GW Instek GDS-820 Programming Owner's manual

GDS-806/810/820/840 Programming Manual
0
Digital Storage Oscilloscope
GDS-806/810/820/840
Programming Manual
© 2004 GOOD WILL Instrument Co., Ltd. All rights reserved
GW Part No: 82DS-82000I0

GDS-806/810/820/840 Programming Manual
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Table of Contents Pages
1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................... 2
2. COMPUTER’S CONNECTION............................................................................................. 6
3. REMOTE CONTROL'S COMMANDS................................................................................ 12
4. DETAILS OF COMMAND REFERENCE ........................................................................... 19
5. STATUS REPORTS............................................................................................................ 71
6. ERROR MESSAGES.......................................................................................................... 79
7. PROGRAM TEMPLATE FOR GPIB................................................................................... 80
8. APPENDIX A: HOW CAN WE CONVERT THE HEXADECIMAL FORMAT TO A
FLOATING POINT FORMAT. ................................................................................................ 88
Due to continuous improvements in the GDS-806/810/820/840 Digital Storage
Oscilloscope, information contained in this manual is subject to change
without notice. Contact GOOD WILL, for revisions and corrections.
GOOD WILL Instrument Co., LTD.
NO. 95-11, PAO-CHUNG ROAD, HSIN-TIEN CITY,
TAIPEI HSIEN, TAIWAN
Telephone – 886-2-29179188 Fax – 886-2-2917-9189
E-mail - [email protected]
http://www.goodwill.com.tw

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1. Introduction
Users can drive this digital storage oscilloscope by using the GPIB (General
Purpose Interface Bus) system with a computer, or from a computer across the
RS-232 serial connection. Commands sent over either interface can read or set
any GDS-806/810/820/840’s instructions. This chapter explains how to carry out
the following tasks.
Notes for GPIB installation
If you are setting up the oscilloscope with a GPIB system, please check the
following regulations:
zOnly a maximum of 15 devices can be connected to a single GPIB bus.
zDo not use more than 20 m of cable to connect devices to a bus.
zConnect one device for every 2 m of cable used.
zEach device on the bus needs a unique device address. No two devices can
share the same device address.
zTurn on at least two-thirds of the devices on the GPIB system while you use
the system.
zDo not use loop or parallel structure for the topology of GPIB system.

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Notes for RS-232 Configuration
This oscilloscope contains a DB 9-pin, male RS-232 connector for serial
communication with a computer or terminal. The RS-232 interface of this
oscilloscope is configured as an RS-232 “Data Terminal Equipment”, so that data
is sent from pin 3 and received on pin 2. For remote controls, the RS-232 interface
has to be connected with a computer or terminal.
Pin Assignments
The pin assignments for RS-232 interface of the oscilloscope are listed below.
1. No connection
2. Receive Data(RxD) (input)
3. Transmit Data(TxD) (output)
4. No connection
5. Signal Ground (GND)
6. No connection
7. No connection
8. No connection
9. No connection
Figure 1-1: Pin assignments for the RS232 connector
DB9 to DB9 Wiring
The wiring configuration is used for computer with DB9 connectors that configured
as Data Terminal Equipment.
Oscilloscope
(DB9, DTE)
Computer
(DB9, DTE)
Pin2
Pin3
Pin2
Pin3
Pin5Pin5
Figure 1-2: DB9 to DB9 wiring

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When the oscilloscope is set up with a RS-232 interface, please check the
following points:
zDo not connect the output line of one DTE device to the output line of the
other.
zMany devices require a constant high signal on one or more input pins.
zEnsure that the signal ground of the equipment is connected to the
signal ground of the external device.
zEnsure that the chassis ground of the equipment is connected to the
chassis ground of the external device.
zDo not use more than 15m of cable to connect devices to a PC.
zEnsure the same configurations are used on the device as the one used
on PC terminal.
zEnsure the connector for the both side of cable and the internal
connected line are met the demand of the instrument.
Computer’s Connection for RS-232
A personal computer with a COM port is the essential facilities in order to operate
the digitizing oscilloscope via RS-232 interface.
The connections between oscilloscope and computer are as follows:
I. Connect one end of a RS-232 cable to the computer.
II. Connect the other end of the cable to the RS-232 port on the oscilloscope.
III. Turn on the oscilloscope.
IV. Turn on the computer.
Figure 1-3, shows the GPIB port and RS-232 port’s locations on the rear panel of
the oscilloscope.

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Figure 1-3. Rear panel of the oscilloscope
(1): Main power switch
(2): AC power socket
(3): GPIB port (option for all series oscilloscopes)
(4): Fuse drawer
(5): “SELF CAL” BNC output
(6): “GO/NO GO” BNC output (option for GDS-806/810)
(7): USB connector (option for GDS-806/810)
(8): Printer port (option for GDS-806/810)
(9): RS-232 port

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2. Computer’s Connection
A personal computer with a GPIB card is the essential stuff in order to operate the
oscilloscope via GPIB interface.
The connections between oscilloscope and computer are following:
I. Connect one end of a GPIB cable to the computer.
II. Connect the other end of the GPIB cable to the GPIB port on the Oscilloscope.
III. Turn on the oscilloscope.
IV. Turn on the computer.
The GPIB interface capabilities:
The GPIB interface of the oscilloscope corresponds to the standard of
IEEE488.1-1987, IEEE488.2-1992 and SCPI-1994. The GPIB interface functions
are listed as follows:
SH1(Source
Handshake):
The oscilloscope can transmit multilane messages
across the GPIB.
AH1(Acceptor
Handshake):
The oscilloscope can receive multilane messages
across the GPIB.
T6(Talker): Talker interface function includes basic talker, serial
poll, and unaddress if MLA capabilities, without talk
only mode function.
L4 (Listener): The oscilloscope becomes a listener when the
controller sends its listen address with the ATN
(attention) line asserted. The oscilloscope does not
have listen only capability.

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SR1 (Service Request): The oscilloscope asserts the SRQ (Service request)
line to notify the controller when it requires service.
RL1 (Remote/Local): The oscilloscope responds to both the GTL (Go to
Local) and LLO (Local Lock Out) interface messages.
PP0 (Parallel Poll): The oscilloscope has no Parallel Poll interface
function.
DC1 (Device Clear): The oscilloscope has Device clear capability to return
the device to power on status.
DT0 (Device Trigger): The oscilloscope has no Device Trigger interface
function.
C0 (Controller) : This oscilloscope can not control other devices.
The GPIB address setting
To change the GPIB address, please use the following steps:
zPress the UTILITY button on the front panel. The utility menu provides
Interface Menu sub menu by pressing F2 softkey which GPIB sub menu is
included. Press F1 softkey to select GPIB setting menu.
For GPIB sub menu
zType GPIB: Select GPIB port.
zAddr 1~30: select the appropriate address for GPIB.
zPrevious Menu: back to previous menu.

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The GPIB connection testing
If you want to test the GPIB connection is whether working or not, use the National
Instrument’s “Interactive Control utility” for instance, you communicate with the
GPIB devices through calls you interactively type in at the keyboard.
The Interactive Control can help you to learn about the instrument and to
troubleshoot problems by displaying the following information on your screen after
you enter a command:
zResults of the status word (ibsta) in hexadecimal notation
zMnemonic constant of each bit set in ibsta
zMnemonic value of the error variable (iberr) if an error exists (the ERR bit is
set in ibsta)
zCount value for each read, write, or command function
zData received from your instrument
You can access online help in Interactive Control by entering help at the prompt, or
you can get help on a specific function by entering help <function> at the prompt,
where <function> is the name of the function for which you want help.
To start Interactive Control within National Instrument’s “Measurement &
Automation Explorer”, complete the following steps:
1. Select Tools→I-488.2 Utilities→Interactive Control.
2. Open either a board handle or device handle to use for further NI-488.2 calls.
Use ibdev to open a device handle, ibfind to open a board handle, or the set
488.2 command to switch to a 488.2 prompt.

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The following example uses ibdev to open a device, assigns it to access board
gpib0, chooses a primary address of 7 with no secondary address, sets a timeout
of 10 seconds, enables the END message, and disables the EOS mode.
:ibdev
enter board index: 0
enter primary address: 7
enter secondary address: 0
enter timeout: 13
enter ‘EOI on last byte’ flag: 1
enter end-of-string mode/byte: 0
ud0:
Note: If you type a command and no parameters, Interactive Control prompts you
for the necessary arguments. If you already know the required arguments, you can
type them at the command prompt, as follows:
:ibdev 0 7 0 13 1 0
ud0:
Note: If you do not know the primary and secondary address of your GPIB
instrument, right-click on your GPIB interface in Measurement & Automation
Explorer and select Scan for Instruments. After Explorer scans your interface, it
displays your instrument address in the right window panel.
3. After you successfully complete ibdev, you have a ud prompt. The new
prompt, ud0, represents a device-level handle that you can use for further
NI-488.2 calls. To clear the device, use ibclr, as follows:
ud0: ibclr
[0100] (cmpl)