Signal Hound BB60C Programmer's Reference Manual

Signal Hound | Theory of Operation
7
All configurations functions modify the global state which does not immediately affect the operation of
the device. Once you have configured the global state to your liking, you may re-initiate the device into a
mode of operation, in which the global state is copied into the running state. At this point, the running
state is separate and not affected by future configuration function calls.
The broadband spectrum analyzer has multiple modes of operation. The bbInitiate function is used to
initialize the device and enter one of the operational modes. The device can only be in one operational
mode at a time. If bbInitiate is called on a device that is already initialized, the current mode is aborted
before entering the new specified mode. The operational modes are described in the Modes of
Operation section.
Retrieve Data from the Device
Once a device has been successfully initialized you can begin retrieving data from the device. Every
mode of operation returns different types and different amounts of data. The Modes of Operation
section will help you determine how to collect data from the API for any given mode. Helper routines
are also used for certain modes to determine how much data to expect from the device.
Abort the Current Mode
Aborting the operation of the device is achieved through the bbAbort function. This causes the device
to cancel any pending operations and return to an idle state. Calling bbAbort explicitly is never
required. If you attempt to initiate an already active device, bbAbort will be called for you. Also if you
attempt to close an active device, bbAbort will be called. There are a few reasons you may wish to call
bbAbort manually though.
- Certain modes combined with certain settings consume large amounts of resources such as
memory and the spawning of many threads. Calling bbAbort will free those resources.
- Certain modes such as Real-Time Spectrum Analysis consume many CPU cycles, and they are
always running in the background whether or not you are collecting and using the results they
produce.
- Aborting an operational mode and spending more time in an idle state may help to reduce
power consumption.
Closing the Device
When you are finished, you must call bbCloseDevice. This function attempts to safely close the USB 3.0
connection to the device and clean up any resources which may be allocated. A device may also be
closed and opened multiple times during the execution of a program. This may be necessary if you want
to change USB ports, or swap a device.
Calibration
Calibration is an important part of the device’s operation. The device is temperature sensitive and it is
important a device is re-calibrated when significant temperature shifts occur (+/- 2 °C). Signal Hound
spectrum analyzers are streaming devices and as such cannot automatically calibrate itself without
interrupting operation/communication (which may be undesirable). Therefore we leave calibration to
the programmer. The API provides two functions for assisting with live calibration,
bbGetDeviceDiagnostics and bbSelfCal. bbGetDeviceDiagnostics can be used to retrieve the internal
device temperature at any time after the device has been opened. If the device ever deviates from its
temperature by 2 degrees Celcius or more we suggest calling bbSelfCal. Calling bbSelfCal requires the

Signal Hound BB60C Specifications

General

Brand	Signal Hound
Model	BB60C
Category	Measuring Instruments
Language	English