WinGPIB - Windows GPIB App (multi-purpose)

[IanJ]

Hi all,

Some updates, see screenshot in post#1 above.

Added a RESET to close the devices......this is in tandem with the STOP buttons and I felt necessary because GPIB on different brands of devices etc is a fickle thing!
The 3458A has it's issues on shutting down GPIB.....whilst the Keithley has it's issues on starting up GPIB!
However, the most important thing I came across is the retry feature of Pawel's code......simply stunning to see the Keithley GPIB having trouble at startup but the app continuing to retry and controlling the GPIB traffic and after 10secs or so it's all stable and working.

Got the Chart working, screenshot shows device 1 active, but it will display both devices 1 & 2. PS. screenshot is a bit misleading as I screen-captured it with only 140 datapoints loaded out of the 500 it is set with.
Scales are adjustable as is the number of x-axis datapoints.
The chart is a rolling type based on the datapoints.
I may add an auto-centre and window adjust feature (I did that on my excel vba chart) as it makes it easier/quicker to narrow right down on a voltage signal for example.
Temperature/Humidity is not logged at the moment......I am thinking that can be for the external graph analysys based on the CSV.

Added an export to CSV. This is so that you can basically copy the current CSV being written to, to another file (date & time stamped) without distrurbing it.

By the end of the week I will publish the EXE's so that others can play with it..........for me it will be invaluable with my 3458A during my PDVS2 production testing.

To do: Play with NPLC on the 3458A and see what effect this has on the app. Also need to add functionality to save-all settings.

PS. My next VB app will be to automate calibration of my PDVS2's without human intervention......i.e.: VB reads output voltage of PDVS2 via GPIB, VB sends instruction to PDVS2 to adjust up/down, VB instructs PDVS2 to save cal (zero & span DAC adjustment)............this will save me hours and hours of calibrating batches pf PDVS2's!!!

Ian.

[IanJ]

Quick screenshot attached.

3458A in yellow, Keithley 2015THD in aqua........two PDVS2 reference sources........amazing difference in stability of DMM.
Keithley has a filter enabled running at 100. 3458A has an NPLC set at 20 only.

Ian.

[alm]

The Keithley 2015 trace appears to have periodic noise in it. Could this be environment temperature changes due to the heating / AC switching on / off?

[IanJ]

The Keithley 2015 trace appears to have periodic noise in it. Could this be environment temperature changes due to the heating / AC switching on / off?

Not sure....I'll look into it. I also have a 2nd 2015THD so will try that.

Ian.

[IanJ]

Hi all,

Screenshot in post #1 updated.

Some more work done on the chart/graph:-
Auto-Scale button will look at the data on the chart and set a max and min scale around those values. You can of course still set your own values.
Add Max-Difference-Recorded which is basically the highest minus the lowest on the chart.
Clear-Chart button wipes everything.
PS. See the screenshot and notice the big dip near the end.......thats my air-con switching on in the workshop so looks like I need to add a mains filter there........!

Other stuff:-
Save-Settings button added so now all user adjustable data/values is saved off.
Enable-Log checkbox added.
Added Repeat-Command value to the Devices config area so you can see what command will ultimately be repeated to the device (last on the list), a bit clearer.

Keithley
Regarding the wild oscillating values from my Keithley 2015THD......the other one I have is just the same.....but thats as far as I have looked into this. It's not the PDVS2's, because I swapped them over and the problem stayed with the Keithley.

This weekend I will be going back to look at the GPIB startup etc.....I got some more good info from Pawel so will be looking at that......if my VB skills allow!

By Sunday I will release the first EXE's for the apps (the two dialog boxes in the screenshots are two separate installs).

Thanks,

Ian.

[Andreas]

Keithley has a filter enabled running at 100. 3458A has an NPLC set at 20 only.

Hello,

0.7 seconds device response time for 100 NPLC ?
I guess there is something wrong with aquisition time.
I would expect around 6 seconds with auto zero active.

I usually have around 4-6 uVpp on a K2000 (which is similar) with 10 NPLC in 10V range on my references.
 (0.6 sec / reading on K2000 with 50 Hz mains frequency)
So with 100 NPLC you should not get 50 uVpp.

with best regards

Andreas

[IanJ]

V1.0 released. See post #1.

I am now working on the query/send startup issue and also the 'Playback Chart'.

Have fun!

Ian.

[Grandchuck]

Thanks Ian!

[IanJ]

Hi all,

V1.1 is available for download in post #1.
New screenshot posted also.

This new version transforms the GPIB device startup. There are several ways to communicate with any device, some commands are sent expecting a reply and when that reply doesn't come then the app can generate an error. So, I found out from Pawel an alternate command to use in these conditions and which cuts back on many of the errors and resends.

Have fun.

Ian.

UPDATE:
 bug in the GUI of V1.1......I'll update a new V1.2 asap - Done!

Ian.

[Grandchuck]

Many thanks Ian.  Version 1.2 is running here.  A very nice contribution to the metrology group.

[IanJ]

V1.3 now available in post #1

Changes:-

V1.3 - Added Send Async command to Dev1 and Dev2. Useful when all you want to do is send your device a blind command.
V1.3 - Added a HELP button with some info about the different command types.
V1.3 - Added some defaults for the CSV path. If it's left blank then it will pick up the folder where the main EXE is being run from and where the Log.csv is.
V1.3 - Made the installation of the app portable (easier)......just unzip to a folder of your choice and run the EXE file there. No setup.exe required. If you have an existing version installed you may need to uninstall it first. Note: Any problems with running the portable version then let me know and I will go back to the full install.

Ian.

[branadic]

Just my two cents... have you thought about putting all settings in a seperate tab and only have the necessary things like the diagram and some start/stop buttons on the main tab? Would make things much more clearly. By now the program is somewhat overcharged. Please understand it just as a suggestion with an eye on user experience. The engineer tends to put everthing possible into one window, with the result of bad usablility.

-branadic-

[IanJ]

Just my two cents... have you thought about putting all settings in a seperate tab and only have the necessary things like the diagram and some start/stop buttons on the main tab? Would make things much more clearly. By now the program is somewhat overcharged. Please understand it just as a suggestion with an eye on user experience. The engineer tends to put everthing possible into one window, with the result of bad usablility.

-branadic-

I hear you.....and I agree......but to develop the app just for fun, for free and with limited time it's just easier and quicker to throw it all on one form. VB isn't my preferred language, I've only ever developed a few VB apps......so there's obstacles there also.
But yes, you are right, I do like it, as an engineer, to have it all right there especially during development.

Ian.

[pwlps]

Hi Ian,

Below is a screenshot of my test of V1.3 with an Agilent 34410A (I'm not a metrology guy and this one is enough for me) via USB.

A few observations:

- the reset button works correctly: the 344140A goes back to local
- after pressing "stop" the control panel with query buttons remains disabled (it only gets enabled again after "reset" and "create dev"), it might be more practical if it were enabled again after stopping the automatic run
- when I pressed "autoscale" the chart tripped an exception, I could continue the acquisition but without chart (see screenshot).   

Pawel

[IanJ]

Hi Ian,

Below is a screenshot of my test of V1.3 with an Agilent 34410A (I'm not a metrology guy and this one is enough for me) via USB.

A few observations:

- the reset button works correctly: the 344140A goes back to local
- after pressing "stop" the control panel with query buttons remains disabled (it only gets enabled again after "reset" and "create dev"), it might be more practical if it were enabled again after stopping the automatic run
- when I pressed "autoscale" the chart tripped an exception, I could continue the acquisition but without chart (see screenshot).   

Pawel

Hi,

I'll look at the STOP button tonight.

The Auto-Scale crashed the app on your PC due to the negative values you are pulling from your 34410A...….I'll have to add some code so it deals with negative numbers correctly. Might be fun!

Ian.

[IanJ]

Hi all,

V1.4 available in post #1.

V1.4 - Fixed bug when reading negative values from devices which was causing the AUTO SCALE to crash. Only positive values are allowed....for now.
V1.4 - Added a warning pop-up dialog box. This will be used more and more for displaying warnings/errors etc, for now doesn't appear much.
V1.4 - I have started to develop a PLAYBACK CHART, see the button under MISC. This is very, very preliminary just to get the ball rolling. It should be used to load a CSV with only ONE deviced logged only.
V1.4 - When STOP is pressed on the devices it now re-enables the command input areas.

Ian.

[IanJ]

Hi all,

V1.5 available in post #1.

V1.5 - Fixed bug in Index No. creation in CSV file when running 2 devices. Whilst at it, added error trapping around CSV file, including creating file if it doesn't exist.

Ian.

[pelule]

Hi Ian
tere seems a issue downloding the file.
Got message "You are not allowed to access this section"
/PeLuLe

[IanJ]

Hi Ian
tere seems a issue downloding the file.
Got message "You are not allowed to access this section"
/PeLuLe

You mean from the EEVBlog server?........just tried it and it works for me.

Alternative download from my own server:-
https://www.ianjohnston.com/images/stories/IanJ/GPIB/IODeviceAppV1_5.zip

Ian.

[Grandchuck]

Hello Ian,

With version 1.5, autoscale is not working?

[IanJ]

Hello Ian,

With version 1.5, autoscale is not working?

Fixed......a wee typo. New version uploaded.

V1.6 - Fixed bug in AUTO SCALE function. Added more controls and functionality to the Playback Chart (zoom in/out and up/down control over Y-axis scale), also added more error trapping and some grid colours to both the charts/graphs.


Ian.

[Grandchuck]

 :)1.6 fixed it!  Thanks Ian.

[IanJ]

Hi all,

V1.7 available in post #1.

V1.7 - Changed the way the Playback .CSV file is selected

Ian.

[Grandchuck]

Ian, I used Photoshop to make the grid brighter.  On my screen, it is hard to see. 

[IanJ]

Ian, I used Photoshop to make the grid brighter.  On my screen, it is hard to see.

Ok, I'll notch it up a bit tomorrow night.

I will be tackling the parsing of dual logs, temp/ humidity and displaying both on the playback chart also. Not looking forward to this one.....it gets messy with dual scales I think.

Ian.