Agilent Technologies 3000 Series User manual

Agilent Technologies
Agilent 3000 Series
Oscilloscopes
Programmer’s Reference

2
In This Book
This book is your guide to programming the 3000 Series oscilloscopes.
• Chapter 1, “I/O Module Installation and Configuration” on page 7 contains
information on the installation and use of the I/O Module.
• Chapter 2, “Introduction to Programming” on page 13 gives you an
introduction to programming the oscilloscopes, along with necessary
conceptual information. These chapters describe basic program
communications, interface, and syntax.
• Chapter 3, “Commands Quick Reference” on page 19 is a brief listing of the
3000 Series oscilloscope commands and syntax.
Each of the remaining chapters describe the set of commands that belong to an
individual subsystem, and explains the function of each command.
• Chapter 4, “Common Commands” on page 27.
• Chapter 5, “Root Level Commands” on page 33.
• Chapter 6, “ACQuire Commands” on page 41.
• Chapter 7, “BEEP Commands” on page 47.
• Chapter 8, “CHANnel<n> Commands” on page 51.
• Chapter 9, “COUNter Commands” on page 61.
• Chapter 10, “DISPlay Commands” on page 65.
• Chapter 11, “KEY Commands” on page 73.
• Chapter 12, “MASK Commands” on page 79.
• Chapter 13, “MEASure Commands” on page 89.
• Chapter 14, “SAVerecall Commands” on page 111.
• Chapter 15, “TIMebase Commands” on page 117.
• Chapter 16, “TRIGger Commands” on page 125.
• Chapter 17, “WAVeform Commands” on page 139.

Contents
3
1 I/O Module Installation and Configuration
I/O Module Installation 8
I/O Module Configuration 10
2 Introduction to Programming
Communicating with the Oscilloscope 14
Instruction Header 14
Truncation Rule 15
White Space (Separator) 15
Braces 16
Ellipsis 16
Square Brackets 16
Program Message Terminator 16
Block Data 17
Remote Command Tips 17
3 Commands Quick Reference
4 Common Commands
*CLS (Clear Status) 29
*IDN? (Identification Number) 30
*OPC? (Operation Complete) 31
*RST (Reset) 32
5 Root Level Commands
AUTO 35
ForceTrig 36
RUN 37
STOP 38
Trig%50 39
6 ACQuire Commands
AVERages 43
MODE 44
SRATe? 45
TYPE 46
7 BEEP Commands
ENABle 49

Contents
4
8 CHANnel<n> Commands
BWLimit 53
COUPling 54
DISPlay 55
INVert 56
OFFSet 57
PROBe 58
SCALe 59
9 COUNter Commands
ENABle 63
VALue? 64
10 DISPlay Commands
CLEar 67
GRID 68
MENUdisplay 69
PERSistence 70
SCReen 71
TYPE 72
11 KEY Commands
Commands for Front Panel Actions 75
LOCK 77
12 MASK Commands
ENABle 81
OPERate 82
OUTPut 83
SOURce 84
STOPonoutput 85
X86
Y87

Contents
5
13 MEASure Commands
CLEar 91
FALLtime 92
FREQuency 93
NDUTycycle 94
NWIDth 95
OVERshoot 96
PDUTycycle 97
PERiod 98
PREShoot 99
PWIDth 100
RISetime 101
VAMPlitude 102
VAVerage 103
VBASe 104
VMAX 105
VMIN 106
VPP 107
VRMS 108
VTOP 109
14 SAVerecall Commands
LOAD 113
LOCation 114
SAVE 115
TYPE 116
15 TIMebase Commands
DELayed 119
HOLDoff 120
POSition 121
SCALe 122
SCAN 123

Contents
6
16 TRIGger Commands
[:EDGE]:COUPling 127
[:EDGE]:LEVel 128
[:EDGE]:SLOPe 129
[:EDGE]:SOURe 130
[:EDGE]:SWEep 131
MODE 132
PULSe:MODE 133
PULSe:WIDTh 134
STATus 135
VIDeo:POLarity 136
VIDeo:STANdard 137
VIDeo:SYNC 138
17 WAVeform Commands
DATA? 141
ERASeofroll? 142
MAXPeakdetect? 143
MEMorydata? 144
MINPeakdetect? 145
SCREENDATA? 146
SCREENMAX? 147
SCREENMIN? 148
SOURce 149
STARtofroll? 150
SYSMemsize? 151
TPOSition? 152
WINDowzoom? 153
WINMemsize? 154
WPOSition? 155
XEND? 156
XINCrement? 157
XORigin? 158
XSTart? 159
YINCrement? 160
YORigin? 161

7
1
I/O Module Installation and
Configuration

8
I/O Module Installation and Configuration
I/O Module Installation
I/O Module Installation
The I/O module (N2861A) provides an RS-232 serial port and a GPIB port that
can be used to remotely program the 3000 Series oscilloscopes. Figure 2 shows
the back panel installation location for the I/O module.
Figure 2
Back Panel
I/O Module Connector
I/O Module Screw
Holes
USB Connector Power Connector

9
I/O Module Installation and Configuration
I/O Module Installation
Figure 3 shows how to install the I/O module.
Figure 3
Installing the I/O Module
After installation is complete, restart the oscilloscope. The system will
automatically detect the I/O module. For example, a message at boot up stating
“Communication module installed” means the IO module has been installed,
while a message stating “No module installed” means there is no I/O module. In
this case, please check that the module is seated correctly.
Be sure to turn off the power before installing the I/O module.

10
I/O Module Installation and Configuration
I/O Module Configuration
I/O Module Configuration
After installing the I/O module, the port that you are going to use for remotely
programming the oscilloscope must be configured. To configure the I/O module,
press the front panel UTILITY key. In the UTILITY menu select the IO Setting
menu key.
RS-232 Configuration
The baud rate can be set to one of the following values:
•300
•2400
•4800
•9600
• 19200
• 38400
Table 1 RS-232 Data Format
Testing the RS-232 Interface
1Connect the oscilloscope to a computer using the appropriate RS-232
cable.
2On the PC, run a terminal-emulator program. Make sure the PC serial
port is set as follows:
Table 2 PC RS-232 Setup
Function Setting
Data bit 8 bit
Flow control Not available
Stop bit 1
Odd and even calibration Not available
Stop character 0D (Hex)
Function Setting
Data bit 8 bit
Flow control Not available
Stop bit 1
Odd and even calibration Not available

11
I/O Module Installation and Configuration
I/O Module Configuration
3Turn on the oscilloscope.
4Press front panel UTILITY key.
5Select the I/O Setting menu key.
6Set the RS-232 Baud menu to the same baud rate as that of the PC.
7Start the terminal-emulator program.
8Send the *IDN? query.
The oscilloscope responds by returning the identification string of the
oscilloscope.
9Attach a probe between channel 1 and the probe calibration connector.
10 From the terminal-emulator program, send the AUTO command.
The oscilloscope responds by displaying the 3V square wave on the screen.
RS-232 Troubleshooting
If the oscilloscope does not respond, check the following items.
1Check the I/O module for proper installation.
2Check the RS-232 cable for proper installation and that the RS-232 cable
is connected tightly to the PC and oscilloscope.
3Check baud rate, data bit, stop bit, flow control, odd and even
calibration is correct is correctly set on the PC.
4Check that the RS-232 baud rate of the oscilloscope is the same as the
PC.
5Verify that the RS-232 cable is correct as shown in Table 3.
Table 3 RS-232 Cable Definition
Pin Connection
1 NC (No connection)
2 RxD (Receive data)
3 TxD (Transmit data)
4 NC (No connection)
5 GND (Signal ground)
6 NC (No connection)
7 NC (No connection)
8 NC (No connection)
9 NC (No connection)

12
I/O Module Installation and Configuration
I/O Module Configuration
GPIB Configuration
The GPIB address can be set to any value from 0 to 30.
GPIB Interface Testing
GPIB is the standard for 8 bit parallel communication. The oscilloscope can
communicate with a computer, a controller, or a terminal.
The character that is used to terminate a command or query is a new line (0x0A
hex) character.
1Connect the oscilloscope to the computer using a suitable GPIB cable.
2Run the control terminal software in the computer
3Turn on the oscilloscope.
4Press UTILITY front panel key.
5Select the I/O SETUP menu key.
6Set the GPIB Address menu to the address you want to use.
Make sure that this address is exclusive and is not used by any other equipment
on the bus.
7Send the *IDN? query.
8The oscilloscope responds by returning the identification strings of the
oscilloscope.
9Attach a probe between channel 1 and the probe calibration connector.
10 From the terminal-emulator program, send the AUTO command.
The oscilloscope responds by displaying the 3V square wave on the screen.
GPIB Troubleshooting
If the oscilloscope does not respond, please check the following items.
1Check the startup message of the scope. If " No module installed" is
displayed, please check that the I/O module is firmly connected.
2Check the GPIB cable for proper installation and that the GPIB cable is
connected tightly to the PC and oscilloscope.
3Make sure that the GPIB address is correct and exclusive.

13
2
Introduction to Programming

14
Introduction to Programming
This chapter introduces the basics for remote programming of an
oscilloscope. The programming commands provide the means of remote
control.
Basic operations that you can do with a computer and an oscilloscope
include:
• Set up the oscilloscope.
• Make measurements.
• Get data (waveforms and measurements) from the oscilloscope.
Communicating with the Oscilloscope
Computers communicate with the oscilloscope by sending and receiving
messages over a remote interface, such as a GPIB port or an RS-232 port.
Commands for programming normally appear as ASCII character strings
embedded inside the output statements of a “host” language available on your
computer. The input commands of the host language are used to read responses
from the oscilloscope.
Instruction Header
The instruction header is one or more command mnemonics separated by
colons (:). They represent the operation to be performed by the oscilloscope.
See the “Programming Conventions” chapter for more information.
Queries are formed by adding a question mark (?) to the end of the header.
Many instructions can be used as either commands or queries, depending on
whether or not you include the question mark. The command and query forms
of an instruction usually have different program data. Many queries do not use
any program data.

15
Introduction to Programming
Truncation Rule
Truncation Rule
The truncation rule is used to produce the short form (abbreviated spelling) for
the mnemonics used in the programming commands, queries, and parameter
arguments.
Table 4 shows how the truncation rule is applied to commands.
Table 4 Mnemonic Truncation
The convention used in this manual to display commands, queries, or parameter
arguments is to use upper case letters to indicate the short form.
White Space (Separator)
White space is used to separate the instruction header from the program data.
If the instruction does not require any program data parameters, you do not
need to include any white space. In this manual, white space is defined as one
space. ASCII defines a space to be character 32 in decimal.
Command Truncation Rule
Themnemonic is the first four charactersofthekeyword,unless the fourthcharacter
is a vowel. Then the mnemonic is the first three characters of the keyword. If the
length of the keyword is four characters or less, this rule does not apply, and the
short form is the same as the long form.
Long Form Short Form How the Rule is Applied
SCALe SCAL Short form is the first four characters of the keyword.
TRIGger TRIG Short form is the first four characters of the keyword.
AUTO AUTO Short form is the same as the long form.
XORigin XOR Fourth character is a vowel; short form is the first three
characters.

16
Introduction to Programming
Braces
Braces
When several items are enclosed by braces, {}, only one of these elements may
be selected. Vertical line ( | ) indicates "or". For example, {ON | OFF} indicates
that only ON or OFF may be selected, not both.
Ellipsis
... An ellipsis (trailing dots) indicates that the preceding element may be
repeated one or more times.
Square Brackets
Items enclosed in square brackets, [ ], are optional.
Program Message Terminator
The program instructions within a data message are executed after the program
message terminator is received. The terminator may be either an NL (New
Line) character, an EOI (End-Or-Identify) asserted in the GPIB interface, or a
combination of the two. Asserting the EOI sets the EOI control line low on the
last byte of the data message. The NL character is an ASCII linefeed (decimal
10).
New Line Terminator Functions Like EOS and EOT
The NL (New Line) terminator has the same function as an EOS (End Of String) and
EOT (End Of Text) terminator.

17
Introduction to Programming
Block Data
Block Data
Block data is returned as a string representation of hexadecimal values
separated by spaces, for example, “0x42 0x43 0x44 ...”. Each hex value in the
string represents a data point value. To get the real data value, convert the
unsigned hex value to an integer, and use the formula:
(125 – integer data value)YINCrement – YORigin
YINCrement and YORigin are real numbers.
Remote Command Tips
Tip: When writing automated testing routines using the 3000 Series
oscilloscope, be sure to use the *OPC? query. The *OPC? query returns a value
of '1' when the oscilloscope is finished executing the last command. Waiting for
the *OPC? query to return a '1' before issuing the next command ensures that
no commands or data are lost.

18

19
3
Commands Quick Reference

20
Commands Quick Reference
The following table provides a quick reference of the commands
implemented in the 3000 Series oscilloscopes.
Table 5 Commands Quick Reference
Command Query Options and Query Returns
Common Commands
*CLS n/a n/a
n/a *IDN? AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES,<model>,<serial
number>,XX.XX.XX
<model> ::= the model number of the instrument
<serial number> ::= the serial number of the
instrument
<XX.XX.XX> ::= the software revision of the
instrument
n/a *OPC? 1
*RST n/a n/a
Root Commands
:AUTO n/a n/a
:ForceTrig n/a n/a
:RUN n/a n/a
:STOP n/a n/a
:Trig%50 n/a n/a
:ACQuire Commands
:ACQuire:AVERages <count> :ACQuire:AVERages? <count> ::= { 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 32 | 64 | 128 | 256 }
:ACQuire:MODE <mode> :ACQuire:MODE? <mode> ::= { RTIMe | ETIMe}
n/a :ACQuire:SRATe? <return_value> ::= NR3 format
:ACQuire:TYPE <type> :ACQuire:TYPE? <type> ::= { NORMal | AVERage | PEAK }
:BEEP Commands
:BEEP:ENABle{{1|ON } |{ 0 |OFF }} :BEEP:ENABle { 1 | 0 }