HP 54501A Owner's manual

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Programming Reference
HP 54501A Digitizing Oscilloscope

Printing History
New editions are complete revisions of the manual. Update packages,
which are issued between editions, contain additional and replacement
pages to be merged into the manual bythe customer. The dates on the
title page change only when a new edition is published.
A software code may be printed before the date; this indicates the version
of the software product at the time the manual or update was issued.
Many product updates and fixes do not require manual changes and,
conversely, manual corrections may be done without accompanying
product changes. Therefore, do not expect a one to one correspondence
between product updates and manual updates.
Edition 1 June 1989 54501-90907

List of Effective Pages
The List of Effective Pages gives the date of the current edition and of any
pages changed in updates to that edition. Within the manual, any page
changed since the last edition is indicated by printing the date the changes
were made on the bottom of the page. Ifan update is incorporated when
a new edition of the manual is printed, the change dates are removed from
the bottom of the pages and the new edition date is listed in the Printing
History and on the title page.
Pages Effective Date

Product
Warranty This Hewlett-Packard product has a warranty against defects in
material and workmanship for a period of three years from date of
shipment. During warranty period, Hewlett-Packard Company will, at
its option, either repair or replace products that prove to be defective.
For warranty service or repair, this product must be returned to a
service facility designated byHewlett-Packard. However, warranty
service for products installed by Hewlett-Packard and certain other
products designated by Hewlett-Packard will be performed at the
Buyer's facility at no charge within the Hewlett-Packard service travel
area. Outside Hewlett-Packard service travel areas, warranty service
will be performed at the Buyer's faculty only upon Hewlett-Packard's
prior agreement and the Buyer shall pay Hewlett-Packard's round trip
travel expenses.
For products returned to Hewlett-Packard for warranty service, the
Buyer shall prepay shipping charges to Hewlett-Packard and
Hewlett-Packard shall pay shipping charges to return the product to
the Buyer. However, the Buyer shall pay all shipping charges, duties,
and taxes for products returned to Hewlett-Packard from another
country.
Hewlett-Packard warrants that its software and firmware designated by
Hewlett-Packard for use with an instrument will execute its
programming instructions when properly installed on that instrument.
Hewlett-Packard does not warrant that the operation of the instrument
software, or firmware will be uninterrupted or error-free.

Limitation of
Warranty The foregoing warranty shall not apply to defects resulting from
improper or inadequate maintenance bythe Buyer, Buyer-supplied
software or interfacing, unauthorized modification or misuse, operation
outside ofthe environmental specifications for the product, or
improper site preparation or maintenance.
NO OTHER WARRANTY IS EXPRESSED OR IMPUED.
HEWLETT-PACKARD SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS THE
IMPUED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Exclusive THE REMEDIES PROVIDED HEREIN ARE BUYER'S SOLE
Remedies AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES. HEWLETT-PACKARD SHALL
NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, WHETHER
BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL
THEORY.
Assistance Product maintenance agreements and other customer assistance
agreements are available for Hewlett-Packard products.
For assistance, contact your nearest Hewlett-Packard Sales and Service
Office.
Certification Hewlett-Packard Company certifies that this product met its published
specifications at the time of shipment from the factory.
Hewlett-Packard further certifies that its calibration measurements are
traceable to the United States National Bureau of Standards, to the
extent allowed by the Bureau's calibration facility, and to the
calibration facilities of other International Standards Organization
members.
Safety This product has been designed and tested according to International
Safety Requirements. To ensure safe operation and to keep the
product safe, the information, cautions, and warnings in this manual
must be heeded.

Introduction
This manual explains how to program the HP 54501A Digitizing
Oscilloscope and lists the commands and queries associated with this
instrument. It is divided into 17 chapters and 2 appendices.
Chapter 1 introduces you to the programming syntax required to
program this instrument and provides some basic programming
concepts to get you started programming..
Chapter 2 describes the interface functions and some general
concepts of HP-IB.
Chapter 3 describes the operation of instruments that operate in
compliance with the IEEE 4882 standard. This chapter also
describes the status reporting features that are available over the
HP-IB.
Chapter 4 covers the conventions which are used to program the
instrument as well as conventions used in the remainder of this
manual. This chapter also includes a complete command tree and
alphabetic command cross-reference.
Chapter 5 lists the Common Commands which are the commands
defined by IEEE 488.2. These commands control some functions
that are common to all IEEE 488.2 instruments.
Chapter 6 lists the Root Level Commands which control many of
the basic functions of the instrument.
Chapter 7 lists the System Subsystem Commands which control
some basic functions of the oscilloscope.
Chapter 8 lists the Acquire Subsystem Commands which set the
parameters for acquiring and storing data.
Chapter 9 lists the Calibrate Subsystem Commands which set time
nulls (channel-to-channel skew).
HP 54501A
Programming Introduction-1

Chapter 10 lists the Channel Subsystem Commands which control
all Y-axis oscilloscope functions.
Chapter 11 lists the Display Subsystem Commands which control
how waveforms, voltage and time markers, graticule, and text are
displayed and written on the screen.
Chapter 12 lists the Function Subsystem Commands which control
the waveform math functions of the oscilloscope.
Chapter 13 lists the Hardcopy Subsystem Commands which
control the parameters used during the printing of waveforms.
Chapter 14 lists the Measure Subsystem Commands which select
the automatic measurements to be made.
Chapter 15 lists the Timebase Subsystem Commands which
control all X-axis oscilloscope functions.
Chapter 16 lists the Trigger Subsystem Commands which control
the trigger modes and parameters for each trigger mode.
Chapter 17 lists the Waveform Subsystem Commands which
provide access to waveform data, including active data from
channels and functions as well as static data from waveform
memories.
Appendix A provides details on how automatic measurements are
calculated and offers some tips on how to improve results.
Appendix B contains example programs using the command set
from the HP 54501A.
At the end of the manual is Quick Reference Guide that lists the
commands and queries with their corresponding arguments and
returned formats. Also, at the end of the manual is a complete index
for easy reference of commands and functions.
Introduction-2
HP 54501A
Programming

Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Introduction to Programming an Oscilloscope
Introduction ................................................1-1
Programming Syntax .........................................1-2
Talking to the Instrument ..................................1-2
Addressing the Instrument .................................1-3
Program Message Syntax ...................................1-4
Separator ................................................1-5
Command Syntax .........................................1-5
Query Command .........................................1-7
Program Header Options ..................................1-8
Program Data ............................................1-8
Program Message Terminator ..............................1-9
Selecting Multiple Subsystems .............................1-10
Summary ...............................................1-10
Programming an Oscilloscope ................................1-11
Initialization.............................................1-11
Autoscale ...............................................1-12
Setting Up the Instrument .................................1-12
Receiving Information from the Instrument ..................1-13
Response Header Options ................................1-14
Response Data Formats ..................................1-15
String Variables .........................................1-16
Numeric Variables .......................................1-17
Definite-Length Block Response Data ......................1-18
Multiple Queries.........................................1-19
Instrument Status ........................................1-19
Digitize Command .......................................1-20
HP 54501A
Programming Contents-1

Chapter 2:
Chapter 3:
Interface Functions
Introduction ................................................2-1
Interface Capabilities ........................................2-1
Command and Data Concepts .................................2-1
Addressing .................................................2-1
Remote, Local and Local Lockout .............................2-2
Bus Commands .............................................2-3
Device Clear .............................................2-3
Group Execute Trigger (GET) ..............................2-3
Interface Clear (IFC) ......................................2-3
Status Annunciators .........................................2-3
I——————————————————————————————————————
Message Communication and System Functions
Protocols ...................................................3-1
Functional Elements ...................................... 3-1
Protocol Overview ........................................
3-2
Protocol Operation........................................3-2
Protocol Exceptions .......................................3-3
Syntax Diagrams ............................................3-5
Syntax Overview.............................................3-5
Device Listening Syntax ....................................3-8
Device Talking Syntax ....................................3-21
Common Commands........................................3-27
Status Reporting ...........................................3-28
Bit Definitions ...........................................3-30
Key Features ............................................3-31
Serial Poll...............................................3-32
Parallel Poll .............................................3-34
Polling HP-IB Devices. ...................................3-36
Configuring Parallel Poll Responses ........................
3-36
Conducting a Parallel Poll.................................3-37
Disabling Parallel Poll Responses ..........................3-37
HP-IB Commands .......................................3-37
Contents-2 HP 54501A
Programming

Chapter 4:
Chapter 5:
Programming and Documentation Conventions
Introduction ................................................4-1
Truncation Rules ............................................4-1
The Command Tree .........................................4-4
Command Types ..........................................4-4
Tree Traversal Rules ......................................4-5
Examples ................................................4-5
Infinity Representation .......................................4-6
Sequential and Overlapped Commands. ........................4-7
Response Generation ........................................4-7
Notation Conventions and Definitions ..........................4-7
Syntax Diagrams ............................................4-8
Command Structure .........................................4-9
Common Commands ......................................4-9
Root Level Commands ....................................4-9
Subsystem Commands .....................................4-9
Program Examples .........................................4-11
Command Set Organization ..................................4-12
I————————————————————————————————————————
Common Commands
*CLS ......................................................5-4
*ESE ......................................................5-5
*ESR ......................................................5-7
*IDN ......................................................5-9
*IST ......................................................5-10
*LRN.....................................................5-11
*OPC.....................................................5-12
*OPT .....................................................5-13
*PRE .....................................................5-14
*RCL.....................................................5-15
*RST .....................................................5-16
*SAV .....................................................5-18
*SRE .....................................................5-19
*STB .....................................................5-21
*TRG ....................................................5-23
*TST .....................................................5-24
*WAI.....................................................5-25
HP 54501A
Programming Contents-3

Chapter 6:
Chapter 7:
Root Level Commands
Introduction ................................................6-1
AUToscale .................................................6-4
BEEPer ....................................................6-5
BLANk ....................................................6-6
DIGitize ...................................................6-7
EOI .......................................................6-8
ERASe ....................................................6-9
LER......................................................6-10
LTER ....................................................6-11
MENU ...................................................6-12
MERGe ..................................................6-13
PRINt ....................................................6-14
RUN .....................................................6-15
SERial ................................................... .6-16
STOP .....................................................6-17
STORe .................................................. .6-18
TER ......................................................6-19
VIEW ....................................................6-20
I————————————————————————————————————————
System Subsystem
Introduction ................................................7-1
DSP .......................................................7-3
ERRor.....................................................7-4
HEADer ...................................................7-6
KEY.......................................................7-7
LONGform.................................................7-9
SETup ....................................................7-10
Contents-4 HP 54501A
Programming

Chapter 8:
Chapter 9:
Chapter 10:
Chapter 11:
Acquire Subsystem
Introduction ................................................8-1
(Normal) Persistence Mode ...................................8-1
Averaging Mode ............................................8-2
Envelope Mode .............................................8-2
COMPlete..................................................8-4
COUNt ....................................................8-5
POINts ....................................................8-6
TYPE .....................................................8-7
I——————————————————————————————————————
Calibrate Subsystem
Introduction ................................................9-1
TNUL1.....................................................9-2
I——————————————————————————————————————
Channel Subsystem
Introduction ...............................................10-1
COUPling ................................................ .10-3
ECL ......................................................10-4
HFReject .................................................10-5
OFFSet ...................................................10-6
PROBe ...................................................10-7
RANGe .................................................. .10-8
TTL ......................................................10-9
I————————————————————————————————————————
Display Subsystem
Introduction ...............................................11-1
COLumn ..................................................11-4
CONNect .................................................11-5
DATA ................................................... .11-6
FORMat ..................................................11-8
GRATicule ................................................11-9
INVerse.................................................. 11-10
LINE ....................................................11-11
MASK ...................................................11-12
PERSistence ..............................................11-14
HP 54501A
Programming Contents-5

Chapter 12:
Chapter 13:
Chapter 14:
ROW ....................................................11-15
SCReen ..................................................11-16
SOURce ................................................ .11-17
STRing ..................................................11-18
TEXT ...................................................11-19
TMARker ................................................11-20
VMARker .'...............................................11-21
I————————————————————————————————————————
Function Subsystem
Introduction ...............................................12-1
ADD .....................................................12-4
INVert ................................................... .12-5
MULTiply................................................ .12-6
OFFSet ...................................................12-7
ONLY ....................................................12-8
RANGe .................................................. .12-9
SUBTract ................................................12-10
VERSUS .................................................12-11
I——————————————————————————————————————
Hardcopy Subsystem
Introduction ...............................................13-1
LENGth ................................................. .13-2
PAGE ....................................................13-3
I————————————————————————————————————————
Measure Subsystem
Introduction ...............................................14-1
Measurement Setup ........................................14-1
User-Defined Measurements.................................14-1
Measurement Error.........................................14-2
Making Measurements ......................................14-2
ALL .....................................................14-11
COMPare ................................................14-12
CURSor ................................................ .14-14
DEFine ..................................................14-15
DELay................................................... 14-17
DESTination ............................................ .14-18
DUTycycle .............................................. .14-19
ESTArt ................................................. .14-20
Contents-6 HP 54501A
Programming

ESTOp ................................................. .14-22
FALLtime................................................14-24
FREQuency ..............................................14-25
LIMittest................................................ .14-26
LOWer ................................................. .14-27
MODE ................................................. .14-28
NWIDth .................................................14-29
OVERshoot ............................................. .14-30
PERiod ..................................................14-31
POSTfailure ..............................................14-32
PRECision .............................................. .14-33
PREShoot............................................... .14-34
PWIDth..................................................14-35
RESults ................................................. .14-36
RISetime .................................................14-37
SCRatch .................................................14-38
SOURce ................................................ .14-39
STATistics ...............................................14-40
TDELta..................................................14-41
TMAX...................................................14-42
TMIN ...................................................14-43
TSTArt ..................................................14-44
TSTOp ..................................................14-45
TVOLt ..................................................14-46
UNITs ...................................................14-48
UPPer .................................................. .14-49
VAMPlitude ............................................. .14-50
VAVerage............................................... .14-51
VBASe ................................................. .14-52
VDELta ................................................ .14-53
VFIFty ...................................................14-54
VMAX ................................................. .14-55
VMIN ...................................................14-56
VPP .....................................................14-57
VRELative ...............................................14-58
VRMS ...................................................14-60
VSTArt ................................................. .14-61
VSTOp ................................................. .14-62
VTIMe ..................................................14-63
VTOP ...................................................14-64
HP 54501A
Programming Corrtents-7

Chapter 15:
Chapter 16:
Timebase Subsystem
Introduction ...............................................15-1
DELay....................................................15-3
MODE ...................................................15-4
RANGe ...................................................15-5
REFerence ................................................15-6
WINDOW ..................................................15-7
WINDowDELay...........................................15-8
WINDowRANGe ..........................................15-9
I——————————————————————————————————————
Trigger Subsystem
Introduction ...............................................16-1
The EDGE Trigger Mode ...................................16-3
The Pattern Trigger Mode ...................................16-4
The State Trigger Mode .....................................16-5
The Delay Trigger Mode ....................................16-6
The TV Trigger Mode ......................................16-7
CONDition ...............................................16-13
DELay...................................................16-16
DELaySLOPe ........................................... .16-17
DELay:SOURce ......................................... .16-18
FIELd ...................................................16-19
HOLDoff ............................................... .16-20
LEVel ...................................................16-21
LINE ....................................................16-22
LOGic ...................................................16-23
MODE ................................................. .16-24
Occurrence ..............................................16-25
OCCurrence:SLOPe ...................................... .16-26
OCCurrence:SOURce .....................................16-27
PATH ...................................................16-28
POLarity ................................................ .16-29
QUALify................................................ .16-30
SLOPe .................................................. .16-32
SOURce ................................................ .16-33
STANdard .............................................. .16-34
Contents-8 HP 54501A
Programming

Chapter 17: Waveform Subsystem
Introduction ...............................................17-1
Data Acquisition Types .....................................17-2
Normal .................................................17-2
Average ................................................17-3
Envelope ...............................................17-3
Data Conversion ...........................................17-4
Conversion from Data Value to Voltage .....................17-4
Conversion from Data Value to Time .......................17-4
Data Format for HP-IB Transfer .............................17-5
WORD Format ......................................... .17-5
BYTE Format ...........................................17-6
COMPRESSED Format ..................................17-6
ASCII Format ...........................................17-6
COUNt ...................................................17-9
DATA ...................................................17-10
FORMat .................................................17-12
POINts ..................................................17-13
PREamble .............................................. .17-14
SOURce ................................................ .17-16
TYPE ...................................................17-17
XINCrement ............................................. .17-18
XORigin ................................................ .17-19
XREFerence .............................................17-20
YINCrement............................................. .17-21
YORigin ................................................ .17-22
YREFerence ............................................ .17-23
HP 54501A
Programming Contents-9

Appendix A:
Appendix B:
Algorithms
Introduction ............................................... A-l
Measurement Setup ........................................ A-l
Making Measurements ...................................... A-l
Automatic Top-Base ........................................ A-2
Edge Definition ............................................ A-2
Algorithm Definitions ....................................... A-3
delay ...................................................A-3
+ width ................................................A-4
- width .................................................A-5
Period ..................................................A-5
Frequency ..............................................A-5
Duty Cycle ..............................................A-5
Risetime ................................................ A-5
Falltime ................................................ A-5
Vmax ..................................................A-5
Vmin ...................................................A-5
Vp-p ................................................... A-5
Vtop ...................................................A-5
Vbase ..................................................A-6
Vamp ..................................................A-6
Vavg ...................................................A-6
Vrms ................................................... A-6
I————————————————————————————————————————
Example Programs
Introduction ............................................... B-l
Vertical Channel Setup Program .............................. B-2
Timebase Program ......................................... B-4
Measurement Setup Program ................................ B-6
Digitize Program ........................................... B-9
Hardcopy Program (Service Request using OPC) .............. B-ll
Waveform Template Program ............................... B-12
Quick Reference Guide
Index
Contents-10 HP 54501A
Programming

Introduction to Programming an Oscilloscope 1
Introduction This chapter introduces you to the basic concepts ofHP-IB
communication and provides information and examples to get you started
programming. The exact mnemonics for the commands are listed in
chapters 5 through 17.
There are four basic operations that can be done with a controller and an
oscilloscope via HP-IB. You can:
1. Set up the instrument and start measurements
2. Retrieve setup information and measurement results
3. Digitize a waveform and pass the data to the controller
4. Send measurement data to the instrument
Other more complicated tasks are accomplished with a combination of
these four basic functions.
This chapter deals mainly with how to set up the instrument, how to
retrieve setup information and measurement results, how to digitize a
waveform, and how to pass data to the controller. The chapter is divided
into two sections. The first section (page 1-2) concentrates on program
syntax, and the second section (page 1-11) discusses programming an
oscilloscope. Refer to the chapter "Measure Subsystem" for information
on sending measurement data to the instrument.
Note
The programming examples in this manual are written in
HP Basic 4.0for an HP 9000 Series 2001300 Controller.
HP 54501A
Programming Introduction to Programming an Oscilloscope
1-1

Programming
Syntax
Talking to the
Instrument In general, computers acting as controllers communicate with the
instrument bypassing messages over a remote interface using the I/O
statements provided in the instruction set of the controller's host
language. Hence, the HPSL 1.0 messages for programming the
HP 54501A, described in this manual, will normally appear as ASCII
character strings imbedded inside the I/O statements ofyour controller's
program. For example, the HP 9000 Series 200/300 BASIC and PASCAL
language systems use the OUTPUT statement for sending program
messages to the HP 54501A, and the ENTER statement for receiving
response messages from the HP 54501A.
Messages are placed on the bus using an output command and passing the
device address, program message, and terminator. Passing the device
address ensures that the program message is sent to the correct interface
and instrument.
The following command turns the command headers on:
OUTPUT < device address > ;":SYSTEM:HEADER ON" < terminator >
< device address > represents the address of the device being
programmed.
Note
The programming examples in this manual are written in
HP Basic 4.0 for an HP 9000 Series 200/300 Controller.
Introduction to Programming an Oscilloscope
1-2
HP 54501A
Programming