Hioki BT4560 User manual

Communication Command Instruction Manual
BT4560
Battery Impedance Meter
 This manual explains the communication commands for Model BT4560 Battery
Impedance Meter.
 Please refer to the instruction manual for Model BT4560 for details regarding
command settings.
 Although all reasonable care has been taken in the production of this manual, should you
find any points which are unclear or in error, please contact your local distributor or the
HIOKI International Sales Department at [e-mail].
 In the interest of product development, the contents of this manual may be subject to
revision without notice.
 Unauthorized copying and replication of the contents of this instruction manual are strictly
prohibited. All Rights Reserved.
Issued in November 2014 BT4560A987-00

Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1
Message Format ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Output Queue and Input Buffer ............................................................................................................. 5
Status Byte Register ............................................................................................................................... 6
Event Registers ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Initialization Items ................................................................................................................................ 11
Local Function ...................................................................................................................................... 11
Command Execution Time .................................................................................................................. 12
Errors During Communications .......................................................................................................... 12
2 Message List .......................................................................................................................................... 13
3 Message Reference............................................................................................................................... 16
Message Reference Interpretation ...................................................................................................... 16
Standard Commands ............................................................................................................................ 17
(1) System Data Command ......................................................................................................... 17
*IDN ................................................................................................................................................. 17
(2) Internal Operation Command ............................................................................................... 17
*RST ................................................................................................................................................ 17
*TST................................................................................................................................................. 17
(3) Synchronization Commands ................................................................................................ 18
*OPC ............................................................................................................................................... 18
*WAI ................................................................................................................................................. 18
(4) Status and Event Control Commands ................................................................................. 18
*CLS ................................................................................................................................................ 18
*ESE ................................................................................................................................................ 19
*ESR ................................................................................................................................................ 19
*SRE ................................................................................................................................................ 20
*STB ................................................................................................................................................ 20
*TRG ................................................................................................................................................ 21
Device-Specific Commands ................................................................................................................ 21
(1) Instrument Model Name ........................................................................................................ 21
:QPID ............................................................................................................................................... 21
(2) Event Status Register ............................................................................................................ 21
:ESE0 .............................................................................................................................................. 21
:ESR0 .............................................................................................................................................. 22
:ESE1 .............................................................................................................................................. 22
:ESR1 .............................................................................................................................................. 22
(3) I/O ............................................................................................................................................. 22
:IO:MODE? ...................................................................................................................................... 22
(4) Measurement Functions ........................................................................................................ 23
:FUNCtion ........................................................................................................................................ 23
(5) Measurement Frequency ...................................................................................................... 23
:FREQuency .................................................................................................................................... 23
(6) Measurement range .............................................................................................................. 24
:RANGe ........................................................................................................................................... 24
(7) Sampling Speed ..................................................................................................................... 24
:SAMPle:RATE ................................................................................................................................ 24
(8) Sample Delay ......................................................................................................................... 25
:SAMPle:DELay:MODE ................................................................................................................... 25
:SAMPle:DELay:WAVE ................................................................................................................... 25
:SAMPle:DELay:VOLTage .............................................................................................................. 25
(9) Potential Slope Correction ................................................................................................... 26
:ADJust:SLOPe ............................................................................................................................... 26
(10) Voltage Limit .......................................................................................................................... 26
:LIMiter ............................................................................................................................................. 26
:LIMiter:VOLTage ............................................................................................................................ 26
(11) Measurement Signal Zero Cross Stop ................................................................................. 26
:ZERO:CROSs ................................................................................................................................ 26
(12) Averaging ............................................................................................................................... 27
:CALCulate:AVERage ..................................................................................................................... 27

(13) Zero Adjustment .................................................................................................................... 27
:ADJust ............................................................................................................................................ 27
:ADJust:CLEar ................................................................................................................................. 27
:ADJust:DATA:ALL? ........................................................................................................................ 28
:ADJust:DATA:SPOT? .................................................................................................................... 29
:ADJust:STATe? .............................................................................................................................. 29
(14) Self-Calibration ...................................................................................................................... 30
:CALibration ..................................................................................................................................... 30
:CALibration:AUTO .......................................................................................................................... 30
(15) Comparator............................................................................................................................. 30
:CALCulate:LIMit:STATe .................................................................................................................. 30
:CALCulate:LIMit:BEEPer ............................................................................................................... 30
:CALCulate:LIMit:ABS ..................................................................................................................... 31
:CALCulate:LIMit:RESistance ......................................................................................................... 31
:CALCulate:LIMit:REACtance ......................................................................................................... 32
:CALCulate:LIMit:IMPedance .......................................................................................................... 32
:CALCulate:LIMit:PHASe ................................................................................................................ 33
:CALCulate:LIMit:VOLTage ............................................................................................................. 33
(16) Saving and Reading Measurement Conditions ................................................................. 34
:SAVE/:LOAD ................................................................................................................................... 34
:SAVE:CLEar ................................................................................................................................... 34
(17) System Reset ......................................................................................................................... 34
:SYSTem:RESet .............................................................................................................................. 34
(18) Key Beeper ............................................................................................................................. 34
:SYSTem:BEEPer ............................................................................................................................ 34
(19)Key-Lock ................................................................................................................................. 35
:SYSTem:KLOCk ............................................................................................................................. 35
(20) Communications Settings .................................................................................................... 35
:SYSTem:LOCal .............................................................................................................................. 35
(21) Header ..................................................................................................................................... 35
:SYSTem:HEADer ........................................................................................................................... 35
(22) Serial Number ........................................................................................................................ 35
:SYSTem:SERial ............................................................................................................................. 35
(23) LCD Settings .......................................................................................................................... 36
:SYSTem:DISPlay:CONTrast .......................................................................................................... 36
:SYSTem:DISPlay:BACKlight .......................................................................................................... 36
(24) Triggering ............................................................................................................................... 37
:INITiate:CONTinuous ..................................................................................................................... 38
:TRIGger:SOURce .......................................................................................................................... 38
:INITiate ........................................................................................................................................... 39
(25) Reading Measured Values ..................................................................................................... 40
:ABORt ............................................................................................................................................ 41
:MEASure:VALid ............................................................................................................................. 41
:FETCh? .......................................................................................................................................... 42
:FETCh:TEMPerature?.................................................................................................................... 42
:READ? ............................................................................................................................................ 43
5 Data Exporting Methods ....................................................................................................................... 44
6 Sample Programs .................................................................................................................................. 46
Using Visual Basic 5.0 or 6.0 ............................................................................................................... 46
RS-232C/USBCommunications (Using Microsoft Visual Basic Professional MSComm) ............... 46
Simple Measurement ............................................................................................................... 46
Measure by PC Key ................................................................................................................. 47
External Trigger Measurement ................................................................................................ 48
Set Measurement Conditions................................................................................................... 49
Using Visual Basic2013 ....................................................................................................................... 50

1
1 Introduction
If the [COMMAND MONITOR] function is used at the time of program creation, commands and responses will be
conveniently displayed on the measurement screen. For information on the [COMMAND MONITOR] function, see the
instruction manual of the instruments.
Various messages are supported for controlling the instrument through the interfaces.
Messages can be either program messages, sent from the controller such as PC to the instrument, or response
messages, sent from the instrument to the controller.
Message types are further categorized as follows.
Command Messages
Program Messages
Query Messages
Messages
Response Message
When issuing commands that contain data, make sure that the data is provided in the specified format.
Message Format
 Program Messages
Program messages can be either Command Messages or Query Messages.
(1) Command Messages
Instructions to control the instrument, such as to change settings or reset
Example: (instruction to set the measurement range)
SAMPLE:DELAY:WAVE 5
Header portion Space Data portion
(2) Query Messages
Requests for responses relating to results of operation or measurement, or the state of instrument settings
Example: (request for the current measurement range)
SAMPLE:DELAY:WAVE ?
Header portion Question mark
See: “Headers (p.2)”, “Separators (p.3)”, “Data Formats (p.4)”
Program Messages
Response Messages
Controller
Instrument

2
 Response Messages
When a query message is received, its syntax is checked and a response message is
generated. :SYSTem:HEADer command determines whether headers are prefixed to response messages.
Header ON :RANGE 3.0000E-3
Header OFF 3.0000E-3
(The current measurement range is 3mΩ)
At power-on, Header OFF is selected.
If an error occurs when a query message is received, no response message is generated for that query.
Some query message has no header, such as :FETCH?.
 Command Syntax
Command names are chosen to mnemonically represent their function, and can be abbreviated. The full command
name is called the “long form”, and the abbreviated name is called the “short form”. The command references in this
manual indicate the short form in upper-case letters, extended to the long form in lower case letters, although the
commands are not case-sensitive in actual usage.
CALIBRATION? OK (long form)
CAL OK (short form)
CALIB Error
CA Error
Response messages generated by the instrument are in long form and in upper case letters.
 Headers
Headers must always be prefixed to program messages.
(1) Command Program Headers
There are three types of commands: Simple, Compound and Standard.
• Headers for Simple Commands
This header type is a sequence of letters and digits
:ESE0
• Headers for Compound Commands
These headers consist of multiple simple command type headers separated by colons “:”
:SYSTem:RESet
• Headers for Standard Commands
This header type begins with an asterisk “*”, indicating that it is a standard command defined by IEEE 488.2.
*RST
(2) Query Program Header
These commands are used to interrogate the instrument about the results of operations, measured values and
the current states of instrument settings.
As shown by the following examples, a query is formed by appending a question mark “?” after a program
header.
:FETCh?
:CALCulate:LIMit:BEEPer?

3
 Message Terminators
This instrument recognizes the following message terminators (delimiters):
• CR
• CR+LF
Also the terminator for response messages is as follows:
• CR+LF
 Separators
(1) Message Unit Separator
Multiple messages can be written in one line by separating them with semicolons “;”
:FREQUENCY 1000;*IDN?
• When messages are combined in this way and if one command contains an error, all subsequent messages
up to the next terminator will be ignored.
(2) Header Separator
In a message consisting of both a header and data, the header is separated from the data by a space “ ” (ASCII
code 20H).
:SYSTEM:HEADER OFF
(3) Data Separator
In a message containing multiple data items, commas “,” are required to separate the data items from one
another.
:SAMPle:RATE V,MED

4
 Data Formats
The instrument uses character data, decimal numeric data and character string data depending on the command.
(1) Character Data
Character data always begins with an alphabetic character, and subsequent characters may be either
alphabetic or numeric. Character data is not case-sensitive, although response messages from the instrument
are only upper case. When the command data portion contains <1/0/ON/OFF>, the operation will be similar to
when 0 is OFF and 1 is ON.
:SYSTEM:HEADER OFF
(2) Decimal Numeric Data
Three formats are used for numeric data, identified as NR1, NR2 and NR3. Numeric values may be signed or
unsigned. Unsigned numeric values are handled as positive values. Values exceeding the precision handled by
the instrument are rounded to the nearest valid digit.
• NR1 Integer data (e.g.: +12, -23, 34)
• NR2 Fixed-point data (e.g.: +1.23, -23.45, 3.456)
• NR3 Floating-point exponential representation data (e.g.: +1.0E-2, -2.3E+4)
The term “NRf format” includes all three of the above numeric decimal formats.
The instrument accepts NRf format data. The format of response data is specified for each command, and the
data is sent in that format.
:ESE0 10
:FETCH?
+1.06571E-03

5
 Compound Command Header Omission
When several commands having a common header are combined to form a compound command (for
example, :CALCulate:LIMit:RESistance and :CALCulate:LIMit:VOLTage), if they are written together
in sequence, the common portion (here, :CALCulate:LIMit:) may be omitted after its initial occurrence.
This common portion is called the “current path” (analogous to the path concept in computer file storage), and until it
is cleared, the interpretation of subsequent commands presumes that they share the same common portion.
This usage of the current path is shown in the following example:
Full expression
:CALCulate:LIMit: RESistance 1.0E-2,5.0E-3 ;:CALCulate:LIMit: VOLTage 5.0,4.0
Compacted expression
:CALCulate:LIMit: RESistance 1.0E-2,5.0E-3;VOLTage 5.0,4.0
This portion becomes the current path, and can be omitted from the messages immediately following.
The current path is cleared when the power is turned on, when reset by key input, by a colon “:” at the start of a
command, and when a message terminator is detected.
Standard command messages can be executed regardless of the current path. They have no effect upon the current
path.
A colon “:” is not required at the start of the header of a Simple or Compound command. However, to avoid
confusion with abbreviated forms and operating mistakes, we recommend always placing a colon at the start of a
header.
Output Queue and Input Buffer
 Output Queue
Response messages are stored in the output queue until read by the controller. The output queue is also cleared in
the following circumstances:
• Power on
 Input Buffer
The input buffer capacity of the instrument is 256 bytes.
If 256 bytes are allowed to accumulate in this buffer so that it becomes full, the interface will not accept data beyond
256 bytes.
Note: Ensure that no command ever exceeds 256 bytes.

6
Status Byte Register
Standard Event Register Description
Output Queue data information
Each of these bits corresponds to a specific event register
bit7
bit6
bit5
bit4
bit3
bit2
bit1
bit0
Unused MSS ESB Unused Unused Unused ESB1 ESB0 Status Byte
Register (STB)
↑ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
Logical
sum
←& & & & & &
↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑
bit7
bit6
bit5
bit4
bit3
bit2
bit1
bit0
Unused 0 ESB Unused Unused Unused ESB1 ESB0
Service Request
Enable Register
(SRER)
Overview of Service Request Occurrence
The Status Byte Register contains information about the event registers and the output queue. Required items are
selected from this information by masking with the Service Request Enable Register. When any bit selected by the
mask is set, bit 6 (MSS; the Master Summary Status) of the Status Byte Register is also set.

7
 Status Byte Register (STB)
When any Status Byte Register bit enabled by the Service Request Enable Register has switched from 0 to 1, the
MSS bit becomes 1.
Although the MSS bit is only read by an *STB? query, it is not cleared until a clear event is initiated by the *CLS
command.
Bit 7
U
nused
Bit 6 MSS
This is the logical sum of the other bits of the Status Byte Register.
Bit 5 ESB
Standard Event Status (logical sum) bit
This is logical sum of the Standard Event Status Register.
Bit 4 MAV
Unused
Bit 3
U
nused
Bit 2
U
nused
Bit 1 ESB1
Event Status (logical sum) bit 1
This is the logical sum of Event Status Register 1.
Bit 0 ESB0
Event Status (logical sum) bit 0
This is the logical sum of Event Status Register 0.
 Service Request Enable Register (SRER)
This register masks the Status Byte Register. Setting a bit of this register to 1 enables the corresponding bit of the
Status Byte Register to be used.