?s IEEE-488 interface board setup

i dont know if this is the right group to be posting this ? on but...
i am trying to set up an IOTECH GP488 Personal board to interface
between a computer and a piece of equipment. the board is their basic
one for ISA slot. the computer is 300mmx pentium/ dos OS/ Varian
Saturn software V5.2 to a Varian ITD 40 Massspectrometer. this is a
standard computer operated GC/MS system - slightly older style. the
thing ran great til my harddrive puked last month. we got a new comp
setup but i cant get it to read. the deal is that the 488 sends and
receives to a digital board on the MS. i've got two of these MS
systems and each gives same crappy responses. therefore it is on the
other end. if i reset the MS digital board and run this internal
diagnostics, it passes a 500 point communication test and the comp/488
board tests the DRAM on the MS digital board and passes the test. then
it tries to dowload the software to control the MS unsuccessfully. ive
got the 488 set up for DMA 3, IRQ 5, and primary I/O - all normal. ive
tried all the available wait-states = 0-7, and the bus setting at std
8mhz and at system bus (this is a jumper setting). these are all the
board variations i can apply. ive tries a Scientific Solutions IEEE488
board and it wont even read. so something there is set right for the
IOTECH. my problem is that i dont know where in dos to find the
software and driver settings for iotech to see if it is there. the
board info from mfg says it runs at 8mz bus max. and this is the board
recommended on Varian (MS mfg) website info but i suspect the software
is setup to run at system bus. isnt this 33mhz min? how do i check the
dos registry? where? edit? do i dare relaod the mfg drivers? ifso
where n how? newer OS make this a lot easier for sure! but im almost
positive that the MS must run on a dos setup. please help if u can. im
lost...

spacekase wrote:

i dont know if this is the right group to be posting this ? on but...
i am trying to set up an IOTECH GP488 Personal board to interface
between a computer and a piece of equipment. the board is their basic
one for ISA slot. the computer is 300mmx pentium/ dos OS/ Varian
Saturn software V5.2 to a Varian ITD 40 Massspectrometer. this is a
standard computer operated GC/MS system - slightly older style. the
thing ran great til my harddrive puked last month. we got a new comp
setup but i cant get it to read. the deal is that the 488 sends and
receives to a digital board on the MS. i've got two of these MS
systems and each gives same crappy responses. therefore it is on the
other end. if i reset the MS digital board and run this internal
diagnostics, it passes a 500 point communication test and the comp/488
board tests the DRAM on the MS digital board and passes the test. then
it tries to dowload the software to control the MS unsuccessfully. ive
got the 488 set up for DMA 3, IRQ 5, and primary I/O - all normal. ive
tried all the available wait-states = 0-7, and the bus setting at std
8mhz and at system bus (this is a jumper setting). these are all the
board variations i can apply. ive tries a Scientific Solutions IEEE488
board and it wont even read. so something there is set right for the
IOTECH. my problem is that i dont know where in dos to find the
software and driver settings for iotech to see if it is there. the
board info from mfg says it runs at 8mz bus max. and this is the board
recommended on Varian (MS mfg) website info but i suspect the software
is setup to run at system bus. isnt this 33mhz min? how do i check the
dos registry? where? edit? do i dare relaod the mfg drivers? ifso
where n how? newer OS make this a lot easier for sure! but im almost
positive that the MS must run on a dos setup. please help if u can. im
lost...

Now try using capital I, capitalizing the first word in a
sentence, and breaking that monolythic monstrosity up into
coherent paragraphs. Don't abbreviate, do spell. After all that
you may find someone willing to read it.

--
Chuck F ) )
Available for consulting/temporary embedded and systems.
http://cbfalconer.home.att.net USE worldnet address!

spacekase wrote:

i dont know if this is the right group to be posting this ? on but...
i am trying to set up an IOTECH GP488 Personal board to interface
between a computer and a piece of equipment. the board is their basic
one for ISA slot. the computer is 300mmx pentium/ dos OS/ Varian
Saturn software V5.2 to a Varian ITD 40 Massspectrometer. this is a
standard computer operated GC/MS system - slightly older style. the
thing ran great til my harddrive puked last month. we got a new comp
setup but i cant get it to read. the deal is that the 488 sends and
receives to a digital board on the MS. i've got two of these MS
systems and each gives same crappy responses. therefore it is on the
other end. if i reset the MS digital board and run this internal
diagnostics, it passes a 500 point communication test and the comp/488
board tests the DRAM on the MS digital board and passes the test. then
it tries to dowload the software to control the MS unsuccessfully. ive
got the 488 set up for DMA 3, IRQ 5, and primary I/O - all normal. ive
tried all the available wait-states = 0-7, and the bus setting at std
8mhz and at system bus (this is a jumper setting). these are all the
board variations i can apply. ive tries a Scientific Solutions IEEE488
board and it wont even read. so something there is set right for the
IOTECH. my problem is that i dont know where in dos to find the
software and driver settings for iotech to see if it is there. the
board info from mfg says it runs at 8mz bus max. and this is the board
recommended on Varian (MS mfg) website info but i suspect the software
is setup to run at system bus. isnt this 33mhz min? how do i check the
dos registry? where? edit? do i dare relaod the mfg drivers? ifso
where n how? newer OS make this a lot easier for sure! but im almost
positive that the MS must run on a dos setup. please help if u can. im
lost...

The PCI bus is usually at 33mhz, but devices generate their own timing.
There is no DOS "register". That was a Windows invention. If you're
using an ISA slot it's hard to find a modern MB with them but they are
available.

You may need device drivers loaded with autoexec.bat and/or config.sys.
Are these the same as in the system that worked OK?

This might have some useful info: (it's probably old hat!)

http://www.techsoft.de/htbasic/tutgpib.htm

Here is some info about an interface card with Windows software support.

http://www.ines.de/gpibpmc.htm

If the MS confirms to standard GPIB specs, this should work. It's a PCI
card. Probably a lot easier than setting up the DOS version, and all
recent computers have PCI slots.

Have you tried the IOTECH manuals at: ?

http://www.iotech.com/manuals.html

It's been over twenty years since I was involved with IEEE-488. This
was for the control of a automated remote tracking system for military
satellites. It's still not a bad instrumation system.

Good luck!

Virg Wall
--

It is vain to do with more
what can be done with fewer.
William of Occam.

Now try using capital I, capitalizing the first word in a
sentence, and breaking that monolythic monstrosity up into
coherent paragraphs. Don't abbreviate, do spell. After all that
you may find someone willing to read it.

hey chuck
you can stick your uppity gramatical correction help up in a dark
classroom becuz i dont give a care what you think of my typing style
if you dont like it dont read it you *ss****.

i need help with an interface setup, not bs education flaming posts! i
am not uneducated, but tired and a poor typist. i'll type well while i
am getting paid.

VWWall wrote in message thlink.net...
spacekase wrote:

i dont know if this is the right group to be posting this ? on but...
i am trying to set up an IOTECH GP488 Personal board to interface
between a computer and a piece of equipment. the board is their basic
one for ISA slot. the computer is 300mmx pentium/ dos OS/ Varian
Saturn software V5.2 to a Varian ITD 40 Massspectrometer. this is a
standard computer operated GC/MS system - slightly older style. the
thing ran great til my harddrive puked last month. we got a new comp
setup but i cant get it to read. the deal is that the 488 sends and
receives to a digital board on the MS. i've got two of these MS
systems and each gives same crappy responses. therefore it is on the
other end. if i reset the MS digital board and run this internal
diagnostics, it passes a 500 point communication test and the comp/488
board tests the DRAM on the MS digital board and passes the test. then
it tries to dowload the software to control the MS unsuccessfully. ive
got the 488 set up for DMA 3, IRQ 5, and primary I/O - all normal. ive
tried all the available wait-states = 0-7, and the bus setting at std
8mhz and at system bus (this is a jumper setting). these are all the
board variations i can apply. ive tries a Scientific Solutions IEEE488
board and it wont even read. so something there is set right for the
IOTECH. my problem is that i dont know where in dos to find the
software and driver settings for iotech to see if it is there. the
board info from mfg says it runs at 8mz bus max. and this is the board
recommended on Varian (MS mfg) website info but i suspect the software
is setup to run at system bus. isnt this 33mhz min? how do i check the
dos registry? where? edit? do i dare relaod the mfg drivers? ifso
where n how? newer OS make this a lot easier for sure! but im almost
positive that the MS must run on a dos setup. please help if u can. im
lost...

The PCI bus is usually at 33mhz, but devices generate their own timing.
There is no DOS "register". That was a Windows invention. If you're
using an ISA slot it's hard to find a modern MB with them but they are
available.

You may need device drivers loaded with autoexec.bat and/or config.sys.
Are these the same as in the system that worked OK?

This might have some useful info: (it's probably old hat!)

http://www.techsoft.de/htbasic/tutgpib.htm

Here is some info about an interface card with Windows software support.

http://www.ines.de/gpibpmc.htm

If the MS confirms to standard GPIB specs, this should work. It's a PCI
card. Probably a lot easier than setting up the DOS version, and all
recent computers have PCI slots.

Have you tried the IOTECH manuals at: ?

http://www.iotech.com/manuals.html

It's been over twenty years since I was involved with IEEE-488. This
was for the control of a automated remote tracking system for military
satellites. It's still not a bad instrumation system.

Good luck!

Virg Wall


thanks virg
that was part of my confusion - i didnt have any of the drivers in
those (a.bat & c.sys) dos files on the comp that worked! i suspect the
equipment is set up for the iotech. i did get the manuals from iotech
- printed, read and reread. hmmmm. i think board is setup right but
doesnt send the software in a format the MS recognizes......

CBFalconer wrote:
spacekase wrote:

i dont know if this is the right group to be posting this ? on but...
i am trying to set up an IOTECH GP488 Personal board to interface
between a computer and a piece of equipment. the board is their basic
one for ISA slot. the computer is 300mmx pentium/ dos OS/ Varian
Saturn software V5.2 to a Varian ITD 40 Massspectrometer. this is a
standard computer operated GC/MS system - slightly older style. the
thing ran great til my harddrive puked last month. we got a new comp
setup but i cant get it to read. the deal is that the 488 sends and
receives to a digital board on the MS. i've got two of these MS
systems and each gives same crappy responses. therefore it is on the
other end. if i reset the MS digital board and run this internal
diagnostics, it passes a 500 point communication test and the comp/488
board tests the DRAM on the MS digital board and passes the test. then
it tries to dowload the software to control the MS unsuccessfully. ive
got the 488 set up for DMA 3, IRQ 5, and primary I/O - all normal. ive
tried all the available wait-states = 0-7, and the bus setting at std
8mhz and at system bus (this is a jumper setting). these are all the
board variations i can apply. ive tries a Scientific Solutions IEEE488
board and it wont even read. so something there is set right for the
IOTECH. my problem is that i dont know where in dos to find the
software and driver settings for iotech to see if it is there. the
board info from mfg says it runs at 8mz bus max. and this is the board
recommended on Varian (MS mfg) website info but i suspect the software
is setup to run at system bus. isnt this 33mhz min? how do i check the
dos registry? where? edit? do i dare relaod the mfg drivers? ifso
where n how? newer OS make this a lot easier for sure! but im almost
positive that the MS must run on a dos setup. please help if u can. im
lost...


Now try using capital I, capitalizing the first word in a
sentence, and breaking that monolythic monstrosity up into
*^*
coherent paragraphs. Don't abbreviate, do spell. After all that
you may find someone willing to read it.

That SB, (should be), "...breaking up that monolithic monostrosity..."
I didn't know this was a grammer school! :-) Anyone unable to
understand the poster's abbreviations would surely not be in a position
to help.;-(

Virg Wall
--

It is vain to do with more
what can be done with fewer.
William of Occam.

spacekase wrote:

Now try using capital I, capitalizing the first word in a
sentence, and breaking that monolythic monstrosity up into
coherent paragraphs. Don't abbreviate, do spell. After all that
you may find someone willing to read it.

hey chuck
you can stick your uppity gramatical correction help up in a dark
classroom becuz i dont give a care what you think of my typing style
if you dont like it dont read it you *ss****.

i need help with an interface setup, not bs education flaming posts! i
am not uneducated, but tired and a poor typist. i'll type well while i
am getting paid.

You weren't being flamed, simply advised as to how to make it easy
for people to read and possibly help you. You seem to have
already learned to break things up into paragraphs, so that is
progress.

Would you prefer to speak into the void and be ignored, or to have
people tell you how to get listened to? I probably shouldn't have
bothered with this reply, but then I always was a sucker.

--
Chuck F ) )
Available for consulting/temporary embedded and systems.
http://cbfalconer.home.att.net USE worldnet address!

Do you have any other IEEE-488 equipment that you can try to talk to?
Another possibility is that you aren't getting the command string out to
your MS to set it into a listening mode. Also, does the software for your
MS have any sort of requirements on how the GPIB card is set-up?

BTW--You must have had the drivers loaded before as GPIB interfaces aren't
considered "standard equipment" so Windows and DOS don't recognize them
unless drivers are loaded.

George

PS--One final thought he What does your MS software do? Would it be
much of a pain to rewrite in something a bit more modern? (If your MS is
message-based it should be relatively quick and easy to rewrite.) My
thinking here is that if you have to put very much time into this, it might
be better spent on something that is more supportable. I'd be inclined to
update the computer, use a PCI IEEE-488 card, use some recent version of
Windows, and re-write the application in Agilent VEE Pro.

"spacekase" wrote in message
om...


thanks virg
that was part of my confusion - i didnt have any of the drivers in
those (a.bat & c.sys) dos files on the comp that worked! i suspect the
equipment is set up for the iotech. i did get the manuals from iotech
- printed, read and reread. hmmmm. i think board is setup right but
doesnt send the software in a format the MS recognizes......

"George" wrote in message ...
Do you have any other IEEE-488 equipment that you can try to talk to?
Another possibility is that you aren't getting the command string out to
your MS to set it into a listening mode. Also, does the software for your
MS have any sort of requirements on how the GPIB card is set-up?

BTW--You must have had the drivers loaded before as GPIB interfaces aren't
considered "standard equipment" so Windows and DOS don't recognize them
unless drivers are loaded.

George

PS--One final thought he What does your MS software do? Would it be
much of a pain to rewrite in something a bit more modern? (If your MS is
message-based it should be relatively quick and easy to rewrite.) My
thinking here is that if you have to put very much time into this, it might
be better spent on something that is more supportable. I'd be inclined to
update the computer, use a PCI IEEE-488 card, use some recent version of
Windows, and re-write the application in Agilent VEE Pro.

george,

no i didnt load the drivers, i crashed the orig harddrive so i had a
used equip co setup the thing for me with a new harddrive, as i was
too busy and didnt have all the discs i needed. they claim it works,
but i suspect i know more about how to do it than them...

the software runs every aspect of the massspectrometer. it controls
about a dozen heated zones that vary in temp during each run, it runs
the RF modulator that splits the molecules, it alternates voltages
across several filters to recitify mass energy emissions and runs the
multiplier that increases these signals to usable levels. it receives
all these signals in a constant relay, stores the data in logged
packages and performs mass comparisons to preset calibrations. also
controls and supports conjoined GC unit and auto sampler that send the
samples into this detector. and this is just during one 'run'.
software upgrade is not possible for an instrument of this age -
designed to run on the dos. cost of replacement exceeds $50K - and
these days i can only get $50-$150/sample analysis. the software is
not supported by the mfg anymore and they fired all the folks who have
a clue anyway.

the drivers, where the heck are they?????? dos? dos folder? bios?
bios perriferals? heck - might even be in the MS software. hard to
find in dos. i'd love to check them out. i've downloaded 488 board mfg
replacements and their tech manual but dont know where they go. i dont
want to install them till i have a clue cuz i dont want to make the
system problem worse thatn it is thru stupidity and lack of patience.
geez, im so close to getting this thing running too.... also ive
rebuilt my second MS unit and it respondes EXACTLY the same, so its
just a comm error at this point.... signal communications (500!) pass,
MS unit DRAM test passes, software download to MS unit
unsuccessful.....grrrr.....

"spacekase" wrote in message
om...


thanks virg
that was part of my confusion - i didnt have any of the drivers in
those (a.bat & c.sys) dos files on the comp that worked! i suspect the
equipment is set up for the iotech. i did get the manuals from iotech
- printed, read and reread. hmmmm. i think board is setup right but
doesnt send the software in a format the MS recognizes......