1 Power Meter Remote Operation
94 Keysight N8262A Programming Guide
Getting the Best Speed Performance
This section discusses the factors that influence the speed of operation (number
of readings/sec) of a P-Series modular power meter.
The following factors are those which have the greatest effect upon measurement
speed (in no particular order):
– The selected measurement rate, i.e. NORMal, DOUBle, FAST.
– The sensor being used.
– The trigger mode (for example, free run, trigger with delay etc.).
– The output format: ASCii or REAL.
– The units used for the measurement.
– The command used to take a measurement.
In addition, in FAST mode there are other influences which are described in “Fast
Mode” on page 98.
The following paragraphs give a brief description of the above factors and how
they are controlled from SCPI.
Measurement Rate
There are three possible speed settings NORMal, DOUBle and FAST. These are set
using the SENSe:MRATe command and can be applied to each channel
independently.
In NORMal and DOUBle modes, full instrument functionality is available and these
settings can be used with all sensors. FAST mode is only available for the P-Series
and E-Series sensors. Also, in FAST mode averaging, limits and ratio/difference
math functions are disabled.
Refer to “Specifications” in the P-Series Modular Power Meter User’s Guide to see
the influence of these speed settings on the accuracy and noise performance of
the power meter.