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| Resource | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Quick Start Guide | First-time setup, cable connections, LED states, first GPIB command |
| User Manual | Complete reference — all operating modes, settings, API, troubleshooting appendix |
192.168.3.2 has a built-in GPIB console. If you can send *IDN? there and get a response, the hardware is working — the issue is on the software side.
A running FAQ of known quirks and interoperability details. Click a question to expand it.
This is a known interaction between Keysight VISA and USBTMC-mode instruments.
Keysight VISA — like NI-VISA — runs a background service that automatically detects new instruments and sends each one an *IDN? query to identify it. USBTMC devices can report, via their USB descriptor, whether they are IEEE 488.2 compliant and whether they support SCPI. When both are set to "not supported," a detection service is expected to skip the automatic query — but Keysight VISA currently queries these instruments anyway.
On instruments that don't support *IDN?, this triggers exactly the behaviour you're seeing: a BEEP and/or a queued error on the instrument, and it may also switch it into remote mode — even though you never sent that command yourself. We've reported this behaviour to Keysight; understandably, their priority is Keysight-branded instruments, so a broader fix may take a while.
Workaround: GPIBEE has a setting to suppress *IDN? writes to instruments — only enable it if you're actually affected by this. Keysight VISA does offer its own GUI option to disable automatic *IDN? queries during instrument detection, but that option is only available for VXI-11 instruments — it's simply not offered for USBTMC instruments, so for the USBTMC case described here, GPIBEE's setting is the workaround.
Yes. GPIBEE is a good replacement for a GPIB PCI or PCIe controller card, especially if the original card is no longer available, isn't supported on current operating systems, or the PC it was installed in has been retired.
GPIBEE connects over USB or Ethernet instead of a PCI slot, so it works with any modern PC or laptop without an internal card, while still presenting itself to your software as a standard VISA GPIB interface — so existing scripts and drivers generally keep working unchanged.