Remote Operation
Introduction
RS232 remote control is standard and can be used either in a conventional one-to-one mode or
in addressable mode as part of an ARC (Addressable RS232 Chain) system; RS232 can only be
used when the meter is powered from an AC supply.
GPIB (IEEE-488) remote control is available in addition to RS232 on a mains-only version; it is
not a retrofittable option.
The ARC (Addressable RS232 Chain) interface allows a collection of instruments, up to a
maximum of 32, to be connected to a single serial interface on a PC or other computer system.
Each instrument may then be uniquely addressed so that commands for that instrument may be
sent and ignored by all other instruments connected to the interface. Additionally, ARC
instruments may be used on a simple RS232 interface in non-addressable mode without
modification.
Available as an option is the ARCTALK software package for IBM compatible PCs. At the simplest
level, ARCTALK provides realtime direct control of instruments on the ARC bus from the PC’s
keyboard. However, it can be used more effectively to create complete ‘programs’ within which
several instruments can be set-up and/or measurements read back; responses can be captured
in a ‘response’ file for later use, e.g. by another application which could, for example, generate a
graph of the data.
The following sections detail the operation of the instrument via both GPIB and ARC (RS232).
Where operation is common no distinction is made between the two; where differences occur
these are details in separate sections for GPIB and ARC.
RS232/GPIB Selection
The required interface must be selected using the rear panel slide switch before the meter is
switched on. Set the switch and switch on; if GPIB is selected the main display will show IEEE for
1 second as verification.
Address and Baud Rate Selection
Each instrument connected to the ARC or GPIB bus must be assigned a unique address and, in
the case of ARC, all must be set to the same baud rate.
To set the address press Shift then Addr (the shifted function of FUNCTION); the main display
shows Add and the secondary display shows the current address setting. Increment/decrement
the address with the Range Up/Range Down beep or enter the default address (1) by pressing
Clr (the edit function of Cancel). Exit address selection mode by pressing Esc.
To set the Baud rate press Shift then Baud (the shifted function of Run); the main display shows
bAUd and the secondary display shows the current Baud setting. Step through all possible
settings using the Range Up/Range Down keys or enter the default rate (9600) by pressing Clr
(the edit function of Cancel). Exit Baud selection mode by pressing Esc.
Two further settings, PC-02 and Trig, are listed with the Baud rate. These are for when the RS232
interface is used with a parallel printer or remote data-logger trigger, respectively; refer to the
Printing and Data Logger sections for details.
Remote/Local Operation
At power-on the instrument will be in the local state; in this state all keyboard operations are
possible. When the instrument is addressed to listen and a command is received the remote state
will be entered and the REM symbol will show in the display. In this state the keyboard is locked
out and only remote commands will be processed. The instrument may be returned to the local
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