[time-nuts] Prologix GPIB-USB vs. GPIB-LAN

[Robert Darlington]

I have a GPIB-LAN, and it works.  You basically telnet to it and issue
commands either manually or via software.  It works with EZ-GPIB without any
trouble.  It's extremely easy to use.

That being said, it is not a substitute for a GPIB card from NI.  I wrote a
spiffy software program in VB to pull data from a Tektronix 7854 scope that
nobody can use unless they have a GPIB-LAN adapter.  It won't work with
LabView or anything else out there with the exception of EZGPIB.  If you
care about compatibility with canned software that talks GPIB, these devices
are not the way to go.  If you want to get up and running very quickly or
just want to use EZGPIB, it's fine.  Ultimately my adapter is sitting in a
drawer and I bought a PCI-GPIB card on eBay for about $100.

-Bob

On Sat, Jul 4, 2009 at 8:43 PM, Chad Simpson <analogaficionado at gmail.com>wrote:

> Hello all, this is my first post to the list...
>
> Like many of you, over time I've acquired enough test equipment with the
> GPIB interface that I'm wanting to make use of it.  I have narrowed the
> choice down to one of the Prologix devices (GPIB-USB or GPIB-LAN), but I
> haven't found much information about the differences between the two.
>  Apart
> from the obvious (price, tether distance from the PC), can anyone comment
> on
> the pros & cons of the two?  I am running all Macs, so anything pertinent
> to
> using these interfaces under OS X would be especially welcome.  I do have
> Win XP running under vmware, so if necessary I can use that, though I
> prefer
> to try and run everything under OS X.
>
> Some specific questions I have:
> - How well do the different drivers work?
> - Is one faster than the other?
> - What about compatability with various software?  Are the software
> interfaces really different, or similar enough that either could be used
> with minimal tweaking?
>
> Thanks, and have a great 4th of July everyone!
> Chad.
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