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

[Chad Simpson]

On Sat, Jul 4, 2009 at 10:40 PM, Lux, James P <james.p.lux at jpl.nasa.gov>wrote:

>
> On 7/4/09 8:36 PM, "Robert Darlington" <rdarlington at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > 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
>
>
> I'm looking for something that I can write python or tcl or shell scripts
> for and send strings to a GPIB device, and get strings back.  I'm trying to
> get away from the LabView .vi model.  So, this looks fairly good, that way.
>
> Jim
>


Yes, me too - shell or python would be great, I'm presently learning the
latter.  I just found PyVISA, which looks like it might be useful, possibly
pythonlabtools as well.

I shied away from the NI devices for a couple of reasons...  1) I no longer
have a suitable machine with PCI slot.  2) Since this is for hobby use, the
more expensive interfaces like the GPIB-ENET/100 are at a cost
disadvantage.  3) I would like to build on a platform with minimal risk of
obsolescence.  I am already down to a single virtual machine running XP, and
if at all possible it will be my last ever copy of Windows.  So I'd rather
not invest in tools which require Windows or proprietary (single-platform)
drivers.  Shell / python / driverless is appealing as it should be highly
portable and well supported in the future.

I did find OSX drivers for the Prologix USB on their site - looks like it
uses the FTDI chip.  So drivers should not be an issue.  I wasn't clear on
how the LAN version worked though, but driverless / Telnet makes sense.

- Chad.