IEEE-488 GPIB-to-USB interface controller is cost-effective

Paul Boughton
Adlink Technology is releasing the USB-3488A, a cost-effective IEEE-488 GPIB-to-USB interface controller. The USB-3488A is fully compatible with IEEE 488.1 and IEEE 488.2 and provides the benefits of plug-and-play USB connection for simple direct connection of GPIB instruments to a laptop computer.

The USB-3488A was developed using Adlink's intellectual property in FPGA development, which incorporates the GPIB controller and provides reliable GPIB bus control capability while supporting a transfer rate of greater than 1.2MB/s. The USB-3488A is also fully compatible with NI-488.2 software and supports industry-standard VISA I/O libraries software so that existing GPIB applications can be used without modification. The USB-3488A enables simple control thousands of standalone GPIB instruments for a wide variety of measurement applications.

Catherine Wu, senior director of Adlink's measurement and automation product segment, comments: "Adlink's expertise in PCI and PXI interface cards was leveraged when developing the newly designed GPIB interface for USB. The USB-3488A provides the easiest GPIB connection to transform any computer with an USB port into a full-function, IEEE 488.2 compatible bus controller. We have performed extensive compatibility testing with various mainstream instruments on the market to ensure worry-free use by our customers."

The USB-3488A is both compact in size 81 x 61 x 28mm (3.2 x 2.4 x 1.1inches) and lightweight (180g). A built-in 2m USB cable supplies power and eliminates the need for external GPIB cables. The USB-3488A has also passed vibration tests of 1 'g' while in operation and 2.5 'g' while not operating.

For more information, visit www.adlinktech.com/GPIB

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