Version A.04
September 1, 2004

Table of Contents:

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

1. Overview

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

2. Required Software

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.

3. Installation Instructions

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.    

4. Accessing the Driver in LabVIEW

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    

5. Using the Instrument Driver

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. 

6. Custom Error Codes

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

7. Unsupported Features

The following N5700 capabilities are not supported by this driver:
- SRQ interrupts 
- Event and Enable registers
- Triggered events
- Self-Test
- Calibration commands

8. Known Issues

There are currently no known issues with this instrument driver.

9. Customer Support

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)
 

10. Revision History

REV_A04, 07/2004, LV_6.1 Original Release

Windows is a U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

© Copyright 2005 Agilent Technologies, Inc.