Ztec ZT4211 VXI Oscilloscope card in HP E1401A w/E1406A

Started by Hawaii596, 05-11-2012 -- 08:15:53

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Hawaii596

If anyone has experience with the above, I'd appreciate being able to talk about how to get this thing working.  Here are the parameters:  I have an HP 1401B VXI mainframe with an HP E1406A GPIB interface card.  The E1406A is connected to a computer with a National Instruments USB-GPIB interface.  I am using a pretty new rev NI Meas & Automation Explorer ("NIMAX").  The GPIB interface card (E1406A) is in the left (zero) slot, the Ztec Oscilloscope card is in the first slot (slot one). 

In NIMAX, I am able to see the E1406A, indicating my USB-GPIB is working.  We installed all the various SW modules including the GPP-VXI so that we can bring up a device asserting that it is the Ztec oscilloscope card, but we are completely unable to communicate with the card or get it to run.

One little troubling symptom is that one of the secondary addresses listed for the E1406A in NIMAX is 96.  That doesn't make sense as that is not a valid address (I think).  Maybe it is, I don't know.

The OEM for the Ztec card has has a soft panel package that is run stand alone.  I can bring that up and it brings up an oscilloscope display, but it works only in SIMULATION mode.  So no comms with the card.

If anyone has specific experience with this assortment of hardware/software, please send me a PM and I would appreciate being able to talk on the phone about it.  If an expert out there would be willing to spend ten or fiften minutes on the phone, I can call you.  If so, send a PM with phone number.

Thanks all.
"I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind."
Lord Kelvin (1824-1907)
from lecture to the Institute of Civil Engineers, 3 May 1883