1. Overview 2. Required Software 3. Installation Instructions 4. Accessing the Driver in LabVIEW 5. Using the Instrument Driver 6. Custom Error Codes 7. Unsupported Features 8. Known Issues 9. Customer Support 10. Revision History
Instrument Driver Technology: Plug and Play Supported Language(s): LabVIEW 6.1 Supported Regional Settings: English and Universal desktops (period or comma separator for number decimal point) Supported Models: Agilent Technologies N5700 Series DC Power Supplies Models Tested: N5741A thru N5772A Interfaces: IEEE-488, LAN, USB 2.0 Firmware Revision Tested: A.00.02 Certified: No NI Supported: No Source Code Available: Yes Driver Revision: REV_A04, 07/2004, LV_6.1 Original Release Date: September 2004 Current Revision Date: July 2004
Some software components need to be installed before using this instrument driver. The minimum versions of these components are listed below, and can be downloaded from the download Web site. VISA 2.6 for IEEE-488 and LAN support VISA 3.0 for USB support Note: VISA has additional software requirements. For example, if using the IEEE-488 port, NI-VISA requires that NI-488.2 be installed on your system. Check with VISA help for additional support software and hardware requirements.
LabVIEW requires NI's USB driver for USB instruments, Agilent I/O library should not be installed when USB support is required.
Obtain a copy of the driver software. It is packaged in a self-extracting file called: driver_labview_n5700_A_04.exe A) Use Windows® Explorer and navigate to folder: ...\Program Files \National Instruments \LabVIEW...\instr.lib B) Create a new folder: agt_N5700 C) Double-click the file you downloaded and extract the driver files into the "agt_N5700" folder D) You will now have a "...\instr.lib\agt_N5700\" folder containing: "agt_N5700.llb" five MNU menu files "Agilent N5700 Readme.htm" (this file) The menu files and VI library (LLB) make up an instrument driver. The menu files allow you to view the instrument driver VIs from the Functions palette. The VI library contains the instrument driver VIs.
There is normally no need to view the library file because the driver functions may be picked from a palette menu. A) Right-click on a blank place on the VI diagram See the "Functions" palette open. Navigate: Functions -> Instrument I/O -> Instrument Drivers -> Agilent N5700 DC-Power B) Alternately, click diagram's menu bar: Window -> "Show Functions Palette" and navigate the above menus
LabVIEW: To verify communication with your instrument and test a typical programmatic instrument operation, you should first open the Getting Started or Example VIs the instrument driver. Look over each of the controls and set them appropriately. Generally, with the exception of the address field, the defaults for most controls will be sufficient for your first run. You will need to set the instrument resource name appropriately. After running the VI, check to see that reasonable data was returned and an error was not reported in the error cluster. After you have verified basic communication with your instrument, you might want to customize instrument control for your needs. If your application needs are similar to the Getting Started or Example VI, the simplest means of creating a customized VI is to save a copy of the Getting Started or Example VI by selecting "Save As" from the File menu. You can then modify this example to meet your specific needs. For more details, reference the LabVIEW Help under Help » VI, Function, & How-To Help.
Every driver checks for errors and any found are returned in the "error out" cluster. There are three sources of errors and only the highest priority error is returned: ERROR TYPES
Priority |
Type |
Description |
Highest |
VISA Error |
Returned by VISA functions such as Write or Read Examples: No device at the address detected. After query sent, no response received |
|
Device Error |
Returned by the instrument's "SYSTEM:ERROR" queue Examples: see "CUSTOM DEVICE ERRORS" table below |
Lowest |
Response Error |
Driver received response but it is invalid Examples: see "CUSTOM RESPONSE ERRORS" table below |
Device errors are ones reported from a "SYSTEM:ERR?" query. This is done automatically by most drivers. If an error is returned, it is in the SCPI error format: <number -500 to +500> <comma> <message string in quotes> Refer to the user manual appendix "Error Messages" for a complete list of possible errors The VISA standard allows custom error codes in the range: -1073999873 to -1074001919 ( BFFC0801 to BFFC0FFF hex) The SCPI error number is converted to a VISA error number using this formula: <absolute value of SCPI error number> + <BFFC0900 hex> See "N5700 Error Query.vi" for details. All returns are errors; there are no warnings. EXAMPLES: CUSTOM DEVICE ERRORS
Decimal Code |
Hex Code |
Meaning |
-1074001555 |
BFFC096D |
-109,"Missing parameter" value missing from command that sets value |
-1074001551 |
BFFC0971 |
-113,"Undefined header" unrecognized command or query |
-1074001533 |
BFFC0983 |
-131,"Invalid suffix" ex: text letters attached to end of numeric value |
-1074001442 |
BFFC09DE |
-222,"Data out of range" attempt to program settings outside of range applies to volt limit, current limit , OVP and UVL |
-1074001440 |
BFFC09E0 |
-224,"Illegal parameter value" ex: sending text letters where numeric expected |
-1074001254 |
BFFC0A9A |
-410,"Query INTERRUPTED" query sent but driver did not read response before sending another query |
CUSTOM RESPONSE ERRORS
Decimal Code |
Hex Code |
Meaning |
-1074003951 |
BFFC0011 |
No response from "ID Query" in "Initialize.vi". May be an incorrect address setting or the instrument is not communicating |
-1074001904 |
BFFC0810 |
Could not parse identity fields to find revisions |
-1074001902 |
BFFC0812 |
Could not parse identity fields to get the model number ("N57xx") |
-1074001900 |
BFFC0814 |
Attempt to send query to "Write to Instrument". Cannot have "?" in command string |
-1074001898 |
BFFC0816 |
Attempt to send command to "Read Instrument Data". Must have "?" in query string |
The following N5700 capabilities are not supported by this driver: - SRQ interrupts - Event and Enable registers - Triggered events - Self-Test - Calibration commands
There are currently no known issues with this instrument driver.
For more information about this driver and other instrument drivers and
software available from Agilent Technologies visit:
http://www.agilent.com/find/ADN
A list of contact information is available from:
http://www.agilent.com/find/contacts00 (two zeros at the end)
REV_A04, 07/2004, LV_6.1 Original ReleaseWindows is a U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
© Copyright 2005 Agilent Technologies, Inc.