Tektronix RSA5100A Series Owner's manual

RSA6100A Series Real-Time Spectrum Analyzers
RSA5100A Series Real-Time Signal Analyzers
ZZZ
Programmer Manual
xx
www.tektronix.com
077-0523-02

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Table of Contents
Preface............................................................................................................... v
Related Documentation ....................................................................................... v
Getting Started
Getting Started ..................... ........................ ........................ ........................ ....... 1-1
Overview of the Manual .................................................................................... 1-1
Connecting the Interface.................................................................................... 1-2
Using the GPIB Port......................................................................................... 1-3
Setting the GPIB Address...................... .............. .............................................. . 1-4
Using TekVISA .............................................................................................. 1-5
Syntax and Commands
Command Syntax................................................................................................. 2-1
Backus-Naur Form Definition . .. ... .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. ... .. ... .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. ... .. ... .. .. 2-1
SCPI Commands and Queries.............................................................................. 2-1
IEEE 488.2 Common Commands.......................................................................... 2-6
Constructed Mnemonics .................................................................................... 2-7
Command Groups ................................................................................................ 2-8
Measurement Views......................................................................................... 2-8
Functional Groups ......................................................................................... 2-10
Programming Hints........................................................................................ 2-11
IEEE Common Commands.................................................................................... 2-12
Obsolete Commands ........................................................................................... 2-13
Abort Commands............................................................................................... 2-14
Calculate Commands........................................................................................... 2-15
Marker Mnemonics........................................................................................ 2-25
Calibration Commands......................................................................................... 2-26
Display Commands............................................................................................. 2-27
Fetch Commands ............................................................................................... 2-40
Initiate Commands .. ................................................ ...................... ..................... 2-51
Input Commands................................................................................................ 2-52
Mass Memory Commands..................................................................................... 2-53
Specifying the File......................................................................................... 2-56
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Table of Contents
Output Commands.............................................................................................. 2-57
Read Commands................................................................................................ 2-58
Sense Commands............................................................................................... 2-68
Status Commands............................................................................................... 2-86
System Commands ............................................................................................. 2-88
Trace Commands ............................................................................................... 2-89
Trace Mnemonics.......................................................................................... 2-94
Trigger commands.............................................................................................. 2-95
Unit Commands................................................................................................. 2-97
Retrieving Response Message................................................................................. 2-98
Command Descriptions........................................................................................ 2-99
Status and Events
Status and Events................................................................................................. 3-1
Status and Event Reporting System ....................................................................... 3-1
Status Byte.................................................................................................... 3-4
Standard Event Status Block ............................................................................... 3-5
Operation Status Block...................................................................................... 3-6
Questionable Status Block.................................................................................. 3-7
Queues ........................................................................................................ 3-9
Status and Event Processing Sequence.................................................................... 3-9
Synchronizing Execution ................................................................................. 3-11
Error Messages and Codes..................................................................................... 3-13
Command Errors........................................................................................... 3-13
Execution Errors........................................................................................... 3-14
Device Specific Errors .................................................................................... 3-15
Query Errors................................................................................................ 3-16
Device Errors............................................................................................... 3-16
Status Conditions .................................................. .......... .......... .......... ............... 3-20
Global Status ............................................................................................... 3-20
Measurement Status ....................................................................................... 3-20
Source Status............................................................................................... 3-21
Appendices
Appendix A: Character Charts ................................................................................. A-1
Appendix B: GPIB Interface Specification ................................................................... B-1
Interface Functions ......................................................................................... B-1
Interface Messages ......................................................................................... B-2
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Table of Contents
Appendix C: Factory Initialization Settings .................. .......................... ...................... C-1
Appendix D: SCPI Conformance Information ............................................................... D-1
Appendix E: Creating a DPX Frame Access Plugin......................................................... E-1
Appendix F: RSA3000 Series to RSA6100A/RSA5100A Command Reference ........................ F-1
IEEE Common Commands................................................................................ F-1
Abort Command Group.................................................................................... F-2
Calculate Command Group................................................................................ F-2
Calibrate Commands ....................................................................................... F-4
Configure Commands ...................................................................................... F-5
Data Command Group .................................................................................... F-10
Display Command Group................................................................................. F-10
Fetch Command Group ................................................................................... F-56
Format Command Group ................................................................................. F-64
HCopy Command Group ................................................................................. F-64
Initate Command Group .................................................................................. F-64
Input Command Group.................................................................................... F-65
Instrument Command Group ............................................................................. F-65
Mass Memory Command Group......................................................................... F-65
Output Command Group.................................................................................. F-67
Program Command Group................................................................................ F-67
Read Command Group.................................................................................... F-68
Sense Command Group................................................................................... F-74
Status Command Group................................................................................. F-107
System Command Group ............................................................................... F-108
Trace Command Group ................................................................................. F-108
Trigger Command Group ................................................................................ F-110
Unit Command Group.................................................................................... F-111
Glossary
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Table of Contents
iv RSA6100A Series & RSA5100A Series Programmer Manual

Preface
This programmer manual covers the RSA6100A Series Real-Time Spectrum
Analyzers. It provides informationonoperatingyouranalyzerusingthe
General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB).
This manual is composed of the following sections
Getting Started outlines how to use the GPIB interface.
Syntax and Commands defines the syntax used in command descriptions,
presents a list of all command subsystems, and presents detailed descriptions
of all programming commands.
Status and Events describes how the status and Events Reporting system
operates and presents a list of all system errors.
Appendices provides additional information including character charts, GPIB
interface specification, and factory initialization settings.
Related Documentation
RSA6100A Series Quick Start User Manual
(Tektronix part number 071-1909-XX)
This manual contains general information about how to put your instrument
into service, guides to user interface controls, and application examples.
RSA6100A Series Online Help
The online help contains detailed information about how to operate the
instrument.
TekVISA Programmer Manual
(Tektronix part number 071-1101-XX)
This manual is available as a printable PDF file on the Tektronix Web
site (www.tektronix.com). The manual describes TekVISA, the Tektronix
implementation of the VISA Application Programming Interface (API).
TekVISA is industry-compliant software for writing interoperable instrument
drivers in a variety of Application Development Environments (ADEs).
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Preface
vi RSA6100A Series & RSA5100A Series Programmer Manual

Getting Started

Getting Started
You can write computer programs that remotely set the analyzer front panel
controls or that take measurements and read those measurements for further
analysis or storage. To help you get started with programming the analyzer, this
section includes the following subsections
Overview of the Manual
Summarizes each major section of this manual.
ConnectingtheInterface
Describes how to physically connect the analyzer to a controller.
Using GPIBPorts
Describes how to use the GPIB port.
Setting the GPIB Address
Describes how to set the GPIB parameters from the front panel.
Using TekVISA
Describes how to use the TekVISA communication protocol.
Overview of the Manual
The information contained in each major section of this manual is described below.
Syntax and Commands Syntax and Commands, describes the structure and content of the messages your
program sends to the analyzer. The following figure shows command parts as
described in the Command Syntax subsection.
Figure 1-1: Command parts
Section 2 also describes the effect of each command and provides examples
of how you might use it. The Command Groups subsection provides lists by
functional areas. The commands are listed alphabetically in the Command
Descriptions section.
RSA6100A Series & RSA5100A Series Programmer Manual 1-1

Getting Started
Figure 1-2: Functional groupings and an alphabetical list of commands
Status and Events The program may request information from the instrument. The instrument
provides information in the form of status and error messages. The following
figure illustrates the basic operation of this system. Section 3, Status and Events,
describes how to get status or event information from the program and details
the event and error messages.
Figure 1-3: Event-driven program
Connecting the Interface
The instrument has a 24-pin GPIB connector on its rear panel, as shown in the
following figure. This connector has a D-type shell and conforms to IEEE Std
488.1-1987. Attach an IEEE Std 488.1-1987 GPIB cable (Tektronix part number
012-0991-00) to this connector.
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Getting Started
Figure 1-4: GPIB connector (rear panel)
Appendix B: GPIB Interface Specifications gives more information on the
GPIB configuration of the analyzer. For the other interfaces, refer to the
RSA6100A Series Quick Start User Manual.
Using the GPIB Port
The analyzer has Talker/Listener functions through which it can communicate
with other devices, as well as the external controller, located on the bus.
Figure 1-5: GPIB connection
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Getting Started
GPIB Requirements Observe the following rules when you use your analyzer with a GPIB network
Assign a unique device address to each device on the bus. No two devices
can share the same device address.
Do not connect more than 15 devices to any one bus.
Connect one device for every 2 m (6 ft) of cable used.
Do not use more than 20 m (65 ft) of cable to connect devices to a bus.
Turn on at least 2/3 of the devices on the network while using the network.
Connect the devices on the network in a star or linear configuration, as shown
in the following figure. Do not use loop or parallel configurations.
Figure 1-6: Typical GPIB network configurations
Setting the GPIB Address
When you use the GPIB port to communicate with an external controller, follow
these steps to set the address of the analyzer.
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Getting Started
1. From the Tools menu, select Options to open the Options control panel.
2. Click the GPIB tab and set the primary address. Range: 0 to 30 (default: 1)
NOTE. The GPIB address cannot be initialized by the *RST command.
Using TekVISA
TekVISA is Tektronix implementation of VISA (Virtual Instrument Software
Architecture), an industry-standard communication protocol. VISA provides
a common standard for software developers so that software from multiple
vendors, such as instrument drivers, can run on the same platform. TekVISA
is industry-compliant software, available with selected Tektronix instruments.
You can use this software to write (or draw) interoperable instrument drivers in
a variety of Application Development Environments (ADEs). It implements
a subset of Version 2.2 of the VISA specification for controlling GPIB and
serial (RS-232) instrument interfaces locally or remotely via an Ethernet LAN
connection.
Installation Use an internet browser to access the Tektronix Web site (www.tektronix.com)
and download the current TekVISA to your PC. Unzip the downloaded file in a
temporary directory of your choice and run Setup.exe.
NOTE. The details on TekVISA concepts and operations are explained in the
TekVISA Programmer Manual that can be also found on the Tektronix Web site.
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Getting Started
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Syntax and Commands

Command Syntax
This section contains information on the Standard Commands for Programmable
Instruments (SCPI) and IEEE 488.2 Common Commands you can use to program
your RSA6106A/RSA6114A analyzer. The information is organized in the
following subsections
Backus-NaurFormDefinition
SCPI Commands and Queries
IEEE 488.2 Common Commands
Constructed Mnemonics
Backus-Naur Form Definition
This manual may describe commands and queries using the Backus-Naur Form
(BNF) notation. The following table defines the standard BNF symbols.
Table 2-1: BNF symbols and meanings
Symbol Meaning
<> Defined element
:= Is defined as
| Exclusive OR
{ } Group; one element is required
[] Optional; can be omitted
.. . Previous element(s) may be repeated
( ) Comment
SCPI Commands and Queries
SCPI is a standard created by a consortium that provides guidelines for remote
programming of instruments. These guidelines provide a consistent programming
environment for instrument control and data transfer. This environment uses
defined programming messages, instrument responses, and data format across all
SCPI instruments, regardless of manufacturer. The analyzer uses a command
language based on the SCPI standard.
The SCPI language is based on a hierarchical or tree structure as shown in the
following figure that represents a subsystem. The top level of the tree is the root
node; it is followed by one or more lower-level nodes.
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Command Syntax
Figure 2-1: Example of SCPI subsystem hierarchy tree
You can create commands and queries from these subsystem hierarchy trees.
Commands specify actions for the instrument to perform. Queries return
measurement data and information about parameter settings.
Creating Commands SCPI commands are created by stringing together the nodes of a subsystem
hierarchy and separating each node by a colon.
In the figure above, TRIGger is the root node and EVENt, GATed, INPut, and
SOURce are lower-level nodes. To create a SCPI command, start with the root
node TRIGger and move down the tree structure adding nodes until you reach the
end of a branch. Most commands and some queries have parameters; you must
include a value for these parameters. If you specify a parameter value that is out
of range, the parameter will be set to a default value. The command descriptions,
list the valid values for all parameters.
For example, TRIGgerEVENt:SOURce EXTRear is a valid SCPI command
created from the hierarchy tree. (See Figure 2-1.)
Creating Queries To create a query, start at the root node of a tree structure, move down to the end
of a branch, and add a question mark. TRIGgerEVENt:SOURce? is an example
of a valid SCPI query using the hierarchy tree in the figure. (See Figure 2-1.)
Query Responses The query causes the analyzer to return information about its status or settings.
When a query is sent to the analyzer, only the values are returned. When the
returned value is a mnemonic, it is noted in abbreviated format, as shown in the
following table.
Table 2-2: Query response examples
Query Response
CALCulate:SPECtrum:MARKer:X 7.50E+9
SENSe:SPECtrum:FFT:WINDow BH4B
A few queries also initiate an operation action before returning information. For
example, the *CAL? query runs a calibration.
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