National Instruments AT-GPIB User manual

© Copyright 1992 National Instruments Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
Getting Started with Your AT-GPIB
and the NI-488M™Software for
INTERACTIVE UNIX System V
July 1992 Edition
Part Number 320518-01

National Instruments Corporate Headquarters
6504 Bridge Point Parkway
Austin, TX 78730-5039
[phone]
(800) IEEE-488 (toll-free U.S. and Canada)
Technical support fax: [phone]
Branch Offices:
Australia 03 879 9422, Belgium 02 757 00 20, Canada 519 622 9310,
Denmark 45 76 73 22, France 1 48 65 33 70, Germany 089 714 5093,
Italy 02 48301892, Japan 03 3788 1921, Netherlands 01720 45761,
Norway 03 846866, Spain 91 896 0675, Sweden 08 984970,
Switzerland 056 45 58 80, U.K. 0635 523 545

Limited Warranty
The AT-GPIB is warranted against defects in materials and workmanship
for a period of two years from the date of shipment, as evidenced by
receipts or other documentation. National Instruments will, at its option,
repair or replace equipment that proves to be defective during the warranty
period. This warranty includes parts and labor.
The media on which you receive National Instruments software are
warranted not to fail to execute programming instructions, due to defects in
materials and workmanship, for a period of 90 days from date of shipment,
as evidenced by receipts or other documentation. National Instruments will,
at its option, repair or replace software media that do not execute
programming instructions if National Instruments receives notice of such
defects during the warranty period. National Instruments does not warrant
that the operation of the software shall be uninterrupted or error free.
A Return Material Authorization (RMA) number must be obtained from the
factory and clearly marked on the outside of the package before any
equipment will be accepted for warranty work. National Instruments will
pay the shipping costs of returning to the owner parts which are covered by
warranty.
National Instruments believes that the information in this manual is
accurate. The document has been carefully reviewed for technical accuracy.
In the event that technical or typographical errors exist, National
Instruments reserves the right to make changes to subsequent editions of
this document without prior notice to holders of this edition. The reader
should consult National Instruments if errors are suspected. In no event
shall National Instruments be liable for any damages arising out of or
related to this document or the information contained in it.
EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED HEREIN, NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MAKES NO
WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS
ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CUSTOMER'S RIGHT TO RECOVER DAMAGES
CAUSED BY FAULT OR NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF NATIONAL
INSTRUMENTS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT THERETOFORE
PAID BY THE CUSTOMER. NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS WILL NOT BE
LIABLE FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOSS OF DATA, PROFITS,
USE OF PRODUCTS, OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES,
EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF. This limitation of the
liability of National Instruments will apply regardless of the form of action,

whether in contract or tort, including negligence. Any action against
National Instruments must be brought within one year after the cause of
action accrues. National Instruments shall not be liable for any delay in
performance due to causes beyond its reasonable control. The warranty
provided herein does not cover damages, defects, malfunctions, or service
failures caused by owner's failure to follow the National Instruments
installation, operation, or maintenance instructions; owner's modification of
the product; owner's abuse, misuse, or negligent acts; and power failure or
surges, fire, flood, accident, actions of third parties, or other events outside
reasonable control.
Copyright
Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or
transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in
whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments
Corporation.
Trademarks
Turbo488®, NAT4882™,and NI-488M™ are trademarks of National
Instruments Corporation.
Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their
respective companies.

FCC/DOC Radio Frequency Interference Compliance
This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in strict accordance with the instructions in this manual,
may cause interference to radio and television reception. This equipment
has been tested and found to comply with the following regulatory agencies:
• The limits for a Class B computing device, in accordance with the
specifications in Part 15 of U.S. Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
– This device may not cause harmful interference.
– This device must accept any interference received, including
interference that may cause undesired operation.
• The limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus set out in
the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian Department of
Communications (DOC).
These regulations are designed to provide reasonable protection against
interference from the equipment to radio and television reception in
residential areas.
There is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. However, the chances of interference are much less if the
equipment is used according to this instruction manual.
If the equipment does cause interference to radio or television reception,
which can be determined by turning the equipment on and off, one or more
of the following suggestions may reduce or eliminate the problem.
• Operate the equipment and the receiver on different branches of your
AC electrical system.
• Move the equipment away from the receiver with which it is
interfering.
• Relocate the equipment with respect to the receiver.
• Reorient the receiver's antenna.

• Be sure that the equipment is plugged into a grounded outlet and that
the grounding has not been defeated with a cheater plug.
Notice to user: Changes or modifications not expressly approved by
National Instruments could void the user's authority
to operate the equipment under the FCC Rules.
If necessary, consult National Instruments or an experienced
radio/television technician for additional suggestions. The following
booklet prepared by the FCC may also be helpful: How to Identify and
Resolve Radio-TV Interference Problems. This booklet is available from
the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, Stock
Number 004-000-00345-4.
Bescheinigung des Herstellers/Importeurs
Hiermit wird bescheinigt, daß die AT-GPIB in Übereinstimmung mit den
Bestimmungen der Vfg. 1046/1984 funk-entstört ist.
Der Detusche Bundespost wurde das Inverkehrbringen dieses Gerätes
angezeigt und die Berechtigung zur Überprüfung der Serie auf
Bestimmungen eingeräumt.

© National Instruments Corp. vii AT-GPIB/NI-488M/INTERACTIVE UNIX
Contents
About This Manual ..........................................................................xi
Organization of This Manual......................................................xi
Conventions Used in This Manual .............................................xii
Related Documentation ..............................................................xiii
Customer Communication ..........................................................xiii
Chapter 1
Introduction.........................................................................................1-1
What Your Kit Should Contain ..................................................1-2
Optional Equipment....................................................................1-3
Hardware Description.................................................................1-3
Software Description ..................................................................1-3
Chapter 2
Software Installation .......................................................................2-1
Step 1. Prepare to Install the Software .....................................2-1
Step 2. Install the Software.......................................................2-2
A. Set Up a Working Directory .................................2-2
B. Install the Utility Files...........................................2-3
C. Install the C Library ..............................................2-3
D. Install the NI-488M Driver and Build the
New Kernel ...........................................................2-3
Using the Installation Script...........................2-3
Choosing the Software Settings.....................2-4
Using the kconfig Utility ...............................2-6
Ending the Installation Procedure..................2-7
Resolving Conflicts Found While Building
the New Kernel ..............................................2-7
Chapter 3
Hardware Configuration and Installation..............................3-1
Step 1. Unpack Your AT-GPIB ...............................................3-1
Step 2. Configure the Hardware...............................................3-1
Choose the Switch and Jumper Settings ......................3-2
Set the Base I/O Address .............................................3-3
Set the Interrupt Request Line .....................................3-5
Set the DMA Channel ..................................................3-6
Set the Shield Ground Configuration...........................3-8
Step 3. Install the Hardware .....................................................3-9

Contents
AT-GPIB/NI-488M/INTERACTIVE UNIX viii © National Instruments Corp.
Chapter 4
Software Verification and Configuration ..............................4-1
Verify the Software Installation .................................................4-1
Configure the Software with ibconf (Optional)..........................4-2
Using the NI-488M Software with Your Application
Program.......................................................................................4-3
Removing the NI-488M Software ..............................................4-4
Appendix A
Additional NI-488M Functions ...................................................A-1
IBDEV(3) ...................................................................................A-2
IBLINES(3) ................................................................................A-4
IBLN(3) ......................................................................................A-6
Appendix B
Hardware Specifications................................................................B-1
Appendix C
Customer Communication............................................................C-1
Glossary.................................................................................................G-1

Contents
© National Instruments Corp. ix AT-GPIB/NI-488M/INTERACTIVE UNIX
Figures
Figure 1-1. AT-GPIB Board...................................................................1-1
Figure 3-1. AT-GPIB Parts Locator Diagram ........................................3-2
Figure 3-2. Base I/O Address Switch Settings.......................................3-4
Figure 3-3. Interrupt Jumper Settings to Match Software Defaults .......3-5
Figure 3-4. DMA Channel Jumper Setting ............................................3-7
Figure 3-5. DMA Jumper Setting for No DMA Channel.......................3-8
Figure 3-6. Ground Configuration Jumper Settings...............................3-8
Tables
Table 2-1. Software Default Settings and Possible Settings.................2-5
Table 2-2. INTERACTIVE UNIX Default Configuration for
DMA Channels....................................................................2-6
Table 3-1. Hardware Default Settings and Your Software Settings .....3-3
Table 3-2. DMA Channels for the AT-GPIB .......................................3-6
Table B-1. Electrical Characteristics.....................................................B-1
Table B-2. Physical Characteristics.......................................................B-1
Table B-3. Environmental Characteristics.............................................B-2

© National Instruments Corp. xi AT-GPIB/NI-488M/INTERACTIVE UNIX
About This Manual
This manual contains instructions for installing and configuring the
National Instruments AT-GPIB interface board and NI-488M multitasking
software for use with the INTERACTIVE UNIX System V Release 3.2
operating system. The hardware and software are intended for use on a PC
AT compatible computer with a 386 or higher processor. This manual is
meant to be used with the National Instruments IEEE 488 Multitasking
UNIX software reference (NI-488M Software Reference Manual, Part
Number 320062-01).
The material in this manual is for users who have extensive knowledge of
the INTERACTIVE UNIX operating system and have super-user privilege.
This manual also assumes that the user has already received an AT-GPIB
board along with a user manual.
Organization of This Manual
This manual is organized as follows:
• Chapter 1, Introduction, contains a picture of the AT-GPIB board, lists
the contents of your NI-488M kit and optional equipment, and briefly
describes the AT-GPIB board and NI-488M software.
• Chapter 2, Software Installation, lists all the programs and files located
on the distribution disk and contains the steps for installing the NI-488M
software.
• Chapter 3, Hardware Configuration and Installation,contains
step-by-step instructions for unpacking, configuring, and installing your
AT-GPIB board in a PC AT after you have installed your NI-488M
software.
• Chapter 4, Software Verification and Configuration,describes how to
verify the software installation and configure the software. It also
contains information about using the NI-488M software with your
application program and removing the NI-488M software.
• Appendix A, Additional NI-488M Functions, describes three additional
NI-488M functions included in the NI-488M software. These functions
are not described in the NI-488M Software Reference Manual.