LabView 8.0 - Windows 8 - serial port

I have LabView 8.0 working under Windows 8, but cannot install the original device drivers because the new operating systemis not supported.
I need to use the serial comunication port; is there a solution? Maybe some dll library?
Thank you.

Dennis is inferring that you need to install the latest version of NI VISA that is compatible with Windows 8. I'm actually surprised you managed to get LabVIEW 8.0 working. It didn't want to work for me on Windows 7. I highly recommend moving to LabVIEW 2012 or 2013 since those are supported for Windows 8.
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Similar Messages

Problem on WinXP / Labview 6.1 with VISA (serial port)

There is a problem on WinXP / Labview 6.1 with VISA which i use to poll the state lines of the serial port. The only functions that i use are "VISA Open", "Find Resource", line state properties and "VISA close".
On my own machine (WinME) it works fine as a standalone application (with runtime engine in the same direction), even if i rename the Labview directory so that Labview is not found.
From my VXIpnp directory i deleted all but these files:
directory "Win95",
subdirectory "Bin" containing "NiViAsrl.dll",
subdirectory "NIvisa" containing "visaconf.dll".
When shipping this to WinXP (and copying "VXIpnp" to the root directory), the serial port was not found, so i renamed the direction "Win95" to "
WinNT", but this did not work also.
I installed the VISA server, although it seems not to be required -- no result.
Final question:
What must i do for distributing the program as a standalone application for all windows platforms?

Hey Joachim,
In order to create an installer that includes the VISA Run-time engine for serial IO you will have to purchase LabVIEW 7.x. See screen shot. This packages a small compact version of the run-time that can only be used for serial, but it takes up much less space. The installer that I created has my application, the LV Run-time, and the VISA run-time and it is about 26 MB.
That is much smaller than if I had to include the 32 MB LV 7.1 run-time and the 14 MB VISA run-time separately. It would have been even smaller if I would have uncheck some of the items that I wasn't using.
-Josh
Attachments:
advanced.JPG ‏31 KB

Windows and serial port adapters

Hi Everyone,
I am looking to buy a new notebook and am having trouble getting any answers about running Windows on a Mac. I do the bulk of my work programming PLCs, microprocessors, touchscreens, etc... Most of the interfacing is done over RS-232, USB, and Ethernet. All of my programming software is Windows based. I would have to use a ExpressCard/34 slot serial adapter for the RS-232.
My question is: Will Windows have any trouble accessing and using all the ports? Is anyone else doing this kind of thing and making it work?
Thank you for any help.
Layne

Hi Layne,
I have had great success using Windows and a Belkin USB to RS232 adapter to program Clear-Com RS601 beltpacks and XTA loudspeaker processors.
All that was needed was to install the Belkin drivers.
Chris

Is it possible to choose the serial port if only the run time engine is installed

I have an application, which communicates over the serial port. When I use the full version of Labview I can change the serial port without any problem from Com1 to Com2 (similar to the example “Hardeware input output -> serial -> Labview serial vi"). When I build an application and try to run this program on a computer where only the run time engine 6.1 is installed, it is not possible to choose the serial port. Since there is no “Measurement and Automation Explorer” available on the run time engine and no directory C:\VXIpnp is created, when the run time engine is installed, I do not see a way, how I can satisfy the computer with the information it needs for configuring
the different ports. Any suggestions?

Hi Daniel,
Before LV6.1 there was LV5.1 In LV5.1 the way to Spedify a resource was to use a string control with correct VIsa Resource Class identifier. For eg. "GPIB0::11" or "ASRL1::INSTR". With Introduction of VISA Resource Name Control and linking with MAX, These names are Available from Pull Down List and Can be Aliased, meaning ASRL1 which is Serial Port 1 can be called COM1 and so on. However the old method still works with all 6.1 Controls. Only thing is you have to make sure you Dont Conflict the Class Names ie Use "GPIB::.." instead of "ASRL..." when addressing Serial Port VI's.
To solve your Problem I would Build a Menu ring with COM1 to COM4 in the Pull Down List.
Next, If I use the Traditonal Serial Port VI wich accepts the Integer as Seria
l Port #. I just Wire the Menu Ring to this VI.(Remember COM1 is 0, COM2 is 1 for this VI)
If I use VISA Config Serial Post. I build an Array Constant with Corresponding VISA Class Names So in our case a String Array Constant of 4 elements "ASRL1::INST" to "ASRL4::INST". I Use Index Array Function With the Index Wired to my Menu Ring. The Array Input Terminal Wired to the Array Constant. The Output of this Array will be correct Visa Class Name Based on slection of my Menu Ring. I can Wire this as Input to my VISA Config Serial Port Vi.
I have attached a Small VI to Illustrate this.
Drawback: You must Predefine what Ports you will Want to Use. Basically you define all the cases.
I hope this Answers your Q!
Good Luck
Mache
Good Luck!
Mache
Attachments:
Serial_Port_Select.vi ‏36 KB

Serial port: Input/output signal errantly combined

I am currently in the process of using LabView to replace another user interface for a scientific instrument.
LabView is connected to this instrument through a serial port. The instrument streams 25 bytes of binary data every second to the computer. I can read the binary string (VISA Read) and save contiuously to disk using a while loop. In addition, there are a few instructions I can send to the instrument that will do various functions (start logging, turn LEDs on/off, etc). I can successfully send these instructions to the instrument using the previous interface, and in a stand-alone vi using VISA Write, but when I place the VISA Write function into the larger interface vi, signals go haywire. Specifically, there are two separate LEDs that I can toggle with two different commands, but when in the larger interface vi, both commands toggle the same LED. Also, it appears that the singal I send to the instrument (a single ASCII character) immediately bounces back to the computer into the 25 bytes of streaming binary data. In other words, after I press the LED "on" key, one column of my streaming data changes when it is not supposed to (ex: after Binary to ASCII conversion, it changes from a single digit to a twenty digit value).
Initially, I thought the problem was the sequence of VISA Read/Write. In the current configuration, I read all data, then allow for Write commands. Both the VISA functions are within the same While loop to continuously monitor the data. Is it possible the Write signal output is not leaving the while loop and being read as input? What would make the instrument read two different commands as the same one? My goal is to run an interface that displays the streaming data as ASCII, and allows for a few different toggle options while the interface is running - is there are more efficient/elegant way than a while loop?
~Going Bananas
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New replies now in gray.
CodeMunkee wrote:
1. If you keep giving me good advice like this, I'll be tempted to change the background to Baltimore prison purple.
I'll ignore this statement.
2. The buffer now lives outside the loop. I understand clearly. Part of the problem might be my instrument - when I cycle power the 19 digit number that was 'echoed' disappears. Forget about that display stuff, it works properly - I accidentally removed the time delay when editing the vi. But you do bring up an interesting point...
Without the delay, the loop ran much faster. If the bytes weren't at the port, the read statement would have returned nothing when it read zero bytes, thus blanking out the indicator rather quickly.
Yes, Hexadecimal display shows 04 to indicate the end of the 25-byte data sample.
Doing a bytes at port read is not always a good idea. If not all the bytes had arrived yet when you ask for the read, you won't get all the data. The remaining data being sent in that stream from the instrument will show up at the front of the buffer on the next read command.
While this isn't a common occurence, it does happen. How can I prevent this from ever happening?
Since you know each commands ends with a hex 04 (ASCII character for EOT), you could enable the termination character when you configure the serial port. Set the termination character to be 4. Then when you execute the VISA read, read a large number of bytes such as 25 or more. The read will terminate at either the timeout, the requested number of bytes, or when the termination character is read. With this setup, you could eliminate the wait statement and also not request the number of bytes as the port. The VISA read will control the pacing of the loop. Any extra bytes after the termination character are part of the next frame of data and will wait around until the next time you read the VISA port.
3. Implementing your ideas for the latch button works better. I am still encountering issues with these commands however. Attached is the new vi. There are two commands I want to send, 't' turns on the LED light (they blink for 30 sec then time out), and the latch works perfectly for that, 'p' turns on the magnetometer light (an additional 'p' is required to turn it off), but I cannot get the command sent to the mag while the loop is running. It turns on either at the beginning of the vi, or at the end of the vi (after Finish button is pressed). This leads me to think the command 'p' is stuck inside the loop. I tried adding another film strip (see attached vi) for the toggles to force the issue, but it didn't work. Additionally, the 'p' command effectively works as a 't' command, and the LED lights begin to blink when I press the 'p' button. This isn't supposed to happen, and leads me to believe the 'p' command does in fact exit the loop but in the wrong manner.
The "film strip" is another frame of a flat sequence structure. It enforces the order of execution. The next frame can't execute until everything in the prior frame has completed. It isn't necessary in your case because the Error and VISA wires determine the order of execution with respect to the other VISA statements. But it shouldn't hurt.
There is no reason the "p" case structure should behave any differently than the "t" case structure. Although you should wire the error wire through in the False case of the "p" structure like you did for the "t" structure. There is no "exiting of the loop" in either case. The loop runs until the stop button is pressed. I would check the manual to see that t and p commands do what you think they should do. Do they need a termination character of their own when they are sent? Should they be upper case letters rather than lower case? You can run NI Spy on your serial port and see the operations occurring with it and see the data coming in and what data is going out. I would be suspicious that the device is not handling the command properly.
Any ideas? I think I've tried to put the toggle buttons outside the loop before, but then could only toggle once before the loop took over. Ideally, these toggles would be available at any time while the data is streaming, so therefore inside the loop?
The toggle buttons need to be within the loop so that they can be read on every iteration of the loop. Outside the loop, as you discovered, they are only read once at the very beginning before the loop is started.
4. Thank you for the suggestion about the Selection Mode for the Open/Create File option. It is annoying to create a file first. I made the change, but I still get error messages when I use a file that does not yet exist. LabView takes me to the first Open/Create/Replace vi when the error occurs. Is there something else I must do?
On the open file VI, there is an input that is Open as default when unwired. Create a constant there and change to Replace or Create.
Remember, if you have any questions about the way LabVIEW is handling something with serial ports, close the port within LabVIEW. Open Hyperterminal and try the commands from there.
Message Edited by Ravens Fan on 01-13-2009 03:55 PM

Error 37 with serial port / no with hyperterminal

I have added to my Pc a card with two serial port, I can access to them by hyperteminal or by labview but only at port 0 and 1 at the same time or 2 and 3, if not I have an error 37. What can I do?

Error 37 means that LabVIEW cannot find the appropriate serial device. This indicates that one of the following conditions exists:
LabVIEW cannot open the specified serial port;
LabVIEW cannot find the file serpdrv.
Make sure that the serial driver was installed before the board, and that the com ports appear normally in the control panel. If you cannot get it working, contact NI through either phone or email support. Since there are several potential causes, this is difficult to diagnose without more information. You can contact NI using the following webpage.
http://sine.ni.com/apps/we/niae_asc.main
Kim L.
Applications Engineer
National Instruments

Serial port prob

Hi,
I'm testing some application using javax.comm.* serial communication package.
Problem some data is missing after some time connection, any one have any clue?
Below is the code snippet.
====================
Open Connection
=============
public void openConnection() throws SerialConnectionException {
          // Obtain a CommPortIdentifier object for the port you want to open.
          try {
               portId = CommPortIdentifier.getPortIdentifier(parameters
                         .getPortName());
          } catch (NoSuchPortException e) {
               throw new SerialConnectionException(e.getMessage());
          // Open the port represented by the CommPortIdentifier object. Give
          // the open call a relatively long timeout of 30 seconds to allow
          // a different application to reliquish the port if the user
          // wants to.
          try {
               sPort = (SerialPort) portId.open("SerialDemo", 30000);
          } catch (PortInUseException e) {
               throw new SerialConnectionException(e.getMessage());
          // Set the parameters of the connection. If they won't set, close the
          // port before throwing an exception.
          try {
               setConnectionParameters();
          } catch (SerialConnectionException e) {
               sPort.close();
               throw e;
          // Open the input and output streams for the connection. If they won't
          // open, close the port before throwing an exception.
          try {
               sPort.setInputBufferSize(999999999);
               os = sPort.getOutputStream();
               is = sPort.getInputStream();
               dis = new DataInputStream(is);
          } catch (IOException e) {
               sPort.close();
               throw new SerialConnectionException("Error opening i/o streams");
          // Create a new KeyHandler to respond to key strokes in the
          // messageAreaOut. Add the KeyHandler as a keyListener to the
          // messageAreaOut.
          keyHandler = new KeyHandler(os);
          messageAreaOut.addKeyListener(keyHandler);
          // Add this object as an event listener for the serial port.
          try {
               sPort.addEventListener(this);
          } catch (TooManyListenersException e) {
               sPort.close();
               throw new SerialConnectionException("too many listeners added");
          // Set notifyOnDataAvailable to true to allow event driven input.
          sPort.notifyOnDataAvailable(true);
          // Set notifyOnBreakInterrup to allow event driven break handling.
          sPort.notifyOnBreakInterrupt(true);
          // Set receive timeout to allow breaking out of polling loop during
          // input handling.
          try {
          sPort.enableReceiveTimeout(30);
          } catch (UnsupportedCommOperationException e) {
          // Add ownership listener to allow ownership event handling.
          portId.addPortOwnershipListener(this);

Placing a delay is not the solution.
Have a look at the code snippet that I posted here:
http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Reading-time-interval-of-serial-port/m-p/1529140#M568806
The modified code is also attached in that post.
The solution is to place the serial read inside a loop which continues to read until there is no more data in the buffer.

Serial Port of Microsoft

Hello,
I have a program in LabVIEW which read from the serial Port.
I would like to know the name of the memory where is saved the information from the serial port in the Operating System of Microsoft and where LabVIEW reads the information.
I would be very glad if somebody could help me in this topic.
Ramon

Ramon,
you are on the wrong track here. This is completely hidden to the end user and/or application programs. This is necessary, because in multitasking OS it would take much too long for application programs to react to direct HW interrupts as they are used in serial communication. Long words meaning is: Let LabVIEW handle all this stuff. Just open the serial port, configure it, send some text to it and/or read strings from it. Close the port when you are done. Its that simple in first hand!
It might become more complicated when communication protocols and protocol error handling comes into play, but this is beyond you actual Q.
Hope this helps!
Greetings from Germany!
Uwe

Serial port identification

I'm using LabVIEW 8.2 to communicate throught serial port.
I developed the software in one PC but I needed to change it.
The program was ok. In this new PC, LabVIEW can't identificate the serial ports. I tested the ports throught Hyperterminal and they are ok.
How can I make Labview identificate then?
(I have NI DAQMX 8.8 installed)
Thanks,
Carol
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Carol_UFRJ wrote:
LabVIEW can't identificate the serial ports.
Hey, I just learned a new word today! And all this time I thought "Identify" was the verb associated with the noun "identification".

Adapt QCM serial port VIs for USB QCM

I am trying to adapt Labview VIs that use a serial port and use them a QCM that uses a USB port. Does anyone know how I can do this. I have limited labview experience.
The USB QCM gives me data for the thickness and mass gains of the materials deposited but I cannot correlate those mass gains with the pressures in the reactor. I need to correlate the mass gains with the pressures so I can know the pressure profiles of the materials I deposit. The serial port VIs (for a different QCM) save the data for the mass gain and the corresponding pressure but I cannot do that with the USB QCM. That is why I want to adapt the older programs which store all the information and use it with the new QCM.
Thanks
-Sicelo

You would likely want to use VISA to communicate with this USB device. If you get the VISA alias for the device, you should be able to replace your serial code with VISA code that does very similar things (such as read and write). This link shows the kind of thing you should encounter when using LabVIEW to control a USB device.

Help with reading information coming from a software into LabVIEW through Serial port

Hi,
I am new to LabVIEW and also an amateur in using RS232 for communication. I have this software that has these icons like speed increase/decrease, elevation up/down, start/stop. Now, when I click these buttons on the software, they perform the appropriate functions. For example, if I press start button, the signal must go through a serial COM port into LabVIEW to start the machine. How do I do that? How do I find what format the code word is when I press a button on the software? And how to decode the information to read whether the button pushed is start etc...? Any help would be appreciated.
V
I may not be perfect, but I'm all I got!

That information would be in the programming manual for the device you're controlling. Unless you have a device that has no documentation or you cannot get the documentation that's the first place you should look. If you cannot get the documentation at all then you've got some reverse-engineering to do. To do this you will either need a serial port sniffer (a hardware device), or you can try to use a software-based port capturing program. On Windows PortMon is the most prevalent. This will show you how the port was configured (baud rate, stop bits, etc). Warning: the information is technical.
As far as how to get it running in LabVIEW, you should take a look at the serial port communication examples that ship with LabVIEW. The most problems occur in figuring out how to (a) terminate a write command, and (b) determining when to stop reading. For (a) this is typically done by appending a carriage return or linefeed to the command. This is device dependent. For (b) this is usually done by the byte stream ending with a character like a linefeed. Again, this is device-dependent.
You may also want to peruse this KB article: Serial Instrument Control Tutorial. There are also lots of tutorial on the internet for basic tutorials on serial port communication.

How to get a signal from the serial port to start a labview program?

I need to synchronize the data obtained from a program (which is not in Labview)with the data collected with Labview on a different computer. I can send some data strings to the serial port of the computer running the Labview program when the other program starts. However, I need to be able to read the trigger in my Labview program. Do you know what I should do? Thanks.

If you don't have any other programs listening on the COM port, you need to let a LV program run BEFORE the signal comes, otherwise you won't be able to read it. You can have the program wait in a slow timed loop so that it doesn't use up too much CPU time, and when the required "trigger" comes, to move into the main part of the program.
You basically need a while loop waiting for a certain string in the serial buffer. Once the string is found the while loop is exited, and the data acqquisition or whatever else you require from the progam can be performed.
In the example attached the program wait for ANY text to be sent to the COM port. Please note that you need to configure the VISA resource before using it. Once there is something at the COM port, the loop will exit and the rest of the program will be executed.
Hope this helps
Shane
Using LV 6.1 and 8.2.1 on W2k (SP4) and WXP (SP2)
Attachments:
Wait for serisl message.vi ‏17 KB

Reading/writing to serial port w/ VISA in Labview

I'm writing a Labview program to control and to read data from a Varian vacuum pump controller. It is connected to the serial port in my computer, and I have been trying to open a VISA session to communicate with the instrument. So far, however, the computer cannot see the instrument--I get the same error messages reading and writing to the instrument as I do to an empty serial port. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the problem might be? Thank you.

There are a lot of possiblities. Is the cable correct? You probably need a crossover cable (TX and RX) swapped. You also need to check and make sure the serial ports on both ends are set the same (i.e. baud rate, handshaking, stop bits, etc.). Make sure that the port is enabled. I've seen people try to use a comm port only to find that a modem card installation caused the port to be disabled. You could also try using hyperterminal to talk to the instrument. If you can communicate there, you can eliminate any hardware problem.

Can not access serial port while upgrading from LabVIEW 6.1 to 7.0

Hi,
I built an application under LabVIEW 6.0.2. few years ago. This application uses LabVIEW serial features. When I upgraded to LabVIEW 6.1, my application was still working correctly.
Today, I upgraded to LabVIEW 7.0, mass compile all VIs and now my application can not communicate with my peripheral !!!
The program is sending the command to the peripheral. The peripheral answers but LabVIEW serial driver does not see any datas on buffer even if datas are available ... "Bytes At serial port.vi" always returns 0. I am sure that datas are available, using a COM port psy.
Does anyone has an idea?
I saw a lot of solutions in the forum, but I would like to know the best solution with minimum work, te
st, and so on ... on my program.
Regards,
Pascal.

Hi Pascal,
Which is your version of NI-VISA?
Please see the link bellow :
http://digital.ni.com/manuals.nsf/websearch/E8D86CD680B0753D86256D2C005D8EA0
The first test to be made is to test the communication with your serial port using MAX (Measurement and Automation Explorer) :
Open MAX, Go to "Devices and Interfaces", then "Ports", select COM1 (or ASRL1::INSTR). Right clic on it and select "Open VISA Session" the go the "Basic I/O" then Write data, execute, Read data, execute.
Be sure that the communication is OK. Be sure that you use the same Alias existing in MAX in your LabVIEW program.
Now, if all is OK, try to use Serial communication examples existing in LabVIEW Help>>Examples Finder. These examples use NI-VISA VIs.
If all above is OK and you
still have the same problem, try to follow these instructions :
"In order to use the old Serial Compatibility VIs in LabVIEW 7.x, you must copy the following files from a previous version of LabVIEW to the LabVIEW 7.x directory:
Replace the serial.llb in LabVIEW 7.x with the serial.llb from a previous version of LabVIEW. This file is found in C:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabVIEW\vi.lib\instr.
Replace the _sersup.llb file in LabVIEW 7.x with the _sersup.llb from a previous version of LabVIEW. In LabVIEW 6i and 6.1 this file is located in C:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabVIEW\vi.lib\platform. In LabVIEW 7.x (and 5.x) this file is found in C:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabVIEW\vi.lib\instr.
Copy the file serpdrv to the C:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabVIEW 7.x directory. This file is not installed with LabVIEW 7.x, so it only needs to be copied from a previous version of LabVIEW, not replaced."
I hope that my answer will help you.
Sa
naa T
National Instruments

How to transfer file from PC to PC via serial port using labview

I need to transfer files(.txt, .doc, .xls) from PC to PC via serial port using LabVIEW. Is it possible to transfer files, if so how to transfer?
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Yes, it is possible to transfer files with the serial port using LabVIEW. Files are just collections of bytes and the serial port is pretty good at shipping bytes from one PC to another. You need to connect the serial ports together with a null modem cable.
First, take a look at the example for serial communication. In LabVIEW, go to the Help menu and select "Find Examples...". From there you can search for "serial" or navigate to Hardware Input and Output >> Serial. Select the "Basic Serial Write and Read.vi". Experiment with that example to gain confidence on the serial communication methods.
Next, it's time to learn about how to read and write files. For that, the examples could be somewhat confusing since they all deal with files that are presumed to have data of a specific type in them. I would recommend just getting familiar with the functions on the File I/O palette. Specifically, get to know the following functions.
Open/Create/Replace File - On your destination side, you'll need to create the copy of the file that you are trying to transfer
Close File - When you are finished reading from or writing to a file, you should close it. It cleans up the memory being used and finalizes any write operations that are still floating in the write buffer.
Read From Binary File - The best way to read from a file when you do not really care what type of file it is. In your case, you just want to get those bytes read and sent out so they can be written down at the destination.
Write to Binary File - At the destination side, this is what will store those bytes to the file you created with number 1.
Get File Size (under the Advanced File Functions sub-palette) - You need to know how big the file is so you know when you are finished.
OK, so once you are able to create files, write bytes to them, and read bytes from existing files you can move on to transferring.
The basic method I would suggest is to have the user specify a source file on the source PC and a destination folder on the destination PC. Then, find out the size of the source file using number 5. Divide that size number by the number of bytes you feel like transferring at once. The serial buffers are usually around 32k (if I remember correctly) so do not exceed that. Now begin sending data by reading some number of bytes and wiring that string output to the VISA Write function. On the destination side, you'll want to be monitoring the serial port for bytes and reading them when they arrive. Wire that string to the Write to Binary File function to add them to your destination file.
That is the basic outline of how to do it. You have to be careful not to overload the write and read buffers on the serial ports. Initially you can use delays on the sending side to make sure the reading side has enough time to digest. To get things moving faster, you can bring in some flow control.
If all that sounds a bit intimidating, there are Alliance Member companies out there (such as PrimeTest Automation) who can write such code for you and even provide a turnkey solution for you.
Happy wiring,
Dan Press
Certified LabVIEW Architect
PrimeTest Automation

LabView 8.0 - Windows 8 - serial port

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