Rigol DSA1000A Series Operating instructions

RIGOL
Programming Guide
DSA1000A Series
Spectrum Analyzer
May 2011
RIGOL Technologies, Inc.

RIGOL
Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
I
Guaranty and Declaration
Copyright
© 2010 RIGOL Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Trademark Information
RIGOL is a registered trademark of RIGOL Technologies, Inc.
Publication Number
PGD01104-1110
Notices
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and pricing policies at company‟s sole decision.
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in connection with the furnishing, use or performance of this manual as well as
any information contained.
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prior written approval of RIGOL.
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Meanwhile, the related standards conform to other ISO will get further. At present,
DSA1000A Series has passed CE, cTUVus, PictBridge and LXI certification.
Contact Us
If you have any problem or requirement when using our products, please contact
RIGOL Technologies, Inc. or your local distributors, or visit: www.rigol.com

RIGOL
Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
II
Contents of this Book
This manual is written for users who want to use remote commands to control RIGOL
DSA1000A Series Spectrum Analyzer for measurement tasks. We believe that readers
of this manual have read User‟s Guide for RIGOL DSA1000A Series Spectrum
Analyzer carefully and gotten familiar with usage of the analyzer.
The manual contains the following topics:
Chapter 1 summarizes the remote command programming and lists some
relevant provisions of the SCPI commands.
Chapter 2 introduces the command system of DSA1000A Series Spectrum
Analyzer in details.
Chapter 3 gives seval application examples of the command system.
The Appendix lists all DSA1000A Series Spectrum Analyzer commands from A to
Z.

RIGOL
Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
III
Contents
Guaranty and Declaration .......................................................................... I
Chapter 1 Overview............................................................................. 1-1
Programming Introduction........................................................................ 1-2
SCPI Commands Introduction ................................................................... 1-3
Syntax ............................................................................................. 1-4
Symbol Description ........................................................................... 1-5
Parameter Type ................................................................................ 1-6
Command Abbreviation............................................................................ 1-7
Chapter 2 Command Systems.............................................................. 2-1
IEEE 488.2 ............................................................................................. 2-2
:ABORt................................................................................................... 2-5
:CALCulate.............................................................................................. 2-6
:CALibration.......................................................................................... 2-25
:CONFigure........................................................................................... 2-26
:COUPle ............................................................................................... 2-31
:DISPlay ............................................................................................... 2-32
:FETCh................................................................................................. 2-38
:FORMat............................................................................................... 2-46
:HCOPy ................................................................................................ 2-47
:INITiate .............................................................................................. 2-51
:INPut.................................................................................................. 2-54
:MMEMory ............................................................................................ 2-55
:OUTPut ............................................................................................... 2-61
:READ .................................................................................................. 2-62
[:SENSe] .............................................................................................. 2-70
:SOURce............................................................................................... 2-98
:STATus...............................................................................................2-102
:SYSTem..............................................................................................2-105
:TRACe................................................................................................2-113
:TRIGer...............................................................................................2-119
:UNIT..................................................................................................2-120
Chapter 3 Programming Examples ...................................................... 3-1
Prepare for Programming ......................................................................... 3-2
Program in Visual C++ 6.0 ....................................................................... 3-4
Program in Visual Basic 6.0 .................................................................... 3-11

RIGOL
Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
IV
Program in LabVIEW 8.6.........................................................................3-17
Linux Programming Example ...................................................................3-22
Prepare for Programming .................................................................3-22
Linux Programming Guide.................................................................3-25
Command Quick Reference A-Z ................................................................. 1

Chapter 1 Overview RIGOL
Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
1-1
Chapter 1 Overview
This chapter introduces you the remote command programming and some relevant
provisions of the SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments)
commands, which mainly includes:
Programming Introduction
SCPI Commands Introduction
Syntax
Symbol Description
Parameter Type
Command Abbreviation

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Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
1-2
Programming Introduction
DSA1000A provides two kinds of interfaces for connecting with a computer: USB and
GPIB. For the specified method of application, refer to the User‟s Guide of this
product.
While you program using commands, all command words are transmitted and
identified as ASCII string that enable users to control and carry out secondary
development.
By programming, you can:
Setup the analyzer.
Make a measurement.
Obtain data from the analyzer (such as the working status of the analyzer and the
measurement results).

Chapter 1 Overview RIGOL
Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
1-3
SCPI Commands Introduction
SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instrument) is based on IEEE 488.2 and
usually divided into two sections: Common Commands and Control Commands
defined for SCPI Instruments.
A common command is defined by IEEE 488.2 and must be executed as well as both
the syntax and semanteme of it follows the application of IEEE 488.2. The common
command works independently of measurement and is used for controlling the reset,
self-test and status operations. For more detalis, refer to “IEEE 488.2”.
A Control Command defined for SCPI Instrument is used to measure and read data,
control the state of a function or mode and so on, involving all measurement functions
and some specific functional functions.

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Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
1-4
Syntax
SCPI commands present a hierarchical tree structure and have more sub-systems.
Each sub-system contains a root keyword and one or more sub-keywords. A command
line usually begins with a “:”which is also used to separate different keywords;
parameters are permitted to follow the keyword; “?”appeared following a command
line denotes to query; “space”is used to separate the command and parameter.
For example:
:CALCulate:BANDwidth:NDB <rel_ampl>
:CALCulate:BANDwidth:NDB?
CALCulate is the root keyword of the command above. BANDwidth and NDB are
the second and third keyword separately. The command line begins with a “:”and
uses “:”to separate each keyword; <rel_ampl> denotes a assignable parameter;
“?”denotes to query; command “:CALCulate:BANDwidth:NDB”and prarameter
<rel_ampl> are separated by a space.
“,”is generally used for separating different parameters contained in the same
command, such as:
:SYSTem:DATE <year>,<month>,<day>

Chapter 1 Overview RIGOL
Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
1-5
Symbol Description
The following four symbols are not the content of SCPI commands but usually used in
instances of the parameters from Explanation commands.
1. Braces { }
The parameters enclosed in braces are optional and can be ignored or set one or
more times, such as:
[:SENSe]:CORRection:CSET<n>:DATA
<freq>,<rel_ampl>{,<freq>,<rel_ampl>}
In the command above, you can ignore parameters {,<freq>,<rel_ampl>} or
assign them one or more values.
2. Vertical Bar |
The vartical bar separates two or more optional parameters. When you send a
command, at least one of the parameters should be selected, such as
:DISPlay:MENU:STATe OFF|ON|0|1
In the command above, you can select “OFF”, “ON”, “0”or “1”.
3. Square Brackets [ ]
The contents such as keywords enclosed in square brackets could be omitted, but
all of them would be executed regardless whether they were omitted such as:
[:SENSe]:CORRection:OFFSet[:MAGNitude]?
The following three commands serve a similar purpose:
:CORRection:OFFSet?
:CORRection:OFFSet:MAGNitude?
:SENSe:CORRection:OFFSet?
4. Triangle Brackets < >
The parameter enclosed in triangle brackets must be an effective value such as:
:DISPlay:BRIGtness <integer>
:DISPlay:BRIGtness 10

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Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
1-6
Parameter Type
The commands presented in this manual contains 6 kinds of parameters and different
parameters has different setting methods.
1. Boolean
The parameter should be “OFF”, “ON”, “0”or “1”, such as
:DISPlay:MENU:STATe OFF|ON|0|1
2. Keywords
The parameter should be an option listed in the command, such as
:DISPlay:AFUnction:POSition BOTTom|CENTer|TOP
The parameter is “BOTTom”, “CENTer”or “TOP”.
3. Integer
The parameter can be any integer within valid range unless where noted. Please
do not use decimal for the parameter, or errors may occur, such as
:DISPlay:BRIGtness <integer>
Parameter <integer> can be any integer within 0 and 255.
4. Consecutive Real Number
The parameters can be any value within valid range (the default accuracy
contains up to 6 digits after the decimal points), such as
:CALCulate:BANDwidth:NDB <rel_ampl>
Parameter <rel_ampl> can be any real number within -100 and 100.
5. Discrete
The parameters are discontinuous and should be a specified value, such as
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:MAXimum:MAX
Parameter <n> can only be 1, 2, 3 or 4.
6. ASCII Character String
The parameter should be a composition of ASCII characters, such as
:SYSTem:DATE <year>,<month>,<day>
Parameters above should be a date string.

Chapter 1 Overview RIGOL
Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
1-7
Command Abbreviation
Since all commands are case-insensitive, you can use any kind of them. But if use an
abbreviation, the capital letters specified in the command must be written completely.
For example:
:CALCulate:BANDwidth:NDB?
also could be:
:CALC:BAND:NDB?

Chapter 2 Command Systems RIGOL
Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
2-1
Chapter 2 Command Systems
This chapter gives you a detailed introduction to the sub-commands of DSA1000A
series by A to Z.
IEEE 488.2
:ABORt
:CALCulate
:CALibration
:CONFigure
:COUPle
:DISPlay
:FETCh
:FORMat
:HCOPy
:INITiate
:INPut
:MMEMory
:OUTPut
:READ
[:SENSe]
:SOURce
:STATus
:SYSTem
:TRACe
:TRIGer
:UNIT
NOTE: In this command system, a query will return “N/A”(without double quotation
marks) if the function to be queried is an uninstalled option or “ERR”(without double
quotation marks) if the function is OFF or does not match unless where noted in this
manual.

RIGOL Chapter 2 Command Systems
Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
2-2
IEEE 488.2
IEEE standard defines some common commands for users to check basic information
about the instrument and execute common operations. These commands begin with a
“*”and have a keywords 3 characters length.
*CLS
*ESE
*ESE?
*ESR?
*IDN?
*OPC
*OPC?
*RST
*SRE
*SRE?
*STB?
*TRG
*WAI

Chapter 2 Command Systems RIGOL
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1. *CLS
Syntax
*CLS
Function
Clears all event registers and the error queue as well as the input
queue.
2. *ESE
Syntax
*ESE <value>
*ESE?
Function
Sets the enable value of a standard event, such as
*ESE 0
The query returns “0”*.
Explanations
Bit 1 and bit 6 are not used in the Standard Event Register and
always regarded as “0”, thereinto <value> is a decimal number that
relates to any binary number whose bits of 6 and 1 are both 0
within 00000000 (0) and 11111111 (255).
*Remark: Double quotation marks would‟t be returned after a query unless where noted in this
manual.
3. *ESR?
Syntax
*ESR?
Function
Queries the standard event status register.
The query returns a decimal number that relates to any binary
number whose bits of 6 and 1 are both 0 within 00000000 (0) and
11111111 (255).
4. *IDN?
Syntax
*IDN?
Function
Queries the instrument ID and returns a string with the length at
least 35 characters.
5. *OPC
Syntax
*OPC
*OPC?
Function
*OPC: sets the “Operation Complete”(bit 0) of the standard event
status register to “1”after the current operation.
*OPC?: queries if the current operation has been finished or not,
and returns “1”if successful; otherwise returns “0”.

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6. *RST
Syntax
*RST
Function
Resets the analyzer to Default.
7. *SRE
Syntax
*SRE <value>
*SRE?
Function
Sets the service request enable value, such as
*SRE 0
The query returns “0”.
Explanations
Bit 0 and bit 1 are not used in the Status Byte Register and always
regarded as “0”, thereinto <value> a decimal number that relates
to any binary number whose bits of 0 and 1 are both 0 within
00000000 (0) and 11111111 (255).
8. *STB?
Syntax
*STB?
Function
Read Status Byte Query. The query returns a decimal number that
relates to any binary number whose bits of 0 and 1 are both 0
within 00000000 (0) and 11111111 (255).
9. *TRG
Syntax
*TRG
Function
Triggers a sweep or measurement immediately.
10. *WAI
Syntax
*WAI
Function
Waits until done.

Chapter 2 Command Systems RIGOL
Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
2-5
:ABORt
:ABORt
1. :ABORt
Syntax
:ABORt
Function
Aborts the current operation and sweeps all over again.

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Programming Guide for DSA1000A series
2-6
:CALCulate
:CALCulate:BANDwidth:NDB
:CALCulate:BANDwidth:RESult?
:CALCulate:LLINe:ALL:DELete
:CALCulate:LLINe:CONTrol:DOMain
:CALCulate:LLINe<n>:CONTrol:INTerpolate:TYPE
:CALCulate:LLINe<n>:STATe
:CALCulate:LLINe<n>:DATA
:CALCulate:LLINe<n>:DATA:MERGe
:CALCulate:LLINe<n>:DELete
:CALCulate:LLINe:FAIL?
:CALCulate:LLINe:FAIL:STOP:STATe
:CALCulate:LLINe:FAIL:RATIo?
:CALCulate:MARKer:AOFF
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:CPEak[:STATe]
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:DELTa[:SET]:CENTer
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:DELTa[:SET]:SPAN
:CALCulate:MARKer:FCOunt:RESolution
:CALCulate:MARKer:FCOunt:RESolution:AUTO
:CALCulate:MARKer:FCOunt[:STATe]
:CALCulate:MARKer:FCOunt:X?
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:FUNCtion
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:MAXimum:MAX
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:MAXimum:LEFT
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:MAXimum:NEXT
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:MAXimum:RIGHt
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:MINimum
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:MODE
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:PEAK:EXCursion
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:PEAK:SEARch:MODE
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:PEAK[:SET]:CF
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:PEAK:THReshold
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:PTPeak
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>[:SET]:CENTer
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>[:SET]:RLEVel
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>[:SET]:STARt