Test and Measurement applications often require display of data in a graphical format and T&M engineers are familiar with display elements called “charts” and “graphs”. These are everywhere from instrument displays to software GUIs. So when it’s time to use C# to create a custom application, one expects nice and easy to use display elements, […]
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Fixing HAXM kernel Error in Android Studio
This article addresses the following errors related to Android Studio and Hardware Accelerated Execution Manager (HAXM) installation. Error: x86 emulation currently requires hardware acceleration! Please ensure Intel HAXM is properly installed and usable. CPU acceleration status: HAX kernel module is not installed! This computer meets the requirements for HAXM, but Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x) is […]
Getting up and running with Android Studio
Google’s Android Studio is a relatively new IDE (the previous preferred programming environment being Eclipse with ADT bundle). If you’ve set up Eclipse on your PC before, you’ll agree that Android Studio is much easier to install and configure compared to Eclipse+ADT Bundle. For one, the number of components required before you can start writing […]
Difference between dB, dBm, dBW and dBc
In RF and microwave measurements, it is common to use units such as dB, dBm, dBc and dBW. These terms can appear confusing but are actually pretty straightforward to understand. In this short article we’ll cover the difference between these terms and settle this confusion for good! 1. dB or Decibel In short, dB is […]
Virtual Instrument Software Architecture (VISA): Basics and Interoperability
The Basics VISA stands for Virtual Instrument Software Architecture. No surprises here. But let’s try to understand what it is and why it’s talked about so much in Test and Measurement circles. To put it simply, VISA is a Test and Measurement (T&M) standard for enabling communication between an application and an instrument. This essentially […]
Instrument Control with MATLAB
MATLAB can be used for programming and instrument control, in addition to its typical applications such as signal processing and mathematical calculations. The ability to connect to an instrument from within a script allows a user to extend the processing capabilities of MATLAB directly to data retrieved from an instrument. Similarly, generated or processed data […]
Using Visual Studio for Instrument Programming [Updated for VS 2012]
This post describes how to use Visual Studio 2012 to program and control a measurement instrument. Programming language used is C# and we have used the IVI VISA interop library for communication. 1. Start by creating a new project. You can create a Windows Forms Application or a Console Application 2. Add Reference to the […]
Using Python for Instrument Control
Instrument control via any programming language requires commands to be sent out to the instrument from the VISA layer. pyVISA is one such software package that enables Python communication with VISA layer and hence with the instrument, making the job of the programmer relatively more easy. Here are the installation steps required before we talk […]
Using Visual Studio 2010 for Instrument Programming
[NOTE: If you are using Visual Studio 2012, please see the updated post] Visual Studio is one of the most common platforms for programming in various languages including C/C++, C# and VB. This article highlights how C/C++ and C# can be used for instrument control, should you choose to program in any of these languages. […]