Agilent 53132A Operating Guide

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Agilent 53131A/132A 225 MHz Universal Counter

Operating Guide

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Manual Part Number 53131-90055

Printed in M alaysia

Agilent 53131A /132A 225 MHz Universal Counter Operating Guide

This guide describes how to use the Agilent 53131A/132A 225 MHz Universal Counter.

Agilent 53131A/132A 225 MHz Universal Counter

Copyright Agilent Technologies

adaptation, or translations without prior written permission is prohibited, except as all owed under the copyright laws.

Printed: October 1999 Printed in Malaysia

Manual part number 53131-90055

Certification and Warranty

Certification

Agilent Technologies certifies that this product met its published specification at the time of shipment from the factory. Agilent Technologies further certifies that its calibration measurements are traceable to the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly National Bureau of Standards), to the extent allowed by the Institute’s calibration facility, and to the calibration facilities of other International Standards Organizat ion members.

Warranty

Agile nt warrants Agilenthardware, accessories and supplies against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from date of shipment. If Agilent receives notice of such defect s during the warran ty period, Agilent will, at its option, either repair or re pl ac e pr od u cts which prove to be defective. Replacement products may be either new or likenew.

Agilent warrants that Agilent software will not fail to execute its programming instructions, for the period specified above, due to defects in material and workmanship when properly installed and used. If Agilent receives notice of such defect s during the warran ty period, Agilent will replace software media which does not execute its programming instructions due to such defects.

For detailed warranty information, see back matter.

Safety Con siderations General

This product and related documentation must be reviewed for familiarization with this safety markings and instructions before operation.

Before Cleaning

Disc on ne ct t he product fr o m operating power before cleaning.

Warning Symbols That May Be Used In This Book

Instruction manual symbol; the product will be marked with this symbol when it is necessary for the user to refer to the instruction manual.

Indicates hazardous voltages.

Indicates earth (ground) terminal.

Indicates terminal is connected to chassis when such connection is not apparent.

Indicates Alternating current.

Indicates Direct current.

Safety Considerations (contd)

ARNING

BODILY INJUR Y OR DEATH MAY RESULT FROM FAILURE TO HEED A WARNING. DO NOT PROCEED BEYOND A WARNING UNTIL THE INDICATED CONDITIONS ARE FULLY UNDERSTOOD AND MET.

AUTION

Damage to equipment, or in correct measurement data, may result from failure to heed a caution. Do not proceed beyond a CAUTION until the indicated conditions are fully understood and met.

Safety Earth Ground

An uninterruptible safety earth ground must be maintained from the mains power source to the product’s ground circuitry.

ARNING

WHEN MEASURING POWER LINE SIGNALS, BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL AND ALWAYS USE A STEP-DOWN ISOLATION TRANSFORMER WHICH OUTPUT IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE INPUT MEASUREMENT CAPABILITIES OF THIS PRODUCT. THIS PRODUCT’S FRONT AND REAR PANELS ARE TYPCIALLY AT EARTH GROUND. THUS, NEVER TRY

TO MEASURE AC POWER LINE SIGNALS WITHOUT AN ISOLATION TRANSFORMER.

Agilent Technologies, Inc 7.NC.NL.A.11.03.97.R1.P.CW6FC 815 S.W. 14th Street Loveland, Colorado U.S.A.

Warranty (contd)

Agilent does not warrant that the operation of Agilent products will be uninterrupted or error free. If Agilent is unable, within a reasonable time, to repai r or replace any product to a condition as warranted, customer will be entitled to a refund of the purchase price upon prompt return of the prod u ct .

Agilent products may contain remanufactured parts equivalent to new in per formance or may have been subjected to incidental use.

The warranty per iod begins on the date of delivery or on the date of installation if installed by Agilent. If customer schedules or delays Agilent installation more than 30 days after delive ry, warranty begins on the 31st day from delivery.

Warranty does not apply to defects resul ting from (a) improper or inadequate maintenance or calibration, (b) software, interfacing, parts or supplie s not supplie d by Agilent, (c) unauthorized modifi cati on or misus e, (d) operation outside of the published environmental specifications for the product, or (e)improper sit e prepar at i o n or ma intenan ce.

TO THE EXTENT ALL O WED BY LOCAL LAW, THE ABOVE WARRANTIES ARE EXCLUSIVE AND NO OTHER WARRANTY OR CONDITION, WHETHER WRITTEN OR ORAL, IS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED AND AGILENT SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISF ACTORY QUALITY, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Agilent will be liable for damage to tangible property per incident up to the greater of $300,000 or the actual amount paid for the product that is the subject of the claim, and for damages for bodily injury or death, to the extent that all such damages are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to have been directly caused by a defective Agile nt product.

TO THE EXTEN T AL LO WED BY LOCAL LAW, THE REMEDIES IN THIS WARRA N TY STAT EMEN T ARE CUSTOMER’S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES. EXCEPT AS I NDICATED ABOVE, IN NO EVENT WILL AGILENT OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR LOSS OF DA TA OR FOR DIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL (INCLUDING LOST PROFIT OR DATA), OR OTHER DAMAGE, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT , TORT, OR OTHERWISE.

For consumer transactions in Australia and New Zealand: the warranty terms contained in this statement, except to the extent lawfully permitted, do not exclude, restrict or modify and are in addition to the ma ndatory statutory rights applicable to the sale of this product to you.

Assistance

Product maintenance agreemen ts and other customer assistance agreem ents are available for Agilent Technologies products.

For any assistance, contact your nearest Agilent Technologies Sales and Service Office.

Safety Considerations (contd)

WARNING

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADJUSTMENTS WHILE COVERS ARE REMOVED AND FOR SERVICING ARE FOR USE BY SERVICETRAINED PERSONNEL ONLY. TO AVOID DANGEROUS ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT PERFORM SUCH ADJUSTMENTS OR SERVICING UNLESS QUALIFIED TO DO SO.

WARNING

ANY INTERRUPTION OF THE PROTECTIVE GROUNDING CONDUCTOR (INSIDE OR OUTSIDE THE PRODUCT'S CIRCUITRY) OR DISCONNECTING THE PROTEC TIVE EARTH TERMINAL WILL CAUSE A POTENTIAL SHOCK HAZARD THAT COULD RESULT IN PERSONAL INJURY. (GROUNDING ONE CONDUCTOR OF A TWO CONDUCTOR OUTLET IS NOT SUFFICIENT PROTECTION.)

Whenever it is likely that the prote ct i o n ha s be e n impa i r e d , th e instrument must be ma de inoperative and be secured against any unintended operation.

If this instrument is to be energized via an autotransformer (for voltage reduction) make sure the common terminal is connected to the earthed pole terminal (neutral) of the power source.

Instructi ons for adjustments while covers are removed and for servicing are for us e by tra ined- pe r sonn el only. To avoid dangerous electric sho ck, do not per f orm such adjustments or servici ng unless qualified to do so.

For conti nue d pro te cti on ag ain st fire , replace the line fuse(s) of the same current rating and type (for example, normal blow , time delay). D o not use repaired fuses or short circuited fuseholders.

Acoustic Noise Emissions

LpA<47 dB at operator position, at normal operation, tested per EN 27779. All data are the results from type test.

Geräuschemission

LpA<47 dB am Arbeits platz, normaler Betrieb, geprüft n ach EN 27779. Die Angagen beruh e n auf Ergebnissen von Typenprüfungen.

7.NL.A.11.03.97.R1.P.CW6BC

I

II

DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY

According to ISO/IEC Guide 22 and CEN/CENELEC EN 45014

Manufacturer’s Name: Manufacturer’s Address:

Declares, that the product

Product Name: Model Number: Product Options: This declaration covers all options of the above product.

Conforms with the following European Directives:

The product herewith complies with the requirements of the Low Voltage Directive 73/23/EEC and the EMC Directive 89/336/EEC (including 93/68/EEC) and carries the CE Marking accordingly.

EMC Standard

IEC 61326-1:1997+A1:1998 / EN 61326-1:1997+A1:1998 CISPR 11:1990 / EN 55011:1991 IEC 61000-4-2:1995+A1:1998 / EN 61000-4-2:1995 IEC 61000-4-3:1995 / EN 61000-4-3:1995 IEC 61000-4-4:1995 / EN 61000-4-4:1995 IEC 61000-4-5:1995 / EN 61000-4-5:1995 IEC 61000-4-6:1996 / EN 61000-4-6:1996 IEC 61000-4-11:1994 / EN 61000-4-11:1994

Canada: ICES-001:1998 Australia/New Zealand: AS/NZS 2064.1

Agilent Technologies, Incorporated Santa Clara Site 5301 Stevens Creek Blvd Santa Clara, California 95051

Universal Counter Frequency Counter 53131A, 53132A 53181A

Limit

Group 1 Class A 4kV CD, 8kV AD 3 V/m, 80-1000 MHz

0.5kV signal lines, 1kV power lines

0.5 kV line-line, 1 kV line-ground 3V, 0.15-80 MHz I cycle, 100%

[1]

Safety

Supplemental Information:

[1]

The product was tested in a typical configuration with Agilent Technologies test systems.

Authorized EU-representative: Agilent Technologies Deutschland GmbH, Herrenberger Stra

IEC 61010-1:1990+A1:1992+A2:1995 / EN 61010-1:1993+A2:1995 Canada: CSA C22.2 No. 1010.1:1992

July 31, 2001

Date Art Nanawa, Product Regulations Manager

For further information, please contact your local Agilent Technologies sales office, agent or distributor.

e 130, D 71034 Böblingen, Germany

Contents

In Thi s Guide

Contents and Organization xii Related Documents xiii Types of Service Available if Your Instrument Fails xiv

Standard Repair Services (Worldwide) xiv Express Repair/Perf ormance Calibration Service

(USA Only) xiv Assembly -Lev e l Se rv ice G uid e xiv

Repackaging for Shipment xv Description of the 225 MHz Universal Counter xvi Options xviii

Hardware xviii Support xviii

Accessor ie s Supplied and Available xix

Accessories Supplied xix Accessories Available xix Supplied Manuals xix

Differences Between Prior and Current Revisions of the Agilent 53131A/132A xx

Agilent 53131A Containing Firmware Revisions (3317, 3335, or

3402) xx

Agilent 53132A Time Interval Delay Arming xxii

Calibrations xxi Measurements xxi Statistics xxii GPIB Commands xxii

Ope rati ng Guide iii

Contents

Agilent 53131A/132A Quick Reference Guide xxiii

1 Getti ng S tarted

The Front Panel at a Glance 1-2 The Front Panel Indicators at a Glance 1-3 The Front Panel Indicators at a Glance (Cont.) 1-4 The Front Panel Menus at a Glance 1-5 The Front Panel Menus at a Glance (Cont.) 1-6 The Front Panel Menus at a Glance (Cont.) 1-7 The Front Panel Menus at a Glance (Cont.) 1-8 The Display Annunciators at a Glance 1-9 The Display Special Character at a Glance 1-10 The Limit Test Graph Characters at a Glance 1-10 The Rear Panel at a Glance 1-11 Making Measurements 1-12

To Measure Frequency 1-13 T o Select Input Coupling and Impedance 1-15

Selecting Input Coupling 1-15 Selecting Input Impedance 1-16

To Set Input Channel Tr igger Level/Sensitivity 1-17

Changing Trigger Mode 1-17 Modifying Input Tr igger Level 1- 17 Selecting Input Trigger Slope 1-18 Selecting Input Sensitivity 1-19 Starting the Measurement 1-19

To Select Scale an d Offset 1-19

Entering th e Scale Value 1-20 Entering the Offset Value 1-21 Displaying the Math Results 1-22 Disabling Math 1-22

To Set Limits of Measurements 1-23

Setting the Upper Limit 1-24 Setting the Lower Limit 1-26

iv Operating Guide

Contents

Setting the Count er to Flag and Stop Measuring On Out-of-Limit Measurements 1-28 Setting the Counter to Flag On Limits But Continue Measuring 1-29

Disabling Limit Testing 1-30 Disabling Math 1-30

T o Perform Statistics on Measurements 1-31

Selecting the Type of Sta tistics (Stats) 1-31 Computing Stats on Filtered Data Only 1-32 Displaying Stats After Filtering Data of Input Signal 1-34 Disabling Stats and Math 1-35

To Control Measurement 1-36

2 Oper a ting You r Un iversa l C ounter

Introduction 2-2

Chapter Sum mary 2-2 Where to Find Some Key W orking Examples 2-3

How this Cou nt er Works for You 2-4 Using the Measurement Control K eys (Run and Stop/Single) 2-5

Overview of the Measurement Control Keys 2-5 To Use the Measu re men t Co n tro l Key s 2-6

Using Entry/Select (Arrow) Keys 2-8

To Use During Numeric Entry 2-8 T o Use When Sequencing Thro ugh the Measurement Funct ion Menus

(Freq & Ratio, Time & Period, Other Meas) and the Recall Menu 2-8

To Use During State Ch a ngi ng (O N/OFF, LO/MED/ HI, et c. ) 2-9 T o Use on Prompted Event Messages (SET OFFSET ?, CAL: OFFS

n ?, TEST: ALL?, etc.) 2 -9 To Use on Prompted Help Messages (MATH HELP ?, PRINT HELP

?) 2-9

Using the MEASURE Menu Keys 2-10

Overview of the MEASURE Menus 2-10

Ope rati ng Guide v

Contents

To Measure Frequency 2-11 To Measure Frequency Ratio 2-12 To Measure Time Inte rval 2-13 To Measure Period 2-13 To Measure Ris e/ F all Times 2-13 To Measure Positive/Negative Pulse Widths 2-14 To Measure Du t y Cyc le 2-14 To Make Totalize Measurem ent s 2-14 To Make Phase Measurement s 2-15 To Measure Pos it ive/ Negative Vol ta ge Peak s 2-15

Using the Gate & External Arm Menu Key 2-16

Overview of Gate/External Ar ming Functions 2-16 Gate/External Arming Capa bilities 2-16

AUTO Arming 2-16 EXTERNAL Arming 2-17 TIME Arming 2-17 DIGITS Arming 2-17 Agilent 53131A (and Agilent 53132A With S/N Prefix Below

3646) Time Int erval DELAY Arming 2-17 Agilent 53132A (With S/N Prefix 3646 and Above) T ime Interval DELAY Arming 2-20

To Use the Gate and External Arm 2-24

Example Procedure for Gate and External Arm 2-24 Example Procedure for Changing the Number of Digits of Resolution Displayed for More Precise Measurements 2-25

Using the MATH Menu Keys 2-27

Overview of Scale/Offset Math Menu 2-27 To Use the Scale/ O ffset Ma t h Men u 2-28

Example Procedure for Scale Function 2-28 Example Procedure for Of fset Function 2-29 Example Procedure for Turning Off Math Mode 2-30

vi Operating Guide

Contents

Example Procedure for Setting the Offset From the Last Measurement Value 2-31

Overview of Stati stics (Stats) Menu 2-32 To Use the Stats Menu for Automatic and Continuous Statistical

Analysis 2-33

Example Procedure for Computing S tats 2-33 Example Procedure for Easy Viewing of Stats 2-34 Example Procedure for Filt ering Data (Using Limits) During

Stats 2-35 Example Procedure for Configur ing SINGLE to Initiate N Measurements 2-36 Example Procedure for Turning Off Stats Mode 2-36

Using the LIMITS Menu Keys 2-37

Overview of Limits Menus 2-37 To Set and Use Au t o m atic L imit Testin g 2-38

Limits Testing Example 1—Flag and Stop Measuring On Limits 2-38 Limits Testing Example 2—Flag On Limits but Continue Measuring 2-40

Limits Testing Example 3—Use Analog Gra ph Display While Adjusting Input Signal 2-40 Limits Testing Example 4—Selecting Filtering Conditions of Stats Computation 2-42

Limits Testing Example 5—Sending the Limit-Detect Output to the RS-232 Serial Port 2-43

Using CHANNEL 1 and CHANNEL 2 Input Conditioning Keys 2-44

Overview of Trigger/Sensitivity Menu 2-44 To Use the Trigger/Sensitivity Keys to Adjust Counter’s Triggering

Level 2-48

Example Procedure for Setting Trigger Voltage and Sensitivity Levels 2-48

Example Procedure for Using Common 1 to Make Time Interval (TI) Measurements on a Single Signal 2-51

Ope rati ng Guide vii

Contents

Overview of Input Conditioni ng Toggle Keys 2-51

Using the Save and Recall Menus 2-52

Overview of Save and Recall Functions 2-52 To Use the Save Function 2-53 To Use the Recall Function 2-54 To Unsave a Mea s urement Setup 2-55

Using the Pri nt Menu 2-56

Overview of the Print Menu 2-56 To Use the Print Men u 2-56

Using the Utility Menu 2-57

Overview of the Utility Menu 2-57 To Set the GPIB Ad d ress 2-58

Selecting Operating Mode (Talk/Listen, Talk-Only) 2-58 Setting the GPIB Address 2-58

To Choose the Timebase Source 2-59 To Run the Self-Test Routines 2-59

Overview of the Self-Test Routines 2-59 Example Procedure for Running the Self Test 2-61

To Configure the RS-232 Serial Port for Printing 2-61

Setting the Hardware Pacing 2-62 Setting the Baud Rate 2-62 Setting the Parity 2-63 Setting the Software Pace 2-63

To Configure the RS-232 Serial Port for Sending Limit-Detect Output 2-64

T o Select the Numerical Convention for the Display 2-65 T o Connect the Counter to a Serial Print er via the RS-232 Port 2-65 T o Connect the Counter to a Printer via GPIB 2-66 T o Select the GPIB Talk-Only Mode for Printing 2-66

Using the Calibration Menu 2-67

Overview of the Calibration Menu 2-67 To View the Calibration Menu and Security Status 2-68

viii Operating Guide

Contents

To Unsecure for Calibration 2-68 T o Initiate the Calibration Routines 2-69 To Secure Agai n st Ca lib ra tio n 2-71 T o Change to a New Security Code 2-72 To View the Calibration Count 2-72 T o Get Help With the Calibration Menu 2-72

Front Panel Display Message s 2-7 3

Measurement Result Displa ys 2-73 Power-Up/Self Test Messages 2-74 Menu Messages 2-75 GPIB Messages 2-77

Preset Values After Power-Up and *RST 2-78

Agilent 53131A (and Agilent 53132A With S/N Prefix Below 3646) Preset Values for Functions Accessibl e Via Front Panel or GPIB 2-79

Agilent 53132A (With S/N Prefix 3646 and Above) Preset Values for Functions Accessible Via Front Panel or GPIB 2-85

Preset Values for Functions Accessibl e Via GPIB Only 2-91

Summary of the Measurement Sequence 2-93 Common Qu es ti ons 2-94

Why is Stats result not avai lable yet? 2-94 Why won’t printer work? 2-94 Why did Counter stop measuring? 2-94 Why did Counter go to its default state aft er I set up my RS-232

port? 2-94 Counter’s numeric display does not follow the numerical conven tion

for my country. 2-94 How do I display the 13th digit in my numerical result? 2-94

3 Specifications

Introduction 3-2

Instrument Inputs 3-2 Instrument Inputs (Continued) 3-3

Ope rati ng Guide ix

Index

Contents

Time Base 3-4 Measurement Specifications 3-5 Measurement Specific ations (Continued) 3-6 Measurement Definitions 3-12 Measurement Definitions (Continued) 3-13 Measurement Arming and Processi ng 3-14 Measurement Arming and Processi ng (Continued) 3-15 General Information 3-16

x Operating Guide

In This Guide

This book is the oper ating guide for the Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A 225 MHz Universal Counters. It cons ists of a table of contents, this preface, a quick reference guide, three chapters, and an index.

This preface contains the following information:

• Contents and Or ganization page xii

• Related Documents page xiii

• Types of Service Available if Your Instrument Fails page xiv

• Repackaging for Shipment page xv

• Description of the 225 MHz Universal Counter page xvi

• Options page xviii

• Accessories Supplied and Available page xix – Supplied Manuals page xix

• Differences Between Prior and Current Revisions of the Agilent 53131A/132A

Ope rati ng Guide xi

page xx

In This Guide

Cont en t s and Organization

Table of Contents

The Quick Reference Guide consists of a Menu Tree (cut-out sheet) that serves as a device to trigg er your memory or get you quickly reacquainted with the instrume nt, and Menu Roadmaps that illustrate how to navigate through the menus. It is located after this preface.

Chapter 1, “Getting Started,” is a quick start guide that giv es you a brief overvi ew of the Counter’s keys, indicators, menus, displa y, and connectors. Last, a graphical procedure for perfor ming a complete measurement is provide d.

Chapter 2, “Operating Y our Universal Counter,” is an operator’s refe rence. You are given an overvi ew of e ach group of front-pan el ke ys, operating functions, and menus followed by a series of exe r cises that guide you through the operation of the Count er.

Chapter 3, “Specifications,” lists the specif ications and characteri s tics of the Counter.

Index

xii Operating Gui de

In This Guide

Related Docum ents

For more information on universal counters refer to the following S eries 200 Application Notes:

• Fundamentals of El ectronic Frequency Counters Application Note 200—Agilent part number 02-5952-7506.

• Fundamentals of Time Interval Measurements Application Note 200-3—Agilent part number 02-5952-7561.

• Understanding Frequency Counter Specifications Application Note 200-4—Agilent part number 02-5952-7522.

Operating Guide xiii

In This Guide

Types of Service Av ai la bl e if Your Instrument Fai ls

If your Agilent 53131A/132A fails within one year of original purchase, Agilent will repair it free of charge. If your instrument fails a fter your one-year warranty expires , Agilent will repair it, or you can repair it yourself by ordering the service guide (Agilent part number 53131-90039).

There are three type s of repair services:

• Standa rd repa ir service—if downtime is not critical.

• Express Re pair/Performance Calibration Ser v ice—if downtime is critical.

• Order the Assembly-Level Service Guide and repair unit yourself.

Standard Repair Services (Worldwide)

Contact your nearest Agilent Technologies Service Center. They will arrange to have your Agilent 53131A/132A Universal Counter repaired.

Express Repair/Performance Calibr ation Ser vice (USA O nly)

If downtime is critical, you can receive your repaired Agilent 53131 A/132A via overnight shipment. Just call 1-800-403-0801 and ask for Express Repair/Performance Calibration Service. When your Counter is re paired, it will be returned via ove rnight shipment.

Assembly-Level Service Guide

If your Agilent 53131A/132A 1-year warranty has expired and you choose to repair the inst rume nt yourself or would like more details on self test and calibrat ion, refer to the Agilent 53131A/132A Assembly-Level Service Guide, Agilent part num ber 53131-90039.

xiv Operating Guide

In This Guide

Repackaging for Shipment

For the Express Repa ir/ Performance Calibr ation Ser vic e descri bed above , retu rn your failed Agilent 53131A/132A to the desi gnated Agilent Technologies Service Cen ter, using the shipping carton of the instrument. Agilent will notify you when your failed instrument has been received.

If the instrument is to be shipped to Agilent for service or repair, be sure you do the following:

• Attach a tag to the ins trument identifyi ng the owner and indicatin g the re quired service or repair. Include the instrument model number and full serial number.

• Place the instrument in its original container with appropriate packaging material.

• Secure the container with strong tape or metal bands.

If the original ship ping contain er is not availa ble, place your unit in a cont ainer which will ensure at least 4 inches of compressible packaging material around all sides of the unit. Use static free packaging materials to avoid additional damage to your unit.

Agilent Technologies suggests that you always insure shipments.

Ope rati ng Guide xv

In This Guide

Description of the 225 MHz Universal Counter

The Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A are universal counters ca pable of measuring frequencies to 225 MHz on Channels 1 and 2. With an optional Channel 3 Option 030, Option 050, or Option 124, this cap ability is extended to 3.0, 5.0, or

12.4 GHz, respectively.

For the Agilent 53131A, frequency and time interval resolutions are 10 digits in one second and 500 picoseconds, respectively. The Agilent 53131A provides users with a GPIB measuring spe ed of up to 200 measurements per second, and is suitable for bench-top opera tion and lower-vo lume ATE operation. The frequency and time interval resolutions for the Agilent 53132A are up to 12 digits in one second and 150 picoseconds, respectively. The Agilent 53132A provides users with exceptional resolution, and is ideal for ATE systems operation.

The Agilent 53131A/132A basic measur ement functions incl ude Frequency, Period, Pulse Width, Duty Cycle, Rise/Fall Time, Time Interval, Frequency Ratio, Totalize, Phase, and Peak Voltag e. The Agilent 53131A/132A Counter has four armi ng modes: auto, external, digitsand time. However, the Agilent 53132A with serial number prefix 3646 and above has expanded arming capa bilities for Tim e Interval measurements.

xvi Operating Guide

In This Guide

The Agilent 53131 A/132A include additional measurement func tions and features that are designed specifically for manufacturing a nd service applications:

• 1, 5, 10 MHz external reference capability—to match cust omer’s house standard (however, the Agilent 53132A’s external reference ca pability is 10 MHz only),

• optional ultra high, high, or mediu m stability oven osci llators for high accuracy needs and le ng t h en ed ca li b r at io n cy cles,

• external gating,

• statistics,

• automatic limit testing,

• SCPI programming capability, and

• analog displ ay m ode limit testing

Programmable control is performed via an GPIB. The GPIB and a talk-onl y RS-232C serial port are sta ndard for th e Agil ent 5313 1A and Agilent 53132A. The seria l port is for printing measured and analyz ed data on serial printers, or for outputting an out-oflimit s i gnal.

Ope rati ng Guide xvii

In This Guide

Options

The options avai lable for the Agilent 53131 A/132A 225 MHz Universal Counter are listed following this paragraph. Specifications for the options are listed in Chapter 3, “Specifications.” If you’ve purchased an option with the initial order, it will be installed at the factory and ready for operation at delivery. Refer to the “Retrofitting Optio ns ” ch ap t er in th e A ss e m b ly - L ev el Se r v ic e G u ide for inst r u ct io n s on field installa tion of the options.

NOTE The “0’s” and “1’s” in the foll owing option numbers are numeric characters (that is,

they are not lett e rs).

Hardware

• Medium Stabi lity Oven Timebase, Option 001

• DC Power Input, Option 002

• High Stabi lity Oven Time bas e, Option 010

• Ultra-High Stability Oven Timebase, Option 012 (Agilent 53132A only)

• 3.0 GHz RF Input Channel (Channel 3), Option 030

• 5.0 GHz RF Input Channel (Channel 3), Option 050

• 12.4 GHz RF Input Channel (Channel 3), Option 124

• Rear Terminal s

• Rack Mount Kit, Opti on 1CM. Also available under Agilent part number 5062-

9240.

• Lock-Link Kit (side-by-side) ava ilable under Agilent part number 5061-9694. Also requires Flange Kit, part number 5062-3974.

, Option 060

Support

• 5-year Return to Agilent for Repair, Option W50

• 5-year Return to Agilent for Calibra tion, Option W52

The two standard input channels (1 and 2) will have both front and rear terminals. Option 030 Channel 3 will have a rear terminal only. Option 050 and Option 124 Channel 3 will have a front terminal only.

xviii Operating Guide

In This Guide

Accessori es Supplied and Availabl e

Accessories Supplied

• Power co r d , 2. 3 meters

Accessories Available

• Agilent 34161A Accessory Pouch

• Agilent 34131A Transit Case

• Printer RS-232 Interface cables, Agilent 24542G or Agilent 24542H

• GPIB cables, Agilent 10833A/B/ C/D

Supplied Manuals

• Agilent 53131A/132A Operating Guide—this guide (Agilent P/N 53131-90055)

• Agilent 53131A/132A Programming Guide (Agilent P/N 53131-90044)

• Agilent 53131A/132A Assembly-Level Service Guide (Agilent P/N 53131-90039)

Operating Guide xix

In This Guide

Differences Betw ee n Pri or and Current Revisions of the Agilent 53131A/132 A

If you have an Agilent 53131A containing one of the pri or firmware revisions (3317, 3335, or 3402), read th e su bsection below titled “Agilent 53131A Containing Firmware Revisions (3317, 3335, or 3402)” to get an overview of the differenc es between the earlier firmware revisions and current firmware revision.

If you have an Agilent 53132A with a serial number prefix below 3646, read the subsection titled “Agilent 53132A Time Interval Delay Arming” on page xxii.

NOTE Note that throughout the guide, differences between the earlier and c urrent firmware

revisions are noted where applicable.

Agilent 53131A Containing Firmware Revisions (3317, 3335, or

3402)

There ar e four main areas that differ:

• Calibrations

•Measurements

• Statistics

• GPIB Commands

xx Operating Guide

In This Guide

Calibrations

If your Counter contains other than the current firmwar e rev is ion, the following calibr at io n fe at u re s ar e d iffe r en t:

• The calibrati on funct ions ar e in the Util ity menu ins tead of the Calibra tion menu, which is accessed by pressing and holding the front-panel Utility key and the n cycling POWER key.

• Calibrations are not protected by a security code.

• A calibration count does not exist to aid in monitoring the number of calibrations performed.

• A more accurate Time Interva l ca libration (FINE TI) is not available.

See the section titled “Using the Calibration Menu” in Chapter 2 of the Agilent 53131A/132A Operating Guide for details.

Measurements

If your Counter contains other than the current firmwar e rev is ion, the following measurement capabilities are different :

• Ratio channel se lections Rati o 2 to 1 and Rat io 3 to 1 (for thos e counters equipped with Channel 3) are not available.

• Ratio “AUTO-arm ed” does not automatically extends gate to capture suffic ient edges.

If Channel 1 input frequency is less than appro ximately 10 Hz, the Ratio gate time is not extended to capture sufficient Channel 1 edges to produce a valid measurement. Default gate ti me is 100 m sec, whic h is not long enoug h to ca pture two edges on a low-frequency signal. The user is required to extend the gate by switching to TI ME arming, and selecting a gate time appropriatel y long.

• Sensitivity for firmware revision below does not have adjusted controls to LO and MED sensitivity.

In some Counters that contained firmware revis ion 3317, LO sensitivity fails to correctly count very high frequency signals.

Ope rati ng Guide xxi

In This Guide

Statistics

If your Counter contains other than the current firmware rev is ions, single-shot statistics are not available using the ON SINGLE: menu item found in the Statistics menu (use Stats key).

GPIB Commands

[:SENSe]:EVENt[1|2}:HYSTeresis:RELative

If your Counter contains firmware revisions 3402 and bel ow, the input hysteresis command and query does not operate in the conventi onal way . That is, [:SENSe]:EVENt[1|2]:HYSTeresis:RE Lative sets high sensitivity when the parameter is MINimum or 0 percent, and sets low sensitivity when the parameter is MAXimum or 100 per c e nt.

In the prior firmware revisions (3317, 3335, or 3402), MINimum or 0 percent corresponded to low sensitivity, and MAXimum or 100 percent corres ponded to high sensitivity.

:CONFigure:TOTalize:TIMed :CONFigure:TOTalize:CONTinuous :MEASure:TOTalize:TIMed?

If your Counter contains firmware revisions 3402 and bel ow, the Tota lize Measurement Instruction commands (shown above) are not available to disable autotrigger.

In the firmware revision s 3402 and below, these commands enabled auto-t rigger at the 50% level.

Agilent 53132A Time Interval Delay Arming

Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A Counters with a serial number prefix below 3646 are identic al in their TI arming modes. Both only offer Time Interval Delay, where the STOP trigger of a time interval measurement can be delayed by a user-specified time.

xxii Operating Gui de

Agilent 53131A/132A Quick Reference Guide

The Quick Reference Guide is des igned for experienced users of the Agilent 53131A/132A Universal Counter. It is intended to be used as a tool to trigger your memory. If you are using the Agilent 53131A/132A for the first time, Agilent Technologies recommends that you at least read Chapter 1, “Getting Started,” in the Operating Guide first.

The Quick Reference Guide f ollows this page, and consi sts of the following items:

• Menu Trees which may be torn out of the guide for external use (page s 1, 2, 3a, and 3b).

• Menu Roadmaps which illustrate via key-press sequences how to navigate through the menus under the menu keys (pages 4 through 11). Key-press sequences are provided for the following menu keys:

– Freq & Ratio – Time & Period –Other Meas –Gate & ExtArm – Uppr & Lower – Limit Mod es – Scale & Offset –Stats – Trigger/Sensitivity

Ope rati ng Guide xxiii

xxiv Operating Guide

Agilent 53131A/132A

Universal Counter

Freq & Ratio

FREQUENCY 1 FREQUENCY 2 FREQUENCY 3 RATI O 1 TO 2 RATI O 1 TO 3 RATI O 2 TO 1 RATI O 3 TO 1

Uppr & Lower

UPPR: 0.000000 LOWR: 0.000000

Time & Period

T I 1 TO 2 PERIOD 1 RISETIME FALLTIME POS WIDTH 1 NEG WIDTH 1

Limit Modes

LIM TEST: OFF

LIM TEST: ON

ON FAIL:GO ON

ON FAIL:

STOP

SHOW: NUMBER

GRAPH

SHOW:

Scale & Offset

SCALE:1.000000 OFFS: 0.000000 SET OFFSET ? MATH: OFF

MATH: ON

MATH HELP?

Other Meas

T O T A L I Z E 1 PHASE 1 TO 2 DUTYCYCLE 1 VOLT PEAKS 1 VOLT PEAKS 2

Stats

SHOW: MEAS

SHOW: STD DEV SHOW:

MEAN

SHOW:

MAX

SHOW:

MIN N: 100 STATS: OFF

STATS: ON

USE: ALL MEAS

LIMIT

USE: IN

ON SINGLE: 1

ON SINGLE: N

(Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A)

Agilent

53131A/132A

Universal Counter

Recall

NO REGISTERS RECALL 0 RECALL 1 RECALL 2 RECALL 3 RECALL 4 RECALL 5

RECALL 20

50Ω 1MΩ

CH 1: 50 OHM

CH 1: 1M OHM

Save & Print

SAVE: UNSAVE: PRINT: OFF

PRINT: ON

PRINT HELP?

DC AC

CH 1: DC

CH 1: AC

Trigger Sensitivity

AUTO TRG: ON AUTO TRG: OFF

LEVEL: 50 PCT

SLOPE: POS

SLOPE: NEG

SENSTVTY: HI

SENSTVTY: LO SENSTVTY:MED

COMMON 1: OFF

COMMON 1: ON

X10 Attenuate

CH 1: X10 ATT

CH 1: X1 ATT

LEVEL: 0.000V

SLOPE: POS

SLOPE: NEG

SENSTVTY: HI

SENSTVTY: LO SENSTVTY:MED

COMMON 1: OFF

COMMON 1: ON

100kHz Filter

CH 1:

LP FILT

CH 1:

NO FILT

(Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A)

Agilent 53131A and

Agilent 53132A

Universal Counter

(Serial Number Prefix below 3646)

Gate & ExtArm

Time & Period

T I 1 TO 2

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Gate & ExtArm

ARM: AUTO DELAY : NONE

DELAY : TIME

T IME : .01000

GATE:

TIME

TIME: .100 s

ARM : EXTERNL

SLOPE : POS

DELAY: NONE

GATE: AUTO

SLOPE : NEG DELAY: TIME

TIME : .01000

GATE: EXTERNL

START: POS

START: NEG

STOP: AUTO

STOP: NEG STOP: POS STOP: TIME

TIME: .100 s

GATE: DIGITS

DIGITS: 4

(Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A S/N below 3646)

Agilent 53132A

Universal Counter

(Serial Number Prefix 3646 and above)

Gate & ExtArm

GATE:

Time & Period

T I 1 TO 2

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

TIME: .100 s

Gate & ExtArm

START: AUTO DELAY : NONE

T : .1 E : 1

DELAY :TIME

DELAY : EVENT

TIME

GATE: AUTO

SLOPE : POS

DELAY: NONE

T : .1 E : 1

STOP : AUTO

SLOPE : POS

DELAY : NONE

GATE: EXTERNL

START: POS

START: NEG

STOP: AUTO

STOP: NEG STOP: POS STOP: TIME

TIME: .100 s

START: EXT

SLOPE : NEG

DELAY: TIME

STOP : EXT

DELAY : TIME

T : .1 E : 1

GATE: DIGITS

DIGITS: 4

DELAY: EVENT

SLOPE : NEG

DELAY : EVENT

(Agilent 53132A S/N 3646 and above)

Agilent 53131A/132A

Universal Counter

Freq & Ratio

MEASURE

Time & Period

Other Meas

Freq & Ratio

FREQUENCY 1

FREQUENCY 2

FREQUENCY 3

RATIO 1 TO 2

RATIO 1 TO 3

RATIO 2 TO 1

RATIO 3 TO 1

Time & Period

T I 1 TO 2

PERIOD 1

RISETIME 1

FALLTIME 1

POS WIDTH 1

NEG WIDTH 1

Other Meas

TOTALIZE 1

PHASE 1 TO 2

DUTYCYCLE 1

VOLT PEAKS 1

VOLT PEAKS 2

(Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A)

Agilent 53131A/132A

niversal Counter

Freq & Ratio

FREQUENCY 1

MEASURE

– – – – – – – – – – – –

Gate & ExtArm

GATE: TIME

GATE: AUTO

GATE

: EXTERNL

Gate & ExtArm

GATE: DIGITS

STOP:

TIME: .100

Gate &

TIME: .100

ExtArm

TIME: .200

Gate &

START:

ExtArm

START: POS START: NEG

STOP: AUTO STOP: NEG STOP: POS STOP: TIME

TIME: .2000

Gate &

DIGITS: 10

ExtArm

Enter

Gate & ExtArm

RUN

DIGITS: 5

Enter

RUN

(Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A)

Agilent 53131A and

Agilent 53132A

(Serial Number Prefix below 3646)

niversal Counter

Time & Period

TI 1 TO 2

MEASURE

– – – – – – – – – – – –

Gate & ExtArm

ARM:

Gate & ExtArm

SLOPE:

DELAY:

TIME: .01000

ARM: AUTO ARM: EXTERNL

SLOPE: POS SLOPE: NEG

DELAY: NONE DELAY:

TIME

TIME: .02000

RUN

Enter

(Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A S/N below 3646)

Agilent 53132A

(Serial Number Prefix 3646 and above)

Universal Counter

Time & Period

TI 1 TO 2

MEASURE

- - - - - - - - - - -

Gate & ExtArm

START:

Gate & ExtArm

SLOPE:

START: EXT START: AUTO

Gate & ExtArm

SLOPE: POS SLOPE: NEG

Gate &

DELAY:

ExtArm

DELAY :NONE DELAY :TIME DELAY :EVENT

Gate &

T : .1

ExtArm

T : 100.1

Gate &

E : 1

ExtArm

E : 1000

Enter

B C

(Agilent 53132A S/N 3646 and above)

Agilent 53132A

(Serial Number Prefix 3646 and above)

Universal Counter

Gate & ExtArm

STOP :

STOP :EXT

B C

STOP :AUTO

Gate &

SLOPE :

ExtArm

SLOPE : POS SLOPE : NEG

Gate &

DELAY :

ExtArm

DELAY :NONE

Run

DELAY :TIME DELAY :EVENT

Gate & ExtArm

T : .1

T : 100.1

E : 1

E : 1000

Run

Enter

Run

Enter

(Agilent 53132A S/N 3646 and above)

Agilent 53131A/132A

niversal Counter

Uppr & Lower

LIMITS

Uppr & Lower

Limit Modes

Uppr & Lower

Limit Modes

UPPR: 0.000000

Uppr &

LOWR: 0.000000

Lower

LIM TEST:

Limit

ON FAIL:GO ON

Modes

Limit

SHOW: NUMBER

Modes

UPPR: 5.100000

LOWR: 4.900000

LIM TEST: OFF LIM TEST: ON

ON FAIL:GO ON ON FAIL: STOP

SHOW: NUMBER SHOW: GRAPH

Enter

RUN

(Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A)

Agilent 53131A/132A

niversal Counter

Scale & Offset

MATH

Scale & Offset

SCAL:

1.000000

OFFS:

0.000000

SET OFFSET?

MATH:

MATH HELP ?

SCAL:

2.000000

OFFS:

0.500000

Enter

OFFS:-

nnnnnnn

MATH: OFF MATH: ON

Enter

(MEAS X SCALE) + OFFS = RESULT

Enter

RUN

(Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A)

Agilent 53131A/132A

niversal Counter

Stats

MATH

Stats

SHOW:

SHOW: MEAS SHOW:

STD

DEV

SHOW: MEAN

SHOW: MAX

SHOW: MIN

Stats

N: 100

N: 200

STATS:

STATS: OFF STATS: ON

USE:

USE: ALL MEAS USE: IN LIMIT

ON SINGLE:

ON SINGLE: 1 ON SINGLE: N

Enter

RUN

Run

(Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A)

Agilent 53131A/132A

niversal Counter

Freq & Ratio

– – – – – – – – – – – –

Trigger Sensitivity

CHANNEL 1 CHANNEL 2

Trigger Sensitivity

FREQUENCY 1 FREQUENCY 2 FREQUENCY 3 RATIO 1 TO 2 RATIO 1 TO 3 RATIO 2 TO 1 RATIO 3 TO 1

Time & Period

PERIOD 1 RISETIME 1 FALLTIME 1 POS WIDTH 1 NEG WIDTH 1

Other Meas

TOTALIZE PHASE 1 TO 2 DUTY CYCLE 1

Trigger Sensitivity

AUTO TRG:

Enter

Trigger Sensitivity

AUTO TRG: ON

AUTO TRG: OFF

LEVEL: 0.000V

LEVEL: 2.000V

LEVEL: 50 PCT

LEVEL: 75 PCT

SLOPE:

SLOPE: POS SLOPE: NEG

SENSTVTY:

SENSTVTY: HI SENSTVTY: LO SENSTVTY: MED

RUN

(Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A)

Agilent 53131A/132A

niversal Counter

Time & Period

TI 1 TO 2

CHANNEL 1 CHANNEL 2

– – – – – – – – – – – –

Trigger Sensitivity

AUTO TRG:

LEVEL: 0.000V

LEVEL: 50 PCT

SLOPE:

SENSTVTY:

COMMON 1:

AUTO TRG: ON

AUTO TRG: OFF

LEVEL: 2.000V

LEVEL: 75 PCT

SLOPE: POS SLOPE: NEG

SENSTVTY: HI SENSTVTY: LO SENSTVTY: MED

COMMON 1: OFF

COMMON 1: ON

RUN

Enter

RUN

(Agilent 53131A and Agilent 53132A)

Getting Started

Chapter 1 Getting Started

567

The Front Panel at a Glance

The Front Pane l at a Glanc e

Remote

SRQ

POWER

Utility Menu: Hold at power up

53131 A

UNIVERSAL COUNTER

Period Freq +Wid -Wid Rise Fall Time Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 ExtRef

MEASURE LIMITS MATH CHANNEL 1 CHANNEL 2

Freq & Ratio

Other Meas

Recall

Time & Period

Gate & ExtArm

LocalUtility Save & Print

225 MHz

Uppr & Lower

Limit Modes

Run

Scale & Offset

Stats

Stop/ Single

Limit

Trigger Sensitivity

50Ω 1MΩ

DC AC

X10 Attenuate

MHz µs Gate

Damage Lvl: 5V rms MAX.50Ω

100kHz Filter

+/–

Trigger Sensitivity

50Ω 1MΩ

DC AC

X10 Attenuate

12 13

Enter

CHANNEL 3

100 MHz − 3 GHz

Damage Lvl: 5V rms MAX.50Ω

100kHz Filter

Note: Unit shown with Option 030.

1 Measurement function menu keys 2 Limits menu keys 3 Math menu keys 4 Sign (+ or −) selecti on toggle key 5 Data Entry/Select (or arrow) k eys 6 Enter numeric data (terminate) key 7 3.0/5.0/12.4 GHz RF input channel

(optional)

8 Utility menu key (Hold during power-up

to access Utility functions.)

9 Recall, Save and Print menu ke ys 10 Gate and External Arm menu key 11 Measurement control keys 12 Channel 1 Trigger/Sensitivity menu key

and input conditioning keys

13 Channel 2 Trigger/Sensitivity menu key

and input conditioning keys

14 Calibration menu key (H old Scale &

Offset key during power-up to access Calibration functions.)

NOTE It is normal operation for the fan in the Counter to conti nue to run af ter the Count er is

placed in Standby mode. Power to the timebase is continuous to maintain long term measurement reliability, and the f an helps maintain timebase temperature stabilit y.

1-2 Operating Gui de

Chapter 1 Getting Started

The Front Panel Indicators at a Glance

The Fro n t P a nel Indicat ors at a Glance

There are eight different group s of indicators or LEDs. They are li st ed and described in the fo ll o w in g table.

Indicators Description of the In dicators

Freq & Ratio

Other Meas

Scale & Offset

Stats

Time & Period

Limit Modes

Local Save & Print

Trigger Sensitivity

When one of these ind icators is lit, it simultaneously indicates which key’s menu (for example, Time & Period key) and its menu item (for example, TI 1 to 2) is enabled.

When these indicators are lit, the key’s “enable” menu item (that is, Limit Modes/LIM TEST, Scale & Offset/MATH, Stats/STATS, and Save & Print/PRINT) is enabled.

When this indicator is lit, it indicates that you are in the Tri gger/Sensitivity menu for the corresponding ch annel.

When this indicator flashes, it indicates that the arrow keys can be used to modify or enter data.

+/–

Run

Enter

Stop/ Single

When one of these indicators is lit, it indicates that the Run or Single function is enabled.

Ope rati ng Guide 1-3

Chapter 1 Getting Started

The Front Panel Indicators at a Glance (Cont.)

Indicators Description of the In dicators

When this i ndicator fl ashes, it indicates that the Counter is triggering on the input signal. If the input signal is too high, this indicator remains ON. If the input signal is too low, this indicator is OFF.

50Ω 1MΩ

X10 Attenuate

SRQ

DC AC

100kHz Filter

When one of these in dicators is lit, it indic ates that the adjace nt choice (that is, 50Ω, DC, X10, or 100kHz Filter) is enabled or active. Note that when these indicators are not lit, then the other choice (that is, 1MΩ, AC, X1, or no filter) is active.

A lit Remote indicator indicates that the Counter is in remote mode (Note: In the remote mode, the Save & Print key becomes the Local key.)

If (while in remote) an error occurs, the Remote indicator will flash. The indic ator will continue flashing until the controller has read or cleared the error queue, or until the front panel returns to local mode.

An unlit Remote indicator indicates that the Counter is in local mo de .

The SRQ indic ator indicates that the Counter has re quested servi ce fr om t he con tro lle r . Th e S RQ in di cat or w ill r emai n lit until the controller has recognized the service request and seria l polled the Counter, or taken sp ecific action to cancel the request (for exampl e, *CLS command) .

1-4 Operating Gui de

Chapter 1 Getting Started

The Front Panel Menus at a Glance

The Fro n t P anel Menus at a Glance

Freq & Ratio

Time & Period

Other Meas

Gate & ExtArm

FREQUENCY 1 FREQUENCY 2

FREQUENCY 3 RATI O 1 TO 2

RATI O 1 TO 3 RATI O 2 TO 1

RATI O 3 TO 1

Uppr & Lower

UPPR: 0.000000 LOWR: 0.000000

T I 1 TO 2 PERIOD 1 RISETIME FALLTIME

1 POS WIDTH 1 NEG WIDTH 1

Limit Modes

LIM TEST: OFF

LIM TEST: ON

ON FAIL:GO ON

ON FAIL:

STOP

SHOW: NUMBER

GRAPH

SHOW:

T O T A L I Z E 1 PHASE 1 TO 2 DUTYCYCLE 1 VOLT PEAKS 1 VOLT PEAKS 2

Scale & Offset

SCALE:1.000000 OFFS: 0.000000 SET OFFSET ? MATH: OFF

MATH: ON

MATH HELP?

GATE:

TIME

GATE: AUTO GATE: EXTERNL GATE: DIGITS

Stats

SHOW: MEAS

SHOW: STD DEV SHOW:

MEAN

SHOW:

MAX

SHOW:

MIN N: 100 STATS: OFF

STATS: ON

USE: ALL MEAS

LIMIT

USE: IN

ON SINGLE: 1

ON SINGLE: N

These menu items appear only if your Counter contains the optional Input Channel.

Refer to the Menu Tree in the Quick Reference Guide (which precedes this chapter) and/or the Gate/External Arming table in Chapter 2 for details on the Gate & ExtArm menu.

Ope rati ng Guide 1-5

Chapter 1 Getting Started

The Front Panel Menus at a Glance (Cont.)

The Front Pane l Me nus at a G la nc e (Cont.)

Recall

NO REGISTERS

RECALL 0 RECALL 1 RECALL 2 RECALL 3 RECALL 4 RECALL 5

RECALL 20

50Ω 1MΩ

CH 1: 50 OHM

CH 1: 1M OHM

Save & Print

SAVE:

UNSAVE: PRINT: OFF

PRINT: ON

PRINT HELP?

Trigger Sensitivity

AUTO TRG: ON LEVEL: 50 PCT SLOPE: POS

SLOPE: NEG

SENSTVTY: HI

AUTO TRG: OFF LEVEL: 0.000V

SENSTVTY: LO SENSTVTY:MED

COMMON 1: OFF

COMMON 1: ON

DC AC

777

CH 1: DC

CH 1: AC

X10 Attenuate

CH 1: X10 ATT

CH 1: X1 ATT

100kHz Filter

CH 1:

LP FILT

CH 1:

NO FILT

This appears when nothing can be recalled.

Only registers which can be recalled will appear in this menu.

This menu item only appears if an instrument setup has been saved.

COMMON 1 only appears when the Counter is operating in the Time Interval measurement function (TI 1 TO 2).

Channel 2 is the same, except “CH 2” instead of “CH 1” is displayed. These menus will terminate after two seconds.

1-6 Operating Gui de

Chapter 1 Getting Started

POWER

The Front Panel Menus at a Glance (Cont.)

The Front Pane l Me nus at a G la nc e (Cont.)

NOTE Turn powe r of f, press an d hold Re call ( Utility) key, then press POWER key to access

this menu.

Utility

Recall

On / Stby

REV: HP-IB: 3 TIMEBAS:

TIMEBAS:

AUTO

INT

TIMEBAS: EXT

CAL: HELP? TEST LOOP: OFF

TEST LOOP: ON

TST PRINT:OFF

TST PRINT: ON

ALL?

TEST:

DISP?

TEST:

CPU?

TEST: ROM? TEST: RAM? TEST:

EEPROM?

TEST:

HP-IB?

TEST: QSPI? TEST: FPGA? TEST: FR END? TEST: MEAS? TEST: INTERP?

TEST:

KEYPAD?

TEST:

PRINT?

BAUD: 9600

BAUD:

19200

BAUD: 300 BAUD: 1200 BAUD: 2400

PARITY: OFF

PARITY:

EVEN

PARITY: ODD

SW PACE: XON

SW PACE: NONE

DTR: HIGH

DTR: LIMIT DTR:

HW PACE

SHOW 9 AS: 9.0

TEST:

SHOW 9 AS: 9,0

These menu items appear only if TEST LOOP is OFF.

Ope rati ng Guide 1-7

Chapter 1 Getting Started

The Front Panel Menus at a Glance (Cont.)

The Front Pane l Me nus at a G la nc e (Cont.)

NOTE Turn power off , pres s and hold Scale & Offset key, then press POWER key to acces s

this menu. (This menu doe s not exist in early versions of the Counter. In the early versions of the Counter , the CAL: menu item resides in the Utility menu, and there is no calibration security capability.)

POWER

Scale & Offset

On / Stby

CAL SECURE CAL UNSECURE

CAL: OFFS1?

CAL: OFFS2? CAL: GAIN1? CAL: GAIN2? CAL: TI QUIK? CAL: TI FINE? CAL: TIMEBAS?

CODE: 0 CAL COUNT? HELP: CAL?

HELP: SECURE?

HELP: CODE?

This menu item appears and calibration is permitted only if calibration is unsecure. Enter in the correct code to change calibration to secure; refer to the section titled “Using the Calibration Menu” in Chapter 2 in this guide for more information.

Timebase can be automatically calibrated only if the timebase option is installed.

1-8 Operating Gui de

Chapter 1 Getting Started

The Display Annunciators at a Glance

MHz

µs

Period Freq +Wid -Wid Rise Fall Time Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Limit ExtRef

Annunciator Indication Period Counter is set to measure Period. Freq Counter is set to measure Frequency. +Wid Counter is set to measure Positive Pulse Width.

−Wid Counter is set to measure Negative Pulse Width. Rise Counter is set to measure Rise Time. (The Time annunciator is also

turned on when the Rise annunciator is on.)

Fall Counter is set to measure Fall Time. (The Time annunciator is also

turned on when Fall annunciator is on.)

Time Counter is set to measure Time Interval. (The Time annunciator is

also turned on when t he Rise or Fall ann unciator are on.)

Ch 1 Counter’s channel 1 is selected to measure an input signal. Ch 2 Counter’s channel 2 is selected to measure an input signal. Ch 3 Counter’s channel 3 is selected to measure an input signal. Limit Counter is limit testing and the current measurement exceeds the

user-entered limits.

ExtRef Counter is set to use the signal connected at rear panel Ref In

connector as the timebase (TIMEBAS: EXT); or Counter is set to automatically (TIMEBAS: AUT O ) select the timebase and has ch ose n the signal connected at the rear panel Ref In connector.

Hz The displayed data is in units of Hertz. M The prefix for the units of the displayed data is mega (10

µ The prefix for the units of the displayed data is micro (10

s The displayed data is in units of seconds. Gate The gate is open. Before a measurement starts, this annunciator is

OFF, indicating the gate is closed. During a measurement, the annunciator is ON, indicating the gate is open.

Gate

−6

Ope rati ng Guide 1-9

Chapter 1 Getting Started

The Display Special Character at a Glance

MHz

µs

Period Freq +Wid -Wid Rise Fall Time Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Limit ExtRef

Special Character Description

A placeholder that indicates this digit is not significant.

Gate

The Limit Test Graph Characters at a Glance

Freq Ch 1

Special Character Description

The colons represe n t the lower and upper limits.

The asterisk represents the last me asurement.

These m arks indicate that the last measurement was

signifi cantly past the limit in the direction indicat ed.

1-10 Operating Guide

Chapter 1 Getting Started

1 2

The Rear Panel at a Glance

WARNING:

I N P U T

Ext

Arm

WARNING:

NO OPERATOR SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE, REFER SERVICING TO SERVICE TRAINED PERSONNEL.

50/60 Hz

50/60/400 Hz

60 VA

100 - 120 VAC

200 - 240 VAC

10 MHz Out

AC LINE:

ISM 1-A

FOR LABORATORY USE BY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL FOUR USAGE EN LABORATOIRE PAR PERSONNEL QUALIFIE

OPTIONS

001 MS Oven

HP-IB

Talk Only

010 HS Oven

To Configure: Hold Recall during turn-on.

Osc Adjust

SERIAL PLATE

RS - 232

Ref In

FOR CONTINUED FIRE PROTECTION, USE SPECIFIED ~ LINE FUSE.

5 6 7 8 9

1 Rear-panel input connectors (optional) 2 Power module (Senses incom ing voltage

and automatically selects proper setup.)

3 Fan 4 External Arm input connector 5 External Reference Input connect or

6 10 MHz Output connector 7 GPIB (IEEE-488.1)

interface connector

8 Oscillator Adjust potentiometer (This

potentiometer is not present for opt ions 001, 010, and 012.)

9 RS-232 interface or Limit

Output connector

NOTE It is normal operation for the fan in the Counter to conti nue to run af ter the Count er is

placed in Standby mode. Power to the timebase is continuous to maintain long term measurement reliability, and the f an helps maintain timebase temperature stabilit y.

Ope rati ng Guide 1-11

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

One of the first things you will want to do with your Agilent 53131A/ 132A Univers al Counter is to become acquainted with its front panel. Therefore, we have written the procedures in this section to familiarize you with some of its controls. The following procedures are provided:

• First you are shown how to turn on the Counter and measure the frequency of a signal applied to the Counter’s input channels.

• Second, you are shown how to us e the input coupling, impedance, and trigger/sensitivity keys to set the input conditions of the appropriate input channel to match the signal being measured.

• Third, you are shown how to scale and offset the measurement result.

• Fourth, you are shown how to set upper and lower limits for measurements.

• Fifth, you are shown how to enable the Counter to compute statis tics (such as standard deviation) and display statistics of measurements.

• Last, you are shown how to use the Run and Stop/Single keys to control measurements.

The order of the procedures in this chapter is the recommended ord er for making measurements wi th this Counter.

Study and refer to the following legend, as nee ded, to understand the meaning of the icons which are used throughout this chapt er.

1-12 Operating Guide

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Legend

1 Press key one time and

release

2 Pres s ke y two tim es a n d

release

3 Repeated key presses

To Measure Fre quency

POWER

On / Stby

4 Press and hold 5 Result 6 Auto operation 7 Connect signal

Period Freq +Wid -Wid Rise Fall Time Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 LimitExtRef

91110

8 Disconnec t signal 9 Indicat or off

10 Indicator on

11 Indicato r flashing

MHz

µs

Gate

Freq Ch 1

Ope rati ng Guide 1-13

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

NOTE Earlier versions of the Counter do not momentarily display the GPIB address at

turn-on.

Connect (for de monstra tion pur poses ) the C ounter’ s re ar -pane l 10 MHz Out signal to CHANNEL 1 input as shown in the ill ust rated procedure, below.

CHANNEL 1

MHz

Damage Lvl: 5V rms MAX.50Ω

Freq Ch 1

Gate

The Counter will automatically display the measured frequency of the input signal.

Disconnect the demonstration signal from CHANNEL 1, and connect it to CHANNEL 2 as shown in the following ste ps.

MEASURE

Freq & Ratio

Other Meas

Time & Period

Gate & ExtArm

CHANNEL 1

Damage Lvl: 5V rms MAX.50Ω

CHANNEL 2

Damage Lvl: 5V rms MAX.50Ω

Freq & Ratio

Freq Ch 1

Freq & Ratio

Freq Ch 2

Freq

MHz

Ch 2

Gate

1-14 Operating Guide

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Again, the Counter will automatically display the measured frequency of the input signal.

CHANNEL 2

Trigger Sensitivity

50Ω 1MΩ

DC AC

X10 Attenuate

Damage Lvl: 5V rms MAX. 50Ω

100kHz Filter

If you need or want to change CHANNEL 2’s coupling, impedance, and triggering conditions to match the input signal you are trying to measure, the next procedures “To Select Input Coupling and Impedance” and “To Set Input Channel Trigger Level/Sensitivity” demonstrate this. Perform these procedures whether or not you want to customize the Counter’s input conditions to me as ure your signal; doing this will help you become fa mi liar with the DC/AC, 50Ω/1MΩ, and Trigger/Sensitivity keys.

To Select Input Coupling and Impedance

Remember , the input signal i s still connected to CHANNEL 2.

Selecting Input Coupling

Channel 2’s input coupling is now set to dc.

If you want to change the coupl ing back to the default ac coup ling, perform the following s tep.

Display 1, 7/13/92

DC AC

Ope rati ng Guide 1-15

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Selecting Input Impedance

50Ω

Channel 2’s input impedance is now set to 50Ω.

NOTE The “arrow” keys can also be use d to toggle the state of toggle keys (DC/AC,

50Ω/1MΩ, etc. ) as indica ted by t he fla shing i ndica tor withi n th e arrow ke ys. Ho wever, for simplicity in this procedure, use the corre sponding toggle key to change states.

If you want to change the input impedance back to the default 1 MΩ impedance, perform the following step.

1MΩ

50Ω 1MΩ

MHz

Freq

Ch 2

Gate

1-16 Operating Guide

+/–

Enter

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

To Set Input Channel Trigger Level/Sensitivity

Changing Trigger Mode

Trigger Sensitivity

Press any one of these arro w keys to toggle to the next state of Auto Trigger.

Modifying Input T r igger Level

The leftmost “0” di git in the LEVEL display is highlighted, indicating that if you press the d key once the displayed value will increase to 1.000 volt as shown in the following s tep.

NOTE BE SURE to always press the Enter key to complete numeric data entries.

Channel 2’s trigger level is now set to +1V.

Ope rati ng Guide 1-17

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

To set the trigger level to −0.05V, perform the following steps.

+/–

Enter

NOTE BE SURE to always press the Enter key to complete numeric data entries.

Channel 2’s trigger level is now set to −0.05V.

Selecting Input Trigger Slope

Trigger Sensitivity

Display 1, 7/13/92

1-18 Operating Guide

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Selecting Input Sensit ivity

Trigger Sensitivity

Display 1, 7/13/92

Starting the Measurement

Run

Freq

Ch 2

The Run key initiates repetitiv e meas urements, and is described in the sectio n titled “To Control Measurement” at the end of this chapter.

MHz

Gate

To Select Scale and Offset

The Scale & Offset key allows for multiplication and a ddition, respectively, of the measurement by user -speci fied constants. Modificati on of the displayed measurement by these Math operations is represente d by the following equation:

(Measurement × Scale) + O ffset = Displayed Re sults

The Scale and Offset Math operations can be used, for example, to subtract systematic errors or display the pe rcentage difference between signals.

Ope rati ng Guide 1-19

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Entering the Scale Value

Scale &

To demonstrate the Scale Math operation, set Scale to 10 as shown in the foll owing steps.

Press and hold the d key until the value of Scale is 10 as shown in the following step.

Offset

Enter

NOTE BE SURE to pre ss th e Ent er key to enter the valu e o f 10.

The Scale is now set to 10, and MATH has been enabled. The Scale & Offset indicator is no w li t to s h ow th a t MATH is enab led. Since MATH is enabled , th e results are being scaled and offset.

1-20 Operating Guide

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Entering the Offset Value

To demonstrate the Offset Math operation, set the Offset to 1 MHz as shown in the following steps.

Scale & Offset

At this point, pressing the s key will cause the Counter to display the full display of the Offset value as shown in the following step.

Press the s key six more tim es to cause the Counter to dis play your entry in Mega units as shown in the f ollowing step.

The leftmost “0” digit in the OFFSet display is highlighted, indicating that if you press d key once the displayed value will increase to 1 Mega (that is, 1E6) as shown in the fo ll owing st e p.

Enter

NOTE BE SURE to pre ss th e Ent er key to enter the 1 Mega val u e.

The Offset is now se t to 1 Mega.

Ope rati ng Guide 1-21

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Displaying the Math Results

Run

Freq Ch 2

The Counter displays the modified measurement results, which are based on the scale and offset values that you selected in the previous steps. That is, the 101 represents th e original 10, scale multi plied by 10, then offset by1.

(For more details and real applications of the Math Scale and Offset operations, refer to the appropriate section in Chapter 2, “Operating Your Universal Counter.”)

Disabling Math

Scale & Offset

Display 1, 7/13/92

Note that the Scale & Offset key indicator is now off.

NOTE DO NOT cycle POWER because you will need to use these Scale and Offset values

in the following procedure “To Set Limits of Measurements.” Continue to the following procedure.

1-22 Operating Guide

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

To Set Limits of Measurements

To demonstrate how Mat h and L im its work together, use the Scale (10) and Offset (1 Mega) values sele ct ed in the previous procedur e “To Select Scale and Offset. ” Enab le Math by performing th e following steps.

Scale & Offset

Display 1, 7/13/92

Run

Freq Ch 2

The result of this Math operation is a measurement of 101 MHz.

(Measurement × Scale) + O ffset = Result

(10 MHz × 10) + 1Mega = 101 Mega

Now, set the upper limit to 102 Mega and the lower limit to 100 Mega by performing the following proc edures. (Figure 1-1 and Figure 1-2 illustrate the limits settings.)

Ope rati ng Guide 1-23

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Setting the Upper Limit

LIMITS

Uppr & Lower

Limit Modes

Press the s key six more tim es to cause the Counter to display your entry in Mega units as shown in the f ollowing step.

The leftmost “0” digit in the UPPR display is highlighted as shown above, indicating that each pre ss of the d key will increase the displayed value.

1-24 Operating Guide

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Enter

NOTE BE SURE to press the Enter key to enter the 102 Mega value.

1 102 Mega Upper Limit 2 101 Mega Scale/Offset Measurement

Figure 1-1. 102 Mega Upper Limit Setting

Ope rati ng Guide 1-25

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Setting the Lower Limit

Uppr & Lower

Press the arrow keys as shown in the following steps to set the lower limit value.

Press the s key six more tim es to cause the Counter to display your entry in Mega units as shown in the f ollowing step.

Enter

1-26 Operating Guide

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

NOTE BE SURE to press the Enter key to enter the 100 Mega value.

Limits should now be set a s shown in Figure 1-2.

1 2

1 102 Mega Upper Limit 2 101 Mega Scale/Offset Measurement 3 100 Mega Lower Limit

234

Figure 1-2. 100 Mega Lower and 102 Mega Upper Limits Settings

Figure 1-3 represents what transpire d during this Math and Limits proc edure.

1 R aw M e asurem en ts 2 Math

3 Limits 4 Measurem ents (Scale/Offset Results)

within Limits

Figure 1-3. Math and Limits Results

Ope rati ng Guide 1-27

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Setting the Counter to Flag and Stop Measuring On Out-of-Limit Measurements

If you want the Counter to stop measuring when the signal exceeds the limits (102 to

100 Mega) that you entered in the previous procedure, perform the followi ng steps to select the STOP choice in the ON FAIL display . (Note that ON FAIL: GO ON is the default state after power-up.)

Limit Modes

Run

Freq Ch 2

Gate

The current modified measurement of the input signal applied to CHANNEL 2 is displayed.

Since the Counter is now in the stop-on-fail mode, the Limit annunciator in the display will light and the Counter wil l s top making measurements whe n a measurement exceeds the limits you set .

1-28 Operating Guide

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Setting the Counter to Flag On Limits But Continue Measuring

Perform the following steps to select the GO ON choice in the ON FAIL display if you want the Counter to continue measuring e ven though an measurement result exceeds the limits p r eviously entered.

Limit Modes

Run

Freq Ch 2

Gate

The current modified measurement of the input sign al applied to CHANNEL 2 is displayed.

Since the Counter is now in the go-on-fail mode, the Limit annunc iator in the displa y will light each time a measurement exceed s the limits you set. However, the Counter will continue to make measurements.

Ope rati ng Guide 1-29

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Disabling Limit Testing

Limit

Modes

The Counter is now making measurements without limit testing.

Disabling Math

The Counter is now making measurements without the scale/offset values calculated into the measurem en ts.

1-30 Operating Guide

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

To Perform Statistics on Measurements

Selecting the Type of Statistics (Stats)

MATH

Scale & Offset

Stats

Suppose you want the Counter to compute and display the standard deviation of the current input data (which is the 10 MHz signal applied to CHANNEL 2). Also, you want the Counter to make 20 measurements before it computes the sta ndard deviation. Perform the following steps.

Stats

Updating the SHOW configura tion caused Stats to be enabled. The Stats indicator is now lit.

Stats

Ope rati ng Guide 1-31

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

NOTE BE SURE to pre ss th e Ent er key to enter the valu e o f 20.

The Counter is now set to make sta tistics based on 20 measur ements.

Run

Freq Ch 2

Gate

In this case, the dis played standard devia tion value is computed on all measurements of the 10 MHz signal since no limits were set.

Computing Stats on Filtered Data Only

A special featu re of the Counter allows you to use the upper and lower limits to filter data before stat istical processing or computation as shown in Figure 1-4.

1 R aw M e asurem en ts 2 Limits

3 Filtered data (USE: IN LIMIT) 4 Statistics

Figure 1-4. Filtering Data Before Statistical Computation

1-32 Operating Guide

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Perfo r m th e follo w in g s te ps to sele ct the IN LI M I T ch o i ce in the USE display if yo u want the Counter to compute statistics on only frequency measurements within the limits you set.

Stats

Display 1, 7/13/92

Since the Li mi ts were set to 101 Mega and 102 Mega values that are based on a s cale of 10 and of fset of 1 Mega, you must re-enable Math now to get the measurements to be within the limits. Perform the following steps.

Scale & Offset

Display 1, 7/13/92

Ope rati ng Guide 1-33

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Displaying Stats After Filtering Data of Input Signal

Let’ s ass ume you ha ve set th e upper an d lowe r limit s for the input s ignal, and se lect ed the IN LIMIT (filtering) choice. Now, perform the following steps to display the

standard deviation of the filtered measurements. (Note that the first step in the followin g procedure is optional since you should have already set Stats to show standar d deviation at th e beginning of this Stats procedur e. But, you may want to perform the step anyway to verify that the Counter is displ aying the standard deviation of the measureme n t.)

Stats

Display 1, 7/13/92

Run

Freq Ch 2

Gate

The standard deviation value shown in the previous illustration is for demonstration purposes. The statistic is computed using only those measurements which fell within the limits you set.

(For more deta ils o n the S ta ts an d Limits funct ions, refer t o th e approp riate section s in Chapter 2, “Operating Your Universal Counter.”)

Now, disable Math and Sta ts as shown in the following proc edure.

1-34 Operating Guide

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

Disabling S tats and Math

Stats

Scale & Offset

Display 1, 7/13/92

Run

Freq

Ch 2

MHz

Gate

The Counter is now making and displaying normal measurements (that is, the Counter is not showing statistics or scale/offset results).

Ope rati ng Guide 1-35

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Making Measurements

To Co ntrol Measureme nt

Run Single/

Stop

repetitive measurements, whereas the Stop/Single key allows you to make one measurement.

With the 10 MHz signal still connected to CHANNEL 2, perform the foll owing steps so you can better understand the Run and St op/Single operations.

Use these two keys to control the meas urement of the Counter. The Run key provides

Run

Freq

Ch 2

MHz

Gate

The Counter is now making repetitive measurements (continuously making “live” measurements).

The Counter stopped making measurements. The Gate annunciat or is not lit. Hence, pressi ng the Stop/Single ke y while the Counte r is making measurements (in Run) causes the Counter to stop after the measu r ement in progress is completed. If you press the Stop/Single key again while th e Cou nter is stop ped, the Co unter wi ll make a single me asu r ement and then s top — t he Gate annunciator will light one time, momentarily.

If you press the Stop/Single key while the Counter is stopped and when the Stats menu item ON SINGLE is set to N, the Counter will ma ke Nmeasurements and then stop. This enables a set of statisti cs to be computed.

While the Counter is still stopped, perf orm the following step.

Run

Freq

Ch 2

MHz

Gate

The Counter is making repetitive measurements again.

1-36 Operating Guide

Operating Your Universal Counter

Operator’s Reference

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Introduction

This is the operator’s reference chapter which contains inform ation and procedures for the front-panel keys, operati ng funct ions, and menus of the Agilent 5313 1A/13 2A 225 MHz Universal Counter.

Chapter Summary

• How this Counter Works for You page 2-4

• Using the Measurement Control Keys (Run and Stop/Single) page 2-5

• Using Entry/Select (Arrow) Keys page 2-8

• Using the MEASURE Menu Keys page 2-10

• Using the Gate & External Arm Menu Key page 2-16

• Using the MATH Menu Keys page 2-27

• Using the LIMITS Menu Keys page 2-37

• Using CHANNEL 1 and CHANNEL 2 Input ConditioningKeys page 2-44

• Using the Save and Recall Menus page 2-52

• Using the Prin t Menu page 2-56

• Using the Utility Menu page 2-57

• Using the Calibration Menu page 2-67

• Front Panel Display Messages page 2-73

• Preset Values After Power-Up and *RST page 2-78

• Summary of the Measurement Sequence page 2-93

• Common Questions page 2-94

2-2 Operating Gui de

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Introduction

Where to Find Some Key Working Examples

• Example Procedure for Gate and E xternal Arm page 2-24

• Example Procedure for Changing the Number of Digits of Resolution Displayed for More Precise Measurements

• Example Procedure for Scal e Function page 2-28

• Example Procedure for Offs et Function page 2-29

• Example Procedure for Turning Off Math Mode page 2-30

• Example Procedure for Setting the Offset From the Last Measurement Value

• Example Procedure for Com puting Stats page 2-33

• Example Procedure for Easy Viewing of Stats page 2-34

• Limits Testing Example 1—Flag and Stop Mea suring On Limits page 2-38

• Limits Testing Example 2—Flag On Limits but Continue Measuring

• Limits Testing Example 3—Use Analog Graph Display While Adjusting Input Signal

• Limits Testing Exam ple 4—Selecting Filtering Conditi ons of Stats Computation

• Limits Testing Example 5—Sending the Limit-Detect Output to the RS-232 Serial Port

page 2-25

page 2-31

page 2-40

page 2-42

page 2-43

Ope rati ng Guide 2-3

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

How this Counter Works for You

The following text lists some of the key things the Counter does for you.

• The Counter presets the menus to default states and values at power-up (refer to

Table 2-7A for a detailed list of the preset values). Cycling the POWER key presets the Counter.

• The Counter’s Utility menu a llows you to select such things as timebase source, GPIB configuration, and RS-232 serial port configur ati on. After your selections,

the Counter automati cally stores all these se lections in non-volatile memory (except the timebase source); thus, these settings (except timebase source) will not change when power has been off or after a remote interface reset.

• The Counter automatically displays measurement(s) in a couple of seconds after you select a measurement function (e.g., Period).

• The Counter accepts your numeric entry for a menu item after you pre s s the Enter key. You MUST p ress th e En t e r ke y to complete num er ic entry.

• The Counte r automatically enables Lim its when you enter a num er ic value for upper and/or lower limits, or update any menu item in the Limit Modes menu.

• The Counter automatically enables Math after you enter a numeric value for scale and offset.

• The Counter perform s Statistical analyses for you, and will enable Stats when you update any item in the Sta ts menu.

• The Counter automatically disables Limits, Math, and Stats when you select another measurement function.

• The Counter saves measurement setup(s).

• The Counter instantly recalls the measurement setup you want to use.

• The Counter prints out your measurement and analysis data.

2-4 Operating Gui de

Run Stop/

Single

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the Measurement Control Keys (Run and Stop/Single)

Using the Measurement Cont rol Keys (Run and Stop/Single)

Overview of the Measurement Control Keys

Two measurement control keys are provided on the Agilent 53131A/132A Counter: Run and Stop/Single. In general, the Run key provides rep etitive measurements while th e Stop/Single key allows you to make single-shot measurements.

The Run key allows you to:

• put the Counter into a continuous measurement loop.

• exit any measur ement after your selection of another measuremen t function.

• abort the current m easurement by starting a new measurement (if already in Run mode or in Single mode with a measurement in progress). This also clears any statistics being processed.

The Stop/Single key allows you to:

• put the Counter into Single mode (if the Counter was in Run mode) where one measurement is taken with each Stop/Single keypress. (Stats menu item ON SINGLE should be set to 1.)

• put the Counter into Single mode (if the Counter was in Run mode) where N measurements are taken with each Stop/Single keypress. (Stats menu item ON SINGLE should be set to N.)

• stop (abort) the current measurement (if the Counter was in Single mode).

Ope rati ng Guide 2-5

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the Measurement Control Keys (Run and Stop/Single)

To Use the Measurement Control Keys

The following procedure demonstrates how these keys function.

1 Connec t power source to Counter, and turn on Counter.

All segments of the front-panel display will light up while the Counter performs its power-on self-test, and then dashes are displayed. The Counter is now ready to measure frequency of a signal applied to CHANNEL 1 input. Note that the Freq and

Ch1 annunciators light.

2 Connect an input signal to CHANNEL 1.

The Counter aut omatically displays the measured freq uency of the input signa l. Note that th e Run key indicator is ON.

3 Press Stop/Single key.

The Counter is put into Single mode and the current meas u rement is completed. One measurement is taken with each press of Stop/ Single key. Note tha t the Stop/Single key indicator is ON.

4 Press Run key.

The Counter aborts any measurement in progres s, and starts making repetitive measurements. That is, the Counter is in a continuous measur ement loop.

5 Press Stop/Single key.

The Counter is put into Single mode.

6 Press Stats key until ON SINGLE menu item appears, then press any one of the

arrow keys to set ON SINGLE menu item to N.

The Counter i s set to take N measur ement s on ea ch S top/Single keypress . T he s tat e o f ON SINGLE menu item affects the Stop/Single key o p eration w h ile statistics ar e enabled.

Observe t hat the Stats indica tor is ON. This indicates statisti cal processing is enabl ed.

2-6 Operating Gui de

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the Measurement Control Keys (Run and Stop/Single)

7 Press Stop/Single key.

One set of N frequ ency measur ement s is tak en with e ach pre ss of the S top /Single key. One set of stat istics is computed with each press of the Stop/Single ke y.

8 Press Stats key until SHOW menu item app e ar s.

9 Pres s any one of the a rrow keys to selec t a stat isti cal re sult to di spla y , and pre ss Enter

key.

The Counter is now displaying one of the statistical results.

10 Press Stop/Single key.

One set of N frequ ency measur ement s is tak en with e ach pre ss of the S top /Single key. At the completion of the Nth measurement, the Counter displays the s tatistical result selected in step 9.

11 Press Stats key until ON SINGLE menu item appears, then press any one of the

arrow keys to set ON SINGLE menu item to 1.

The Counter is set to take one measurement on each Stop/Single keypress.

Disabling the statistics (with the STATS: O FF menu item) is another way to cause the Stop/Single key to initiate one measur ement at time.

Ope rati ng Guide 2-7

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using Entry/Select (Arrow) Keys

There are six entry/select keys of which four are “arrow” keys. The function of the four arrow keys and the Enter key depends on the Counter’s operating mode (that is, numeric entry, state changing, sequenci ng through choices in a menu, etc.). This section describes how the keys perform in th e different oper ating modes.

To Use During Numeric Entry

• Use the s key to move left to select adjustable digits (it does not wrap around).

+/–

Enter

• Use the g key to move right to select a djustable digits (it does not wrap around).

• Use the d key to increment the sel ected (highlighted) digit of t he displayed value.

• Use the f key to decrement the selec ted (highlighted) digit of the displayed value.

•Use the +/− key to change the sign of the numeric value.

•Use the Enter key to complete a numeric entry. (If a numeric entry is changed and the Enter key is NOT pressed, then the value is not changed.)

To Use When Sequencing Through the Measurement Function Menus (Freq & Ratio, Time & Period, Other Meas) and the Recall Menu

• Use the d or s key to go back to the previous choice in a funct ion or recall menu. Repeatedly pr essing this key will cycle through (and loop around) the list of choices.

• Use the f or g key to go forwa rd or to the next ch oice i n a funct ion or rec all menu . Repeatedly pr essing this key will cycle through (and loop around) the list of choices.

•Use the Enter key to select the function or execute the recall, or wait for the menu to time out for automatic selection/execution.

2-8 Operating Gui de

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using Entry/Select (Arrow) Keys

To Use During State Changing (ON/OFF, LO/MED/HI, etc.)

•Press any of the arrow keys to toggle or change to the next state of the

parameters found in the following menus: – Gate & ExtArm

– Limit Modes –Scale & Offset – Stats – Trigger/Sensitivity –50Ω/1MΩ –DC/AC –X10 Attenuate – 100kHz Filter –Save & Print – Utility Menu

•The Enter and +/− keys are ignored during the state changing operating mode.

To Use on Prompted Event Messages (SET OFFSET ?, CAL: OFFS n ?, TEST: ALL?, etc.)

•For SET OFFSET ?, and all the T EST: ? prompted event messages, press

Enter key to start the event.

•For CAL: OFFS n ? and GAIN n ?, press Enter key to display instructions.

Press Enter key again to start the event.

To Use on Prompted Help Messages (MA T H HELP ?, PRINT HELP ?)

• When MATH HELP ? is disp layed, pr ess Enter key to display the “(MEA S x SCALE) + OFFS = RESULT” message.

• When PRINT HELP ? is displayed, press Enter key to display the “CONFIGURE PORT ON UTILITY MENU; REMEMBER TO SA VE SETUP FIRST” ins truction.

Ope rati ng Guide 2-9

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the MEASURE Menu Keys

Overview of the MEASURE Menus

The measurement function menus are divided into three categories:

MEASURE

Freq & Ratio

Other Meas

Time & Period

Gate & ExtArm

• Frequency measureme nts on ch annel 1, 2, or 3 ( optiona l) and rat io of fr equenc ies between channels.

• Time interval, period, and puls e characterization measurements. (Th e Agilent 53131A/132A provides one key-press operation for such pulse measurements as risetime, falltime , pulse width, etc., which have tr aditionally required multiple key presses or operations.)

• Other measurem ents (dutycycle , phase, peak voltage, and totalize).

Table 2-1. Menus of the MEASUREment Keys

Freq & Ratio Key Time & Period Key Other Meas Key

FREQUENCY 1 REQUENCY 2 REQUENCY 3 (optional) ATIO 1 TO 2 ATIO 1 TO 3 (optional) ATI O 2 TO 1 RATIO 3 TO 1 (optional)

TI 1 TO 2 PERIOD 1 RISETIME 1 FALLTIME 1 POS WIDTH 1 NEG WIDTH 1

TOTALIZE 1 PHASE 1 TO 2 DUTYCYCLE 1 VOLT PEAKS 1 VOLT PEAKS 2

T o sequ ence t hroug h the menu s of the ME ASUREment func tion ke ys (Freq & Ratio, Time & Period, and Oth er Meas keys), you simply need to repeatedly press the appropriate MEASURE key to cycle through (and loop around) the menus under the key. Each press of a MEASURE key will advance the Counter to the next measurement func tion in the menu.

NOTE The menus under the MEASURE keys will terminate (select function and return to

measurement resul t display) after two seco nds.

2-10 Operating Guide

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the MEASURE Menu Keys

To Measure Frequency

1 Connec t power source to Counter, and turn on Counter.

Ch1 annunciators light.

2 Connect an input signal to CHANNEL 1.

The Counter shoul d autom atica lly dis play the meas ured freq uency of th e input s ig nal. The trigger le vels are set to the 50% points of th e signal. However, you may disable auto triggering, and change the trigger levels and slopes.

T o s et up CHANNEL 1’s coupling, impedanc e, an d tri ggering cond itions to match th e input signal you are trying to measure, refer to the procedures “To Select Input Coupling and Impe dance” and “To Set Input Channel Trigger Level/Sensitivi ty” in Chapter 1, “Getting Started,” or the section titled “Using CHANNEL 1 and CHANNEL 2 Input ConditioningKeys” in this chapter .

3 Press the Freq/Ratio key until FREQUENCY 2 is displayed to measure the

frequency of an input signal applied to CHANNEL 2. FREQUENCY 2 is momentar ily displayed, the Freq and Ch2 annunciat ors light,

and the Counter is rea dy to measure frequency of a signal applied to CHANNEL 2 input. The trigger levels are set to the 50% points of the signal. However, you may disable auto triggering, and chang e the trigger levels and s lopes.

4 To measure the frequency of a signal applied to optional CHANNEL 3 input, repeat

step 3 until FREQUENCY 3 is displayed. FREQUENCY 3 will be momentaril y displ ayed an d the Freq and Ch3 annunciator s

will light. Th e Counter will be ready to measure the fre quency of a signal applied to CHANNEL 3 input.

Note that the Frequency 3 menu item is not avai lable in Counters tha t do not contain optional Channel 3.

Ope rati ng Guide 2-11

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the MEASURE Menu Keys

To Measure Frequency Ratio

1 Press Freq & Ratio key until RATIO 1 TO 2 is displayed.

RA TIO 1 TO 2 is momentarily displayed, the Freq, Ch1, and Ch2 annunciators light, and the Counter is ready to measure and display the frequency ratio of a signal applied to CHANNEL 1 in relation to a signal applie d to CHANNEL 2 (Ch1/Ch2). The trigger levels are set to the 50% points of each signal . However, you may disable auto triggering, and change the trigger levels and slopes.

Note the result is not scale d by 10 0; it is not a percen tage.

Note that RATIO 2 TO 1 is also available (Ch2/Ch1).

2 To measure the frequency ratio between a signal appli ed to CHANNEL 1 input and a

signal applied to Option 030/050 CHANNEL 3 input, repeat step 1, above.

RA TIO 1 TO 3 will be momentarily displayed and the Freq, Ch1, and Ch3 annunciators will light. The Counte r will be ready to measure the f r equency ratio of a signal applied to CHANNEL 1 in relation to a signal applied to CHANNEL 3 (Ch1/Ch3).

Note that the Ratio 1 to 3 me nu item is not available in Counters that do not cont ain optional Channel 3.

Note the result is not scale d by 10 0; it is not a percen tage.

Note that RATIO 3 TO 1 is also available (Ch3/Ch1).

By pressing the Freq & Ratio key, the Counter will return to the Frequency 1 measurement mode; this demonstrates the loop around feature of the meas urem ent function menu keys.

The front-panel “arrow” (or entry/select) keys can also be used when sequen cing through the measu r em ent function menus. Refer to the section titled “Using Entry/Select (Arrow) Keys” for detai ls.

2-12 Operating Guide

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the MEASURE Menu Keys

To Measure Time Interval

Press Time & Period key until TI 1 TO 2 is displayed.

TI 1 TO 2 is momentarily displayed, the Time, Ch1, and Ch2 annunciators light, and

the Counter is ready to measure the length of time between a start event on CHANNEL 1 and a stop event on CHANNEL 2. The Counter is automatically set to measure from separate signal sources. (The start and stop events may be derived

from separate signal sources, or they may be from a single source. Refer to the section in this chapter titled “Using CHANNEL 1 and CHANNEL 2 Input ConditioningKeys” for specifics in p erforming Time Interv al measurements on a single source—COMMON 1: ON). Independent slope, tr igger level, and

sensitivity controls for the start and stop events allow vari able triggering on eit her positive- or negative-going slopes .

The trigger levels are set to the 50% points of each signal. However, you may disable auto triggering, and change the trigger levels and slopes.

To Measure Period

Press Time & Period key until Period 1 is displa yed.

Period 1 is momentarily displayed, the Period and Ch1 annunciators light, and the

Counter is rea dy to meas ure the period of a signal applied to CHANNEL 1.

To Measure Rise/Fall Times

Press Time & Period key until RISETIME 1 or F ALLTIME 1, depending on whi ch measurement you want to make, is displayed.

RISETIME 1 or FALLTIME 1 is momentari ly displayed, and the Rise or Fall, Time, and Ch1 annunciators light. The risetime and falltime modes of operation

automatically configure the Counter to perform risetime or falltime measurements through CHANNEL 1 input. The triggering is automa tically set to AUTO TRIG: ON. In the risetime and falltime modes, AUTO TRI G automatica lly locates t h e 10% and 90% points of the input signal, and sets the tri gger levels accordingly. You may override these a utom atic selections if you want.

Ope rati ng Guide 2-13

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the MEASURE Menu Keys

To Measure Positive/Negative Pulse Widths

Press Ti me & Period key until POS WIDTH 1 or NEG WIDTH 1, depending on which measuremen t you want to make, is displayed.

POS WIDTH 1 or NEG WIDTH 1 is momentarily dis played, and the +Wid or − Wid, and Ch1 annunicators light. The pulse width meas urement automatic ally

configures th e Counter to perform positive or negative pulse width measurements through CHANNEL 1 input. T he AUTO TRIG is set to trigger at the 50% poi nt of the signal.

To Measure Duty Cycle

Press Other Meas key until DUTYCYCLE 1 is displayed.

DUTYCYCLE 1 is momentarily displayed, the Ch1 annunciator lights. The

dutycycle mode of operation is ready to measure a conti nuous waveform applied to CHANNEL 1 input. The input is automatically se t to common-channel 1, and triggering set to AUTO TRIG: ON. The trigger levels are se t to the 50% points of each signal. However, you may disable auto triggering , and change the trigger leve ls.

Results will range from 0 to 1. The dutycycle is defined as the positive pulse width divided by the period. (Note that the result is not scaled by 100; it is not a percentage.)

To Make Totalize Measurements

Press Other Meas key until TOTALIZE 1 is displayed.

TOTALIZE 1 is moment ari ly dis played, th e Ch1 annunciat or l ights , and the Counter

is in its totalize mode. Auto-triggering is automatical ly disabled on CHANNEL 1 since there may not be a suitable signal at the beginning of the measurement. The totalize mode of operation displays the number of counts (events) received through CHANNEL 1. The count is continuously displayed if GATE: AUTO is select ed.

The tota lize measurement is cleared to zero when th e totalize function is first invoked, when the front-panel Run key is pressed, or wh en the Stop/Single key is pressed.

2-14 Operating Guide

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the MEASURE Menu Keys

To Make Phase Measurements

Press Other Meas key until PHASE 1 TO 2 is displayed.

PHASE 1 TO 2 is momentaril y dis play ed, the Ch1 and Ch2 an nunicat ors li ght , and

the Counter is ready to measure the phase of a signal applied to CHANNEL 1 input relative to a signal applied to CHAN NEL 2 input. The phase difference is displayed in degrees. If auto triggering is enabled, the t r igger levels ar e s et to the 50% points of each signal. However, you may disable auto triggering , an d change the trigger levels and slopes.

Use CHANNEL 2 as the reference. One period on CHANNEL 2 will define 360°. If CHANNEL 1 is leading CHANNEL 2, the pulse resul t is positive.

To Measure Positive/Negative Voltage Peaks

Press Other Meas key until VOLT PEAKS 1 or VOLT PEAKS 2, depending on which measuremen t you want to make, is displayed.

VOLT PEAKS 1 or VOLT PEAKS 2 is momentarily displayed, the Ch1 or Ch2 annunciator lights, and the Counter is ready to measure minimum and maximum voltage peaks of signals applied to CHANNEL 1 or CHANNEL 2, respectively.

NOTE In Voltage Peaks function, the Counter measures the input signal after the signal has

been conditioned by the input settings (impedance, coupling, attenuat ion, and filter). One reminder of thi s is the (AC COUPLED) message, which is displayed when Voltage Peaks is selected and the measurement channel is ac coupled.

The result is corrected for X10 attenuation.

Note that Arming is no t us ed for Voltage Pe aks mea sureme nts, and t hat nei ther L imits nor Math is available.

Ope rati ng Guide 2-15

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the Gate & External Arm Menu Key

Overview of Gate/External Arming Functions

MEASURE

Freq & Ratio

Other Meas

Time & Period

Gate & ExtArm

Table 2-2 for the Agilent 53131A (and Agilent 53132A with a serial number pre f ix below 3646) and Table 2-3 for the Agilent 53132A with a serial number prefix 364 6 and above (on page 2-19 and page 2-23, respective ly) list the men us for a ll the a rming configurations, and shows how the Gate and External Arming menu changes as a function of the measurement and the arming mode.

The Agilent 53 131A/132A Coun ter has four a rming mode s: aut o, exte rnal, digi ts, and time. However, the Agilent 53131A (or Agilent 53132A with a serial number prefix below 3646) and Agile nt 53132A have different arming capa bil ities for Time Interval measurements. Thus, for simplicity, their Time Interval arming capabilities are discussed in separate subsections.

• If you are using an Agilent 53131A (or Agilent 53132A with a serial number prefix below 3646), read the Time Interval Delay arming information starting on page 2-17.

• If you are using an Agilent 53132A (with a serial number prefix 3646 and above), read the Time Interval Delay arming information starting on page 2-20.

Gate/External Arming Capabilities

AUTO Arming

For frequency, period, frequency ratio , risetime, falltim e, pulse width, dutycycle, and phase, auto arming means make individual measurements as fast as possible.

For totaliz e, auto arming means the Counter starts to count when it is enabled by the pressing of eithe r the Run or Stop/Single key. The Counter stops counting when the Stop/Single key is pres se d.

2-16 Operating Guide

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the Gate & External Arm Menu Key

EXTERN AL Arming

For frequency, period, frequency ratio, and totalize, external arming means you can control the start of a measurem en t by usi n g an ex te r n al sig na l .

NOTE When external arming mode is enabled, a signal must be connected to the Count er’s

rear-panel Ext Arm connector.

TIME Arming

For frequency, period, ratio, and totalize, time a rming means you can set the gate time—the length of time for which your signal is measured.

NOTE Gate time and resolution are linked: the longer the gate time, the gr eater the

resolution. With an increase in resolution, you get a larger number of digits on the display.

Time arm ing is dem onstrated in the sub-s ection titled “Example Procedure for Gate and External Arm.”

DIGITS Arming

For frequency, period, and ratio, digits arm ing means you can set the number of digits of resolution that you require your result to provide.

Digits arming is de mo n strated in th e su b- section ti tled “Exa mp l e Pr oc ed u r e f o r Changing the Number of Digits of Resolution Displayed for More Precise Measurements.”

Agilent 53131A (and Agilent 53132A With S/N Prefix Below 3646) Time Interval DELAY Arming

The DELAY capability (specified in the Time Interval arming menu) provides a variable delay between the start event (Channel 1) and the enabling of the stop event (Channel 2) as shown Figur e 2-1. Potential s top events are ignored during the specif i e d de lay tim e.

External arming can also be used to control th e st art of a measurement by using an external signal.

Ope rati ng Guide 2-17

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

START STOP

ARM: EXTERNL, SLOPE: POS, DELAY: TIME, TIME: (specified)

Using the Gate & External Arm Menu Key

NOTE When external arming mode is enabled, a signal must be connected to the Count er’s

rear-panel Ext Arm connector.

DESIRED T.I. MEASUREMENT

ACTUAL T.I. MEAS

ARM: AUTO, DELAY: NONE

START STOP

DESIRED T.I. MEASUREMENT

DELAY TIME

(standard T.I. measurement)

ACTUAL T.I. MEAS

ARM: AUTO, DELAY: TIME, TIME: (specified)

EXT ARM INPUT

START STOP

DESIRED T.I. MEASUREMENT

ACTUAL T.I. MEAS

DELAY TIME

Figure 2-1. Agilent 53131A (Agilent 53132A S/N Prefix Below 3646) Time

Interval Delay

NOTE The examples in Figure 2-1 have the input signal applied to Channel 1 with

COMMON 1: ON, Channel 1 SLOPE: POS, and Channel 2 SLOPE: POS.

2-18 Operating Guide

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the Gate & External Arm Menu Key

Table 2-2. *Agilent 53131A (Agilent 531 32A S/N Prefix Below 3646 ) Gate & External Arm Key

Menus as a Function of the Measurement and Arming Mode

Freq, Period, Ratio

Auto Arming:

GATE: AUTO

Digits Arming: GATE: DIGITS

DIGITS: <digits> _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ Time Arming:

GATE: TIME TIME: <time>

External Arm ing: GATE: EXTERNL START: POS

NEG

STOP: AUTO

NEG POS TIME

TIME: <time>

* There is no Gate and External Arm menu available for Voltage Peaks measurements.

Phase Totalize RiseTime, Fall Time,

+/−Width, Dutycycle

Auto Arming:

ARM: AUTO

_______________

External Armi ng: ARM: EXTERNL SLOPE: POS

NEG

Auto Arming: GATE: AUTO

Time Arming: GATE: TIME

TIME: <time> External Armi ng:

GATE: EXTERNL START: POS

NEG

STOP: NEG

POS TIME

TIME: <time>

Auto Arming: ARM: AUTO

_______________ _______________

External Armi ng: ARM: EXTERNL SLOPE: POS

NEG

Time Interval

Auto Arming:

ARM: AUTO DELAY: NONE

TIME

TIME: <time>

External Armi ng: ARM: EXTERNL SLOPE: POS

NEG

DELAY: NONE

TIME

TIME: <time>

Ope rati ng Guide 2-19

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the Gate & External Arm Menu Key

Agilent 53132A (With S/N Prefix 3646 and Above) Time Int erval DELAY Arming

In the following subsections, a leading star (✴) means the parameter affects the START eve n t. A trailing star means t h e p arameter affe cts STOP event.

AUTO ARMING (✴START: AUTO)

The DELAY✴ (stop delay) capability (sp ecified in the Time Interval arming menu) provides a variable delay between the start e vent (Channel 1) and the enabling of the stop event (Channe l2) as shown in Figure 2-2. T wo types of delay are possible: 1) TIME—potentia l st op events are ignored dur ing the specified delay time, or

2) EVENT—the measurement is stop ped whe n the specified number of stop events

has occurred.

EXTERNAL ARMING (✴START: EXT)

Extern al ar mi ng ca n b e used to cont r o l th e st ar t , or sta r t an d sto p , of a measurem en t by using an external signal as shown in Figure 2-3.

Set STOP✴ and/or ✴START to EXT to ac tivate.

NOTE When external arming mode is enabled, a signal must be connected to the Count er’s

rear-panel Ext Arm connector.

The ✴ DELAY (start delay) capability (specified when ✴START is set to EXT) provides a var iable delay be tween the arming eve nt (Ext Arm ) and the en abling of the start of the measure m ent. Two types of delay are possible: 1) TIME—potential start events (Channel 1) are ignored during the specified delay time, or 2) EVENT—the measur e m en t is s ta r te d af t er th e sp ec if i ed nu mber of Ch an n e l 2 events has oc cu r r ed . ADELAY✴ (stop delay) as described in AUTO ARMING above can also be used in conjunction with ✴DELAY (start delay) as sho wn in Figure 2-3.

2-20 Operating Guide

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

START STOP

Using the Gate & External Arm Menu Key

DESIRED T.I. MEASUREMENT

ACTUAL T.I. MEAS

NOTE The examples in Figure 2-2 have the input signal applied to Channel 1 with

START: AUTO, DELAY : NONE

START STOP

START: AUTO, DELAY : TIME, T : (specified)

START STOP

START: AUTO, DELAY : EVENT, E : 4

DESIRED T.I. MEASUREMENT

ACTUAL T.I. MEAS

DELAY TIME

DESIRED T.I. MEASUREMENT

ACTUAL T.I. MEAS

DELAY STOP TO 4th EVENT

123 4

(standard T.I. measurement)

Figure 2-2. Agilent 53132A (With S/N Prefix 3646 and Above) Auto Arming

COMMON 1: ON, Channel 1 SLOPE: POS, and Channel 2 SLOPE: POS.

Ope rati ng Guide 2-21

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

EXT ARM INPUT

START: EXT, SLOPE: POS, DELAY: EVENT, E: 5, STOP : EXT, SLOPE : NEG, DELAY : NONE

Using the Gate & External Arm Menu Key

START STOP

START DELAY TIME

DESIRED T.I. MEASUREMENT

ACTUAL T.I. MEAS

DELAY STOP TO 4th EVENT

234 5

START: EXT, SLOPE: POS, DELAY: TIME, T: (specified), STOP : AUTO, DELAY : EVENT, E :

EXT ARM INPUT

DELAY START BY 4 CHAN 2 EVENTS

234

START STOP

DESIRED T.I. MEASUREMENT

ACTUAL T.I. MEAS

Figure 2-3. Agilent 53132A (With S/N Prefix 3646 and Above) External Arming

NOTE The examples in Figure 2-3 have the input signal applied to Channel 1 with

COMMON 1: ON, Channel 1 SLOPE: POS, and Cha nnel 2 SLOPE: NEG. Thus, the signal s ap pl ied to Cha nne l 1 and Chann el 2 are iden ti cal , how ev er , the cha nne l eve nt s occur on opposite slopes.

2-22 Operating Guide

Chapter 2 Operating Your Universal Counter

Using the Gate & External Arm Menu Key

Table 2-3. *Agilent 53132A (S/N Prefix 3646 and Above) Gate & Extern al Arm Key Menus as a

Function of the Measurement and Arming Mode

Freq, Period, Ratio

Auto Arming:

GATE: AUTO

Digits Arming: GATE: DIGITS

DIGITS: <digits> Time Arming:

GATE: TIME TIME: <time>

External Arm ing: GATE: EXTERNL START: POS

NEG

STOP: AUTO

NEG POS TIME

TIME: <time>

* There is no Gate and External Arm menu available for Voltage Peaks measurements. ** A leading star (✴) means the parameter affects the START event. A trailing star means the parameter affects the STOP event.

Phase Totalize RiseTime, Fall Time,

+/−Width, Dutycycle

Auto Arming:

ARM: AUTO

_______________ _______________ _______________ _______________

_______________ External Armi ng:

ARM: EXTERNL SLOPE: POS

NEG

Auto Arming: GATE: AUTO

Time Arming: GATE: TIME

TIME: <time> External Armi ng:

GATE: EXTERNL START: POS

NEG

STOP: NEG

POS TIME

TIME: <time>

Auto Arming: ARM: AUTO

_______________ _______________ External Armi ng:

ARM: EXTERNL SLOPE: POS

NEG

Time Interval

Auto Arming:

✴START: AUTO DELAY✴:NONE

TIME EVENT

T✴:<time> E✴:<events>

External Armi ng:

✴START: EXT ✴SLOPE: POS

NEG

✴DELAY: NONE

TIME EVENT

✴T: <time> ✴E: <events>

STOP✴:AUTO

EXT

SLOPE✴:POS

NEG

DELAY✴:NONE

TIME EVENT

T✴:<time> E✴:<events>

Ope rati ng Guide 2-23

Agilent 53132A Operating Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual