Mac compatible USB-GPIB controllers released

National Instruments has introduced a Mac-compatible USB-GPIB controller, which it claims as an industry first, and a low-profile PCI Express GPIB controller.

With the NI USB-GPIB-HS, Mac users now can control their standalone instruments from Mac laptops and desktops with the flexibility of a portable USB-GPIB interface. The USB-GPIB-HS controller supports both PowerPC and Intel-based Macintosh laptops and desktops and is compatible with the Mac OS X operating system.

In addition, NI introduced the smaller PCIe-GPIB/Low-Profile (LP) controller for Windows Vista/XP/2000, Mac OS X, Linux and Solaris operating systems. It uses approximately 75 percent less power and is manufactured using 63 percent less printed-circuit-board (PCB) material than previous models. The PCIe-GPIB/LP maintains advanced transfer rates of &gtr;1.5 MB/s (IEEE 488.1) and &gtr;7.9 MB/s (HS488) for maximum performance.

Both the USB-GPIB-HS and the PCIe-GPIB/LP controllers can be programmed with the LabVIEW graphical system design platform, the NI LabWindows/CVI ANSI C integrated development environment and NI Measurement Studio software for Microsoft Visual Studio.

Pricing: Both controllers are priced from $549.
Product information: GPIB controllers

NI PCIe-GPIB/LP (Low Profile)
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The NI PCIe-GPIB/LP (low profile) is a high-performance, plug-and-play IEEE 488 interface for PCs and workstations equipped with low-profile PCI Express expansion slots. The PCIe-GPIB/LP is functionally equivalent to the NI PCIe-GPIB, and is shipped with NI-488.2 for Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit)/XP/2000.

High-Performance GPIB Controller for Low-Profile PCI Express

• PCI Express 1.0a compatibility
• NI-488.2 software for Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit)/XP/2000
• TNT ASIC provides maximum IEEE 488.2 performance
• Transfer rates of >1.5MB/s (IEEE 488.1) and >7.9MB/s (HS488)

Ni Gpib-usb-hs
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The compact NI GPIB-USB-HS transforms any computer with a USB port into a full-function, plug-and-play IEEE 488.2 controller for up to 14 programmable GPIB instruments. The GPIB-USB-HS takes advantage of Hi-Speed USB to provide superior performance of up to 1.8 MB/s with the standard IEEE 488 handshake and 7.2 MB/s with the high-speed IEEE 488 handshake (HS488). The small size and light weight of the GPIB-USB-HS make it ideal for portable applications using a laptop computer or other applications where the computer has no available internal I/O slots. The RoHS-compliant GPIB-USB-HS is shipped with NI-488.2 for Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit)/XP/2000/Me/98, Mac OS X, or Linux.


GPIB Controller for Hi-Speed USB

• IEEE 488.1 transfer rates up to 1.8 MB/s (standard) and 7.2 MB/s (HS488)
• Hi-Speed USB compliance; compatibility with USB 1.x full-speed ports
• No GPIB cable requirement for instrument connection; plug-and-play installation and configuration
• NI-488.2 for Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit)/XP/2000/Me/98, Mac OS X, and Linux®
• RoHS compliance; complete IEEE 488.2 compatibility
• Drop-in replacement for the NI GPIB-USB-B