[time-nuts] Pendulum CNT91 with TimeLab

[GandalfG8 at aol.com]

Hi John
 
Thanks for your reply.
 
If I configure the counter for compatible  mode, then set it up to measure 
frequency as a 53131/53132 from the  "Acquire" menu and press the "Monitor" 
button, TimeLab displays  the actual instrument name and then follows this 
with line after line of  frequency measurements, for example, which so far is 
looking pretty good.
 
If I then press the "Start Measurement" button it seems that TimeLab  
requests the instrument ID again but then interprets the reply as an  incorrect 
frequency measurement and reports an error, which I admit isn't  quite the 
same as I suggested earlier.
The error message I was seeing was the same, I just didn't interpret  it 
correctly.
Until checking again just now I've not had the Monitor  window displaying 
anything either so hadn't realised measurements were  actually being accepted 
at that point. Not sure what I was doing wrong  there but I guess the "user 
issues" might still be very much alive and  kicking:-)
 
The messages I get after trying to start the measurement are, in  sequence
Preparing Acquisition....
Establishing Connection....
Error: Invalid Frequency Value "Tektronix, FCA3100, 149110, V1.28 25 Aug  
2010 11:52
 
and that's where it stops.
 
To be fair to Pendulum they do seem to have implemented talk-only mode, or  
at least they claim to have and there is a GPIB command to enable it, but 
so far  I don't seem to have been able to get it to switch into that, or if I 
have I  certainly haven't noticed:-)
There's several steps described in the manual for invoking talk-only mode  
and some of those steps I can actually verify as having been  accepted as I 
go along, but still not much sign of streaming data:-(
 
Regards
 
Nigel
GM8PZR
 
 
 
In a message dated 09/10/2013 22:49:24 GMT Daylight Time, john at miles.io  
writes:

TimeLab  will capture and display the *IDN? result as the instrument name,
but it  shouldn't reject the connection if it doesn't get what it expects.
How is  it behaving when it rejects the data?

You've got to wonder what was  going through the heads of the designers of
the various counters that  didn't implement talk-only mode.   Of all the
obvious useful  features to leave out... :(  

-- john, KE5FX
Miles Design  LLC


> -----Original Message-----
> From:  time-nuts-bounces at febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-
> bounces at febo.com] On  Behalf Of GandalfG8 at aol.com
> Sent: Wednesday, October 09, 2013 12:32  PM
> To: time-nuts at febo.com
> Subject: [time-nuts] Pendulum CNT91  with TimeLab
> 
> Has anybody had any success setting up the  Pendulum CNT91, or the
> Tektronix rebadged equivalent FCA3100, to run  with TimeLab?
> 
> It was suggested here some time ago that it  should be possible to achieve
> this by running the counter in talk only  mode but so far I've had no luck
> with the FCA3100 and am aware of  similar problems with the CNT91.
> 
> I suspect this is more  likely a counter issue, or perhaps in my  case 
that
> should read  "user issue":-) rather than anything to do with the  
software.
>  I'm using an NI USB GPIB adapter and can run the FCA3100 with the  cut
down
> Tektronix supplied version of NI's Signal Express, but  whilst I can  also
> talk to it using NI's Measurement and  Automation Explorer any attempts
> with
> that to switch it into  talk only mode either don't work or perhaps  it's
> reverting as  soon as I close the software to switch over to  TimeLab.
> 
>  I've also tried running the counter in GPIB "compatible" mode",   where
it's
> claimed to emulate the SCPI command set of the HP 5313x  series, but  as
far
> as I can tell TimeLab is rejecting the  data because it checks for a  
valid
> HP ID string whilst the  counters still respond as  either an FCA3100 or
> CNT91.
>  
> Regards
> 
> Nigel
> GM8PZR
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