166  
Chapter 4  Remote Interface Reference
Using the APPLy Command
4
DC Offset Voltage 
•For the offset parameter of the APPLy command, you can substitute 
“MINimum”, “MAXimum”, or “DEFault” in place of a specific value 
for the parameter. MIN selects the most negative dc offset voltage for 
the function and amplitude specified. MAX selects the largest dc offset
 
for the function and amplitude specified. The default offset is 0 volts 
for all functions. 
•
Limits Due to Amplitude
: The relationship between offset voltage and 
output amplitude is shown below. Vmax is the maximum peak voltage 
for the selected output termination (5 volts for a 50Ω load or 10 volts 
for a high-impedance load). 
|Voffset| <
Vmax –
If the specified offset voltage is not valid, the function generator will 
automatically adjust it to the maximum dc voltage allowed with the 
amplitude specified. From the remote interface, a “Data out of range” 
error will be generated and the offset will be adjusted as described.
•
Limits Due to Output Termination: The offset limits are determined 
by the current output termination setting (the APPLy command does 
not change the termination setting). For example, if you set the offset 
to 100 mVdc and then change the output termination from 50 ohms 
to “high impedance”, the offset voltage displayed on the function 
generator’s front-panel will double to 200 mVdc (and no error will 
be generated). If you change from “high impedance” to 50 ohms, 
the displayed offset will drop in half. See the OUTP:LOAD command on 
page 181 for more information. 
•
Arbitrary Waveform Limitations: For arbitrary waveforms, the 
maximum 
offset and amplitude will be limited if the waveform data 
points do not
 span the 
full range of the output DAC (Digital-to-Analog 
Converter). 
For example, the built-in “Sinc” waveform does not use 
the full range of values between ±1 and therefore its maximum offset 
is limited to 4.95 volts (into 50 ohms). The “0” DAC value is still used 
as the offset reference even if the waveform data points do not span 
the full range of the output DAC.
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33210A users guide.book  Page 166  Wednesday, July 16, 2008  11:16 AM