Voltage Logger (SCPI via PyVISA)

A Python-based utility for automated voltage data acquisition from instruments supporting SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments) over a TCP/IP (Socket) connection.

🚀 Features

• SCPI Communication: Connects to instruments using PyVISA via TCPIP Socket.
• Instrument Identification: Automatically queries *IDN? upon connection to verify the device.
• Real-time Logging: Measures voltage using MEAS:VOLT? and logs data to a CSV file with high-precision ISO timestamps.
• Graceful Shutdown: Handles KeyboardInterrupt (Ctrl+C) to ensure the instrument connection is properly closed before the script exits.

📋 Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following installed:

1. Python 3.x
2. Required Libraries:

   pip install pyvisa pyvisa-py numpy matplotlib

3. VISA Backend:
   • You can use NI-VISA.
   • Alternatively, use the open-source PyVISA-py backend.

⚙️ Configuration

You can configure the connection and logging parameters directly within the VoltageLogger class in voltage_logger.py:

Parameter	Default Value	Description
HOST	127.0.0.1	The IP address of your instrument.
PORT	5025	Communication port (standard SCPI port is usually 5025).
TIMESTEP	0.5	Delay between measurements (in seconds).
FILENAME	voltage_log.csv	The name of the output CSV file.

🛠️ Usage

1. Connect your instrument to the network and ensure you can ping its IP address.
2. Update the configuration in the script (specifically the self.HOST variable).
3. Run the script:

   python voltage_logger.py

4. The script will display live readings in the console and append them to the CSV file simultaneously.
5. To stop logging, press Ctrl+C. The script will catch the interrupt, close the instrument session safely, and exit.

📊 Data Output

Data is saved in a standard CSV format, compatible with Excel, MATLAB, or Python (Pandas/Matplotlib):

2026-01-10T14:30:05.123456, 1.2345
2026-01-10T14:30:05.623456, 1.2351