Standard Operating Procedures to Upgrade the Device Computer

I like to use markdown to take these notes

NOTE: You do not want to just upgrade the device computer without first considering upgrading the Monochromater, and secondly validating that all the little devices hanging arround work. A new computer will hit you at roughly $1200, it would be a shame if the new computer did not work with the old equipment.

NOTE: Additionally, you could just upgrade the current computer with new hardware, more ram, and new versions of windows. Unless you let the hardware get really old... do not buy all new hardware.

NOTE: You may also be tempted to think this process is easy. It is not. It is a pain and will take allot of time to get everything working. You will need to install drivers, software, and configure the software to work with the devices. You will need to test the devices to ensure they are working. You will need to test the software to ensure it is working. You will need to test the computer to ensure it is working. You will need to make devices to test the various parts of the communication system. And there will be bugs... lots of bugs.

Good Luck & Please email [email protected] if you need help...

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Igor Pro Installation

On the current computer, there are a number of locations that Igor Pro looks to to find the various files that it needs to run your macros. You will need to copy these files to the new computer. This is a very straight forward process, but it is important that you do not miss any files. If you do, the macros will not work.

These files come in three flavors:

1. Procedure Files
2. XOP Files
3. Documentation Files

Procedure Files

Procedure files need to be copied to the new computer under either the Igor Procedures directory, or the User Procedures directory. You can just copy both directories to the new computer, and make sure you update the Igor Pro version number in the directory name.

XOP Files

Similar to the procedure files, XOP files need to be copied to the new computer in the location you found them on the old computer.

Documentation Files

The same thing goes for the documentation files. Copy them to the new computer in the location you found them on the old computer.

Enviroment Variables

Igor Pro does not have simple functions to parse enviroment variables loaded in a .env file. This is the standard process in other languages, but not in Igor Pro. Thus there are a number of repeaded string variables in Igor Pro that need to be updated.

Please Consider New Methods!

Enviroment Variables Needed

There are three ways devices will talk to the device computer.

1. NI VISA - Com Port & USB & GPIB
2. NI VISA - IP
3. Special Mono USB Com Port

NI VISA - Com Port & USB & GPIB

These are most of your devices. You need to first install the NI VISA software. Plug in one important device that is connected though a usb, or GPIB (Start with the lock in). Open the NI MAX software and see if the device is recognized. If it is not recognized, you need to install the drivers for the device. If the device is recognized, it will display a Instrument Descriptor, and allow you to communicate with the device. Validate that you can communicate with the device though the NI MAX software using the VISA test panel. To test you can communicate with the device, you will want to query the device using the interogate command *IDN?. It will respond with a string that contains the device name, model, and serial number. If you do not get a response, the device is not connected, not working, the drivers are not installed, or the device has no interogation response.

If you can communicate with the device, write down the Instrument Descriptor. This is a string that is used to communicate with the device though the NI VISA interface. Once you have this string, you can either toss it into the .env file, or you can place it in the code at every location that needs to communicate with the device.

NI VISA - IP

There are like two devices that communicate over IP (Though these devices are of the most importance). Only tackle these devices after you have ensured that the NI VISA software is installed and working, and probably after you have gotten the Com Port & USB & GPIB devices working.

NI VISA IP devices are a bit more complicated. You will need to know the IP address of the device, and the port that the device is listening on. To do this, you will need to look though the devices that are connected to the computer over a local area network. You can do this by opening the terminal and typing

arp -a

This will list all the devices that are connected to the computer. You will need to look for the devices that are connected on the same network as the device computer. Once you have the IP address of the device, you can use the NI MAX software to setup the IP connection by adding a new device with the proper IP address. You can then test the connection by selecting the test connection button. If the connection is successful, you can then communicate with the device using the VISA test panel. Once more you will want to query the device using the interogate command *IDN?. It will respond with a string that contains the device name, model, and serial number. If you do not get a response, the device is not connected, not working, the drivers are not installed, or the device has no interogation response.

For a compleate guide on updating the ip addresses, please check out the wiki.

Once you have the IP address of the device, NI VISA will create a string that is used to communicate with the device though the NI VISA interface. This string is called the Instrument Descriptor. Once you have this string, you can either toss it into the .env file, or you can place it in the code at every location that needs to communicate with the device.

Special Mono Com Port

The monochromater is a special device that communicates over a TCP/SOCKET connection. Before you can communicate with the monochromater, you will need to insure that all other devices are working reliably, as there is currently (for good reasons) no way to atomaticly test the monochromater connection.

To communicate with the monochromater, you will need to achieve the following landmarks:

1. Install the monochromater drivers
2. Install the monochromater software
3. Ensure the monochromater software can communicate with the monochromater and set wavelengths, gratings, and filters.
4. Transfer the monochromater .NET communication code to the device computer
5. Update all places in the code that communicate with the monochromater to correctly point to this .NET code.

Each of these can be a pain, and will take time to get working.

Install the monochromater drivers

You will need to locate the drivers for the monochromater. DO NOT TRUST THE FILDERS IN THIS DIRECTORY! They are old, may not work, or may not work for the monochromater that we have. PLEASE UPDATE THE FOLDERS IN THIS DIRECTORY WITH THE LATEST DRIVERS FROM THE MONOCHROMATER MANUFACTURER! The current monochromater is the.

Model: Oriel Cornerstone 130 1/8 m Monochromater.

You will need to install the drivers using the windows device manager. Pointing to the drivers in your install directory. Once the drivers are installed, you will see a new USB device in the device manager that named something like Oriel Cornerstone 130 1/8 m Monochromater. You next need to test the connection because you may have installed the wrong drivers. and the device will not work.

Install the monochromater software

On the same website there will be a software download. Make sure to download that software and install it. You will need to install both

• Mono Control Utility
• Mono Terminal Utility

Once these are installed, restart the computer. Plug in the monochromater and turn on the monochromater. Once you flip the switch, the monochromater will make some strange noises, and the computer will recognize the device. If it does not... something is wrong... email me at [email protected].

Ensure the monochromater software can communicate with the monochromater

Ensure the mono is plugged in and turned on. Open the Mono Control Utility and see if you can change the wavelength, and filter. If you can, the monochromater is working. If you can not, the monochromater is not working.

Close the Mono Control Utility and open the Mono Terminal Utility. You will need now want to send the commands "WAVE?" and "GRAT?" to the monochromater. If you get a response, the monochromater is working. If you do not get a response, the monochromater is not working.

Transfer the monochromater .NET communication code to the device computer

You will need to copy the .NET code that igor runs to interface with the Mono. This code is located under the WaveMetrics directory in the Documents folder. It will be labeled something like IgorMonoControl. You will need to copy this directory to the new device computer. Once you have copied it, do not dare touch the code. It is very fragile and will break if you look at it wrong. It was compiled in a very specific way, using a very specific version of visual studio, and a very specific version of the .NET framework. If you need to change the code, you will need to recompile. For more information on how to do this, or on things to change, check out the wiki

Igor runs this code by running a script that is located in the bin of the IgorMonoControl directory. Igor cannot run executables, but can run scripts. You need to edit the start.bat file to point to the correct location of the IgorMonoControl.exe file. Once you have done this, you can run the start.bat file and it will start the .NET code. This should bring up a terminal window displaying information about the status of a connection to the monochromater, and to igor. If you do not see this, the code is not working.

Update all places in the code that communicate with the monochromater to correctly point to this .NET code

You will need to update all the places in the code that communicate with the monochromater to point to this start.bat file. You can do this either by updating the code to point to the start.bat file, or by creating the .env file to follow the single source of truth pattern.