Fluke 5520A Service Manual

®
PN 688744
February, 1998
© 1998 Fluke Corporation, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
All product names are trademarks of their respective companies.
5520A
Multi-Product Calibrator
Programmers Guide

1
Table of Contents
Types of Commands ........................................... 3
Device-Dependent Commands......................... 3
Common Commands ....................................... 3
Query Commands ............................................ 3
Compound Commands..................................... 3
Coupled Commands ........................................ 3
Overlapped Commands ................................... 3
Sequential Commands..................................... 3
Commands for RS-232 Only............................. 3
Command Syntax................................................ 4
General Syntax Rules ...................................... 4
Units Accepted in Parameters and Responses. 5
Incoming Character Processing ....................... 6
Terminator Characters ..................................... 7
Response Message Data Types....................... 7
Checking 5520A Status ....................................... 8
Status Register Summary ................................ 8
STB and SRE .................................................. 9
ESR and ESE ................................................ 10
ISR, ISCE, and ISCR ..................................... 11
Service Request Enable Register (SRE) ........ 12
Output Queue ................................................ 12
Error Queue................................................... 12
Command Summary.......................................... 13
Common Commands ..................................... 13
Error Mode Commands .................................. 14
External Connection Commands .................... 15
Oscilloscope Commands................................ 16
Output Commands ......................................... 18
Pressure Measurement Commands ............... 20
RS-232 Host Port Commands ........................ 21
RS-232 UUT Port Commands ........................ 21
Setup and Utility Commands .......................... 22
Status Commands ......................................... 24
Thermocouple (TC) Measurement Commands 25
Command List ................................................... 26

2
Warning
The 5520A Calibrator (hereafter
referred to as “The Calibrator”) can
produce voltages up to 1000 V rms and
must be programmed with caution to
prevent hazardous voltages from being
produced without sufficient warning to
the operator.
Write programs carefully and test them
extensively to ensure safe operation of
the Calibrator. Fluke suggests that you
include error-catching routines in your
programs. These error-catching
routines will help you identify
programming errors that may cause the
calibrator to behave other than
intended. You can program the
Calibrator to cause an SRQ when an
error is detected by setting the Service
Request Enable (SRQ) register. The
following skeleton program includes
error-catching code:
10 PRINT @4, “*CLS” ! Clear status
20 PRINT @4, “*SRE 8” ! Set SRE Error Avail.
30 ON SRQ GOTO 1000 ! Enable SRQ Function
100 ! Body of program here
900 STOP ! End of program
1000 REM Start of SRQ Handler ! Start routine
1010 PRINT @4, “FAULT?” ! Request fault code
1020 INPUT @4, A% ! Input fault code
1030 PRINT @4, “EXPLAIN? ”;A%! Request fault text
1040 INPUT @4, A$ ! Input fault text
1050 PRINT “Fault ”;A$“ detected” ! Print message
1060 PRINT @4, “STBY” ! Place 5520A in standby
1070 STOP

3
Types of Commands
Device-Dependent Commands
Commands unique to 5520A.
Common Commands
Commands defined by the IEEE 488.2 standard.
Query Commands
Commands ending with a ?.
Compound Commands
Two or more commands in a single command line.
Coupled Commands
Commands that could interfere with each other.
Overlapped Commands
Commands requiring more time to execute.
Sequential Commands
Commands that execute immediately.
Commands for RS-232 Only
IEEE-488 RS-232 Equivalent
GTL LOCAL command
GTR REMOTE command
LLO LOCKOUT command
SRQ SRQSTR command
SDC, DCL ^C (<Ctrl> C) character [clear the
device]
GET ^T (<Ctrl> T) character [execute a
group trigger]
SPE, SPD ^P (<Ctrl> P) character [print the
serial poll string]
Also: SP_SET SPLSTR SRQSTR
SP_SET? SPLSTR? SRQSTR?

4
Command Syntax
General Syntax Rules
1. Separate parameters with commas.
2. Numeric parameters up to 15 significant digits
and exponents in the range ±1.0E ±20.
3. Null parameters cause an error, e.g., the
adjacent commas in OUT 1V, ,2A.
4. Expressions, for example 4 +2 ∗13, are not
allowed as parameters.
5. Binary Block Data can be in one of two IEEE
488.2 formats:
Indefinite Length Format Accepts data bytes
after #0 until the ASCII Line Feed character is
received with an EOI signal (for RS-232, a line
feed or carriage return will terminate the block).
Definite Length Format The data bytes are
preceded by #n and an n-digit number, which
identifies how many data bytes follow.
6. One space after a command is required. You
can insert extra spaces or tabs between
commands and arguments.

5
Command Syntax (cont)
Units Accepted in Parameters and
Responses
Units Meaning
HZ Frequency in hertz
KHZ Frequency in kilohertz
MHZ Frequency in megahertz
UV Volts in microvolts
MV Volts in millivolts
V Volts in volts
KV Volts in kilovolts
UA Current in microamperes
MA Current in milliamps
A Current in amps
PCT Percent
PPM Parts-per-million
DBM Volts in decibels referenced to 1
milliwatt into 600Ωload
OHM Resistance in ohms
KOHM Resistance in kilohms
MOHM Resistance in megohms
NF Capacitance in nanofarads
PF Capacitance in picofarads
UF Capacitance in microfarads
MF Capacitance in millifarads
F Capacitance in farads
CEL Temperature in degrees Celsius
FAR Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit

6
Command Syntax (cont)
Units Accepted in Parameters and
Responses (cont)
Units Meaning
NS Period in nanoseconds
US Period in microseconds
MS Period in milliseconds
S Period in seconds
PSI Pressure in pound-force per square
inch
MHG Pressure in meters of mercury
INHG Pressure in inches of mercury
INH2O Pressure in inches of water
FTH2O Pressure in feet of water
MH2O Pressure in meters of water
BAR Pressure in bar
PAL Pressure in pascal
G/CM2 Pressure in grams per centimeter
squared
INH2O60F Pressure in inches of water at 60
degrees Fahrenheit
Incoming Character Processing
1. The most significant data bit (DIO8) is ignored.
2. All data is taken as 7-bit ASCII.
3. Lower-or upper-case characters.
4. ASCII characters less than 32 (Space) are
discarded, except for characters 10 (LF) and
13 (CR), and in the *PUD command argument.

7
Command Syntax (cont)
Terminator Characters
ASCII
Function # Code Control C Code
Carriage
Return
13 Chr(13) <Ctrl> M \n
Line Feed 10 Chr(10) <Ctrl> J \r
Backspace 8 Chr(8) <Ctrl> H \b
Form Feed 12 Chr(12) <Ctrl> L \f
EEE-488 Interface The Calibrator sends the
ASCII character Line Feed with the EOI control
line held high as the terminator for response
messages.
RS-232 Interface The Calibrator returns an EOL
(End of Line) character with each response,
selectable as CR, LF or both CRLF.
Response Message Data Types
Data Type Description
Integer Decimal numbers to 32768.
Floating Numbers plus an exponent.
String ASCII characters within
double or single quotes
(“string” or ‘string’).
Binary Block Data Defined by the IEEE-488.2.

8
Checking 5520A Status
Status Register Summary
Status Register Read Write
Serial Poll Status Byte
(STB)
*STB? 
Service Request Enable
Register (SRE)
*SRE? *SRE
Event Status Register
(ESR)
*ESR? 
Event Status Enable
Register (ESE)
*ESE? *ESE
Instrument Status Register
(ISR)
ISR? 
Instrument Status Change
Register (ISCR)
ISCR? 
ISCR 1 to 0 transition ISCR0? 
ISCR 0 to 1 transition ISCR1? 
Instrument Status Change
Enable Register (ISCE)
ISCE? ISCE
ISCE 1 to 0 transition ISCE0? ISCE0
ISCE 0 to 1 transition ISCE1? ISCE1