AR488 Arduino-based GPIB adapter

[artag]

The basic arduino version has only the internal pullups rather than the correct totem-pole termination. In some combinations this might be inadequate but the buffers may well provide a stronger termination to 3V.

[WaveyDipole]

A small note to WeavyD, maybe it could be a good idea to edit the first post and add the PCB archives for both of the versions as well as the schematics, it could make the life of future AR488 builders a bit easier.

Sounds like a good idea. So long as the original designers/authors agree then I can post links in the opening thread to the various contributions that many on here have made.

Please, no.

Platfomio is an insanely overcomplicated kitchen sink thing that some may find useful for their projects. In my view it's not something that should be imposed on an open source project. VSCode even more so - an overcrowded interface where nothing is obvious and there is far too much baggage to trap the unwary.

AR488 is a great little project. Simple to build electronically and in software. It suits the Arduino IDE very well -  The IDE needs very little learning because it doesn't have much functionality. For a tool that you might be using just to put together your nice cheap little HPIB adapter it's great. Not as simple as just typing 'make' but at least it's cross-platform and self-contained.

I''m not an arduino-only person. I've been developing on embedded projects since 1980. But I think it suits a niche very well, and the unholy duo of platformio and vscode make me want to cry. Platformio has the saving grace that it can generally be run from the command line but please don't use VScode as the environment, at least not as the default for the casual builder.

I will stick with Arduino IDE 2.0.x for now.

Since Platformio was mentioned to me as being more suitable for projects across multiple platforms, I tried writing a couple of projects in PlatformIO while IDE v2 was still at beta and release candidate stage. Although I also didn't like the idea of it being based on vscode, I found that it worked rather well and I did actually start preferring it to IDE v2 which was still rather buggy. Unfortunately the O/S Atom version of PlatformIO is no longer supported, hence having to use vscode. I agree that vscode is rather confusing at first and requires a bit of a learning curve to get familiar with its features. However, once set up it works very well.

Having said that, I was also concerned that PlatformIO might be too much of a hurdle for new users which is why I asked for views on the forum. I appreciate the responses. I don't want to impose any further burden on new users so the project will stay in the Arduino IDE. I will move to version 2.0.3 for future development, although I will continue testing in 1.8.19. I may consider additionally posting a PlatformIO project for any who might already be using that platform. Once the project is set up it should require only a minimal amount of effort to convert the .ino file. There is a plug-in that allows an Arduino project to be used directly, but it is not free.

ARduino mostly 'just works', that missing library excepted (waveydipole : just include the code if its small. avoids the need to track versions and does whats required)

artag, the code is actually quite small. I was a little torn between using the library or making a local copy. The library approach is generally the preferred approach and has the advantage of being automatically updated. On the other hand, copying the code directly into the project would make things simpler. On further consideration I might actually do that and eliminate this library problem.

I made some test and AR488 actually works with Pymeasure, and pyvisa as they support the prologix adapters, it's great. I still have my errors with the Philips synthesiser under those, will see if the buffers make any difference.

Thanks for highlighting PyMeasure and PyVisa. They look interesting and I will have a look at those tools. Would you like to share what steps were required to allow the AR488 to work with these programs? I could add a short section to the manual describing how to set up the AR488 to use with these tools along with KE5FX Tools, EZGPIB and Sigrok.

[proess]

Hello
I use a buffered version of the GPIB adapter. Thanks for the fine project. As mechanical engineer I didn't understand most of the electronical / coding topics of this thread - I just want to 'use' the adapter.
Testing with HP3488A switch control unit work fine.
Tests with Philips PM2534 multimeter show some problems (for me):
most of the commands will work, but there is no response at the serial monitor for:
FNC ?
OUT ?
...
as well as for
++read.

I use the following command sequence:

++eos 2                                   Arduino
++eor 2                                   Arduino
++addr 2                                 Arduino
trg i                                         PM2534
out s                                        PM2534
x 1                                          PM2534
++read                                   Arduino

Does anyone has a suggestion how to get answers (measuring values) from the PM2534.
Thanks
Peter

[gmac34]

Just after a quick check of the manual it seems the commands for the PM2534 are in capital letters and I think also with underscores instead of spaces:
TRG_I
OUT_S

maybe that's the issue?

[DC1MC]

Just after a quick check of the manual it seems the commands for the PM2534 are in capital letters and I think also with underscores instead of spaces:
TRG_I
OUT_S

maybe that's the issue?

I don't think so, I've found a bit better scanned manual and it seem that there are these denominators for blank spaces: |_|,  ␣  see page 26, 78+ from here:
https://bama.edebris.com/download/philips/pm2534/PHILIPS%20PM2535-OM-last%20version.djvu

Cheers,
DC1MC

[gmac34]

Ok, but it should still be capitalised.

[DC1MC]

Ok, but it should still be capitalised.

That, definitely !!!

[proess]

Thanks for your hints.
But:

changing commands with underscore will not help.
no response: fnc ? or fnc_? or FNC ? or FNC_?

the PM2534 commands are not case senistive:
it works: FNC RTW or fnc rtw or rtw or RTW  (resp. FNC VDC or ... vdc)

PM2534 initialisation:
++eos 2
++eor 2
++addr 3

rtw                      work; switch to RTW mode
fnc ?                    work not

greetings
Peter

[WaveyDipole]

The query commands on instruments I have worked with so far do not have a space between the command and the '?'. I would therefore have expected fnc? or FNC?, but I am not familiar with the Philips command set although looking at the manual it does appear to show a space. Might be worth trying without though?
 

[proess]

I just tested the proposed command 'FNC?' with no success.

The PM2534 initialisation just with

++addr 3

and no special ++eos and ++eor commands shows the described device function: no results for FNC? (FNC ?, fnc? fnc ? ..) and ++read.

Is it possible that the multimeter has an internal failure?

[coromonadalix]

@Proess    check the user manual of your  meter

You have 2 or 3 modes :  talk, talk only and listner 

Section 4.4
http://bee.mif.pg.gda.pl/ciasteczkowypotwor/Philips/pm2534.pdf

[proess]

I checked the manual ch. 4.4
there are commands
++ton 0 / 1                       talk only
++lon 0 / 1                       listen only
++prom 0 / 1                    promiscuous mode off / on

I ran tests with this modes but the commands FNC ?, RSL ?, OUT ? as well as ++read still fails.
other commands FNC RTW, FNC VDC, RSL 4, .. work.

@coromonadalix: do you have a suggestion which mode should be the best one (++ton. ++lon, ++prom  all = 0 ) ?

Greetings
Peter

[WaveyDipole]

Ideally should be in 'addressable' mode as shown in PM2534 section 4.4.2.5) and GPIB address set. The default seems to be 22, but 3 should be fine if you have nothing else connected to the bus on that address. That should give you bi-directional communication.

If you set the the PM2534 in talk-only mode then you will be able to receive data, but not remote control the instrument. In this case use ++lon 1. (Device talks, interface listens).

If you use it in listen mode, then you can remote control the instrument but not receive data. In that case use ++ton 1. (Device listens, interface talks).

You might also check whether a FNC 1 (or FNC_1) needs to be followed by a ++read to get the response?
(Not sure whether that was what you meant with 'as well as for ++read' in your earlier comment).

[proess]

Hello
thank you for your valuable hints.
I 've done some additional basic tests with the PM2534. They failed and I 'm now convinced that the multimeter has some failures sending data, so I 'll finish this project.
Nevertheless the AR488 board is a very nice project.
Greetings
Peter

[A.M.Student]

Hello everyone.
I hope i follow the rules and dont post this message to the wrong place.
Big respect for all your work arround this ar488 project.

Guys I need help. I want to read data from 2 different yokogawa WT 130.( Fat multimeters) The goal is to record the data in a Excel file. I know excel is not the best to datalog but its part of a greater project and I need it to be like that.

So far i have done my interface using an arduino nano and sacrificing an old national instrument gpib cable. I also 3d printed a litle case for it ( not perfect but i can share the file if you want)

That was the easy part, now I am trying to understand what do i need to install on my computer to communicate with the device.
I'm studying électrical engineering so all this is a bit out of my usual skills. Do i need drivers? Maybe NI488.2 drivers? Do i need a software in particular like "FTDI RS232/USB terminal emulator (i dont even know what it is) or maybe visa?

In witch direction should i work?

[DC1MC]

Hello everyone.
I hope i follow the rules and dont post this message to the wrong place.
Big respect for all your work arround this ar488 project.

Guys I need help. I want to read data from 2 different yokogawa WT 130.( Fat multimeters) The goal is to record the data in a Excel file. I know excel is not the best to datalog but its part of a greater project and I need it to be like that.

So far i have done my interface using an arduino nano and sacrificing an old national instrument gpib cable. I also 3d printed a litle case for it ( not perfect but i can share the file if you want)

That was the easy part, now I am trying to understand what do i need to install on my computer to communicate with the device.
I'm studying électrical engineering so all this is a bit out of my usual skills. Do i need drivers? Maybe NI488.2 drivers? Do i need a software in particular like "FTDI RS232/USB terminal emulator (i dont even know what it is) or maybe visa?

In witch direction should i work?

If you want to read it directly in excel you may want to look here:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/education/data-streamer/connecting-serial-devices

If the GPIB adapter is seen as a serial port, you don't need to install anything.

 Cheers,
 DC1MC

[DC1MC]

Thank you.

There is a button for this 

[coromonadalix]

hi @ll
How can i change the pins configuration in config.h  to reflect anothe adapter ive bought

it was sold in the sale thread  it's an "gpibusb"  dongle, based on lufa and usbtmc, my 34410a  doens't like it, and sometimes spit an error on the display

Flashed the arduino bootloader fine, connect as a com port with the right identifier ...  like my previous post for a sparkfun pro / micro  32u4 board

and once again  i'm lost a bit, i'm confused 

it is wired like this, unless i made a mistake

32u4 physical pin 18 (PD0)   to gpib pin 1    DIO1
32u4 physical pin 19 (PD1)   to gpib pin 2    DIO2
32u4 physical pin 20 (PD2)   to gpib pin 3    DIO3
32u4 physical pin 21 (PD3)   to gpib pin 4    DIO4

32u4 physical pin 28 (PB4)   to gpib pin 5    EOI
32u4 physical pin 30 (PB6)   to gpib pin 6    DAV
32u4 physical pin 31 (PC6)   to gpib pin 7    NRFD
32u4 physical pin 32 (PC7)   to gpib pin 8    NDAC
32u4 physical pin 33 (PE2)   to gpib pin 9    IFC
32u4 physical pin 36 (PF7)   to gpib pin 10   SRQ
32u4 physical pin 37 (PF6)   to gpib pin 11   ATN

32u4 physical pin 25 (PD4)   to gpib pin 13   DIO5
32u4 physical pin 22 (PD5)   to gpib pin 14   DIO6
32u4 physical pin 26 (PD6)   to gpib pin 15   DIO7
32u4 physical pin 27 (PD7)   to gpib pin 16   DIO8
32u4 physical pin 29 (PB5)   to gpib pin 17   REN

32u4 physical pin 38 (PF5)   led status

thks

[DavidKo]

Have you tried uncomment in AR488_Config.h

/*** Custom layout ***/
/*
 * Uncomment to use custom board layout
 */
//#define AR488_CUSTOM


Pin definitions are later in the file

[coromonadalix]

If i understand      usb gpib schematic attached  and the sparkfun 32u4 board  pins_arduino.h  file    i have  trying to understand the pinout functions


D3   would be  32u4 physical pin 18 (PD0)   to gpib pin 1    DIO1
D2   would be  32u4 physical pin 19 (PD1)   to gpib pin 2    DIO2
D0   would be  32u4 physical pin 20 (PD2)   to gpib pin 3    DIO3
D1   would be  32u4 physical pin 21 (PD3)   to gpib pin 4    DIO4
D8   would be  32u4 physical pin 28 (PB4)   to gpib pin 5    EOI
D10  would be  32u4 physical pin 30 (PB6)   to gpib pin 6    DAV
D5    would be  32u4 physical pin 31 (PC6)   to gpib pin 7    NRFD
D13  would be  32u4 physical pin 32 (PC7)   to gpib pin 8    NDAC
??     would be  32u4 physical pin 33 (PE2)   to gpib pin 9    IFC        HWB  on a leonardo it is going to ground with an resistor
A0   would be  32u4 physical pin 36 (PF7)     to gpib pin 10   SRQ
A1   would be  32u4 physical pin 37 (PF6)     to gpib pin 11   ATN
D4   would be  32u4 physical pin 25 (PD4)    to gpib pin 13   DIO5

??     would be  32u4 physical pin 22 (PD5)   to gpib pin 14   DIO6       on a leonardo  it is a tx led ??
D12  would be  32u4 physical pin 26 (PD6)   to gpib pin 15   DIO7
D6    would be  32u4 physical pin 27 (PD7)   to gpib pin 16   DIO8
D9    would be  32u4 physical pin 29 (PB5)   to gpib pin 17   REN

??                   32u4 physical pin 38 (PF5)   led status                        on a leonardo  gives A2


Should became like this ?

#ifdef AR488_CUSTOM

#define DIO1    D3     /* GPIB 1  */
#define DIO2    D2     /* GPIB 2  */
#define DIO3    D0     /* GPIB 3  */
#define DIO4    D1     /* GPIB 4  */
#define DIO5    D4     /* GPIB 13 */
#define DIO6         /* GPIB 14 */  ------------------------
#define DIO7    D12   /* GPIB 15 */
#define DIO8    D6     /* GPIB 16 */

#define IFC       HWB   /* GPIB 9  */   ------------------------EDITED
#define NDAC    D13   /* GPIB 8  */
#define NRFD    D5     /* GPIB 7  */
#define DAV      D10   /* GPIB 6  */
#define EOI       D8     /* GPIB 5  */

#define SRQ      A0    /* GPIB 10 */
#define REN      D9    /* GPIB 17 */
#define ATN       A1   /* GPIB 11 */

and the led status      ---------------  A2    EDITED



I'm trying to see or understand  where you kinda "switch"  the definition pinout ?
Between the analog and digital pins if i may say

I've tried to check other 32u4 related configs,  but some of them  "null out" previous pinout and substitue/change them ?


In the ar488 master repo, you have this "micro.rst"   file, it seems to fit a bit, not totally,    is it used when compiling ?

[WaveyDipole]

The micro.rst file is in the /docs directory and is part of the documentation. It is NOT used during compilation. On recommendation I had been experimenting with a documentation system called Sphinx, although this is not yet implemented.

The switching of templates is done partially automatically by architecture and partially manually to select a template for a given architecture. The CUSTOM template is the exception. When the line:

Code: [Select]

//#define AR488_CUSTOM
is un-commented, then the custom layout template is activated via the #ifdef AR488_CUSTOM compiler directive. All of the subsequent #elif sections up to the next #endif are then ignored.

I concur that PF5 is A2. I also think PD5 (TXLED) is pin D3. I am puzzled by th use of the HWB pin though as it does not appear to be mapped in the pins_arduino.h file. IFC will probably not have much impact if not connected.

[coromonadalix]

ok thks   

Take 2
In the Sparkfun board package  with the pins_arduino.h file     we see  pins  remapping


/*******************************/
/***** AR488 CUSTOM LAYOUT *****/
/***** vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv *****/
#ifdef AR488_CUSTOM

#define DIO1  D3  /* GPIB 1  */
#define DIO2  D2  /* GPIB 2  */
#define DIO3  D0  /* GPIB 3  */
#define DIO4  D1  /* GPIB 4  */
#define DIO5  D4  /* GPIB 13 */
#define DIO6  D30  /* GPIB 14 */
#define DIO7  D12  /* GPIB 15 */
#define DIO8  D6   /* GPIB 16 */

#define IFC   HWB   /* GPIB 9  */
#define NDAC  D13   /* GPIB 8  */
#define NRFD  D5   /* GPIB 7  */
#define DAV   D10  /* GPIB 6  */
#define EOI   D8   /* GPIB 5  */

#define SRQ   A0   /* GPIB 10 */
#define REN   D9   /* GPIB 17 */
#define ATN   A1   /* GPIB 11 */

#endif
/***** ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ *****/
/***** AR488 CUSTOM LAYOUT *****/
/*******************************/


Just need to figure out  where the status led is  called / defined ??  who should be  A2

[artag]

>  I've tried to check other 32u4 related configs,  but some of them  "null out" previous pinout and substitue/change them ?

Some of those might have been mine. I have had at least 2 layouts, though I'm not sure if they went into the release.

I may have done an early version that nominally used the same mapping as the Uno or whatever the default was, but changed one or two where the real (as opposed to the Arduino's Digital Pin) mapping needed to follow the assignment of ports on the 32U4. Or perhaps I did that for the Arduino nano.

Because I wanted to do a tiny adapter that fitted a 32U4 Pro Micro (a Sparkfun design which is different to an Arduino Micro), I  assigned the pins that most closely matched the pro micro pin layout to the 24-pin connector. This was my first pcb design - I had some made but I don't think I made it public.
I used the custom pin assignment to support this, but I wasn't very happy with it.

The code has to iterate over all the pins and set each one in turn. I wanted to be able to write a byte to an 8-bit port for faster operation. I think waveydipole's code might do this, I don't remember. Anyway, it was far from ideal on the 32u4. I don't think the obvious Arduino pins are ideal either : you don't generally want to use D0 and D1 as they're used for the UART, and I don't think D0-D7 are a single contiguous set of GPIO bits either.

In fact, it's not possible with a pro micro - there is no whole 8 bit port assigned to the pins due to the gpio assigned for the leds. The best I could was to use 6 bits from one port and 2 from another, aligning them so that  two mask-and-write operations were needed to set the data bits. I then made specific changes for the pro micro version of the code to make use of this more efficient port assignment without iterating over every pi, so it does NOT use the custom pin macros. This became my version 2 pcb.

Finally, I changed the PCB layout to turn the pro micro board 180 degrees, causing the USB cable to come out the same side of the connector as typical HP cables. This was so that instruments with little space around the HPIB connector would be likely to have space for the cable exit. This is the recommended version 3 pcb, but it doesn't change any pin assignments so it uses the same code.

The usbtmc adapter doesn't use an arduino, it's built from scratch. As a result, it can assign a whole contiguous port to the HPIB data lines, which is more efficient when you're trying to go at top speed. I haven't looked at the code carefully enough to see if any other pins are optimised but I do know I can't
use my PCB layout for it without some code changes byond the simplest pin reassignment. This means that you should be able to use the slow custom pin code to drive it with ar488 code, but if you make use of the pin optimisation to modify the data port in one operation you will achieve a higher transfer speed.

The usbtmc board also has the advantage over mine of a better - albeit bigger - layout to support a full size USB connector. The micro B used on pro micro boards is very fragile and easily torn off. It's probably best to create a housing which makes it impossible to put too much force on the cable. If you're going to make and populate special AR488 boards and don't mind dealing with assembly of the entire circuit, it's probably the best hardware design to use (and of course gives the option of using either the ar488 or usbtmc code).

[coromonadalix]

thanks

i've hitted a wall  and it doesn't do nothing once connected on the meter ....  i may have done some errors trying to figure out the pinout  loll or modding the ar 488 config file

Not sure if i have to play with the board definition file ?? It goes beyond my knowledge this time

And Arduino now 2.03  as a few time trown errors for the devnull thing, even installed ??   Reverting to the old  <2 version works better ?

The most nagging things abouth them, is when you use them in a portable way, they trows some files / save repertory / librairies /   outside their own "work" folders ... even putting ar488 folder inside them ..


Bought them  hoping they could work as intended .... sadly no, they dont enumerate the meter as it should (meter as gpib enabled) unless i have to kill the other ports ??  in the device manager they show as : USB Test and Measurement Device (IVI)

Converting them to ar488 partially work,  prologix gpib see it ...  but no request / answers ....

EDIT

I will phisically modify some pins to reflect an leonardo  IE:  moving the led pin, the HWB  pin with an pull down resistor,   and using 2 of left available pins  PF0 PF1 and PF4,  it should be easier to make it work ??   

[WaveyDipole]

coromonadalix, what was the adapter you purchased please?
Was it something on eBay?
I am curious as to what it is.