A PC Oscilloscope That Looks and Works Like the Real Thing!

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 16:22:14 -0700

As the leader in modular oscilloscopes, ZTEC is continually looking for ways to pack even more benchtop oscilloscope features into our modular instrument products. One key and often overlooked aspect of a benchtop oscilloscope is the well defined and intuitive user interface. All technical professionals, at one point or another, have used a benchtop oscilloscope - turning horizontal and vertical adjustment knobs to capture a waveform of interest.

New LabVIEW Drivers Make Programming For Your ZTEC Card a Snap!

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 13:42:58 -0700

ZTEC Instruments provides “plug-and-play” instrument drivers with all its modular instrument products. Developed with National Instruments’ LabWindows/CVI, plug-and-play instrument drivers have many advantages. Because they are based on industry standards, plug-and-play drivers provide an intuitive and flexible programmatic interface that can be used in a wide variety of situations. For customers using LabWindows/CVI, the interface is ideal.

Ironically, plug-and-play instrument drivers are not the ideal solution for customers using National Instruments LabVIEW. LabVIEW does provide a plug-and-play driver auto import utility. However, the resulting VI library is lacking key usability features commonly associated with a LabVIEW interface. With the release of LabVIEW 8, the imported VI libraries have become even more awkward and difficult to generate. Due to the increasing difficulty of using plug-and-play drivers with LabVIEW, ZTEC has developed a more native solution.

ZTEC now offers LabVIEW specific drivers for its complete line of PXI and PCI modular oscilloscope products. These new drivers, compatible with LabVIEW 7.1 or greater, are available for download at the end of this article for the ZT410PXI/PCI, ZT450PXI/PCI, ZT431PXI/PCI, and ZT530PXI/PCI. ZTEC is also committed to provide LabVIEW specific drivers for all new instruments.

Once installed, the instrument’s VI library will be available in the “Instrument I/O>>Instrument Drivers” subpalette (Figure I). The subVIs contained in the palettes provide complete programmatic control of all the features and capabilities of the instruments. The palettes are organized following National Instruments guidelines making their use intuitive for even beginner LabVIEW programmers.

Figure I: ZT450PXI/PCI VI Pallets

On the main VI palette you will find the typical VIs, including “Initialize.vi” and “Close.vi”. In between the initialize and close VIs, you will find subpalettes for instrument configuration, action, status, and data operations. In addition, a SubVI Tree is provided (Figure II) to give the user an overview of the driver’s structure and capabilities. Often, users will “drag-and-drop” subVIs directly from the SubVI Tree instead of using the palettes.

Figure II: ZT450PXI/PCI SubVI Tree

Each subVI is fully documented, including tip strip “bubbles,” control and indicator help, and Context Sensitive help (Figure III). When possible, inputs are enumerated to help self-document your program and ensure valid input settings.

Figure III: ZT450PXI/PCI Context Sensitive Help

Using the SubVI Tree and help system, it becomes very easy to program a custom application for a ZTEC modular instrument. Using as little as 5 subVIs, you can configure your instrument, acquire, and measure an input signal (Figure IV).

Figure IV: ZT450PXI/PCI Basic LabVIEW Example

To get you up and running in minutes, ZTEC also provides the ZScope soft front panel. ZScope’s intuitive oscilloscope interface provides complete instrument control without the need for programming. ZScope auto-detects your hardware and can be automatically configured using the AutoSetup feature. Waveform data can be easily exported for use in other analysis applications and instrument settings can be saved for use at a later time.

Figure V: ZScope Soft Front Panel

ZTEC is committed to provide the functionality, technology, integration, and assistance you need to make your test and measurement integration projects a success. Providing a LabVIEW specific programming interface is yet another example of this commitment. With these new LabVIEW specific drivers it is now easier than ever to program your ZTEC modular oscilloscope with LabVIEW.

Please visit the ZTEC Support Center to download the current LabVIEW Drivers.

Programming as Easy as 1, 2, 3 (4 and 5)

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 10:53:57 -0700

For those developing automated test and measurement applications, an intuitive instrument driver is probably the most important tool. ZTEC understands this fact and provides “plug-and-play” instrument drivers with all their modular instrument products. These drivers provide complete access to all the instruments capabilities and can be used in most commonly used programming environments, including National Instruments LabWindows/CVI and LabVIEW. To download the latest version of all ZTEC’s instrument drivers, please visit the ZTEC customer support center.

Programming a ZTEC modular instrument could not be easier when using the instrument driver. In fact, in as few as 5 functions/VIs, a program can be written to self-configure an instrument, acquire a waveform, and perform a waveform measurement. The LabWindows/CVI and LabVIEW driver are identical with a one-to-one map of each function to each VI. The native interface (called “Functions Panels” for LabWindows/CVI and “VI Libraries” for LabVIEW) provides a consistent and familiar interface fore each environment. A windows help file is also provided for driver documentation.

ZTEC Instruments - March 23, 2006

A PC Oscilloscope That Looks and Works Like the Real Thing!

New LabVIEW Drivers Make Programming For Your ZTEC Card a Snap!

Programming as Easy as 1, 2, 3 (4 and 5)