Lake Shore Instrument Communication Utility

The Instrument Communication Utility is designed to enable serial (USB) or TCP/IP communication with Lake Shore instruments that support those forms of communication. It will enable the user to detect which COM ports are available on a local computer. It also allows the user to connect to remote, Ethernet connected instruments. In both serial and TCP/IP connected sessions, the user can send commands and receive responses from the connected instrument. It is designed as a basic diagnostic utility, to streamline troubleshooting and to assist with Lake Shore service requests.

The User Interface

This image shows the application with the Serial port connection selected and no currently connected session. The major features are also labeled.

When the TCP/IP Radio Button is selected, note the Instrument address text box in this image:

The Serial-TCP/IP Radio Buttons

These are used to select between the Serial and TCP/IP modes of communication with the instrument. These can be changed at any time. If there is an existing connection when the selection is changed, the connection is broken.

In serial mode, the parity, stop bits, data bits, and other settings are fixed in accordance with Lake Shore instrument standards. Only the Baud rate and COM port are configurable.

In TCP/IP mode, the user has only to specify the address of the instrument. Port 7777 is the standard Lake Shore instrument communication port, and is the Communication Utility’s default port.

Com Port

This is used to specify the serial communication port of the instrument to connect to when in Serial mode. Note that modern Lake Shore instruments use a “virtual com port”, which only appears when the instrument is connected and powered on.

Baud Rate

This is used to specify the baud rate to use for communicating with the connected instrument when in Serial mode. Note that modern Lake Shore instruments that use USB have a fixed baud rate of 57600.

The Connect Button

This is used to initiate a connection in either Serial or TCP/IP mode. When connected, this button becomes “Close”, and clicking the button will close the connection.

The Command/Response History Display

All data sent to the instrument, as well as responses from the instrument, are displayed here. Sent commands are in italics. Text from this display can be copied using the right-click context menu, or by pressing Ctrl-C.

The Command Text Box

This is used to input instrument commands and queries that will be sent to the instrument. Pressing the up and down keys will recall previous commands.

The Send Button

This button sends the command in the Input Text Box to the instrument. Pressing 'Enter' while the Input Text Box has focus has the same effect.

The ID Button

This button is for conveniently sending the '*idn?' command to the instrument. This command causes the instrument to respond with its identity string. It is expected that most Lake Shore instruments will respond to this command.

Instrument Address

This is used to specify the address of the instrument when in TCP/IP mode.