Datasheet

3
Full Assurance for
Interoperability
The USB/GPIB Interface comes with
the Keysight I/O Libraries Suite that
includes VISA and SICL. VISA enables
interoperability among different instru-
ment and software vendors. The IO
Libraries Suite also provides robust
instrument control and works with the
software development of your choice.
Standard GPIB functionality is provided
by implementing the IEEE 488.1 and
IEEE 488.2 specifications. These spec-
ifications provide defined mechanical
and electrical characteristics, and a
basic set of instrument commands and
common data formats.
Using industry standards gives you
the assurance and confidence that
your programs will work with multiple
hardware and software vendors, and
migrate to new standards in the future.
Standard Computer IO
In the past, RS-232 and GPIB have
been the primary interfaces used for
connecting instruments to PCs in
test and measurement applications.
Although RS-232 offers a low-cost
solution, RS-232’s lower baud rate and
connection limitations are cumbersome
and too slow for many of today’s
measurement needs.
GPIB has provided a high performance,
cost effective, and also reliable solution
for more than 25 years. Today, however,
computers have fewer available IO
slots, leaving engineers with little
options but to use more expensive
solutions such as industrial PCs.
With USB and LAN built into most of
today’s PCs, standard computer IO has
evolved into a solution that is accept-
able for automation and control of test
and measurement instruments.
Early USB devices that were initially
developed for connecting PCs to
peripherals such as keyboard, mouse
and so forth offered little bandwidth.
Today, USB offers bandwidths up to 12
Mbits/s for USB 1.1 and 480 Mbits/s
for USB 2.0. The 82357B USB/GPIB
Interface runs at USB 2.0.
The 82357B USB/GPIB Interface uses
a thin, flexible, high-quality USB cable
that is USB 1.1 and 2.0 compliant. This
cable is shielded and specified to 1,500
insertions, ensuring a durable connec-
tion and reliable data transfer.
The 82357B is capable of transfer rates
over 1.15 MB/s with large block trans-
fers. The performance is better than
typical GPIB cards for block sizes over
32KB. Small block transfers are limited
by the USB implementation and the
overhead associated with setting up
the transfer. However, since instrument
setup time can dominate the overall
test time, this impact may be minimal.
If small block transfer performance
is critical, then you may consider the
Keysight 82350A PCI GPIB interface.
Make the Connection
You may connect directly to one instru-
ment with no additional GPIB cables
required with the 82357B USB/GPIB
Interface.
For multiple instruments connection,
use a daisy chain or star configuration
with your GPIB instruments using
standard GPIB cables. Once the
instruments are connected, connect
the USB/GPIB Interface as the last
connection on one of the instruments.
One 82357B USB/GPIB Interface
supports up to 14 GPIB instruments.
Multiple 82357B USB/GPIB Interfaces
can be connected to improve system
performance.
Another additional significant feature
would be the parallel polling capability
of the 82357B USB/GPIB Interface.
This allows you to easily check up
to eight individual devices at once,
corresponding to the number of data
lines on the GPIB.