USB TO COM port drivers in LabVIEW..

Hi Everyone,
I have virtual com port equipment (hardware) from STmicroelectronics and i need to communicate it with LabVIEW through USB.
I have done with NI-VISA Wizard which i have gone through previous posts but am not able to communicate.
Can i get any drivers for this communication.
In MAX, i can see it as COM4, COM5 like that but i want it as USB.
Thanks,
Sony.
'' A professional is someone who can do his best work when he doesn't feel like it''...........

To expand on Sir Dennis' point, it is not uncommon for vendors with USB widgets to sell to implement the interface to them as virtual serial ports, and the reason is simple: Nearly any environment can talk to a serial port, and you don't need any special hardware. In addition, because it is a **virtuall** serial port you don't even have to worry about cables.
The point to remember is that when you plug in one of these devices you are in essence adding in both the device AND the port to talk to it.
Mike...
Certified Professional Instructor
Certified LabVIEW Architect
LabVIEW Champion
"... after all, He's not a tame lion..."
Be thinking ahead and mark your dance card for NI Week 2015 now: TS 6139 - Object Oriented First Steps

Similar Messages

Problem related USB Virtual COM PORT using PDA module 8.2 on Windows CE

Hi,
I am working on tranferring my application developed on LV 8.2 to a Single-board computer(SBC) running Windows CE 5.0. I am using LV PDA module 8.2 to achieve this. My problem lies in finding the port number of the Virtual COM Port on the SBC. I need to connect a USB RF modem from Maxstream to this SBC and to talk to it using VISA. I have installed the required drivers from Maxstream for converting the USB port to a virtual COM PORT. What is a way to figure out the COM PORT number on a Windows CE device? For a PC, I can see the COM PORT in the device manager but I do not know how to find this in Windows CE. . Also, I have tried using "VISA Find resource" function ..it works on a PC but I do not get anything in the Win CE device.
Any help would be much appreciated.
-Shruti

Shruti,
Is there a way to verify that the Maxstream driver successfully provides you with this virtual COM port? Essentially, what I mean is that if you did not have LabVIEW on this device, how does Maxstream prove that their driver is functional? Does it come with additional software that would be used to configure the USB RF modem? In any case, we would want to try opening any terminal program (like the hyperterminal) to determine what ports are listed for communication. I hope this is useful for you. Please post back when you are able to give this a try. Thanks,
Mike D.

FTDI virtual com port driver (VCP) and Labview 2009 - random connection loss

Hi,
I am using an FTDI chip to go from USB to serial communication (FTDI Driver: 2.06.00). It seems to work at first but then after some time the connection gets lost ("connection for the given session has been lost" or "I/O error"). This happens in MAX as well as the built executable of the program I am running. Latest VISA drivers are installed - 4.6. I have tried flushing the buffer before and after communication with both visa clear and visa buffer flush vis. The lost connection seems to happen randomly.
I have seen other threads about this issue but they never reach a resolution. One thing i notice is that there are two FTDI devices in this system and only one fails, however when I unplug the working device the one that fails is able to connect again.
To sum up here are the system specs:
Windows XP SP3
FTDI 2.06.00 and older 2.04.02 drivers both fail.
2 FTDI devices on the system - they do get assigned different COM ports
Labview 2009 run-time
VISA 4.6 run-time
Thanks for any help.

We use Targus ACH63US Super Mini USB 2.0 4-Port Hub. It doesn't require external power but if you have a high power device you will have to plug the Targus hub into two usb ports on your pc (one provides power and the other does power and data transfer). They provide the usb Y cable to do this.

Commands to FTDI virtual COM port via NI VISA interfere with communication with FTDI chip using D2XX drivers

Hello!
I am trying to communicate with a DLP Design module DLP-USB1232H which uses an FTDI chip. My program uses the D2XX drivers. It works, but...
In another program that runs at the same time, I'm communicating with another instrument via a virtual COM port (VCP) that uses an FTDI UART. In this program, I use the VISA Serial Port functions. It works, too, but...
The first program has the capability of listing all the FTDI devices in the system prior to choosing the right one to communicate with. When the VCP is plugged in, it lists it (FT232R USB UART) along with the DLP-USB1232H and communication with the latter device works. But as soon as the second program sends a command through the VCP, the first program no longer "sees" any FTDI device. It stops working.
I have tried 2 different FTDI VCPs; one a standalone cable and the other built in to the instrument.
I’m using Windows 7 32-bit. My programs are both LabVIEW 8.5 executables.
Is VISA "taking over" the channel to the DLP-USB1232H? Does someone who understands NI's implementation of VISA have any ideas on why VISA is doing this? Or if something else is going on?
I'm also interested in workaround ideas. I've tried a "Prolific" VCP, but most drivers don't work and the one that doesn't give an error in Device Manager doesn't communicate with the instrument.
Cheers
Halden
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Halden,
It really sounds like you have a resource conflict. That occurs when two programs or parts of programs try to use the same device or port at the same time. Your Get Device Function probably tries to open a session with each port (as you increment the index). When it hits a port which is being used by the other driver, it cannot open the session and stops working? Have you examined the errors returned by each program? The VISA drivers will return an error when the port is in use. I do not know about your program or drivers, but I would expect some kind of error. Automatic error handling in LabVIEW will not catch errors from a driver if it does not translate them to LV error clusters. So do not count on automatic error handling, if you use it, to display all possible errors.
Lynn

How do I get LabVIEW to recognise a Gaussmeter as a device through COM port 1?

Hello everyone.
I am trying to do display the readings from a GM05 Gaussmeter in LabVIEW through COM Port 1 on my computer. I have installed the relevant drivers and MAX recognises that something is plugged in by listing COM 1, COM 2 and LPT 1 under devices, but it does not recognise the Gaussmeter as a device (it does not say 'device #' in brackets next to COM 1).. Therefore when I come to create a new Virtual Channel in the Data Neighbourhood I cannot select my COM port as a device. Can anyone help me to solve this problem, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Rob.

Unlike GPIB the com port or serial communication usually does not have an identify query, so it wont auto recognize the device. You should look in the manual of the device and send an appropriate string (there might be a self-test or identify string) and check for the correct response. Not all devices communicate both ways (some are talkers, some are listeners and many are both).
Paul
Paul Falkenstein
Coleman Technologies Inc.
CLA, CPI, AIA-Vision
Labview 4.0- 2013, RT, Vision, FPGA

COM-port problem with MSI BToes USB Dongle

I´ve had problem to get my Sony Ericsson T610 to work with my MSI BToes USB Dongle, so I tried to update my drivers. Now I have Microstar Bluetooth Software 1.4.2 build 10 but can´t get my Serial Port service to work. In Advanced configuration / Client Applications under "Bluetooth Serial Port" / "Properties", the only serial port I can choose is com0. Does anyone know how to fix this problem?
/Peter

Well, I think i´ve solved the problem. To get the com-ports to work I installed the software. Then I had a problem to get the phone to communicate with Sony Ericssons synk-software and outlook, but suddenly it worked and has worked since then. I have no idea what the problem was but now it works and I´m satisfied.
/Peter

How to find COM port for a specific USB device

I want to automatically find the COM port for a specific USB device. I use the VISA find resource function but I can't get the manufacturer's ID. VISA says the device doesn't have this information. The find resource function does narrow my search (and often finds the port depending on what other usb devices are connected). In the case where it finds multiple possible ports, can I safely send a message to each port to determine if it is the correct device? I know it will work for my purposes but I don't know if I am asking for trouble by sending messages to unidentified devices. Any thoughts on how I can identify my device port will be appreciated. Thank you - Dave F

You can do it using WMI. I have C# code I am supposed to convert into LabVIEW foing something similar to what you want to do. In my case, I am testing a USB device and need to know which port on the hub is which COM port (the device creates a virtual COM port for communication). Using WMI, you can find the hardware path to the device and know that COM10 is USB hub Port 1 for example. Unfortunately, I cannot share the C# code.
You can download the WMI Code Creator tool from Microsoft, which should help you tremendously find the proper method of getting your info.
You basically want to look at all the W32_USB devices for the specific device you are looking for. Once you have that, you can look for the COM Port associated with it. I don't know when I will get to coding this up in LabVIEW, but will report back when I do, assuming you haven't found the solution by then.

USB COM port read garbage Bytes

We have configured USB COM port at 625000 baud rate and reading the data continously. When the COM port is read for long time, see some garbage bytes inbetween valid data. Could somebody help what could be the problem?

1m is a trivial length, doubt that causing any problem. I am a little suspicious of the USB-Serial adapter. With an "old school" serial port it was generally hardware until the OS read the buffers where the incoming data was being "stored". Not sure with the USB version, suspect that there is little hardware buffering, and with anything in a non-realtime OS (Windows) a interrupt that puts the USB task in a lower priority and you could have and issue, although figure it would drop data rather than add it.
--- Pondering ---
Putnam
Certified LabVIEW Developer
Senior Test Engineer
Currently using LV 6.1-LabVIEW 2012, RT8.5
LabVIEW Champion

IPod not recognised by USB 2.0 port but is by USB 1.0, how come?

iPodnano_1GB,
My silly ipod nano isn't being recognised by my recently installed usb 2.0 port.
The port is working fine as it recognises my creative player just fine, and the pc is fine as my old usb 1.0 recognises the ipod just fine.
So how come the usb 2.0 isn't picking it up. It gives an error message of 'unrecognised usb storage device'.
Hope you can help, thanks.

For those who come here...try this forum: http://whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/697583.html
Many successful ideas given there.
I have now updated my registry mechanic (http://www.regcure.com/order/ta/registration/), and now trying a free driver detective software (http://www.liutilities.com/products/campaigns/affiliate/offer/infdump/rb/). I don't understand how to download .inf files from here...http://www.infdump.com/inf-files/U_1.html because when you press download the screen displays a text message of the contents of the file and doesn't download it at all...ho hum dee dum....

I am using the NI application note "Calling IVI-COM drivers from LabVIEW" I created an Automation Open and an Invoke Node, after wiring

the 2, the AN asked to right click the Invoke Node(this is step9) and choose initialize. However there is no intialize option on the pop up menu. Anything am I doing wrong? I am using Labview6 and I did add the "enableCustomInterface=True" in the INI-fileThank you for your help.
T Tall

the 2, the AN asked to right click the Invoke Node(this is step9) and choose initialize. However there is no intialize option on the pop up menu. Anything am I doing wrong? I am using Labview6 and I did add the "enableCustomInterface=True" in the INI-fileT Tall,
What's the number of the application note "Calling IVI-COM drivers from LabVIEW"? I'm unable to find what you're looking at.
Thanks,
--Bankim

List of available com ports on Labview based on Vista

Hi,
Labview 8.5 on Vista is behaving different to the one on XP, in terms of showing a list of available COM ports on the drop down Port Resource name.
What is the actual reason and can it be rectified?

Can you post a couple of screen shots of what you mean?
(Preferably .png or .jpg files. Not .bmp's. And not screenshots embedded in a word document please.)
Message Edited by Ravens Fan on 03-09-2009 07:44 PM

Problem with Com port

Hi guys. I have written a driver to communicate with a COM port (FTDI serial adapter). On the pc from which I'm writing now (windows XP) it works properly, but when I try to use the same driver on another pc (win 7) labview see the port but isn't able to comunicate . I tried also to use a software like Tera Term to see if the com works and trying the echo it works good...so I don't understand where the problem is on this w7 pc...
should I install some labview drivers on the w7 pc? I have already installed
NI run time installer
NI max
NI Visa run time

NI Serial won't help (its for NI serial cards not 3rd party USB-Serial bridges)
LabVIEW sees the VCP in Win7 but does not communicate: Works on XP: "Something" happens with Echo on from teraterm.
I'l guess either:
Wrong serial cable or settings and you are fooling yourself with the tereterm app and are seeing the echo only. With Echo on any character sent should be doubled.
Outdated FTDI Driver that does not support Win7.
Jeff

VISA "Find" not seeing COM port but Win7 sees it

Allo. I'm trying to communicate via virtual com ports with a device with an FTDI chip. The device with the FTDI chip has both a USB type B port as well as a 9 pin dsub port, and I need to verify both ports work.
I'm using a laptop with Windows 7 and my program is in LV 2010. I have a Sabrent USB to serial cable to test the dsub port, and a standard USB cable to test the other port. I've installed the latest FTDI drivers and when I plug in both cables and look under Windows Device Manager, I will see both of them under unique COM port settings (usually COM4 and COM 5). So Windows sees and recognizes both virtual COM ports, and no yellow warnings.
However when I run the "VISA Find" function in LabView, it only sees COM5 (the Sabrent serial cable) but not the COM port using the USB type B cable. I send the results of the "VISA find" to a display and it will show other ports, like the parallel port, so I know it's seeing more than one port.
Any ideas why Windows can see the two COM ports but the "VISA Find" function can only see one? My guess is there's something with the FTDI driver set up.
Amateur programmer for over 10 years!

Yes, but its not for the faint of heart!
You can probably do what you want by using the refresh "F5" in MAX or add this token
[VISA-CONFIG]
ShowRegisteredDevOnly = 0
to C:\ProgramData\National Instruments\NIvisa\visaconfig.ini
Another thing to try is to recover the unused COM Port numbers each time you change the device. By default Windows will "Save" those previously connected COM port numbers an if it sees the device again it will re-assign the old number. This means that the COM number keeps getting larger and larger. At some point the PC's BIOS will say that's rediculous and you will experience trouble.
Programatically you could call
C:\Program Files\National Instruments\NI-Serial\NiPortConfig.exe to launch the same utility. there is probably even and unpublished switch to click just that one big button for you but I can't find it.
It looks like you may be running into some part of this known issue
Jeff

Usb to serial port converter in lenova g560

hi this is madhan. i m using lenova g560 ideapad. there is no serial port in my laptop. For my project i need a serial port. i heard tat in market USB to serial port converters are available. Does Lenova g560 support this change?? If so is there any driver to make support to serial port?????????

If you buy a Serial-USB interface/cable you won't have any problem. Usually this accesory comes with drivers. If you have Windows 7, mayte it will detect all automaticaly.
Regards.
IPnaSh
First Spanish Community Guru - Colaborador ad honorem

HyperTerminal sees a COM port but VISA does not

It should not be possible that HyperTerminal sees a COM port but VISA does not. Does anyone know why or have any ideas?
Here's some more info: I wrote a LabView (LV) program and deployed it (via the Application Builder) to some of our production department's PCs (some Windows XP and some Windows 7). We use it to set up products we design and manufacture through our device's USB serial port. The USB port is actually a virtual COM port (VCP) - a USB to Serial converter or "bridge". We have a custom driver for our device and since each device's USB bridge chip is programmed with a different serial number, every time we connect a new device to the PC the installer runs and assigns a new COM port number. This is so our customers can use multiple devices on a PC. Fine. On one of our production PC's we were close to COM900 ports (HyperTerminal sees only up to COM256) when suddenly Win7 would not allow any more. We were able to uninstall orphaned (non-present) COM ports from DeviceManager ("DM") by starting it from a command console (DOS window) with a special command-line switch, "set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1" then "start devmgmt.msc" (I have this in a batch file). In DM View menu you can "Show hidden devices" and uninstall them as if they were connected. I've also tried uninstalling them the normal way when the device was actually connected. Either way, sometimes, not always, depending on the COM port number, after reusing that port number by installing a new device which picks up that old, freed-up number, LV VISA doesn't see it. In other words, when "Refresh" is clicked in the COM port VISA list box, any new devices installed should be and normally are seen. (Refresh is not needed if the application is started after the device's driver is installed. It is only need if the LV application is open with the new device is added.) However, HyperTerminal does see it and lists it in the Properties screen, the "Connect using..." list box. And the port works with HyperTerminal. (Of course we've tried rebooting after uninstalling and/or reinstalling the device, with the same results.)
When I've spoken to the NI Applications Engineers in the past about serial port issues (not about this problem) they have confirmed that if HyperTerminal can see the port then NI VISA should also see it. This is crazy. I am posting this in hope that someone can shed some light on this problem.
Thank you. -Ed

Good catch. Yes, we're using the Silicon Labs CP2102 and have created a "custom driver" installation package. Our new PCBs have a factory-programmed chip, so the PC reuses that COM port (COM3 on that PC). The problem is when we we re-program the CP2102 (setIDs exe) with our PID, and device strings (including the S/N), the PC runs our installer and assigns the next COM port number. I was hoping that maybe it would go up to 64K or something! Anyway, it surpassed COM256 but we ran into this problem when almost up to COM900.)
There is a registry entry for each SN device, which shows the assigned port. If we delete the key with regedit, the COM port database (don't know the file name) still has the port number. That's where Device Manager comes in. It seems to allow us to manually delete the ports, but it would take quite a while to delete 900. (I was trying to make a batch file for DevCon, but couldn't get it to see the HW ID of the devices in need of deletion.) So we tried manually deleting a few. After doing that Device Manager shows that Windows (and HyperTerminal) can reuse the port number when a new device (new SN) is installed, but, as you know from this post, VISA cannot see unless I manually add it in MAX.
I can't see how it has anything to do with the Silicon Labs driver. I might have to delete ALL of MY devices, then uninstall the driver files, reboot, then reinstall, as you suggested with the SiLabs driver. However, I don't see how VISA will now see these changes. VISA must have it's own database. That's what I thought deleting the ports in MAX would clear out, like a fresh install, but apparently not.
I've been through Silicon Labs' tech support on other issues and they've been able to help on some. I could run this by them.
BTW, have you noticed that Silicon Labs' chip and driver, while faster than NI's own "bridge" or serial-USB converter (I returned it because at $100 it's performance was worse than a $20 converter you can buy in Staples), is substantially slower than a real serial port? For example, our device can transmit 250 readings per second (a 12 byte string). A real serial port used with my LabView program can keep up, i.e.., graph & tabulate at that rate, but with a VCP we only get about 70 RPS. Same code. Can't figure this one out. They say the've tested the driver to 900 KB claimed. We're using 115KB here. Anyway, the VCP driver makes it look like a COM port which LV thinks it is. Why is it slower than a real port when the USB should be able to work almost 10 times faster than I'm using it (up to 1024 bytes per mSec per the full-speed USB spec, which SiLabs claims they verified)?
Anyway, I appreciate your help. Thanks! -Ed

USB TO COM port drivers in LabVIEW..

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for