Chapter 2 Hardware Configuration and Installation
© National Instruments Corp. 2-9 STD-GPIB for Windows
Selecting the Interrupt Request Line
STD/STD32 computers have a series of interrupt lines available to devices. Some of the
interrupt lines reside in the backplane, and the others are available through a 10-pin
frontplane connector. Devices use interrupts to get immediate service from the CPU for
asynchronous events. Your GPIB hardware and the NI-488.2 software use interrupts to
get service from the CPU when necessary.
The STD-GPIB is shipped with interrupts disabled. If you want to select an interrupt
setting for the STD-GPIB, follow these steps to reconfigure the interrupt request line:
1. Choose a new interrupt request line (IRQ) setting.
If you are installing the STD-GPIB into a Ziatech STD32 AT-compatible computer,
you can configure it to use any of the following interrupt lines: IRQ5, 6, 9, 10, 11,
12, 14, or None. If you are installing the STD-GPIB into a WinSystems
AT-compatible computer, you can configure it to use any of the following interrupt
lines: IRQ5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, or None. You may not want to select interrupt
lines 6 or 14, because interrupt line 6 is typically used by the diskette drive controller
and interrupt line 14 is used by the hard disk drive controller on most systems.
If you are installing more than one STD-GPIB, each module must either use a unique
IRQ level or not use interrupts at all.
2. Find the jumpers at W1 and W2 that set the interrupt request line. Refer to the parts
locator diagram, Figure 2-3.
3. Change the jumper settings to configure the STD-GPIB to the new interrupt request
line.
To select interrupt lines for a Ziatech STD32 computer, refer to the labels on the left
side of the jumpers, as shown in Figure 2-5. To select interrupt lines for a
WinSystems computer, refer to the labels on the right side of the jumpers, as shown
in Figure 2-6. To disable interrupts, use the jumper setting shown in Figure 2-7.
If you are using the STD-GPIB in a computer that is not manufactured by Ziatech or
WinSystems, or if the computer is not an AT-compatible, find out which interrupt
source corresponds to the interrupt request line you want to use for that computer,
and then consult Appendix B, Interrupt Routing, for the proper jumper settings.