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Using NI-VISA to Communicate with Third-Party Serial Card

Primary Software: LabVIEW Development Systems>>LabVIEW Full Development System
Primary Software Version: 6.1
Primary Software Fixed Version: N/A
Secondary Software: Driver Software>>NI-VISA
Hardware: Serial>>RS-232>>PCI-232/2

Problem:
I purchased a third-party serial card. After installation, the device is showed working properly under device manager in Windows 98 but it was not listed under Measurement & Automation Explorer(MAX), does that mean I can not use NI-VISA to control that device?

Solution:
For most cases, Measurement & Automation Explorer(MAX) only list National Instrument's serial boards. Third-party serial boards have their own drivers which might have a different installation path. NI-VISA can only communicate with serial devices listed under a designated Windows Registry, if the serial device you have is listed elsewhere other than that Registry, NI-VISA will not be able to communicate with it.

Follow these instructions to check if your serial device is listed under this Windows Registry:
  1. Click on Start in Windows and select Run
  2. Type in Regedit and hit OK
  3. The Windows Registry Editor window will pop up
  4. Under My Computer, select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE»HARDWARE»DEVICEMAP»SERIALCOMM
  5. Look for the serial port where your device is installed

Note: NI serial devices are installed under that Registry by default, there is no need to check if you have a NI serial device.

After you confirm that the serial device is listed under the Registry, you can edit the VISA resource name by editing its aliases from visaconf.ini. Follow the related link or more information on editing VISA resources names.

Related Links:
KnowledgeBase 3DEI1LNQ: Removing Resource Names From The "VISA Resource Name Constant"
KnowledgeBase 3S8SQU: How Are VISA Aliases Stored? Can I Move Them to Another Machine Along with My Application?

Attachments:





Report Date: 10/08/2004
Last Updated: 10/08/2008
Document ID: 3E79Q7IT

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