Re: gpib device

["Noboru Yamamoto" <noboru.yamamoto@kek.jp>]

On 1999$BG/(J 5$B7n(J 10$BF|(J ($B7n(J) 11:57 PM, Bill Brown <mailto:wlbrown@lbl.gov> wrote:
>Kevin Tsubota wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> We're thinking about converting our existing gpib controller
>> to a VME one interfacing through EPICS R3.13.0Beta12.
>>
>> I see that there's an existing National Instruments GPIB-1014
>> device support written by John Winans.  Does anyone have
>> any others?
>>
>> And can anyone comment on thier experiences with gpib
>> controllers and EPICS.
>>
>> Thank you very much.
>>
>> Kevin Tsubota
>> ktsubota@keck.hawaii.edu
>>
>> California Association for Reasearch in Astronomy
>> (808)885-7887
>
>The NI-1014 has  a reputation for being a rather cranky device; IMHO it
>is well-deserved .  We've made a hardware mod to ours which helped, but
>it isn't our first choice.
>
>In all fairness, I must say that the biggest problem with it is that it
>doesn't deal
>well with devices that maybe have a less than optimal interface - but
>that seems
>to be a common situation in the GPIB world.
>
>We're now using the HP-2050A Ethernet-GPIB bridge, using the software
>written by Ben Franksen.  It's cheaper than a 1014, and it gives us a
>lot
>fewer problems.  It uses the same device support modules for GPIB
>devices
>as the 1014; the driver and device support are layerd in a manner very
>similar
>to Johns' 1014 code.  The "pain of transition" really is minimal.
>Another nice
>feature is that since it talks to the ioc via the network, the unit can
>be in remote
>location, which has come in handy for us a few times.
>
We use a similar Ethernet-GPIB bridge made by Sony-Tektronics
called ET-488( which may not available outside JAPAN).
It works fine in EPICS environment unless your device does not
use SRQ.
ET-488 sends SRQ signal using SIGURG signal which is NOT defined
in VxWorks.

I'm just curious how HP-2050A can handle SRQ.

>The code is available somewhere on one of the web-sites.  Hopefully$B!!(J
someone
>wil post the present location of the latest version.  It's not included in 
EPICS
>"base," altho I think it should be, as it's a better solution.
>
>--
>
>
>Disclaimer:  Any opinions are my own and have   | -bill
>  nothing to do with the official policy or the   |  wlbrown@lbl.gov
>  management of L.B.N.L, who probably couldn't    |  Berkeley, CA
>  care less about employees who play with trains. |  aka
>wlbrown@netcom.com
>

Noboru Yamamoto
KEKB control group
KEK, JAPAN