National Instruments GPIB-232CT-A IBCL EPROM User manual

© Copyright 1992, 1995 National Instruments Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
Getting Started with Your
GPIB-232CT-A and the
NI-488.2™Software
for MS-DOS/Windows
March 1995 Edition
Part Number 320555B-01

National Instruments Corporate Headquarters
6504 Bridge Point Parkway
Austin, TX 78730-5039
[phone]
Technical support fax: [phone]
[phone]
Branch Offices:
Australia [phone], Austria [phone], Belgium 02/757.00.20,
Canada (Ontario) [phone], Canada (Québec) [phone],
Denmark 45 76 26 00, Finland (90) 527 2321, France (1) 48 14 24 24,
Germany 089/741 31 30, Italy 02/48301892, Japan [phone],
Mexico 95 800 010 0793, Netherlands 03480-33466, Norway 32-84 84 00,
Singapore 2265886, Spain (91) 640 0085, Sweden 08-730 49 70,
Switzerland 056/20 51 51, Taiwan 02 377 1200, U.K. 0635 523545

Limited Warranty
The GPIB-232CT-A 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
LabVIEW®, NI-488®, and NI-488.2™are trademarks of National
Instruments Corporation.
Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their
respective companies.
Warning Regarding Medical and Clinical Use
of National Instruments Products
National Instruments products are not designed with components and testing
intended to ensure a level of reliability suitable for use in treatment and
diagnosis of humans. Applications of National Instruments products
involving medical or clinical treatment can create a potential for accidental
injury caused by product failure, or by errors on the part of the user or
application designer. Any use or application of National Instruments
products for or involving medical or clinical treatment must be performed by
properly trained and qualified medical personnel, and all traditional medical
safeguards, equipment, and procedures that are appropriate in the particular
situation to prevent serious injury or death should always continue to be
used when National Instruments products are being used. National
Instruments products are NOT intended to be a substitute for any form of
established process, procedure, or equipment used to monitor or safeguard
human health and safety in medical or clinical treatment.

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 two regulatory
agencies:
Federal Communications Commission
This device complies with Part 15 of the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) Rules for a Class A digital device. Operation is subject
to the following two conditions:
1. This device may not cause harmful interference in commercial
environments.
2. This device must accept any interference received, including
interference that may cause undesired operation.
Canadian Department of Communications
This device complies with the limits for radio noise emissions from digital
apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian
Department of Communications (DOC).
Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de bruits radioélectriques dépassant les
limites applicables aux appareils numériques de classe A prescrites dans le
règlement sur le brouillage radioélectrique édicté par le ministère des
communications du Canada.
Instructions to Users
These regulations are designed to provide reasonable protection against
harmful interference from the equipment to radio reception in commercial
areas. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause
harmful interference, in which case the user will be required to correct the
interference at his own expense.

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 installed and 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.
• Reorient or relocate 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.

© National Instruments Corp. vii GPIB-232CT-A for MS-DOS/Windows
Contents
About This Manual ..........................................................................xiii
Organization of This Manual......................................................xiii
Conventions Used in This Manual .............................................xiv
Related Documentation ..............................................................xvi
Customer Communication ..........................................................xvi
Chapter 1
Introduction.........................................................................................1-1
GPIB-232CT-A Overview..........................................................1-1
What You Need to Get Started...................................................1-2
Optional Equipment....................................................................1-3
Inspection ...................................................................................1-3
Hardware Description.................................................................1-3
Software Description ..................................................................1-4
Chapter 2
Install Your Hardware ...................................................................2-1
Step 1. Verify the Voltage Requirement ..................................2-1
Step 2. Shut Down Your System..............................................2-1
Step 3. Connect the Cables.......................................................2-2
Step 4. Power On Your System and Switch On the
GPIB-232CT-A ............................................................2-2
Chapter 3
Install the NI-488.2 Software for MS-DOS ............................3-1
Main Programs and Files ............................................................3-1
Additional Programs and Files ...................................................3-2
Terminology ...............................................................................3-3
Step 1. Run INSTALL .............................................................3-3
Quick Installation .........................................................3-3
Interactive Installation..................................................3-4
Step 2. Configure the Software ................................................3-5
Step 3. Verify the Software Installation ...................................3-6
Step 4. Developing Your Application Program .......................3-7
Interactive Control Program (IBIC) .............................3-7
Applications Monitor ...................................................3-8
The Application Program.............................................3-8

Contents
GPIB-232CT-A for MS-DOS/Windows viii © National Instruments Corp.
Chapter 4
Install the NI-488.2 Software for Windows............................4-1
NI-488.2 Files for the Windows Operating Environment..........4-1
NI-488.2 Files for the Development of Windows
Applications................................................................................4-2
GPIB Sample Windows Application Program ...........................4-2
Step 1. Run INSTALL .............................................................4-3
Quick Installation .........................................................4-3
Interactive Installation..................................................4-4
Step 2. Set Up the Windows Applications ...............................4-5
Step 3. Configure the Software ................................................4-5
Step 4. Verify the Software Installation ...................................4-5
Using WIBIC ..............................................................................4-6
Writing Windows Programs That Use the GPIB .......................4-7
The WINSAMP Sample...............................................4-7
General Rules for Using GPIB.LIB with Windows.....4-8
Chapter 5
Configure Your Software with IBCONF ................................5-1
Overview of IBCONF.................................................................5-1
Upper and Lower Levels of IBCONF ........................................5-3
Upper Level Device Map .............................................5-3
Device Maps of the Boards............................5-4
Help................................................................5-4
Rename ..........................................................5-4
(Dis)connect...................................................5-5
Edit.................................................................5-5
Output GPIB Driver Configuration
(IBCONF.EXE only) .....................................5-6
Autoconfigure (IBCONF.EXE only).............5-6
Exit.................................................................5-6
Lower Level Device/Board Characteristics .................5-7
Change Characteristics...................................5-8
Change Board or Device................................5-8
Help................................................................5-8
Reset Value ....................................................5-8
Return to Map ................................................5-8
Default Configurations ...............................................................5-9
Default Values..............................................................5-9

Contents
© National Instruments Corp. ix GPIB-232CT-A for MS-DOS/Windows
Device and Board Characteristics...............................................5-10
Primary GPIB Address.................................................5-10
Secondary GPIB Address.............................................5-10
Timeout Settings ..........................................................5-10
Serial Poll Timeouts (Device
Characteristic Only) ..................................................... 5-11
Terminate READ on EOS ............................................5-11
Set EOI with EOS on Write .........................................5-11
Type of Compare on EOS ............................................5-11
EOS Byte......................................................................5-11
Set EOI at End of Write ............................................... 5-12
System Controller (Board Characteristic
Only).............................................................................5-12
Assert REN when SC (Board Characteristic Only) .....5-12
Enable Auto Serial Polling (Board
Characteristic Only) ..................................................... 5-12
Enable CIC Protocol (Board
Characteristic Only) ..................................................... 5-13
Bus Timing (Board Characteristic Only) .....................5-13
Enable Repeat Addressing (Device
Characteristic Only) ..................................................... 5-13
Use This Interface (Board Characteristic
Only).............................................................................5-13
COM Port (Board Characteristic Only) .......................5-14
Serial Port Base Address (Board
Characteristic Only) ..................................................... 5-14
Serial Port IRQ Level (Board Characteristic Only) .....5-14
Baud Rate (Board Characteristic Only)* .....................5-14
Parity (Board Characteristic Only)*.............................5-15
Stop Bits (Board Characteristic Only)* .......................5-15
Data Bits (Board Characteristic Only)* .......................5-15
Exiting IBCONF.........................................................................5-15
Appendix A
Hardware Configuration...............................................................A-1
Configure the RS-232 Serial Port...............................................A-1
Appendix B
Hardware Specifications................................................................B-1

Contents
GPIB-232CT-A for MS-DOS/Windows x © National Instruments Corp.
Appendix C
Troubleshooting.................................................................................C-1
Troubleshooting Hardware Problems.........................................C-1
Troubleshooting Software Problems ..........................................C-2
Appendix D
DLL Direct Entry NI-488 Functions and
NI-488.2 Routines .............................................................................D-1
Appendix E
Interfacing to a Serial Device.......................................................E-1
The RS-232C Standard...............................................................E-1
Description of the RS-232 Port...................................................E-1
Interfacing Serial Devices to the RS-232 Serial Port .................E-3
Interfacing the GPIB-232CT-A to a DCE with
Handshaking.................................................................E-3
Interfacing the GPIB-232CT-A to a DCE without
Handshaking.................................................................E-5
Minimum Configuration Cable......................E-6
Custom Cables ...............................................E-7
Interfacing the GPIB-232CT-A to a DTE with
Handshaking.................................................................E-7
Interfacing the GPIB-232CT-A to a DTE without
Handshaking.................................................................E-9
Minimum Configuration Cable......................E-9
Custom Cables ...............................................E-10
Appendix F
Customer Communication............................................................F-1
Glossary......................................................................................Glossary-1