Data-acquisition with NI 6036E DAQ card & GPIB using an external trigger

Hi all,
I hope somebody could give me some help with the following and answer some questions:
Simple system description:
Labview 6.1
PCI-GPIB card
6036E DAQ card
In my system, I am using an external analog trigger signal (A) for continuous data-acquisition. Characteristics of the analog trigger signal (A) are: ~40 Hz, signal height +1.48V, triggered by rising edge (the analog trigger signal (A) could be changed to a TTL signal). Each data-acquisition is done within ~1.0 ms after the rising edge of the trigger pulse. The timing of the data-acquisition and analyzing procedure is controlled by execution in a sequence structure placed in a loop.
Now, I connected a power meter to the system, to measure the laser power during the data-acquisition. The power meter has two options to provide the laser power data:
a) via analog signal output (voltage corresponds to laser power in watts)
b) via GPIB (direct output reading of laser power in watts).
Problem:
During a certain point in my data-acquisition sequence structure (defined by a frame), I want to use the next occuring analog trigger signal (A) to acquire 1 value from the power meter.
How do I do this in Labview programming for the following two situations?
a) If I connect the analog output from the power meter to an analog input channel of the 6036E DAQ card. The analog trigger (A) would be connected to a second analog input channel (In case the analog trigger signal (A) is changed to a TTL signal it would be connected to the PFI0/Trig input pin on the DAQ card).
b) If I use the GPIB connection of the power meter. The analog trigger (A) would be connected to a second analog input channel (In case the analog trigger signal (A) is changed to a TTL signal it would be connected to the PFI0/Trig input pin on the DAQ card).
An other possibility would be to trigger the power meter directly, so it outputs constantly power meter values at ~40 Hz. How could I than acquire 1 power meter value (at a certain time im my sequence structure) via analog input at DAQ card or GPIB?
Additional questions:
How do I configure the PFI0/Trig pin on the 6036E DAQ board individually as an INPUT?
How do I use an analog trigger signal (A) as counting signal for a loop, or as an activation signal for a sequence structure which includes GPIB commands?
It would be very nice if somebody could give me some help.
Kind regards,
beam

Hi beam,
I just want to verify that I understand your situation correctly:
An external trigger signal (A) is wired to one of your input channels (e.g. CH0) to trigger data acquisition of a second channel (e.g. CH1). Your power meter is connected to an analog input channel, which you would like to trigger with a certain rising edge at some of your sequence structure.
Problem:
During a certain point in my data-acquisition sequence structure (defined by a frame), I want to use the next occuring analog trigger signal (A) to acquire 1 value from the power meter.
How do I do this in Labview programming for the following two situations?
a) If I connect the analog output from the power meter to an analog input channel of the 6036E DAQ card. The analog trigger (A) would be connected to a second analog input channel (In case the analog trigger signal (A) is changed to a TTL signal it would be connected to the PFI0/Trig input pin on the DAQ card).
If a task has been configured to acquire signal from one analog channel, it's not possible to run a second analog input task or to add a second channel on the fly. You had mentioned that it's possible to read from the instrument through GPIB. Is it possible to perform a software trigger such that at a certain frame of your structure, when the trigger signal A reaches voltage "x", a GPIB command is written to your power meter to query a measurement reading?
Additional questions:
How do I configure the PFI0/Trig pin on the 6036E DAQ board individually as an INPUT?
You do not need to explicitly configure the PFI0 line as an input. If you want to use it as an input such that it acts as an analog trigger, simply wire the trigger signal to this pin. When configuring the trigger in your software, specify PFI0 as the trigger source.
How do I use an analog trigger signal (A) as counting signal for a loop, or as an activation signal for a sequence structure which includes GPIB commands?
You can try using the Limit VI to find out when the trigger signal reaches a certain level, and count how many times this level is reached. Similarly, you can use this as the condition to execute GPIB commands.
Hope this helps,
Lesley

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