DH Instruments PPC4, Operation And Maintenance Manual

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PPC4™ OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE MANUAL
© 2009 DH Instruments, a Fluke Company Page 136
Enter a PPC4 command into the Send String field and choose [Query] or
[Write] based on the command entered and the PPC4 command format.
While communicating in Enhanced mode with IEEE-488, no response is
provided by the PPC4 unless a “?” is included with the command. Attempting
to read a response when a “?” is not included will yield an interface error. If a
“?” is included and a response is not read, future commands will not respond
properly. For this reason, make sure to use the [Read] button if [Write] was
used to send a query form command
6.3.3 USB
The PPC4 can be connected to a PC via USB (Universal Serial Bus) through the port on the
front of the instrument. If the PPC4 is equipped with the optional Ethernet module (see 6.3.4),
the connection can be established via the secondary USB port on the back of the unit. Do not
connect to both USB ports simultaneously. To connect the PPC4 to the PC use a standard
USB device cable (included with the hardware). Connect the USB-B plug into the PPC4 USB
socket and the USB-A plug to an available PC USB jack. It is not recommended to operate a
PPC4 via legacy USB 1.x ports. Expansion cards are available to upgrade older PCs to USB
2.0. It is also not recommended to utilize USB extension cords. USB communication is
supported only through PPC4 Cockpit and the PPC4 API (Application Programming
Interface). Refer to the PPC4 API documentation on how to access the PPC4 programatically.
To test USB communications run PPC4 Cockpit or use commercially available 3
rd
party tools.
Note
PPC4 API documentation is available at www.dhinstruments.com in the
software section as well as on the local PC as part of the PPC Cockpit
installation at c:\DHI\help\ppc4api.chm.
6.3.4 Ethernet (Optional)
The optional PPC4 Ethernet interface (8P8C modular connector socket) is located on the rear
panel, paired with a secondary USB connector. Connect the PPC4 to a network switch via a
standard CAT5 or CAT6 network (patch) cable. The PPC4 communicates with the PC via the
Ethernet module using UDP/IP (User Datagram Protocol/Internet Protocol) on port 2362
(fixed). The IP address of the PPC4 can be assigned statically (typed in) or dynamically via
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) on your LAN (Local Area Network). It might be
necessary to acquire special permission from your IT department in order to use static IP
addresses on a corporate network. It is possible to directly connect the PPC4 to a PC using a
network (patch) cable, bypassing a network. For direct connect enter static IP addresses on
both the PPC4 LAN setup screen and the PC network adapter (refer to Windows
documentation). To test communications via UDP use commercially available 3
rd
party tools.