Agilent Technologies 71612 User manual

Thisbookletisintended as a handy reminder of the fundamen-
tals of BER measurement and of how to use the Agilent
71612Error PerformanceAnalyzer for BERmeasurements.
Fulldetails of allthe stepsand procedures are given inthe
71612Operating and Programming Manual.Werecommend
that you readthe fullmanual before using thisbooklet.
Contents
TabTitlePage
Introtothe71612 Agilent 71612 12.5 Gb/sError
Performance Analyzer5
TheFront Panel6
Front/Rear CablingFrontand RearPanelCabling9
Initial Switch-onInitial Switch-on11
PatGen Setup PatternGeneratorSetup12
Error Det SetupError Detector Setup14
Meas Gating MeasurementGating 16
MeasurementsMeasurements17
Pat EditorOperationPatternEditorOperation19
DiskOperationDisk Operation21
GeneralFunctions General Functions 22
The Menus The Menus23
BER - What is it?BER Basics43
BERTDecisionThreshold45
FalseSync 46
TestTime, Confidence Interval
and ResidualBER47
Q Factor48
Eye Contour Measurements50
BERTTroubleshooting 51
Properties of PRBSs54
Logic Levels,Terminations and
DataRate 59
Agilent 71612 Error Performance Analyzer
Quick Reference (71612-90017)

3
CAUTION
All of the 71612 data and clock outputs
are dc-coupled.
DO NOT APPLY ANY EXTERNAL
VOLTAGE TO THESE OUTPUTS.
This will damage the internal
amplifiers.
Take particular care when using a bias
tee to connect it the correct way.
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Agilent 71612
12.5 Gb/s Error Performance Analyzer Intro to the
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The Front Panel
The 70004A Display serves as the front panel for
instruments in the 71612 Series, and as your window for
viewing current system configuration and measurement
results.
Instrument Hardkeys
gain instant access to primary
instrument functions such as data output or result pages.
The keys are color-coded to indicate their function:
•Green for configuration keys
•Blue for result pages
•Black for immediate selection keys for gating and audio.
instrument hardkeys
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Instrument Softkeys
select instrument functions. The functions are
organized in groups, called softkey menus.
NOTE Softkeys that are selected are displayed in
inverse video or are underlined.
Some softkeys switch between two states, such as
and . An underline
on the key labels indicates which keys and conditions are
selected.
Softkeys and Windows Color Coding
Softkeys and windows are color coded to indicate the
primary instrument functions with which they are
associated. They are:
•Blue softkeys/window: assigned to Results Page
occupies two thirds of screen.
•Green softkeys/window: assigned to pattern generator/
error detector configuration
•Yellow softkeys - green/yellow window: assigned to
Pattern Editor
•Grey softkeys/window: assigned to user pattern
selection and save.
•Softkeys that are “greyed out”are not valid for the
currently selected instrument function.
Fixed Label Keys
keys select major system functions such
as PRINT, PLOT, INSTR PRESET, DISPLAY or MENU.
softkeys
LOGGING OFF ON SYNC AUTO/MAN
FIXED LABEL
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Access display functions by pressing .This
provides the softkeys on the left and right of the display,
and allows you to set up the display functions.
Access primary instrument functions by pressing .
Both methods enable menus of softkeys that give access to
all instrument functions.
Parameter Control Keys
Display knob Use the display RPG knob to change
parameters and select operating
values.
Numeric keypad Use the numeric keypad to enter
numeric values.
Use the two step keys to change
parameters up or down.
DISPLAY
MENU
▲ ▼
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9
Front and Rear Panel Cabling
System Back-to-Back Connection
Front/Rear
Cabling
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10
HP-MSIB Cabling, rear panel
Front/Rear
Cabling
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Initial Switch-on
1.For a back-to-back system check, connect up the front
panel as shown on page 9. Otherwise, connect up as
appropriate to your application.
2.Connect the 70843 and 70004A rear-panel HP-MSIB
ports as shown on page 10. If not, the red HP-MSIB
LED on the display will light up.
3.Switch on the instruments in your system and check that
all LEDs light up then go off after a few seconds. The
green ACT LED on the 70843 will be lit up when the
instrument owns the keyboard and display.
4.A lit up red E at the top left of the screen indicates an
error in any instrument on row 0 of the address map.
Refer to the 70004A Display Operation Manual for
information about the address map. The red Ealso blinks
if the display detects a fault on the HP-MSIB at
power-up.
Initial
Switch-on
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