[time-nuts] NI GPIB cards

[Didier Juges]

It is always hard to tell with NI because they are so mumm about their
designs. If the new card works with old drivers (most will), it is probably
a repackaged version of the old card with more of the stuff in a gate array
or xPLD instead of discretes. If it requires (or recommends) a new driver,
it may be improved with regard to transfer rate or some obscure feature.

Other than that, in my experience, NI products have been remarkably
compatible in the last 10 years, from a 30,000 feet level (plug pretty much
anything into anything and it will work with any NI software, even though
performance will vary and you may need new drivers). Exceptions are things
like the bus snooping mode (forgot the name) which is only supported on the
internal, bus type adapters (not USB unfortunately).

Unless you need very fast transfer rate, buy the cheapest card you can find
that has the right bus. PCI cards are still fairly expensive (you will be
lucky to get one for less than $150), ISA cards are much cheaper ($20), but
of course they only work in a computer old enough to have ISA slots, and
transfer rate is an order of magnitude slower. NI USB controllers, even on
eBay, cost >$400 in most cases.

There are alternatives. Measurement Computing (www.mcc.com) has cards that
will work with NI software and are somewhat less expensive. IOTech also used
to make GPIB cards, but I believe they are out of the market. They still are
ISA IOTech cards on eBay on occasion, and they usually are compatible with
NI. I do not know if IOTech ever made PCI cards?

To use with John Miles software, a Prologix controller is hard to beat. New,
it costs less than a used NI PCI card on ebay, and is USB. 

http://www.eds-fl.com/Test_Equipment/GPIB.html

Didier KO4BB

> -----Original Message-----
> From: time-nuts-bounces at febo.com 
> [mailto:time-nuts-bounces at febo.com] On Behalf Of David I. Emery
> Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 9:13 PM
> To: time-nuts at febo.com
> Subject: [time-nuts] NI GPIB cards
> 
> 	This group seems to be very GPIB savvy, so I have a 
> question (vaguely related to time and frequency) - is there a 
> real difference between the half sized current one large chip 
> NI PCI-GPIB card and the older and larger version with 
> multiple chips that proceeded it ?
> 
> 	Which would you buy on Ebay ? any gotchas ?
> 
> 	This is of course among other things for use with John 
> Miles software... and HP and Racal counters and so forth...
> 
> --
>   Dave Emery N1PRE/AE, die at dieconsulting.com  DIE Consulting, 
> Weston, Mass 02493 "An empty zombie mind with a forlorn 
> barely readable weatherbeaten 'For Rent' sign still vainly 
> flapping outside on the weed encrusted pole - in celebration 
> of what could have been, but wasn't and is not to be now either."
> 
> 
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