Actions
Forum Thread Details
  • State Not Answered
  • Replies 4 replies
  • Subscribers 276 subscribers
  • Views 471 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Related
See a helpful answer?

Be sure to click 'more' and select 'suggest as answer'!

If you're the thread creator, be sure to click 'more' then 'Verify as Answer'!

Establishment of PC Communication with Keysight E36731A Battery Emulator via MATLAB/Python

Abdul

Dear Expert Community Members,

I am currently working on a project where I need to establish  Remote communication between a PC and the Keysight E36731A Battery Emulator, using either MATLAB or Python. Being a Mechanical Engineer and having limited background in coding , I’m reaching out to see if anyone in the community has worked on a similar project or has resources that could help speed up the process.

If anyone has already developed the full code to communicate remotely with the emulator or can point me to helpful documentation or resources, I would greatly appreciate your support!

Thank you in advance for your time and assistance.

Regards
Abdul

  • 0

    The E36731A is designed to be used with

     https://www.keysight.com/us/en/product/PW9253A/pathwave-advanced-battery-test-and-emulation.html

    Do you have this software available to you, and are you planning to use it.

    Communicating with Keysight instruments using SCPI over Ethernet is reasonably easy in Python or MATLAB. It's easier in MATLAB if you use the Instrument Control Toolbox.

    But how hard the code will get depends on what you want to do - it is very unlikely that you will find anyone with some handy free code that does just what you want !

    I recently considered buying one of these instruments but bought a similar instrument from elsewhere so I can't give you detailed info about the E36731A . There are a couple of reviews on E14 about the E36731A which are worth reading.

    If you could explain in more detail what you are trying to do I could (maybe) give better advice.

    MK

  • 0 in reply to michaelkellett

    Thanks, Michael, for your prompt response.

    Yes, we already have the software installed on the lab desktop PC, and it will be used on 1 device only.

    My main goal is to establish remote communication with the emulator from a PC and be able to read and write all the commands, similar to how it’s done using the software.

    Initially, I don't have to create advanced code, but my first step is to ensure that the communication is successfully established between the instrument and the PC. Once that is in place, I can focus on sending a couple of read and write commands.

    Regarding MATLAB I already installed Instrument tool box, my main problem is the starting point of the code that I can use for remote communication with the instrument?

    Looking forward to your reply !
    Abdul

  • 0 in reply to Abdul

    The basic principle is simple enough.

    You need the Keysight E36731A Programming Guide, which describes all the commands that the instrument supports.

    You need the MATLAB documentation so you can send  commands to the instrument via TCP-IP and receive replies.

    Start with something simple like *IDN?

    You will need to study the documentation - this will take time.

    There are various schemes which aim to hide the basic raw SCPI interface like VISA, IVI, LXI etc. If you want to use them you will need more study - some people like them - I find them to be more trouble than they are worth.

    As far as I can see the Pathwave software is not capable of being remote controlled so you will need to control the E36731A directly  - it will be  a LOT of work to replicate the features of the Keysight software. (This is why we spent our hard earned cash on a different instrument !!)

    AT the risk of appearing slightly rude I shall respectfully suggest that  bearing in mind:

    Abdul said:
    Being a Mechanical Engineer and having limited background in coding

    you should consider getting someone with more experience on board with your project. A mechanical engineer with little coding experience trying to write battery emulation code doesn't look a good fit.

    If you could explain in more detail what you are trying to get the E36731A to do I might be able to help you better (for example - simulate a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery power source for a 500W hand saw) .

    MK

  • 0 in reply to michaelkellett

    From the road tests, I learned that not all functionality is available without licensed emulator software. That the public (scpi) API doesn't allow access to everything.