[SOLVED] Help: Need Keysight 34461A DMM Data logging to PC (XL)

[beanflying]

I have locked up the shack for the night as it is cold and wet. Recheck the cable/connections your end I guess apart from that I will look at any setting on the IO manager tomorrow that might help. That said I can't remember anything not working straight up for me when I first installed them 

[enut11]

Checked the interface cable again
I set up 9600, 7 data, even parity, 2 stop on Com1
Fails Connection Expert test. I suspect RS232 port is dead

[Andreas]

Checked the interface cable again

The 34401A needs a cross over cable on the RS232 side.

Slightly interesting I could tell when I turned on my LED strip lighting behind the bench on my 34461A trace while the 34401A trucked past it better.

interesting: in my comparison the 34401A behaved around a factor 3 better than my K2000 against EMI:
see here and the following post:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/metrology/emi-measurements-of-a-volt-nut/msg2684091/#msg2684091

with best regards

Andreas

[enut11]

Thanks Andreas, I made the RS232 crossover cable as per reply #44 but no luck communicating

[beanflying]

Checked the interface cable again
I set up 9600, 7 data, even parity, 2 stop on Com1
Fails Connection Expert test. I suspect RS232 port is dead

Now I have had a coffee, try using the settings on mine as per below. The stop bits on yours and flow control in particular.

[enut11]

Ok, will give it a go but seem to remember the 34401A manual saying the Stop bits are fixed at 2?

[beanflying]

How have you got on? To get those settings above working my 34401A is running Even and 7 bits displayed on it. I haven't bothered changing it but it works as is so I am happy.

[enut11]

Well, it turns out that I needed to update my I/O libraries to the latest version (2020) as you pointed out more than once!
Now all working. I can log simultaneously with two HP meters.

I am glad you mentioned the CH340 interface for the 34401A RS232 port. I bought it many years ago and gave up when I could not get it going. I dismissed it as cheap junk
That little tip has saved me from buying another expensive 82357B GPIB-USB interface.
Thanks
enut11

[enut11]

@beanflying, one thing I have not got right yet is how to have two charts, one above the other, as in reply #18.
I can easily get the two charts to show side-by-side. I can then un-dock one and re-size it but when I try to do the same for the second chart, the first one disappears from view!
enut11

[beanflying]

I suspect is is just going behind the main window and becoming hidden on you rather than disappearing. The undocked windows just sit one in front of the other like standard Windoze ones. Then run the mouse over the edge or corner and pull on the handles that show up to resize them.

[enut11]

I did it by using Alt-Tab to bring back each window after it was un-docked. A bit clumsy.
Also, I cannot use any universal commands at the top of the main screen as it makes the un-docked windows disappear again.
Anyway I have a work-around if I need it.
enut11

[enut11]

Well, I have learnt not to mess with the Agilent Utility while it is logging. I was trying to flag an event on-the-fly when the program lost contact with the dmm.
Meter locked up, PC locked up. Had to reboot everything!

Still nice that I can log 2 variables at the same time, and it can be done in 2 ways:
1) Using the main start/stop controls at the upper left, the resulting file logs both variables to a single file, or
2) using the individual window's start/stop controls at the lower left logs separate files for each meter.
enut11

[beanflying]

Nice find, something for me to play with some time 

[beanflying]

As per my original post I installed this first https://www.keysight.com/main/software.jspx?cc=AU&lc=eng&nid=-33330.977662&id=2175637&pageMode=CV and made sure the instruments could be found.

Then second installed the DMM utility. I have just put the DMMUtility on my Google Drive here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uc1dmdf1s0_0AjhoizHfp9YxXrgRwzjH/view?usp=sharing as an alternate source

Seems Keysight may have removed the DMM Utility from their site. Still available on the Google Drive link above if needed and it should stick as I have plenty of space https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/help-need-keysight-34461a-dmm-data-logging-to-xl/msg3004796/#msg3004796