Agilent 82357B USB IEEE488/GPIB Adapter

[quarks]

Yesterday I installed the latest "Agilent Connection Expert" software and tried to use an Agilent 82357B USB IEEE488/GPIB Adapter.
But the USB device driver seems to have a bug.

I tried on different systems (with Win 7 32 and 64 bit and XP) and it worked for a short time (on the 64bit OS). But when I repeated the instalation it showed the Problem again.
According to the user guide troubleshooting information (see att.) it is not a hardware problem (only FAIL LED is on).

Does anyone use this gear and has a hint?

bye
quarks

[bingo600]

I use one of those on Linux

When i insert it it has one USB ID , then i have to load the firmware and it changes the USB ID VID:PID

On linux i have to load the firmware twice (then only the green light is on) , but that could be a linux quirk ....

I'm not at home , but i think the pid starts with :715 , and ends with :718 when the fw is loaded.

I'm not sure if it's the same on windows , but it could be ...

/Bingo

[AlfBaz]

Does it show up on the "agilent connection expert"?
I get the failed led if it's not plugged into anything

[quarks]

thanks for your replies.

Does it show up on the "agilent connection expert"?

it shows up as unkwon device in the device manager and therefore it is not recognized in the agilent software. When it worked it showed up with its name.

[quarks]

I get the failed led if it's not plugged into anything

I tried again (deleted and reinstalled everything), but this time with a DMM connected, before I pluged in the USB Adapter
unfortunately with the same result (see device manager and agilent connection expert screenshot)

[AlfBaz]

Seems like you have some kind of driver issue. Is this file installed?

[quarks]

In the device manager I remember "GPIB Interfaces" entry showed up when it worked.
But in the Failed LED Status it is missing.
At least the agt357run.sys is in windows/system32/Drivers folder.

The strange thing is, that the driver seems to be within the agilent connection expert and only be activated when the Adapter is pluged in and recognized correctly.  I think if I could manually install/reinstall the driver that should solve the problem. Also I do not have an agilent DMM and therefore do not even need the Agilent Connection Expert for what I want to do.

[AlfBaz]

I just double checked and unplugged the gpib end and the light remained green (ready)

[quarks]

thanks AlfBaz, I think I saw the same behaviour, when it worked, but right now I do not know what else I can try.

[alm]

Can you confirm whether this is software of hardware by testing it on another computer? It sounds like a Windows/driver issue to me. I wonder if uninstalling really removes every trace of the driver. You may be able to find something about removing old USB drivers, I don't have step-by-step instructions on hand.

Another not very elegant solution would be to install another copy of Windows (eg. the Windows XP + VirtualPC solution shipped with Win7 Pro/Ultimate) in a virtual machine and install the Agilent software in there. This should give you a fresh Windows installation.

[metalphreak]

Also try another USB port. Windows remembers what driver was installed for a device, for each USB port. So if you plug it into another port, it'll search for drivers again.

[quarks]

thanks for your replies.

According to the Agilent user guide it is a Software/Driver problem. I installed the Agilent Software already on three different PC and different OS. I changed also between diffent USB ports. It only worked on the System with Win 7 64bit, but not direct after the install, but after deleting Driver and rescan for new Hardware in the device manager. Unfortunatey I have not managed to repeat this.

I will build up a new PC system with new XP and SP3 Installation, so I am sure nothing is installed that could possibly make trouble. 

[alm]

A fresh install is a good idea, the three systems might have something in common (virus scanner, configuration) that interferes with the Agilent software. Does Agilent offer older versions of their drivers for download? Anything special about USB power management that might cause troubles?

I wouldn't plug the GPIB interface in the computer before installing the driver, that can sometimes cause trouble. If Agilent offers installation instructions, then I would try to follow them step by step. It might be something stupid like it being touchy about connecting the device before installing the driver.

I tend to use NI GPIB hardware because if the presumably better software .

[quarks]

A fresh install is a good idea, the three systems might have something in common (virus scanner, configuration) that interferes with the Agilent software. Does Agilent offer older versions of their drivers for download? Anything special about USB power management that might cause troubles?

I wouldn't plug the GPIB interface in the computer before installing the driver, that can sometimes cause trouble. If Agilent offers installation instructions, then I would try to follow them step by step. It might be something stupid like it being touchy about connecting the device before installing the driver.

I tend to use NI GPIB hardware because if the presumably better software .

thanks alm,
I really hope that is worth the effort.
I have tried version 15.5 that came with the  USB adapter and the latest 16.3
Older versions are available, but do not seem to support the 82357B (see att.).

About Installation sequence, there is also a note on the USB cable, that says "Important Install ... Software before installing 82357B" and I followed that each time.

XP Prof. Installation is running now

[AlfBaz]

I'm not sure that it matters but just to be sure read up on the "side by side" install option as well. I think it only does some trickery with the GPIB-32.dll substitution but it may be enough to confuse Agilent's connection software

[abyrvalg]

Use this tool http://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Utilities/usbview.zip to check is it sw or hw problem. Start the tool, connect your device and look for a new device in the tool. If it shows fake vid/pid like all 0000s or FFFFs, then it is hw problem

[quarks]

  I tested everthing I can think of and it is not working. I will contact Agilent and wait what they say.

If there is someone nearby using this adapter I would like to get in touch.

[hedgehog]

I get the failed led if it's not plugged into anything

I tried again (deleted and reinstalled everything), but this time with a DMM connected, before I pluged in the USB Adapter unfortunately with the same result (see device manager and agilent connection expert screenshot)

I saw this exact problem, where the device wasn't listed, on my laptop, which only has USB 1.1.  When I put in a PCMCIA card with 2.0 it fixed it.

[hedgehog]

I use one of those on Linux
/Bingo

I don't want to hijack this thread, so I can start a new one if you respond.  But can you tell me which Linux you're using?  I've spent way too many hours trying to get mine to work with no luck so far.

Bob

[quarks]

for anyone interested, I had good experience with the Agilent support. Very kind and helpful .

What I learned and found out myself, is:

- Installation seems to be somehow tricky
- if there is an older Agilent IO Lib. Version on the PC, it needs to be deinstalled first and you need to manually check in "Program Files" and clean it if necessary
- after restart no other program should be running
- then install as Administrator
- after finish, plugin the 82357B USB2 Adapter, but watch out it seems to be critical with the amps that a USB port is able to deliever
   (I now use a hub with power supply, just to be sure)

I checked and repeated the procedure several times (just to be sure it really works).
Now it works with the latest Agilent IO Lib. Version 16.3 on Win 7 64 bit and XP Prof. +SP3.

bye
quarks

[bingo600]

I use one of those on Linux
/Bingo

I don't want to hijack this thread, so I can start a new one if you respond.  But can you tell me which Linux you're using?  I've spent way too many hours trying to get mine to work with no luck so far.

Bob

Hi Bob

I'm using Linux Mint 14 , but i know someone using Ubuntu (latest i think) that also have it working.

The key seems to be using the svn version of linux-gpib , not the tgz archive ...

/Bingo

[bingo600]

Here are my notes on building linux-gpib for a debian (ubuntu) variant

1: sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

2: svn co https://linux-gpib.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/linux-gpib/trunk
3: cd trunk/linux-gpib
4: ./bootstrap   (this extra step should be done if using svn version)
5: ./configure  (now do like normal build)
6: make
7: sudo make install
8: depmod -a
9: ldconfig


10 sudo apt-get install fxload

Done building ....


My notes says i have to do this , on every boot (genuine Agilent adapter) ...

Note the modprobe (where the module is loaded)



Steps (on every boot)

1: modprobe agilent_82357a   (You could put agilent_82357a  in the file /etc/modules , then it should load automatic)

2: lsusb
   Bus 001 Device 008: ID 0957:0518 Agilent Technologies, Inc. 82357B GPIB Interface
3: fxload -t fx2 -D /dev/bus/usb/001/008 -I /usr/share/usb/agilent_82357a/measat_releaseX1.8.hex

4: lsusb
   Bus 001 Device 008: ID 0957:0518 Agilent Technologies, Inc. 82357B GPIB Interface
5: fxload -t fx2 -D /dev/bus/usb/001/009 -I /usr/share/usb/agilent_82357a/measat_releaseX1.8.he

6: sudo gpib_config

Now only light in Green "Ready" on USB dongle , and ready

Config is in : /etc/gpib.conf   - Maybe adapt.


Hope this helps

/Bingo

[alm]

My experience with linux-gpib is quite frustrating. I ran into obscure bugs, and kernel compatibility was often an issue. Distributions like Debian would often only package released versions that would not work with current kernels. My impression is that it's in minimal maintenance mode with no attempt to ever integrate it into the mainline kernel.

[bingo600]

It's correct that linux-gpib prob never will go into the kernel.
And that the current maintainer would like a replacement.

But that said ...
I'm running (building linux-gpib from scratch) and the SVN version is quite easy to get working on the distros i use,
Linux Mint 14 and Debian 7.

It's a bit annoying to have to rebuild it every time you install a newer kernel , but i have automated it with a buildscript.
And have not had any problems yet....

I'd rather do that , than having to boot up M$ , even though i have considered to run XP in a VBOX.

But for now i haven't had any problems with the SVN code.


/Bingo

[Lukas]

The driver for the 82357A from linux-gpib is about 1500 lines long, so it shouldn't be that hard to port the driver to libusb making it kernel-independent.