New ASIC in PCI-GPIB Boards Made After 2003Hardware: GPIB>>Plug-in Controllers>>PCI-GPIB
Problem: What has changed about the PCI-GPIB boards made since 2003 and what versions of NI-488.2 drivers will work with them? I am ordering the same kit that I ordered before, but the GPIB board inside looks different than pre-2003 boards. It looks like a PCI-GPIB/LP. Was the wrong board shipped to me? Solution: Previous PCI-GPIB boards have used the TNT4882C and MITE ASICs. The new revision of the PCI-GPIB boards incorporate the GPIB and MITE functionality into one new ASIC. The new ASIC uses the same register sets as the previous ASIC, so the change should be transparent when you replace the previous board with a new board. The new PCI-GPIB boards are only supported with version 1.6 or higher of NI-488.2 for Windows and version 2.2 or higher of NI-488.2 for Solaris. If you are using NI-488.2 version 1.2 for Digital Unix or version 7.6.6 for MacOS 9 or earlier, you can only use the previous PCI-GPIB boards. If you are running Linux, you can use either the previous or the new boards. For more information on the hardware options for Linux, see the Measurement and Automation Hardware for Linux page linked below. To see the difference between the various board revisions, refer to the images below or view the Product Catalog pages linked below. The PCI-GPIB/LP is functionally the same as the PCI-GPIB, but it can fit in Low-Profile machines. Both the new revision PCI-GPIB boards and the PCI-GPIB/LP boards are universally keyed, so they are capable of working in 3.3 volts or 5 volts PCI bus slots. Figure 1 below shows the new revision PCI-GPIB board keyed universally. The pre-2003 PCI-GPIB are keyed only for 5 volts. This is shown in Figure 2 below. Notice how the new revision board has two keys on the PCI connector, whereas the older revision board only has one.
To learn more about the PCI-GPIB and PCI-GPIB/LP boards, see the KnowledgeBases and Product Information pages linked below. Related Links: GPIB Installation/Configuration Troubleshooter: Current GPIB Driver Versions KnowledgeBase 27IFE055: Is There a Low-Profile, Half-Height, or Half-Length PCI-GPIB Board Available? Products and Services: Measurement and Automation Products for Linux Products and Services: NI PCI-GPIB/LP Products and Services: NI PCI-GPIB Attachments:   
Report Date: 07/25/2003 Last Updated: 04/29/2006 Document ID: 2ZODK2YB |
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