E4407 GPIB interface doesnÂt work anymore

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E4407 GPIB interface doesnÂt work anymore

Question asked by paul on Feb 7, 2007
Latest reply on Feb 9, 2007 by paul

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Hi,

My instrument doesn't establish the connection with the PC through the GPIB-USB Interface. The 'Agilent Connection Expert' software canÂ´t find the instrument. I Know that the GPIB-USB interface is OK and I had worked with It before without any problem.

How I can probe the Spectrum Analyzer GPIB out? My instrument is the E4407B.

Thanks,

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opticyclic Feb 8, 2007 8:46 AM
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Are you sure that you have the GPIB addresses set correctly?
Which GPIB-USB interface are you using?
The National Instruments one needs an updated driver I think.
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Freddy Feb 8, 2007 2:27 PM
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Paul, maybe is a GPIB port failure in your analyzer; I have the same problem, the replacement part is E4401-60382.

The instrument donÂ´t have software for make hardware test, and the quality of this cards not are the best.
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paul Feb 8, 2007 2:51 PM
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Yes, I Do. I have proven changing the analyzer (GPIB) address.

I have proven with two GPIB-USB interfaces: National Instruments and Agilent. I have uninstalled and installed the drivers. (I'm sure that the drivers are updated)

I have worked with the GPIB interface normally. Then the next day I tried to work with it I did not receive response from the instrument.

For that reason I need to be sure if the instrument's GPIB card is damaged or not.

Thanks,
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dichheda Feb 9, 2007 9:44 AM
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Hello Paul,

I am the support engineer for ESA. This product has been on the market since March 1999 and the install base is failry large. We have not heard complaints about this intermittent connectivity issue from customers before. We would have definately dealt with any issues had we had any complaints or seen any issues. We at the division do a lot of remote GPIB communication and we have also never seen this issue.

How long is the cable that you are using? Are you using the 82357 USB/GPIB interface? Do you have the latest version of Agilent I/O libraries?
http://adn.tm.agilent.com/index.cgi?CONTENT_ID=26
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bwreed Feb 9, 2007 10:24 AM
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This is an excellent troubleshooting process:

1. Replace the GPIB cable with another one. If the problem goes away, either the connection was loose or the original cable was bad.
2. If the problem did not go away, find another instrument and communicate with it via GPIB. If the IO libraries find the instrument and obtain the ID string, we know that the computer, computer GPIB interface and cable are good and the GPIB interface in the instrument is suspect.
3. If the instrument is suspect, obtain in installation guide from www.agilent.com for any user field installable option and follow it to remove the instrument cover. Reseat all plug-in assemblies and retest. If the communication can be established, we had a minor mechanical problem.
4. If the communication did not establish, consider the problem an instrument failure and arrange for service. TAPE a large note to the top of the instrument explaining what you did to troubleshoot it to save the service center time repeating your work.

If it turns out to be a PC related problem:
1. Reinstall the IO libraries. First un-install them. Then resinstall the newest package in full. If this fixes it, go home and take a nap.
2. If it does not work, then replace the GPIB cable with another and test again with another instrument. If it works, have a snack.
3. If it does not, then replace the GPIB interface and test communication. If it works, take a longer nap.
3. If it does not work even with a new card and another cable after a reinstall of the IO libs, we must consider some kind of Windows software compatibility issue, and we would go to another PC and try from scratch. this has happened, but it is rare to have a PC hardware or software compatibility problem. This kind of problem is most likely to happen on a machine used for development (compiling) an on which a large number of applications is installed. You could also try another IO library package. If using NI, you could try Agilent Suite 14 or vise versa.

Brent
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paul Feb 9, 2007 11:16 AM
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Hi dichheda,

IÂ´m using the agilent I/O utilities version 14.2.8931.1. and I have the 82357 USB/GPIB Interface and the NI interface. The two interfaces work with other spectum analyzers like IFR and Hewlett Packard.

...............

Hi Brent,

I will do your suggested troubleshooting process. I will let you know..

Thanks so much!
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E4407 GPIB interface doesnÂt work anymore

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