Agilent Technologies E4406A VSA Series User Manual

Contents
5
1. Preparing for Use
What’s in This Chapter?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
www.agilent.com/find/vsa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Digital Communications Measurements Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Programming the Transmitter Tester. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Installing Optional
Measurement Personalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Available Personality Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
License Key Numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Installing a License Key Number. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Using the Uninstall Key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Writing Your First Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Three Basic Steps in a Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Programming a Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
File Naming Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Cables for Connecting to RS-232. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Connecting to a LAN Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Connecting to a GPIB Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
2. Programming Fundamentals
SCPI Language Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Creating Valid Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Command keywords and Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Special Characters in Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Parameters in Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Putting Multiple Commands on the Same Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Using the Instrument Status Registers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
What are the Status Registers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Why Would You Use the Status Registers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Using a Status Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Using the Service Request (SRQ) Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Overall Status Register System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Status Byte Register. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Standard Event Status Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Operation and Questionable Status Registers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
C Programming Examples using VTL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Typical Example Program Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Linking to VTL Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
Compiling and Linking a VTL Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Example Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Including the VISA Declarations File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Opening a Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Device Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Addressing a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Closing a Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Overview of the GPIB Bus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
GPIB Instrument Nomenclature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
GPIB Command Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Overview of the RS-232 Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95

Agilent Technologies E4406A VSA Series Specifications

General

Brand	Agilent Technologies
Model	E4406A VSA Series
Category	Test Equipment
Language	English

Summary

Safety Information

Front Panel Error Messages Annunciators

Describes status indicators for transmitter tester functions and error conditions.

1 Preparing for Use

Programming the Transmitter Tester

Explains how to program the E4406A VSA Series Transmitter Tester.

Installing Optional Measurement Personalities

Details the two-step process for installing measurement personalities.

Cables for Connecting to RS-232

Describes various cables and adapters for connecting to PCs and printers via RS-232.

Connecting to a LAN Server

Explains how to connect to a LAN server for instrument control.

2 Programming Fundamentals

SCPI Language Basics

Introduces the SCPI programming language and its core concepts.

Using the Instrument Status Registers

Explains how to monitor instrument hardware and firmware events using status registers.

Overview of the GPIB Bus

Explains the fundamentals of the GPIB instrument nomenclature and command statements.

Using the LAN to Control the Analyzer

Covers various methods to control the analyzer via LAN connection.

3 Programming Examples

Using Markers

Demonstrates how to use markers in a C programming example.

Saving Binary Trace Data in an ASCII File

Provides a C programming example for saving binary trace data to an ASCII file.

Using C Programming Over Socket LAN

Demonstrates simple socket programming using C for analyzer control.

4 Programming Command Cross References

Functional Sort of SCPI Commands

Organizes SCPI commands by function for easier reference.

5 Language Reference

SCPI Command Subsystems

Lists and describes various SCPI command subsystems available in the instrument.

Common IEEE Commands

Details commands specified in IEEE Standard 488.2 for instrument control.

6 Error Messages

Error Queues

Explains the instrument's history and SCPI remote interface error queues.

Error Message Descriptions

Provides descriptions for unnumbered, query, device-specific, execution, and command errors.