Fluke ScopeMeter 225C User manual

REMOTE CONTROL AND PROGRAMMING REFERENCE
for the FLUKE 190 family
of ScopeMeter test tools
=============================================================
This file contains remote control and programming information
for the above-mentioned models with use of the PM9080
Optically Isolated RS232 Adapter/Cable.
It consists of the following chapters:
1. INSTALLING THE PM9080
2. INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING
3. COMMAND REFERENCE
APPENDIXES
APPENDIX A ACKNOWLEDGE DATA
APPENDIX B STATUS DATA
APPENDIX C WAVEFORM DATA
APPENDIX D ASCII CODES

Page 1.1
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1. INSTALLING THE PM9080
- Connect the PM9080 to the RS232 port of the computer.
If necessary, use a 9-pin to 25-pin adapter and
25-pin gender changer.
- Hook the PM9080 cable to the ScopeMeter.
- Turn on the computer and the ScopeMeter.
- Make sure that the communication settings match for the
RS232 port of the computer and the ScopeMeter.
After power-on, the default settings of the ScopeMeter
are as follows:
1200 baud, No parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit
You can modify the baud rate with the PC (Program
Communication) command. See chapter 3 COMMAND REFERENCE.
Other settings are fixed.
You can modify the computer RS232 port settings to match
the above ScopeMeter settings with the following
DOS command:
MODE COM1:1200,N,8,1
This command assumes that COM1 is the RS232 port used on
the computer. Replace COM1 in the above command with COM2,
COM3, or COM4 if one of these ports is used. You can place
this command in the computer startup file AUTOEXEC.BAT so
that the default settings for the computer are the same as
for the ScopeMeter. If you want to use a higher
data transfer speed (baud rate), let your QBASIC program
change the settings for both the computer and the
ScopeMeter. See the example under the PC (Program
Communication) command in chapter 3 COMMAND REFERENCE.

Page 2.1
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2. INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING
** Basic Programming Information **
When you have installed the PM9080 as described in the
previous chapter, you can control the ScopeMeter
from the computer with simple communication facilities, such
as GWBASIC, QuickBASIC and QBASIC (programming languages from
Microsoft Corporation).
All examples given in this manual are in the QBASIC language
but will also run in QuickBASIC. QuickBASIC allows you to
make executable files from programs so you can start such
programs directly from DOS.
It is assumed that you have knowledge of these programming
languages. QBASIC is supplied with Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0 and
higher and Windows 95, 98, and NT, including ’on-line’ Help.
Features of the syntax and protocol for the ScopeMeter
are as follows:
- Easy input format with a ’forgiving’ syntax:
All commands consist of two characters that can be
UPPER or lower case.
Parameters that sometimes follow the command may be
separated from it by one or more separation characters.
- Strict and consistent output format:
Alpha character responses are always in UPPERCASE.
Parameters are always separated by a comma
("," = ASCII 44, see Appendix D).
Responses always end with the carriage return code
(ASCII 13). Because the carriage return code is a
non-visible character (not visible on the screen or on
paper), this character is represented as <cr> in the
command syntax.
- Synchronization between input and output:
After receipt of every command, the ScopeMeter
returns an acknowledge character (digit) followed by the
carriage return code (ASCII 13). This indicates that the
command has been successfully received and executed.
The computer program must always read this acknowledge
response before sending the next command to the
ScopeMeter.

Page 2.2
** Commands sent to the ScopeMeter **
All commands for the ScopeMeter consist of a header
made up of two alpha characters sometimes followed by
parameters. Example:
RI This is the Reset Instrument command. It
resets the ScopeMeter.
Some of the commands are followed by one or more parameters
to give the ScopeMeter more information.
Example:
SS 8 This is the Save Setup command. It saves the
present acquisition settings in memory. The SS
header is followed by a separator (space),
then followed by the parameter "8" to
indicate where to store the settings. The
meaning of this parameter is described in
Chapter 3 COMMAND REFERENCE.
Some commands require several parameters.
Example:
WT 9,50,30 This is the Write Time command.
This command requires three parameters. The
parameters are separated by a comma, which is
called the Program Data Separator. You may
use only one comma between the parameters.
Also refer to the section ’Data Separators’.
A code at the end of each command tells the ScopeMeter
that the command is ended. This is the carriage return
code (ASCII 13) and is called the Program Message Terminator.
This code is needed to indicate to the ScopeMeter
that the command is completed so it can start executing the
command. Also refer to the section ’Command and Response
Terminators’.

Page 2.3
** Responses received from the ScopeMeter **
After each command sent to the ScopeMeter there
is an automatic response from it, indicated as <acknowledge>
(which you MUST input), to let the computer know whether or
not the received command has been successfully executed.
Refer to the ’Acknowledge’ section below.
There are several commands that ask the ScopeMeter
for response data. Such commands are called Queries.
Example:
ID This is the IDentification query, which asks for
the model number and the software version of the
ScopeMeter.
When the ScopeMeter has received a query, it sends
the <acknowledge> reply as it does after any command, but
now it is followed by the queried response data.
The format of the response data depends upon which query is
sent. When a response consists of different response data
portions, these are separated with commas (ASCII code 44).
Also refer to the section ’Data Separators’.
All response data, <acknowledge> as well as following
(queried) response data are terminated with the carriage
return code (<cr> = ASCII 13). Also refer to the section
’Command and Response Terminators’.

Page 2.4
** Acknowledge **
After receiving of a command, the ScopeMeter
automatically returns the <acknowledge> response to let the
computer know whether or not the received command has been
successfully executed.
This response is a one-digit number followed by <cr> as
response terminator. If <acknowledge> is 0, it indicates
that the ScopeMeter has successfully executed the
command. If the command was a query, the <acknowledge><cr>
response is immediately followed by the queried response data
terminated with <cr>.
If <acknowledge> is 1 or higher, it indicates that the
ScopeMeter has not executed the command
successfully. In that case, if the command was a query, the
<acknowledge><cr> response is NOT followed by any further
response data.
There can be several reasons for a non-zero <acknowledge>
response. For more information see Appendix A.
In case of an error you can obtain more detailed status
information by using the ST (STATUS) query.
Note: YOU MUST ALWAYS INPUT <acknowledge>, EVEN WHEN
THE COMMAND WAS NOT A QUERY.

Page 2.5
** Data Separators **
Data Separators are used between parameters sent to the
ScopeMeter and between values and strings received
from the ScopeMeter. Comma (",") is used as program
data separator as well as response data separator:
- Program Data Separator
Name Character ASCII Value Comments
Decimal
----------------------------------------------------------
comma , 44 Single comma allowed
- Response Data Separator
Name Character ASCII Value Comments
Decimal
----------------------------------------------------------
comma , 44

Page 2.6
** Command and Response Terminators **
(Message Terminators)
- Command (Program Message) Terminators
A code is needed at the end of each command to tell the
ScopeMeter that the command is ended, and that it
can start executing the command. This code is called the
Program Message Terminator. The code needed for the
ScopeMeter is carriage return (ASCII code 13 decimal).
Notes:
1. The carriage return code is a non-visible ASCII
character. Therefore this code is represented as <cr>
in the Command Syntax and Response Syntax lines given
for each command.
2. The QBASIC programming language, which is used for
all program examples, automatically adds a carriage
return to the end of the command output. (In the QBASIC
language, this is the PRINT #.... statement.)
After <cr> is recognized by the ScopeMeter, the
entered command is executed. After EACH command the
ScopeMeter returns <acknowledge><cr> to the
computer to signal the end of the command processing (also
see the section ’Acknowledge’.)
- Response (Message) Terminators
The response from the ScopeMeter ends with a
carriage return (ASCII 13). This is indicated as <cr> in
the Response Syntax for each command.

Page 2.7
** Typical program sequence **
An example
A typical program sequence consists of the following user
actions:
1. Set the communication parameters for the RS232 port of
the computer to match the ScopeMeter settings.
2. Output a command or query to the ScopeMeter.
3. Input the acknowledge response from the ScopeMeter.
If the response value is zero, go to step 4.
If the response value is non-zero, the ScopeMeter did not
execute the previous command. Read the error message from
the following acknowledge subroutine, recover the error,
and repeat the command or query. (This is not shown in the
following program example.)
4. If a query was output to the ScopeMeter, input its
response.
5. The sequence of points 2, 3, and 4 may be repeated for
different commands or queries.
6. Close the communication channel.
Refer to the program example on the next page.

Page 2.8
’Example of a typical program sequence:
’***************** Begin example program ****************
OPEN "COM1:1200,N,8,1,CS,DS,RB2048" FOR RANDOM AS #1
’This QBASIC program line sets the parameters for the
’RS232 port (COM1 on the Computer) to match the
’ScopeMeter power-on default settings. It also opens a
’communication channel (assigned #1) for input or output
’through the COM1 port. Your ScopeMeter must be connected
’to this port. "RB2048" sets the size of the computer
’receive buffer to 2048 bytes to prevent buffer overflow
’during communication with the ScopeMeter.
PRINT #1, "ID"
’Outputs the IDENTITY command (query) to the ScopeMeter.
GOSUB Acknowledge
’This subroutine inputs the acknowledge response from
’the ScopeMeter and displays an error message if the
’acknowledge value is non-zero.
INPUT #1, Response$
’This inputs the response data from the IDENTITY query.
PRINT Response$
’Displays the queried data.
CLOSE #1
’This closes the communication channel.
END
’This ends the program.

’ Page 2.9
’**************** Acknowledge subroutine ******************
’Use this subroutine after each command or query sent to the
’ScopeMeter. This routine inputs the acknowledge
’response from the ScopeMeter. If the response is non-zero,
’the previous command was not correct or was not correctly
’received by the ScopeMeter. Then an error message is
’displayed and the program is aborted.
Acknowledge:
INPUT #1, ACK ’Reads acknowledge from ScopeMeter.
IF ACK <> 0 THEN
PRINT "Error "; ACK; ": ";
SELECT CASE ACK
CASE 1
PRINT "Syntax Error"
CASE 2
PRINT "Execution Error"
CASE 3
PRINT "Synchronization Error"
CASE 4
PRINT "Communication Error"
CASE IS < 1
PRINT "Unknown Acknowledge"
CASE IS > 4
PRINT "Unknown Acknowledge"
END SELECT
PRINT "Program aborted."
END
END IF
RETURN
’****************** End example program *****************

Page 3.1
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3. COMMAND REFERENCE
CONVENTIONS
** Page layout used for each command **
- Header
Each command description starts on a new page with a header
for quickly finding the command. This header indicates the
command name and the two-character header used for the
command syntax. Example:
===========================================================
AUTO SETUP AS
-----------------------------------------------------------
Where AUTO SETUP is a descriptive name for the command
(this is no syntax!),
and AS are the first two characters used for
the command syntax (not the complete
syntax).
- Purpose:
Explains what the command does or what it is used for.
- Command Syntax:
Shows the syntax for the command. Parameters are separated
by commas. Commands are terminated by <cr> (carriage
return).
- Response Syntax:
Shows the format of the response from the ScopeMeter.
Responses are terminated by <cr> (carriage return).
Each Response Syntax starts with the <acknowledge>
response, followed by the query response if the syntax
relates to a query.
- Example:
This is an example QBASIC program which shows how you can
use the command. The example may also include some other
commands to show the relation with these commands.
The following two comment lines (start with ’) successively
indicate the beginning and the end of an example program.
’***************** Begin example program ****************
’****************** End example program *****************

Page 3.2
Use an MS-DOS Editor and copy the complete program between
these two lines to a file name with the .BAS extension.
Start QBASIC and open this file from the FILE menu.
Long programs (longer than 55 lines) include page breaks.
Such page breaks are preceded by the ’ (remark) character
to prevent the QBASIC interpreter from interpreting them as
an incorrect statement.
When you have connected the ScopeMeter, you can start
the program from the RUN menu.

Page 3.3
** Syntax conventions **
The Command Syntax and the Response Syntax may contain the
following meta symbols and data elements:
UPPERCASE These characters are part of the syntax.
For commands, lower case is also allowed.
<...> An expression between these brackets is a
code, such as <cr> (carriage return) that can
not be expressed in a printable character, or
it is a parameter that is further specified.
Do not insert the brackets in the command!
[...] The item between these brackets is optional.
This means that you may omit it for the
command, or for a response it may not appear.
Do not insert the brackets in the command!
| This is a separator between selectable items.
This means that you must choose only one of
the items (exclusive or).
{...} Specifies an element that may be repeated 0 or
more instances.
(...) Grouping of multiple elements.
<binary_character>= 0 to 255
<digit> = 0 to 9
<sign> = + | -
<decimal_number>= <digit>{<digit>}
<float> = <mantissa><exponent>
<mantissa> = <signed_integer>
<exponent> = <signed_byte>
<signed_integer> = <binary_character><binary_character>
Two bytes representing a signed
integer value. The first byte is the
most significant and contains the
sign bit (bit 7).
<signed_long> = four <binary_character>’s
<unsigned_integer>= <binary_character><binary_character>
Two bytes representing an unsigned
integer value. The first byte is the
most significant.
<unsigned_long> = four <binary_character>’s

Page 3.4
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** Overview of commands for the ScopeMeter **
COMMAND PAGE
COMMAND NAME HEADER NUMBER
-------------------------------------------------------
AUTO SETUP AS 3.5
ARM TRIGGER AT 3.7
CLEAR MEMORY CM 3.9
CPL VERSION QUERY CV 3.11
DEFAULT SETUP DS 3.13
GET DOWN GD 3.15
GO TO LOCAL GL 3.17
GO TO REMOTE GR 3.20
HOLD HO 3.21
IDENTIFICATION ID 3.23
INSTRUMENT STATUS IS 3.25
PROGRAM COMMUNICATION PC 3.28
PROGRAM SETUP PS 3.30
QUERY MEASUREMENT QM 3.34
QUERY PRINT QP 3.38
QUERY SETUP QS 3.42
QUERY WAVEFORM QW 3.43
READ DATE RD 3.59
RESET INSTRUMENT RI 3.61
REPLAY RP 3.63
RECALL SETUP RS 3.65
READ TIME RT 3.68
SWITCH ON SO 3.70
SAVE SETUP SS 3.71
STATUS QUERY ST 3.72
TRIGGER ACQUISITION TA 3.75
WRITE DATE WD 3.77
WRITE TIME WT 3.79

Page 3.5
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AUTO SETUP AS
-------------------------------------------------------------
Purpose:
Invokes an automatic setup for the active mode. The result
of this command is the same as pressing the AUTO key
on the ScopeMeter.
Note: You can select the items that are affected by the
AUTO SET procedure via the USER OPTIONS key on
the ScopeMeter.
Command Syntax:
AS<cr>
Response Syntax:
<acknowledge><cr>
Example:
The following example program sends an AUTO SETUP command to
the ScopeMeter. Connect a repetitive signal on
INPUT A to see the effect of AUTO SETUP.

’ Page 3.6
’***************** Begin example program *****************
CLS ’Clears the PC screen.
OPEN "COM1:1200,N,8,1,CS,DS,RB2048" FOR RANDOM AS #1
PRINT #1, "AS" ’Sends AUTO SETUP command.
GOSUB Acknowledge ’Input acknowledge from ScopeMeter.
CLOSE #1
END
’**************** Acknowledge subroutine ******************
’Use this subroutine after each command or query sent to the
’ScopeMeter. This routine inputs the acknowledge
’response from the ScopeMeter. If the response is non-zero,
’the previous command was not correct or was not correctly
’received by the ScopeMeter. Then an error message is
’displayed and the program is aborted.
Acknowledge:
INPUT #1, ACK ’Reads acknowledge from ScopeMeter.
IF ACK <> 0 THEN
PRINT "Error "; ACK; ": ";
SELECT CASE ACK
CASE 1
PRINT "Syntax Error"
CASE 2
PRINT "Execution Error"
CASE 3
PRINT "Synchronization Error"
CASE 4
PRINT "Communication Error"
CASE IS < 1
PRINT "Unknown Acknowledge"
CASE IS > 4
PRINT "Unknown Acknowledge"
END SELECT
PRINT "Program aborted."
END
END IF
RETURN
’****************** End example program ******************

Page 3.7
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ARM TRIGGER AT
-------------------------------------------------------------
Purpose:
Resets and arms the trigger system for a new acquisition.
This command is used for single shot measurements.
When the AT command is given while an acquisition is in
progress, this acquisition is aborted and the trigger
system is rearmed.
Command Syntax:
AT<cr>
Response Syntax:
<acknowledge><cr>
Example:
The following example program arms the trigger system of
the ScopeMeter with the AT command.
This means that after this command the ScopeMeter starts an
acquisition when a trigger occurs from the signal (when
exceeding the trigger level) or from a TA (Trigger
Acquisition) command.
After the AT command it is assumed that the signal amplitude
is sufficient to trigger the acquisition. If it is not, you
can use the TA (TRIGGER ACQUISITION) command to force the
acquisition to be triggered. But this is not useful if you
want the acquisition to be started on a signal edge for
synchronization purposes.
Also see the example program for the IS command, which also
uses the AT command for a single shot application.
’***************** Begin example program *****************
OPEN "COM1:1200,N,8,1,CS,DS,RB2048" FOR RANDOM AS #1
PRINT #1, "AT" ’Sends the ARM TRIGGER command.
GOSUB Acknowledge ’Input acknowledge from ScopeMeter.
CLOSE #1
END
’

’ Page 3.8
’**************** Acknowledge subroutine ******************
’Use this subroutine after each command or query sent to the
’ScopeMeter. This routine inputs the acknowledge
’response from the ScopeMeter. If the response is non-zero,
’the previous command was not correct or was not correctly
’received by the ScopeMeter. Then an error message is
’displayed and the program is aborted.
Acknowledge:
INPUT #1, ACK ’Reads acknowledge from ScopeMeter.
IF ACK <> 0 THEN
PRINT "Error "; ACK; ": ";
SELECT CASE ACK
CASE 1
PRINT "Syntax Error"
CASE 2
PRINT "Execution Error"
CASE 3
PRINT "Synchronization Error"
CASE 4
PRINT "Communication Error"
CASE IS < 1
PRINT "Unknown Acknowledge"
CASE IS > 4
PRINT "Unknown Acknowledge"
END SELECT
PRINT "Program aborted."
END
END IF
RETURN
’****************** End example program ******************

Page 3.9
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CLEAR MEMORY CM
-------------------------------------------------------------
Purpose:
Clears all saved setups, waveforms, and screens from
memory.
Command Syntax:
CM<cr>
Response Syntax:
<acknowledge><cr>
Example: