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HP Forum Archive 15

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HP-IB x IEEE-488 x GPIB
Message #1 Posted by Artur - Brasil on 13 May 2005, 9:47 p.m.

Hi, I'm looking for some test equipments for mounting an HP41 system. I have already the 3468A multimeter and I'm trying to get one frequency counter on Ebay. Could someone tell me if HP-IB and IEEE-488 or GPIB are compatible and if I could use the HP-IL->HP-IB interface device to control such equipments? Best regards Artur

      
Re: HP-IB x IEEE-488 x GPIB
Message #2 Posted by John Limpert on 14 May 2005, 6:33 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Artur - Brasil

HP-IB, IEEE-488 and GPIB are the same thing for practical purposes. I have a dim memory of HP changing the screws to metric-sized screws on the connectors at about the same time it became an IEEE standard. That should only be a problem on very old equipment.

      
Re: HP-IB x IEEE-488 x GPIB
Message #3 Posted by Vassilis Prevelakis on 14 May 2005, 8:53 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Artur - Brasil

The HP-41 only has an HP-IL interface (easy to find on eBay), so you need the 82169A HP-IL/HP-IB Interface to link HP-IB equipment to the HP-IL and the HP-41C.

The 82169A manual is here: http://www.series80.org/Manuals/hp82169a.pdf.

Apart from that most HP-IB equipment manuals from the early 80s usually contain sample programs in Basic (for the Series 80), and/or the HP-41C.

Controlling HP-IB instruments is easy, but an entire program to perform data collection on the HP-41C may be painful.

            
Thanks a lot!
Message #4 Posted by Artur - Brasil on 14 May 2005, 1:14 p.m.,
in response to message #3 by Vassilis Prevelakis

Let's see if the prices will let me get one HP-IB frequency counter! Artur

            
Re: HP-IB x IEEE-488 x GPIB
Message #5 Posted by Garth Wilson on 15 May 2005, 2:54 a.m.,
in response to message #3 by Vassilis Prevelakis

Vassilis wrote: > Controlling HP-IB instruments is easy, but an entire program to perform data collection on the HP-41C may be painful.

After quite a bit of experience with it, I'd have to say the only painful part might be learning the command set of each instrument. But after learning the commands from all the instruments' manuals, I found the actual 41 programming to be pretty easy.

Please don't think of the interface as being only for data collection though. You can do a lot in the way of control with it too. In fact, one relay unit we used was only a bus listener and had no capability to output anything onto the bus. It only took instructions.

If you consider all of the IEEE-488 equipment available, it probably amounts to hundreds if not thousands of models, and virtually all of it can be controlled by the HP-41.


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