GPIB initialize without MAX

[Mylo]

Hi,

I am currently working on communication between two computers using GPIB. The scenario is such that one computer acts as a transmitter and the other receives the message string with two GPIB cards interconnecting them.
My problem is that every time i have to start communication i need to initialize my cards with MAX. Once initialized i have to keep running MAX in the background. If i dont do this the GPIB option doesnot appear in the VISA session or VISA find box. Is there any way to initialize GPIB programmatically in a reliable way without MAX? I have attached my programs for RX and TX, I will be very grateful if some one can edit them or tell me how to.

Thank you in advance.

[Courtney_L]

Hi Mylo,

Have you tried running any of the shipping examples to see if you run into the same problem? One in particular, LabVIEW - GPIB.vi, allows you to perform read or write operations between the instruments. It also refers to the "GPIB Initialization" function - this allows you to configure your GPIB interface specified by an address string. For VISA, try running the example GPIB - VISA.vi and see if the device is properly initialized. 

[Mylo]

Yes even the shipped example doesnot initialize GPIB cards without MAX.

I even installed the latest drivers for 488.2, still no luck 😞

[Eric_NI]

Hi Mylo,

There should be no need to have MAX running in the background, you can try uninstalling the driver and then installing it again (488.2 Driver v 3.0.2), this will re-install MAX.

You can also check the following links:

PC-to-PC Communication through GPIB

Computer to Computer Communication Via GPIB

Eric NI

[Mylo]

Thanx for the response.

Do we have to use low level commands? cant we just use VISA functions with GPIB initialize?