Chapter 2 Measurement & Automation ExplorerNI-488.2 User Manual for Windows 2-6 www.natinst.comInstruments Not FoundIf the Instruments not Found message appears in the right windowpane, Measurement & Automation Explorer did not find any instruments.To solve this problem, make sure that your GPIB instruments are poweredon and properly connected to the GPIB interface with a GPIB cable. Then,scan for instruments again, as described in the previous section, Scan forGPIB Instruments.Instruments Enumeration FailedIf the Instruments Enumeration Failed message appears in the rightwindow pane, Measurement & Automation Explorer found too manyListeners on the GPIB. To solve this problem, refer to the followingpossible solutions:• If you have a running GPIB Analyzer with the GPIB handshake optionenabled, disable the GPIB handshake option in the GPIB Analyzer.• If you have a GPIB extender in your system, Measurement &Automation Explorer cannot detect any instruments connected toyour GPIB interface. Instead, you can verify communication withyour instruments using the Interactive Control utility. To do so,select Tools»NI-488.2 Utilities»Interactive Control. For moreinformation about verifying instrument communication, type help"Interactive Control:getting started" at the InteractiveControl command prompt.Communicate with Your InstrumentTo establish basic or advanced communication with your instruments, referto the following sections.For more information about instrument communication and a list of thecommands that your instrument understands, refer to the documentationthat came with your GPIB instrument. Most instruments respond to the*IDN? command by returning an identification string.Basic Communication (Query/Write/Read)To establish basic communication with your instrument, use the NI-488.2Communicator, as follows:1. If you have not already done so, scan for connected instruments asdescribed in the previous section, Scan for GPIB Instruments.2. Select Start»Programs»National Instruments NI-488.2»ExploreGPIB to start Measurement & Automation Explorer.
