NI PCII/A GPIB ISA with 2 card config for calibration - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: charlyd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 28, 2019, 04:27:27 pm
content: The Field Adjustment software requires old NI PCII/A GPIB ISA cards for automated setup.The TDS Software actually expects two cards:a) one at 0x2e1 to connect to the DUT (the oscilloscope)b) one at 0xe2e1 to connect to all the required Measurement equipment when running in automated mode.i have some open ends after read topic here and there.am i right be saying:->my gpib driver in the config.sys has to be loaded onces for both cards->what switches has to be set for GPIB card 0 and GPIB card 1(on both cards the same but one with & toggled the other with just . but is this ok?)-> how do i config the GPIB directory files inside ( do i need IBCONF to configure both cards. if yes how.)-> do i need to make special setting inside the IBconf for the different equitpment or is default for 99% ok)Who has a working config and can clears things up...[picture: right side - initial card from one card config setup]

author: Gribo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 28, 2019, 07:15:55 pm
content: Both your cards use IRQ 7.Edit: Removed wrong info.

author: charlyd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 29, 2019, 09:44:57 pm
content: on the left card i still have to place the jumpers. but from what i understand now the have both to be open. and the dipswitches , any special combinations changes.on the left side i still have to fill in the blanks if neccesary…. that card can be totally wrong jumpered or switched. the right card work in single config like this.are you familiar with the config ( tested yourself with it)? or just theorie?

author: rf+tech
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2019, 05:10:08 pm
content: charlyd,The answers to your questions can be found in the Getting Started guide, attached below.Appendix A, page 41, Step 1 – Hardware Configuration.As always, read the fine documentation.RF+ Tech

author: charlyd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2019, 05:42:44 pm
content: don t see anything on page 41 step 1 from your manual about how to place a second card. all the drawings about the dipsw. bank doesn t talk about what todo for the second card. i only found card two on 22e1. after reading the document over and over two days ago.tonight:i tried to take off IRQ and DMA jumpers but nothing...i also tried to load the driver double in the config.sys but card gpib0 loaded twice and card gpib1 nothing

author: gslick
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2019, 08:59:22 pm
content: Read about using IBCONF in Chapter 2 of this manual:NI-488.2™ Software Reference Manual for MS-DOSJune 1997 EditionPart Number 370889A-01https://www.ni.com/pdf/manuals/370889a.pdfDefault ValuesThe following are the default values of the software.• There are 32 devices with symbolic names DEV1 through DEV32.• There are four access boards with symbolic names GPIB0, GPIB1,GPIB2, and GPIB3. The access board names cannot be changed.• Access board GPIB0 is enabled. GPIB1, GPIB2, and GPIB3 aredisabled.• Each GPIB interface board has its own default setting for the base I/Oaddress, interrupt setting, and DMA channel. Check the GettingStarted manual that came with your interface board for these settings.Use This Board (Board Characteristic Only)If you do not want the driver to try to access a board at the selected baseaddress (because you do not have a board in the system), select no for thisoption. When this field is set to no, the driver does not try to access theboard's hardware. It returns the error ENEB as soon as a program tries toaccess the board.Base I/O Address (Board Characteristic Only)This field specifies the I/O address of the GPIB board. It must be set to thesame value as the base I/O address setting for the GPIB board itself.Setting the base I/O address level is explained in the Getting Started manualthat you received with your GPIB interface board. On Micro Channel andsome other systems, you can change the I/O address only by booting thereference diskette. In this case, this field is Read-only.DMA Channel (Board Characteristic Only)This field specifies the DMA channel to be used by the GPIB interfaceboard. It must be set to the same value as the DMA channel (arbitrationlevel) setting for the GPIB board itself. Setting the DMA channel level isexplained in the Getting Started manual that you received with your GPIBboard. On Micro Channel and some other systems, you can change theDMA channel only by booting the reference diskette. However, you canenable or disable the use of DMA with IBCONF.Interrupt Level (Board Characteristic Only)This field specifies the interrupt line used by the GPIB interface board. Itmust be set to the same value as the interrupt level setting for the GPIBboard itself. Setting the interrupt level is explained in the Getting Startedmanual that you received with your GPIB board. On Micro Channel andsome other systems, you can change the interrupt level only by booting thereference diskette. However, you can enable or disable the use of interruptswith IBCONF.

author: charlyd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2019, 07:55:41 pm
content: glen thanks for this document. great worki hope this clears things up

author: charlyd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 03, 2019, 10:13:52 pm
content: ok after some research and another afternoon struggling arround with cards, jumpers and the ibconf.i now know the handler (loaded in the config.sys)is loaded for max 2 cards. gpib0 and gpib1.i did some config changes in the ibconf but don t get the second other card loaded. with a visible blue config message while booting.from what i found is that my gpib.com handler is customised somewhere in the dir (c:\gpib-pc).but what is saving the settings made in the ibconf?good hints or strategy is welcome.