User Manual    AMETEK Programmable Power 
RS Series    221 
10.  Error Messages 
Any errors that occur during operation from either the front panel or the remote control interface 
will result in error messages. Error messages are displayed in the upper left hand corner of the 
LCD display. They are also stored in the error message queue from which they can be queried 
using the SYST:ERR? Query. The error queue has a finite depth. If more error messages are 
generated than can be held in the queue, a queue overflow message will be put in the last 
queue location. To empty the queue, use the error query until the No Error result is received. 
Errors appearing on the LCD will generally remain visible until the user moves to another screen. 
If multiple error messages are generated in succession, only the last message will be visible as 
there is only space for one error message on the LCD display. 
The same area of the display is also used to display status messages. While error messages 
always have a negative error number, status messages have a positive number.  
The table below displays a list of possible error and status messages along with their possible 
cause and remedy.  
Number  Message String  Cause  Remedy 
0  "No error"   No errors in queue   
-100  "Command error"  Unable to complete 
requested operation 
Unit may be in a mode 
inconsistent with request. 
-102  "Syntax error"  Command syntax incorrect.  Misspelled or unsupported 
command 
-103  "Invalid separator"  SCPI separator not 
recognized 
See SCPI section of 
programming manual. 
-104  "Data type error"   Data type invalid.  Check command for supported 
data types 
-108  "Parameter not 
allowed"  
One or more additional 
parameters were received. 
Check programming manual for 
correct number of parameters 
-109  "Missing parameter"   Too few parameters 
received for requested 
operation 
Check programming manual for 
correct number of parameters 
-110  "Command header 
error" 
Command header incorrect  Check syntax of command. 
-111  "header separator 
error"  
Invalid command separator 
used. 
Use semi-colon to separate 
command headers 
-112  "Program mnemonic 
too long"  
Syntax error  Check programming manual for 
correct command syntax 
-113  "Undefined header"   Command not recognized 
error 
Check programming manual for 
correct command syntax 
-120  "Numeric data error"   Data received is not a 
number 
Check programming manual for 
correct command syntax 
-121  "Invalid character in 
number"  
Number received contains 
non-numeric character(s) 
Check programming manual for 
correct command syntax 
-123  "Exponent too large"   Exponent in number 
exceeds limits 
Check programming manual for 
correct parameter range 
-128  "Numeric data not 
allowed"  
Number received when 
number is not allowed. 
Check programming manual for 
correct command syntax 
-168  "Block data not 
allowed"  
Block data was sent.  Check programming manual for 
correct command syntax 
-200  "Execution error"   Command could not be  Command may be inconsistent