I love this, and I would love to implement it with my open 6623a. My questions are twofold: how have you connected the software to the 6623a (with direct GPIB or GPIB to USB dongle)? Secondly, would you be willing to provide your code and any relevant documentation?
Yes to your first question, the soft panel is connected to GPIB thru the Agilent 82375B USB interface. The software runs on a Win7 PC under Python 2.7.14 (must be installed) and it uses TKinter (part of Python) for the GUI and PyVISA for the GPIB interface. The VISA I use is from Keysight, not NI.
As to your second question: maybe.
As you know, a 6623A is equal to an hour in the gym just to get it situated, so the idea of a soft panel came about from its location on a lower shelf rather than up high so I could see the screen. After spending a full day searching for a ready-made solution and freaking out over Keysight's charging $300 for BenchVue and that the 662x series is not supported. I decided to write my own front end. Yes, LabView allows panels to be built, BTDT, and I no longer use it.
Once I got into the coding process it occurred to me that there might be other older instruments that could be managed in a similar way. As it happens, I support a private charity that is involved in helping kids learn electronics and there might be a donation-opportunity if this panel idea is popular. In other words, not commercial for profit but maybe an eBay 'for charity' site.
So, at the present time there is no documentation at all--other than the internet for the Python etc. and you would need to have installed all the supporting software mentioned above. I intend to convert the code to an executable, but when??
The source code is still 'alpha' and contains some propietary stuff. The options at present are 1) Wait fo a 'beta-version' executable (a few weeks?); or 2) Participate in my project with the idea of supporting a worthy cause.
Thanks for asking and enjoy the yearend festivities,
Cheers,
Donal
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