Newtons4th SLM3505 Use and care manual

SLM3505
COMMUNICATIONS MANUAL

SLM3505 communications manual
i
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
This equipment is designed to comply with BSEN 61010-
1 (Safety requirements for electrical equipment for
measurement, control, and laboratory use) –observe
the following precautions:
Ensure that the supply voltage agrees with the rating of
the instrument printed on the back panel before
connecting the mains cord to the supply.
This appliance must be earthed. Ensure that the
instrument is powered from a properly grounded supply.
The inputs must not be connected to signals greater
than is indicated on the front panel.
Keep the ventilation holes on the underneath and sides
free from obstruction.
Do not operate or store under conditions where
condensation may occur or where conducting debris
may enter the case.
There are no user serviceable parts inside the
instrument –do not attempt to open the instrument,
refer service to the manufacturer or his appointed
agent.
Note: Newtons4th Ltd. shall not be liable for any
consequential damages, losses, costs or expenses
arising from the use or misuse of this product
however caused.

SLM3505 communications manual
ii
ABOUT THIS MANUAL
This manual gives details of the communication
commands recognized by the SLM3505 series of
instruments over RS232, USB, or LAN. For more general
operating instructions for the instrument refer to the
user manual.
Each command is listed alphabetically with details of any
arguments and reply. A one line summary of each
command is given in the appendix. Although most of the
commands apply to all instruments in the range there
are some commands that are specific to one instrument
or another.
The information in this manual is believed to be accurate
and complete but Newtons4th Ltd cannot accept any
liability whatsoever for any consequential damage or
losses arising from any errors, inaccuracies, or
omissions.
Revision 2.66
This manual is copyright © 2008 - 2014 Newtons4th
Ltd. and all rights are reserved. No part may be copied
or reproduced in any form without prior written consent.
06th June 2014

SLM3505 communications manual
iii
CONTENTS
1Using remote control ......................................... 1-1
1.1 Standard event status register.................................. 1-3
1.2 Serial Poll status byte .............................................. 1-4
1.3 RS232 connections.................................................. 1-5
2Communication commands ................................. 2-1
*CLS ................................................................................ 2-1
*ESE ................................................................................ 2-2
*ESR?............................................................................... 2-3
*IDN?............................................................................... 2-4
*OPC? .............................................................................. 2-5
*RST ................................................................................ 2-6
*SRE ................................................................................ 2-7
*STB?............................................................................... 2-9
*TRG .............................................................................. 2-10
*TST?............................................................................. 2-11
*WAI.............................................................................. 2-12
ABORT............................................................................ 2-13
AMPLIT ........................................................................... 2-14
BEEP .............................................................................. 2-15
BLANKI ........................................................................... 2-16
CONFIG .......................................................................... 2-17
DAV? .............................................................................. 2-19
DAVER............................................................................ 2-20
FILTER............................................................................ 2-22
FRA ................................................................................ 2-23
FREQUE .......................................................................... 2-25
FSWEEP .......................................................................... 2-26
GAINPH .......................................................................... 2-27
HOLD ............................................................................. 2-29
INPUT............................................................................. 2-30
KEYBOA .......................................................................... 2-31
LCR ................................................................................ 2-32
MARKER.......................................................................... 2-34
MODE ............................................................................. 2-35
OUTPUT .......................................................................... 2-36
PHCONV.......................................................................... 2-37
RANGE............................................................................ 2-39
RESOLU .......................................................................... 2-40
RESULT........................................................................... 2-41

SLM3505 communications manual
iv
RESULT? RESULT? ......... 2-42
REZERO .......................................................................... 2-43
SCALE ............................................................................ 2-44
SCREEN?......................................................................... 2-45
SLM................................................................................ 2-46
SPEED ............................................................................ 2-48
START ............................................................................ 2-49
STATUS?......................................................................... 2-50
STOP .............................................................................. 2-51
TFA ................................................................................ 2-52
USER? ............................................................................ 2-54
VERSIO? ......................................................................... 2-55
VSWR ............................................................................. 2-56
WAVEFO ......................................................................... 2-58
ZERO.............................................................................. 2-59

SLM3505 communications manual
1-1
1Using remote control
The instrument is fitted with an RS232 serial
communications port and USB port as standard, and
may have a LAN interface fitted as an option. All the
interfaces use the same ASCII protocol with the
following end of line terminators:
Rx expects
Tx sends
RS232
USB
LAN
carriage return
(line feed
ignored)
carriage return
and line feed
All the functions of the instrument can be programmed
via any interface, and results read back. The port to be
used is selected by the REMOTE menu.
The commands are not case sensitive and white space
characters are ignored (e.g. tabs and spaces). Replies
from the instrument are always upper case, delimited by
commas, without spaces.
Only the first six characters of any command are
important –any further characters will be ignored. For
example, the command to set the generator frequency is
FREQUE but the full word FREQUENCY may be sent as
the redundant NCY at the end will be ignored.
Fields within a command are delimited by comma,
multiple commands can be sent on one line delimited
with a semi-colon. Eg.
AMPLIT,1.5;OUTPUT,ON
Mandatory commands specified in the IEEE488.2
protocol have been implemented, (e.g. *IDN?, *RST)
and all commands that expect a reply are terminated
with a question mark.

SLM3505 communications manual
1-2
The instrument maintains an error status byte consistent
with the requirements of the IEEE488.2 protocol (called
the standard event status register) that can be read by
the mandatory command *ESR? (see section 5.1).
The instrument also maintains a status byte consistent
with the requirements of the IEEE488.2 protocol, that
can be read by the mandatory command *STB? (see
section 5.2).
The keyboard is disabled when the instrument is set to
“remote”. Press HOME to return to “local” operation.
RS232 data format is: start bit, 8 data bits (no parity), 1
stop bit. Flow control is RTS/CTS (see section 5.2); baud
rate is selectable via the REMOTE menu.
A summary of the available commands is given in the
Appendix. Details of each command are given in the
communication command section of the manual.
Commands are executed in sequence except for two
special characters that are immediately obeyed:
Control T (20) –reset interface (device clear)
Control U (21) –warm restart

SLM3505 communications manual
1-3
1.1 Standard event status register
PO
N
CM
E
EX
E
DD
E
QY
E
OP
C
bit 0 OPC (operation complete)
cleared by most commands
set when data available or sweep complete
bit 2 QYE (unterminated query error)
set if no message ready when data read
bit 3 DDE (device dependent error)
set when the instrument has an error
bit 4 EXE (execution error)
set when the command cannot be executed
bit 5 CME (command interpretation error)
set when a command has not been recognised
bit 7 PON (power on event)
set when power first applied or unit has reset
The bits in the standard event status register except for
OPC are set by the relevant event and cleared by
specific command (*ESR?, *CLS, *RST). OPC is also
cleared by most commands that change any part of the
configuration of the instrument (such as MODE or
START).

SLM3505 communications manual
1-4
1.2 Serial Poll status byte
ES
B
MA
V
SD
V
RD
V
bit 0 RDV (result data available)
set when results are available to be read as
enabled by DAVER
bit 1 SDV (sweep data available)
set when sweep results are available to be
read as enabled by DAVER
bit 2 not used
bit 3 not used)
bit 4 MAV (message available)
set when a message reply is waiting to be read
bit 5 ESB (standard event summary bit)
set if any bit in the standard event status
register is set as well as the corresponding bit
in the standard event status enable register
(set by *ESE).

SLM3505 communications manual
1-5
1.3 RS232 connections
The RS232 port on the instrument uses the same pinout
as a standard 9 pin serial port on a PC or laptop (9-pin
male „D‟ type).
Pin
Functio
n
Direction
1
DCD
in (+ weak pull up)
2
RX data
in
3
TX data
out
4
DTR
out
5
GND
6
DSR
not used
7
RTS
out
8
CTS
in
9
RI
not used
The instrument will only transmit when CTS (pin 8) is
asserted, and can only receive if DCD (pin 1) is
asserted. The instrument constantly asserts (+12V) DTR
(pin 4) so this pin can be connected to any unwanted
modem control inputs to force operation without
handshaking. The instrument has a weak pull up on pin
1 as many null modem cables leave it open circuit. In
electrically noisy environments, this pin should be driven
or connected to pin 4.
To connect the instrument to a PC, use a 9 pin female to
9 pin female null modem cable:
1 & 6
-
4
2
-
3
3
-
2
4
-
1 &
6
5
-
5

SLM3505 communications manual
1-6
7
-
8
8
-
7

SLM3505 communications manual
2-1
2Communication commands
*CLS
*CLS
Function:
Clear status
Description:
Clears the standard event status
register.
Format:
*CLS
Arguments:
none
Reply:
none
Example:
*CLS
*ESR?
0
Notes:

SLM3505 communications manual
2-2
*ESE
*ESE
Function:
Set standard event status enable
register.
Description:
Enable which bits of the standard event
status register set the ESB bit in the
serial poll status byte..
Format:
*ESE, value
Arguments:
decimal equivalent of bits in standard
event status enable register
Reply:
can be read by *ESE?
Example:
*ESE, 60
Notes:
The following bits in the standard event
status enable register have been
implemented:
bit 0 OPC (operation complete)
bit 2 QYE (unterminated query error)
bit 3 DDE (device dependent error)
bit 4 EXE (execution error)
bit 5 CME (command interpretation
error)
bit 7 PON (power on event)
For example, *ESE, 60 enables all the
error bits so that the ESB bit in the
serial poll status byte is set in the event
of any error.

SLM3505 communications manual
2-3
*ESR?
*ESR?
Function:
Standard event status register query
Description:
Returns the contents of the standard
event status register and clears it.
Format:
*ESR?
Arguments:
none
Reply:
decimal equivalent of bits in standard
event status register
Example:
*ESR?
33
Notes:
The following bits in the standard event
status register have been implemented:
bit 0 OPC (operation complete)
bit 2 QYE (unterminated query error)
bit 3 DDE (device dependent error)
bit 4 EXE (execution error)
bit 5 CME (command interpretation
error)
bit 7 PON (power on event)
For example, if a command is sent
incorrectly and is not recognised, the
CME bit will be set and the value of 33
will be returned.

SLM3505 communications manual
2-4
*IDN?
*IDN?
Function:
Identify query
Description:
Returns a standard format identification
string.
Format:
*IDN?
Arguments:
none
Reply:
An ASCII string in the IEEE488.2
format:
manufacturer,model,serial no,version
Example:
*IDN?
NEWTONS4TH,PSIMETRIQ,01234,1.00
Notes:

SLM3505 communications manual
2-5
*OPC?
*OPC?
Function:
Test for operation complete
Description:
Returns 1 if previous operation is
completed, 0 if not.
Format:
*OPC?
Arguments:
none
Reply:
0 or 1
Example:
START
*OPC?
0
*OPC?
0
*OPC?
1
Notes:
*OPC? can be used to indicate when
data is available or when a frequency
sweep has completed.

SLM3505 communications manual
2-6
*RST
*RST
Function:
Reset
Description:
Resets the instrument to the default
state and clears the standard event
status register.
Format:
*RST
Arguments:
none
Reply:
none
Example:
*RST
Notes:
The *RST command loads the default
configuration. This is the same as
loading the default configuration via the
PROGRAM menu.
Any preceding setup commands will be
overwritten.
*RST should be followed by an end of
line not a message separator. It may be
helpful to follow it with a short pause to
allow the new configuration to become
active before sending further
commands.

SLM3505 communications manual
2-7
*SRE
*SRE
Function:
Set service request enable register.
Description:
Enable which bits of the status byte
register initiate a service request.
Format:
*SRE, value
Arguments:
decimal equivalent of bits in status byte
register
Reply:
can be read by *SRE?
Example:
*SRE, 1
generate a service request when data
available.
Notes:

SLM3505 communications manual
2-8
*SRE?
*SRE?
Function:
Read service request enable register.
Description:
Read back the present setting of the
service request enable register.
Format:
*SRE?
Arguments:
Reply:
decimal equivalent of bits in status byte
register that would generate a service
request.
Example:
*SRE?
1
Notes:

SLM3505 communications manual
2-9
*STB?
*STB?
Function:
Read serial poll status byte
Description:
Returns the decimal value of the serial
poll status byte.
Format:
*STB?
Arguments:
none
Reply:
decimal value of the serial poll status
byte
Example:
*STB?
1
Notes:
The following bits in the serial poll
status register have been implemented:
bit 0 RDV (results data available)
bit 1 SDV (sweep data available)
bit 3 ALA (alarm active)
bit 4 MAV (message available)
bit 5 ESB (standard event summary
bit)