Application Notes

SDM3045X Series

Testing Intrinsic Safety Barrier fusing and circuitry using an electronic load

December 16, 2019

From Wikipedia: Intrinsic safety (IS) is a protection technique for safe operation of electrical equipment in hazardous areas by limiting the energy, electrical and thermal, available for ignition. The idea is to minimize the risk of fire or explosion by physically eliminating any potential source of ignition. Many IS circuits utilize special fusing and elements that are designed to … Continued

Secure products without K-lock slots

May 27, 2019

Many products have Kensington, or K-lock slots to help provide a location to secure a cable lock or other device to help prevent theft. Some products do not have locations for cable lock connections. In this case, we recommend using a special glue or physical attachment system to secure the cable to the case of … Continued

Programming Example: List connected VISA compatible resources using PyVISA

February 19, 2019

PyVISA is a software library that enables Python applications to communicate with resources (typically instruments) connected to a controlling computer using different buses, including: GPIB, RS-232, LAN, and USB. This example scans and lists the available resources. It requires PyVISA to be installed (see the PyVISA documentation for more information) *** #Example that scans a … Continued

Verification of a working remote communications connection using NI – MAX

November 19, 2018

Automating a test can dramatically increase the productivity, throughput, and accuracy of a process. Automating a setup involves connecting a computer to the test instrumentation using a standard communications bus like USB or LAN and then utilizing code entered via a software layer (like LabVIEW, .NET, Python, etc..) to sequence the specific instrument commands and … Continued

Programming Example: Using VXI11 (LXI) and Python for LAN control without sockets

October 8, 2018

In an effort to meet the demands of remote monitoring and control, modern test instrumentation is leveraging more communications busses and than ever before. Each type of bus can also have numerous layers that can be utilized for specific advantages. The VXI bus and subsequent software drivers form a convenient software API that can make remote control … Continued

Open Socket LAN connection using Python

October 20, 2017

Automating a test can dramatically increase the productivity, throughput, and accuracy of a process. Automating a setup involves connecting a computer to the test instrumentation using a standard communications bus like USB or LAN and then utilizing code entered via a software layer (like LabVIEW, .NET, Python, etc..) to sequence the specific instrument commands and … Continued

Verification of a LAN connection using Telnet

October 20, 2017

Automating a test can dramatically increase the productivity, throughput, and accuracy of a process. Automating a setup involves connecting a computer to the test instrumentation using a standard communications bus like USB or LAN and then utilizing code entered via a software layer (like LabVIEW, .NET, Python, etc..) to sequence the specific instrument commands and … Continued

Testing Open Socket Communications Using PuTTY

October 19, 2017

Many instruments include the ability to be controlled via a remote connection to a computer using an Ethernet connection. In many cases, these instruments require a special software library that can help establish and maintain the communications link between the instrument and controlling computer. This can be annoying for a few reasons… the software library … Continued