[time-nuts] Re: Racal Dana 1992 - issues reading data from GPIB?

[Adrian Godwin]

The service manual for the 1991 (I assume the 1992 is similar) describes
how to check out the GPIB interface using a series of examples conducted on
an HP85. It doesn't mention any unusual settings but the process followed
may result in the HP85 asserting particular controls : not all setups will
do the same, as the GPIB commands contain some redundancy.

However, the HP85 is a good example even if you don't have one, as it was
used as an instrument controller for years. If you need details of what it
does on the bus, ask in another group, https://groups.io/g/hpseries80 which
is dedicated to the HP85 and related systems.


On Wed, Apr 5, 2023 at 12:14 AM John Miller via time-nuts <
time-nuts at lists.febo.com> wrote:

> Hi Adrian,
> Thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for - I had poked around for a
> Racal Dana group but wasn't able to find one, go figure. I've submitted a
> membership request and hopefully I can gain access soon. I'm open to doing
> bus analysis but I want to exhaust more options before I go that route. I'm
> not against running it in talk-only mode, either, I just want it to run
> long term data collection tasks - I don't need it to be fully remotely
> controllable.
>
> John
> KC1QLN
>
> > On Apr 4, 2023, at 6:42 PM, Adrian Godwin <artgodwin at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > There's a group for Racal equipment : https://groups.io/g/RacalDana  -
> you may be able to find specific info on the 1992 there. A recent thread
> discussed using a Racal 1991 with the open source AR488 interface, which
> emulates the Prologix serial adapter. The thread title is 'GPIB on a
> budget?' but you have to be a member of the list to read it.
> >
> > The poster in that case did end up putting the counter in talk-only mode
> in order to get regular updates out of it. His 1991 used an older pre-SCPI
> version of GPIB but it should still be possible to communicate. However
> automatic operations such as going into read mode after a '?' won't help. I
> don't know if the 1992 is similar.
> >
> > It might be helpful to connect a monitor to the bus to determine what
> state it's in when it stalls. The sigrok project can be used to create a
> simple logic analyser from a cheap Cypress Fx2 dev/breakout and then
> analyse it with a postprocessor that disassembles the GPIB bus protocol.
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Apr 4, 2023 at 8:44 PM John Miller via time-nuts <
> time-nuts at lists.febo.com <mailto:time-nuts at lists.febo.com>> wrote:
> >> Hello all,
> >>
> >>
> >> I recently got my hands on a "gpib4pi" board specifically so that I can
> >> log measurements from my recently acquired Racal Dana 1992. I
> understand
> >> that the 1992 has some oddities when it comes to GPIB, but based on
> what
> >> I've read in the manual, and from others' experiences, I should be able
> >> to do what I want with no problems. I have made sure to set the
> internal
> >> jumper to "GPIB mode", and it is not in "talk only" mode per the switch
> >> settings on the rear of the unit.
> >>
> >>
> >> The gpib4pi board is interfaced with via the linux gpib tools and
> >> libraries, and to start I'm using the ibterm software to test things
> out
> >> - I'll be using python for logging once I confirm everything is working
> >> correctly. The issue that I am running into is that while I can send
> >> commands with no problems (e.g. changing measurement mode, changing
> >> resolution, resetting the unit, changing trigger modes, etc.) I cannot
> >> seem to receive any data at all.
> >>
> >>
> >> If I issue a command to have it send data, like GET, no data is
> >> returned, and the unit's SRQ (system request) LED is lit until I issue
> >> another command. I feel like this should be relatively trivial but I am
> >> getting absolutely nowhere fiddling with settings.
> >>
> >>
> >> I have also connected the gpib4pi to a 33120A function generator, and
> if
> >> I issue the command *IDN? through ibterm I get the proper
> >> self-identification string back, so I feel fairly confident that my
> >> hardware setup is correct, there's just something unique about the 1992
> >> that I haven't figured out yet.
> >>
> >>
> >> Here's my gpib.conf file: https://paste.millerjs.org/oyugadohey.txt
> >>
> >>
> >> Thanks!
> >>
> >> John
> >>
> >> KC1QLN
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