Racal Instruments 3156B User manual

200 MS/s DUAL CHANNEL
WAVEFORM SYNTHESIZER
MODEL 3156B
PUBLICATION NO. 980897
RACAL INSTRUMENTS
United States
(Corporate Headquarters and Service Center)
4 Goodyear Street, Irvine, CA 92618
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
5730 Northwest Parkway Suite 700, San Antonio, TX 78249
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
Europe
(European Headquarters and Service Center)
18 Avenue Dutartre, 78150 LeChesnay, France
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
29-31 Cobham Road, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 7PF, United Kingdom
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
Via Milazzo 25, 20092 Cinisello B, Milan, Italy
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
Racal Instruments Group Limited, Technologie Park, D-51429 Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
http://www.racalinstruments.com
[e-mail]
www.racalinstruments.de
PUBLICATION DATE: August 24, 2005
Copyright 2005 by Racal Instruments, Inc. Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved.
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher.

THANK YOU FOR PURCHASING THIS RACAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCT
For this product, or any other Racal Instruments product that incorporates software drivers, you may access our
web site to verify and/or download the latest driver versions. The web address for driver downloads is:
http://www.racalinstruments.com/downloads
If you have any questions about software driver downloads or our privacy policy, please contact us at
[e-mail]
WARRANTY STATEMENT
All Racal Instruments, Inc. products are designed and manufactured to exacting standards and in full
conformance to Racal’s ISO 9001:2000 processes.
For the specific terms of your standard warranty, or optional extended warranty or service agreement, contact
your Racal customer service advisor. Please have the following information available to facilitate service.
1. Product serial number
2. Product model number
3. Your company and contact information
You may contact your customer service advisor by:
E-Mail: [email protected]
Telephone: [phone] (USA)
[phone] (UK)
Fax: [phone] (USA)
[phone] (UK)
RETURN of PRODUCT
Authorization is required from Racal Instruments before you send us your product for service or calibration. Call
your nearest Racal Instruments support facility. A list is located on the last page of this manual. If you are unsure
where to call, contact Racal Instruments, Inc. Customer Support Department in Irvine, California, USA at 1-800-
722-3262 or 1-949-859-8999 or via fax at 1-949-859-7139. We can be reached at:
[e-mail].

PROPRIETARY NOTICE
This document and the technical data herein disclosed, are proprietary to Racal Instruments, and shall not,
without express written permission of Racal Instruments, be used, in whole or in part to solicit quotations from a
competitive source or used for manufacture by anyone other than Racal Instruments. The information herein has
been developed at private expense, and may only be used for operation and maintenance reference purposes or
for purposes of engineering evaluation and incorporation into technical specifications and other documents which
specify procurement of products from Racal Instruments.
DISCLAIMER
Buyer acknowledges and agrees that it is responsible for the operation of the goods purchased and should
ensure that they are used properly and in accordance with this handbook and any other instructions provided by
Seller. Racal Instruments products are not specifically designed, manufactured or intended to be used as parts,
assemblies or components in planning, construction, maintenance or operation of a nuclear facility, or in life
support or safety critical applications in which the failure of the Racal Instruments product could create a
situation where personal injury or death could occur. Should Buyer purchase Racal Instruments product for
such unintended application, Buyer shall indemnify and hold Racal Instruments, its officers, employees,
subsidiaries, affiliates and distributors harmless against all claims arising out of a claim for personal injury or
death associated with such unintended use.

FOR YOUR SAFETY
Before undertaking any troubleshooting, maintenance or exploratory procedure, read carefully the
WARNINGS and CAUTION notices.
This equipment contains voltage hazardous to
human life and safety, and is capable of
inflicting personal injury.
If this instrument is to be powered from the AC line (mains) through an
autotransformer, ensure the common connector is connected to the neutral (earth
pole) of the power supply.
Before operating the unit, ensure the conductor (green wire) is connected to the
ground (earth) conductor of the power outlet. Do not use a two-conductor extension
cord or a three-prong/two-prong adapter. This will defeat the protective feature of the
third conductor in the power cord.
Maintenance and calibration procedures sometimes call for operation of the unit with
power applied and protective covers removed. Read the procedures and heed
warnings to avoid “live” circuit points.
Before operating this instrument:
1. Ensure the proper fuse is in place for the power source to operate.
2. Ensure all other devices connected to or in proximity to this instrument are properly grounded or
connected to the protective third-wire earth ground.
If the instrument:
- fails to operate satisfactorily
- shows visible damage
- has been stored under unfavorable conditions
- has sustained stress
Do not operate until, performance is checked by qualified personnel.

This page was left intentionally blank.

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Racal Instruments © 2005 i
Table Of Contents
CHAPTER 1........................................................................................................................1-1
GETTING STARTED .......................................................................................................................1-1
What’s in This Chapter.....................................................................................................................1-1
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1-2
Options.............................................................................................................................................1-4
Manual Changes..............................................................................................................................1-4
Safety Considerations......................................................................................................................1-4
Supplied Accessories.......................................................................................................................1-4
Specifications...................................................................................................................................1-5
Functional Description .....................................................................................................................1-5
Input and Output Connectors...........................................................................................................1-5
Main Output - Channel 1 and 2........................................................................................................1-6
SYNC Output - Channel 1 and 2......................................................................................................1-7
Trigger Input.....................................................................................................................................1-7
Reference Clock Input .....................................................................................................................1-7
Run Modes.......................................................................................................................................1-7
Continuous.......................................................................................................................................1-8
Triggered..........................................................................................................................................1-8
Delayed Trigger ...............................................................................................................................1-8
Burst.................................................................................................................................................1-9
Mixed Triggers .................................................................................................................................1-9
Re-Trigger........................................................................................................................................1-9
Gated ...............................................................................................................................................1-9
Output Type .....................................................................................................................................1-9
Standard Waveforms .....................................................................................................................1-10

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Half-Cycle Waveforms ...................................................................................................................1-10
Arbitrary Waveforms ......................................................................................................................1-11
Sequenced Waveforms .................................................................................................................1-13
Modulated Waveforms...................................................................................................................1-16
Sweep............................................................................................................................................1-16
FSK................................................................................................................................................1-17
Frequency Hop ..............................................................................................................................1-17
AM .................................................................................................................................................1-18
FM..................................................................................................................................................1-18
Arbitrary FM ...................................................................................................................................1-19
Modulation Run Modes..................................................................................................................1-20
Continuous.....................................................................................................................................1-21
Triggered .......................................................................................................................................1-21
Delayed Trigger .............................................................................................................................1-21
Burst ..............................................................................................................................................1-22
Mixed Triggers ...............................................................................................................................1-22
Re-Trigger......................................................................................................................................1-22
Digital Patterns ..............................................................................................................................1-22
Video Stroke Waveforms ...............................................................................................................1-23
Output State...................................................................................................................................1-23
Enable State ..................................................................................................................................1-23
Front Panel Indicators....................................................................................................................1-24
Programming the Model 3156B .....................................................................................................1-24

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CHAPTER 2........................................................................................................................2-1
CONFIGURING THE INSTRUMENT...............................................................................................2-1
Installation Overview........................................................................................................................2-1
Unpacking and Initial Inspection ......................................................................................................2-1
Safety Precautions...........................................................................................................................2-1
Performance Checks .......................................................................................................................2-2
Grounding Requirements.................................................................................................................2-2
Long Term Storage or Repackaging For Shipment .........................................................................2-3
Preparation for Use..........................................................................................................................2-3
Logical Address Selection................................................................................................................2-4
Installation........................................................................................................................................2-4
CHAPTER 3........................................................................................................................3-1
USING THE INSTRUMENT.............................................................................................................3-1
Overview ..........................................................................................................................................3-1
Inter-Channel Dependency ..............................................................................................................3-1
Output Termination ..........................................................................................................................3-4
Input / Output Protection ..................................................................................................................3-4
Power On/Reset Defaults ................................................................................................................3-4
Enabling Output Waveforms ............................................................................................................3-5
Selecting an Output Enable Source.................................................................................................3-7
Generating Simple Waveforms ........................................................................................................3-9
Amplitude-Offset Interaction ..........................................................................................................3-13
Selecting and Modifying Std. Waveforms ......................................................................................3-13
Using the apply Command.............................................................................................................3-15
Selecting the Active Channel .........................................................................................................3-16
Selecting an Output Type ..............................................................................................................3-16

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Generating Standard Waveforms ..................................................................................................3-19
Generating Arbitrary Waveforms ...................................................................................................3-20
What Are Arbitrary Waveforms? ....................................................................................................3-20
Arbitrary Memory Management .....................................................................................................3-22
Memory Management Commands.................................................................................................3-22
Loading Arbitrary Waveforms ........................................................................................................3-23
Using the 12-bit Download mode...................................................................................................3-24
Reversing Byte Order ....................................................................................................................3-24
Changing the Sample Clock Frequency ........................................................................................3-24
Generating Sequenced Waveforms...............................................................................................3-26
What Are Sequenced Waveforms?................................................................................................3-26
Sequence Commands ...................................................................................................................3-27
Controlling the Sequence Advance................................................................................................3-29
Using the Modulated Waveforms...................................................................................................3-30
Using the Digital Outputs ...............................................................................................................3-34
Using the Video Stroke Generator.................................................................................................3-36
Selecting Run Modes.....................................................................................................................3-38
Continuous Run Mode ...................................................................................................................3-39
Triggered Run Mode......................................................................................................................3-39
Gated Run Mode ...........................................................................................................................3-40
Burst Run Mode.............................................................................................................................3-40
Selecting the Trigger Slope ...........................................................................................................3-41
Selecting the Trigger Level ............................................................................................................3-41
Using the Trigger Delay .................................................................................................................3-41
Activating the Backplane TTLTrg Lines .........................................................................................3-42

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CHAPTER 4........................................................................................................................4-1
WAVECAD.......................................................................................................................................4-1
What’s in This Chapter.....................................................................................................................4-1
Introduction to WaveCAD ................................................................................................................4-1
Installing WaveCAD .........................................................................................................................4-2
Quitting WaveCAD...........................................................................................................................4-2
For the New and Advanced Users ...................................................................................................4-2
Conventions Used in This Manual ...................................................................................................4-3
The Opening Screen........................................................................................................................4-3
WaveCAD Features .........................................................................................................................4-5
The Control Panels ..........................................................................................................................4-5
The Main Panel................................................................................................................................4-6
The Standard Waveforms Panel......................................................................................................4-9
The Arbitrary & Sequence Panel ...................................................................................................4-11
Using the Waveform Studio ...........................................................................................................4-16
The Modulation Panels ..................................................................................................................4-22
The Digital and Video Panel ..........................................................................................................4-30
The Utility Panel.............................................................................................................................4-33
The Function Calls Editor...............................................................................................................4-34
The Wave Composer .....................................................................................................................4-36
The Commands bar .......................................................................................................................4-37
File Commands..............................................................................................................................4-37
Edit Commands .............................................................................................................................4-39
View Commands............................................................................................................................4-40
Wave Commands ..........................................................................................................................4-42
The Toolbar....................................................................................................................................4-43
The Waveform Screen ...................................................................................................................4-44

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The FM Composer.........................................................................................................................4-46
The Commands bar .......................................................................................................................4-46
File Commands..............................................................................................................................4-47
Wave Commands ..........................................................................................................................4-48
Generating Waveforms Using the Equation Editor ........................................................................4-50
Writing Equations...........................................................................................................................4-52
Equation Conventions....................................................................................................................4-52
Typing Equations ...........................................................................................................................4-53
Equation Samples..........................................................................................................................4-54
Combining Waveforms...................................................................................................................4-59
CHAPTER 5........................................................................................................................5-1
PROGRAMMING REFERENCE......................................................................................................5-1
What’s in This Chapter ....................................................................................................................5-1
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................5-1
Error and Status Information............................................................................................................5-1
How to Use This Document .............................................................................................................5-2
The Initialization Group..................................................................................................................5-13
The Common Control Functions Group.........................................................................................5-18
The Standard Waveforms Functions Group ..................................................................................5-38
The Arbitrary Waveforms Functions Group ...................................................................................5-71
The Sequenced Waveforms Functions Group...............................................................................5-83
The Modulated Waveforms Functions Group ................................................................................5-89
The Digital Patterns Functions Group..........................................................................................5-127
The Video Stroke Functions Group..............................................................................................5-135
The Trigger Functions Group.......................................................................................................5-148
The WaveCAD Support Functions Group....................................................................................5-161
The Utility Functions Group .........................................................................................................5-170

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CHAPTER 6........................................................................................................................6-1
MAINTENANCE AND PERFORMANCE CHECKS .........................................................................6-1
What’s in This Chapter.....................................................................................................................6-1
Disassembly Instructions .................................................................................................................6-1
Special Handling of Static Sensitive Devices...................................................................................6-2
Cleaning...........................................................................................................................................6-2
Repair and Replacement .................................................................................................................6-3
Performance Checks .......................................................................................................................6-3
Environmental Conditions ................................................................................................................6-3
Warm-up Period...............................................................................................................................6-4
Initial Instrument Setting ..................................................................................................................6-4
Recommended Test Equipment ......................................................................................................6-4
Performance Check Procedures......................................................................................................6-4
Frequency Accuracy ........................................................................................................................6-5
Amplitude Accuracy .........................................................................................................................6-5
DAC Waveforms ..............................................................................................................................6-5
Modulation Waveforms ....................................................................................................................6-6
Offset Accuracy................................................................................................................................6-7
DAC Waveforms ..............................................................................................................................6-7
Modulation Waveforms ....................................................................................................................6-8
Squarewave Characteristics ............................................................................................................6-8
Sine Wave Characteristics...............................................................................................................6-9
Distortion, DAC Waveforms .............................................................................................................6-9
Sinewave Spectral Purity , DAC Waveforms .................................................................................6-10
Sinewave Spectral Purity, Modulation Waveforms ........................................................................6-10
Flatness, DAC Waveforms.............................................................................................................6-11
Flatness, Modulation Waveforms...................................................................................................6-12

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Trigger Operation...........................................................................................................................6-12
Trigger, Gate and Burst .................................................................................................................6-12
Delayed Trigger .............................................................................................................................6-13
Re-Trigger......................................................................................................................................6-14
Trigger Slope .................................................................................................................................6-15
Trigger Level..................................................................................................................................6-16
Sequence Operation......................................................................................................................6-17
Automatic Advance........................................................................................................................6-17
Step Advance ................................................................................................................................6-18
Step Advance ................................................................................................................................6-19
Modulated Waveforms Characteristics ..........................................................................................6-20
FSK................................................................................................................................................6-20
FM – Std Waveforms, Continuous Run Mode ...............................................................................6-22
FM – Std Waveforms, Triggered Run Mode ..................................................................................6-23
FM – Std Waveforms, Burst Run Mode .........................................................................................6-24
FM – Std Waveforms, Gated Run Mode........................................................................................6-25
FM – Std Waveforms, Re-triggered Burst Run Mod ......................................................................6-26
FM – Arb Waveforms, Continuous Run Mode ...............................................................................6-27
Fixed Dwell Time Frequency Hops................................................................................................6-29
AM .................................................................................................................................................6-30
Digital Pattern Generator Characteristics ......................................................................................6-31
Digital Patterns - Freerun...............................................................................................................6-31
Digital Patterns – Simulated Bursts ...............................................................................................6-33
Video Stroke Characteristics .........................................................................................................6-34
Adjustments ...................................................................................................................................6-36
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................6-36
Description.....................................................................................................................................6-36
Environmental Conditions..............................................................................................................6-36
Initial Instrument Setting ................................................................................................................6-36

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Required Equipment ......................................................................................................................6-37
3156B Remote Calibration Procedure ...........................................................................................6-37
CHAPTER 7........................................................................................................................7-1
PRODUCT SUPPORT.....................................................................................................................7-1
Product Support ...............................................................................................................................7-1
Reshipment Instructions ..................................................................................................................7-1
Support Offices ................................................................................................................................7-2

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APPENDIX A..................................................................................................................... A-1
SPECIFICATIONS.......................................................................................................................... A-1
VXIbus General Information ........................................................................................................... A-1
Module General Information ........................................................................................................... A-1
Sampling Clock............................................................................................................................... A-2
Amplitude Characteristics ............................................................................................................... A-3

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1-1 Model 3156B ............................................................................................................... 1-1
Figure 1-2 3156B Front Panel....................................................................................................... 1-6
Figure 1-3 WaveCAD Example – Standard Waveforms Panel................................................... 1-11
Figure 1-4 WaveCAD Example – Arbitrary & Sequenced Waveforms Panel ............................. 1-12
Figure 1-5 Segment 1 Waveform - Sinc...................................................................................... 1-13
Figure 1-6 Segment 2 Waveform - Sine ..................................................................................... 1-14
Figure 1-7 Segment 3 Waveform - Pulse.................................................................................... 1-14
Figure 1-8 Sequenced Waveform ............................................................................................... 1-15
Figure 1-9 WaveCAD's Waveform Studio................................................................................... 1-15
Figure 1-10 WaveCAD Example - Modulation panel .................................................................. 1-16
Figure 1-11 WaveCAD Example - Arbitrary FM Composer Panel .............................................. 1-20
Figure 2-1 Logical Address Set to “2” ........................................................................................... 2-4
Figure 3-1 Enabling Output Waveforms........................................................................................ 3-6
Figure 3-2 Startup & Communications options ............................................................................. 3-9
Figure 3-3 WaveCAD Main Panel............................................................................................... 3-10
Figure 3-4 The Standard Waveforms Panel ............................................................................... 3-14
Figure 3-5 Using WaveCAD Main Panel to Select a Waveform Type ........................................ 3-18
Figure 3-6 WaveCAD Example of a Complex Waveform ............................................................ 3-21
Figure 3-7 WaveCAD Arbitrary and Sequence Panel................................................................. 3-26
Figure 3-8 WaveCAD example of a Segment and Sequence Tables......................................... 3-29
Figure 3-9 WaveCAD Example, modulation Programming......................................................... 3-33
Figure 3-10 WaveCAD Example of Digital Programming ........................................................... 3-36
Figure 3-11 WaveCAD Example of Trigger Control.................................................................... 3-38
Figure 4-1 Startup & Communication Options .............................................................................. 4-3
Figure 4-2 WaveCAD's Toolbars ..................................................................................................4-4
Figure 4-3 The Main Panel ........................................................................................................... 4-7

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Figure 4-4 The Standard Waveforms Panel ................................................................................4-10
Figure 4-5 The Arbitrary & Sequence Panel................................................................................4-12
Figure 4-6 The Memory Partition Table .......................................................................................4-15
Figure 4-7 The Sequence Table ..................................................................................................4-18
Figure 4-8 The Trigger Panel.......................................................................................................4-20
Figure 4-9 The Modulation Panel 1..............................................................................................4-22
Figure 4-10 The Modulation Panel 2............................................................................................4-25
Figure 4-11 The FSK Data Table.................................................................................................4-27
Figure 4-12 The Variable Hold Time Frequency Hop Table ........................................................4-29
Figure 4-13 The Digital & Video Panel.........................................................................................4-30
Figure 4-14 The Digital Pattern Data Table - Freerun .................................................................4-31
Figure 4-15 The Utility Panel .......................................................................................................4-34
Figure 4-16 The Command Editor ...............................................................................................4-35
Figure 4-17 The Function Calls Reference List ...........................................................................4-36
Figure 4-18 The Wave Composer Opening Screen.....................................................................4-37
Figure 4-19 The Open Waveform Dialog Box..............................................................................4-38
Figure 4-20 Zooming In on Waveform Segments........................................................................4-41
Figure 4-21 Generating Distorted Sinewaves from the built-in Library ........................................4-43
Figure 4-22 The Toolbar Icons.....................................................................................................4-43
Figure 4-23 The Waveform Screen..............................................................................................4-45
Figure 4-24 The Fm Composer opening Screen .........................................................................4-47
Figure 4-25 Generating Sine Modulation Using the FM Composer.............................................4-49
Figure 4-26 The Equation Editor Dialog Box ...............................................................................4-50
Figure 4-27 An Equation Editor Example.....................................................................................4-55
Figure 4-28 Using the Equation Editor to Modulate Sine Waveforms..........................................4-56
Figure 4-29 Using the Equation Editor to Add Second Harmonic Distortion................................4-57
Figure 4-30 Using the Equation Editor to Generate Exponentially Decaying Sinewave..............4-58
Figure 4-31 Using the Editor to Build Amplitude Modulated Signal With Upper and Lower Sidebands
...............................................................................................................................................4-59
Figure 4-32 Combining Waveforms into Equations .....................................................................4-60

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Figure 6-1 New Calibration Button.............................................................................................. 6-37
Figure 6-2 Enter Password Dialog Box....................................................................................... 6-38
Figure 6-3 Calibration Pane ........................................................................................................ 6-38
List of Tables
Table 3-1 Inter-Channel Dependencies ........................................................................................ 3-1
Table 3-2 Enable/Disable Source with Different Run Modes........................................................ 3-8
Table 5-1 Driver Function Calls Summary .................................................................................... 5-2
Table 5-2 Driver Function Calls Summary (continued) ................................................................. 5-3
Table 5-3 Driver Function Calls Summary (continued) ................................................................. 5-4
Table 5-4 Driver Function Calls Summary (continued) ................................................................. 5-5
Table 5-5 Driver Function Calls Summary (continued) ................................................................. 5-7
Table 5-6 Driver Function Calls Summary (continued) ................................................................. 5-8
Table 5-7 Driver Function Calls Summary (continued) ................................................................. 5-9
Table 5-8 Driver Function Calls Summary (continued) ............................................................... 5-10
Table 5-9 Driver Function Calls Summary (continued) ............................................................... 5-11
Table 5-10 Driver Function Calls Summary (continued) ............................................................. 5-12
Table 6-1 Frequency Accuracy ..................................................................................................... 6-5
Table 6-2 Amplitude Accuracy, DAC Waveforms ......................................................................... 6-6
Table 6-3 Amplitude Accuracy, Modulation Waveforms ............................................................... 6-6
Table 6-4 Offset Accuracy, DAC Waveforms................................................................................ 6-7
Table 6-5 Offset Accuracy, DAC Waveforms (continued)............................................................. 6-7

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Table 6-6 Offset Accuracy, Modulation Waveforms.......................................................................6-8
Table 6-7 Squarewave Characteristics Tests ................................................................................6-9
Table 6-8 Sinewave Distortion, DAC Waveforms Tests ................................................................6-9
Table 6-9 Sinewave Spectral Purity, DAC Waveforms Test ........................................................6-10
Table 6-10 Sinewave Spectral Purity, Modulation Waveforms Tests ..........................................6-11
Table 6-11 Sinewave Flatness, DAC Waveforms Tests..............................................................6-11
Table 6-12 Sinewave Flatness, Modulation Waveforms Tests....................................................6-12
Table 6-13 Trigger, gate, and burst Characteristics.....................................................................6-13
Table 6-14 Trigger Delay Tests ...................................................................................................6-14
Table 6-15 Re-Trigger Delay Tests..............................................................................................6-15