GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACING

BUS
IEEE-488 (HP-IB)
GPIB

• The GPIB or General Purpose Interface Bus or IEEE 488 bus is still one of the more
popular and versatile interface standards available today.
• GPIB is widely used for enabling electronics test equipment to be controlled remotely,
although it was also used in a many other applications including general computer
communications
• It can be used to control a host of test instruments: everything from digital multimeters
and signal generators of all sorts to switching matrices, spectrum analyzers, vibration
meters
GPIB ORIGINS

• Hewlett Packard Interface Bus as it was originally introduced by HP for

controlling their electronics test equipment.
• he Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers in the U.S.A. have given it
their specification number 488 in 1978, and as a result it is sometimes
referred to as the IEEE 488 bus or IEEE488 bus.
GPIB CONCEPTS

• The GPIB or IEEE 488 bus is a very flexible system, allowing data to flow between
any of the instruments on the bus, at a speed suitable for the slowest active
instrument.
• Up to fifteen instruments may be connected together with a maximum bus length not
exceeding 20 m.
• It is possible to purchase GPIB cards to incorporate into computers that do not have
the interface fitted.
• GPIB cards are relatively cheap, this makes the inclusion of a GPIB card into the
system a very cost effect method of installing it.
• Devices have a unique address on the bus. Test instruments are allocated addresses
in the range 0 to 30, and no two instruments on the same bus are allowed to have
the same address.
• In HPIB protocol, transfers utilize three wire handshaking system. The maximum
data rate achievable is around 1 Mbyte per second, but this is always governed
by the speed of the slowest device.
• A later enhancement often referred to as HS-488 relaxes the handshaking
conditions and enables data rates up to about 8 Mbytes / second.
• The connector used for the IEEE 488 bus is standardized as a 24-way Amphenol 57
series type.
• The IEEE 488 or GPIB connector is very similar in format to those that were used for
parallel printer ports on PCs although the type used for the GPIB has the
advantage it has been changed so that several connectors can be piggy-backed.
Within IEEE 488, the equipment on the bus falls into three categories, although items can fulfil
more than one function:
• Controller: The controller is the entity that controls the operation of the bus. It is usually a
computer and it signals that instruments are to perform the various functions. The GPIB
controller also ensures that no conflicts occur on the bus. If two talkers tried to talk at the same
time then data would become corrupted and the operation of the whole system would be
seriously impaired. It is possible for multiple controllers to share the same bus but only one can
act as a controller at any particular time.
• Listener: A listener is an entity connected to the bus that accepts instructions from the bus. An
example of a listener is an item such as a printer that only accepts data from the bus. It could
also be a test instrument such as a power supply or switching matrix that does not take
measurements.
• Talker: This is an entity on the bus that issues instructions or data onto the bus.
GPIB PARAMETERS SUMMARY
GPIB PIN DIAGRAM
GPIB OPERATION
• The operation of GPIB is based around the handshaking protocol. Three lines, DAV
(Data Valid), NDAC (Not Data Accepted), and NRFD (Not Ready For Data), control
this.
• All the listeners on the bus use the NRFD line to indicate their state of readiness to
accept data.
• Data is placed onto the data lines by the talker and once this has settled, the DAV
line is pulled low. This signals to all the listeners that they are able to read the data
that is present.
• During this operation the NDAC line will be held low by all the active listeners, i.e.
those which have been instructed to receive the data.
• When the last device removes its hold, the level of the line will rise and the
talker will know that all the data has been accepted and the next byte of
data can be transferred.
• Attention, ATN line: One of the most important lines is the ATN (Attention) line. Using
this the controller is able to signal whether the data to be placed onto the data lines
is control information or data.
• Interface Clear, IFC: The IFC line is used by the controller to reset the bus and place it
into its quiescent state.
• Remote Enable, REN: Remote enable (REN) is a function that is used by the controller
to set instruments on the bus to local.
• End or Identify, EOI: End or Identify (EOI) is an optional GPIB function used to signify
the end of a multiple byte data transfer.
• Service Request, SRQ: Any device fitted with this function can pull the service request
line low. When this happens it indicates that it wants to interrupt the current activities
so that attention can be given to a particular event.
ADVANTAGES
• Simple & standard hardware interface
• Interface present on many bench instruments
• Rugged connectors & connectors used (although some insulation displacement
cables appear occasionally).
• Possible to connect multiple instruments to a single controller
DISADVANTAGES
• Bulky connectors
• Cable reliability poor - often as a result of the bulky cables.
• Low bandwidth - slow compared to more modern interfaces
• Basic IEEE 422 does not mandate a command language (SCPI used in later
implementations but not included on all instruments.