA languages and thus there doesn't seem to be a way to do this. Please tell me if I am wrong.

I am trying to design some software for use with either the NI or Agilent cards and need to place them in the Listen-Only mode. Does anyone know of some code that could be used to 'patch' the appropriate registers on the Agilent card so that they, too, will function in the Listen - Only mode? As I understand it, the Agilent cards use either the TI TMS9914 or NEC 7210 controller chip(I think!). Both of these chips have internal register bits that will disable the address decoding and allow the chips to function as 'Listen-Only'. Since the SICL and VISA languages don't support R/W in this manner. I thought that maybe, I could write a small application that would force the register bit to this state. This would be something that I could run from within my application.

In any event, I need some guidance as to whether this is possible and to point me in the right direction. Any help that you can offer would be appreciated..

Thanks.. Jim

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Reply to
rfdes
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NI uses the gpib32.dll file to translate, so you should be able to find a function in the ni-488.2 library to put it in listen mode, use the NI spy tool to monitor the card...

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Reply to
maxfoo

Jim

...

From many years ago I seem to remember that only peripheals can be set to "listen only". This would make sense to me since the card in question would be a controller and would not be useful in a "Listen-Only mode. Perhaps to "emulate", I think the word is, you could simply stop the GPIB functions of the card by using the CPU and then start again when you have achieved your goal. Bob AZ

Reply to
RWatson767

would be

of the

goal.

Yes, That is what I want to do. Turn the card/PC into a 'device' (non-controller) so that another instrument can talk to it. The problem is that the card has hardware address decoding, so that the talking PC must first send the 'listen - address' before the device will listen. If you want the GPIB card to disable this addressing capability, you must first write some disable data to a hardware register on the card. The National Instruments GPIB software utilities have a specific function for doing this. The Agilent does not, as far as I can tell. My hunch is that the Agilent card(s) have the hardware capability to do this, only the software remains as the 'stumbling block'. The early Agilent gpib cards (not sure about the present) used the TI TMS9914 as the basis for their GPIB cards. I know that that device had this capability. Supposedly, the current GPIB controllers that Agilent uses are of their own design (ASICs). But they, supposedly, are still based on the TMS9914, so, hopefully, the address decoding registers are still present. Sounds like alot of reverse engineering that I do not have time for. Getting the right technical support for this is highly unlikely.

Take care.. Jim

Jim

Reply to
rfdes

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