Agilent Technologies 87130A User Manual

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87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Operating and Service Guide

Manual part number: 87130-90007 Printed in USA August 2001 Supersedes: May 2000

Notice

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

Agilent Technologies makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Agilent Technologies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

Agilent Technologies assumes no responsibility for the use or reliability of its software on equipment that is not furnished by Agilent Technologies.

This document contains proprietary information that is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, published electronically, or translated to another language without prior written consent of Agilent Technologies.

ESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND

Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013 for DOD agencies, and subparagraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) of the Commercial Computer Software Restricted Rights clause at FAR 52.227-19 for other agencies.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. 1400 Fountaingrove Parkway Santa Rosa, CA 95403-1799, U.S.A.

NOTE A serial number label is attached to the rear panel of each instrument. The

first six entries are the same for all identical modules; they only change when a change in the electrical or physical functionality is made. The remaining digits are assigned sequentially and are different for each instrument.

This manual applies directly to instruments with the following prefix and above:

US4018

ii Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Warranty

Certification Agilent Technologies, Inc., certifies that this product met its published

specifications 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 (NIST, formerly NBS), to the extent allowed by the Institute’s calibration facility, and to the calibration facilities of other International Standards Organization members.

Warranty This Agilent Technologies system product is warranted against defects in

materials and workmanship for a period corresponding to the individual warranty periods of its component products. Instruments are warranted for a period of one year. During the warranty period, Agilent Technologies will, at its option, either repair or replace products that prove to be defective.

Warranty service for products installed by Agilent Technologies and certain other products designated by Agilent Technologies will be performed at Buyer’s facility at no charge within Agilent Technologies service travel areas. Outside Agilent Technologies service travel areas, warranty service will be performed at Buyer’s facility only upon Agilent Technologies’ prior agreement and Buyer shall pay Agilent Technologies’ round trip travel expenses. In all other areas, products must be returned to a service facility designated by Agilent Technologies.

For products returned to Agilent Technologies for warranty service, Buyer shall prepay shipping charges to Agilent Technologies and Agilent Technologies shall pay shipping charges to return the product to Buyer. However, Buyer shall pay all shipping charges, duties, and taxes for products returned to Agilent Technologies from another country.

Agilent Technologies warrants that its software and firmware designated by Agilent Technologies for use with an instrument will execute its programming instructions when properly installed on that instrument. Agilent Technologies does not warrant that the operation of the instrument, or software, or firmware will be uninterrupted or error free.

LIMITATION OF WARRANTY. The foregoing warranty shall not apply to defects resulting from improper or inadequate maintenance by Buyer, Buyer-supplied software or interfacing, unauthorized modification or misuse, operation outside of the environmental specifications for the product, or improper site preparation or maintenance.

NO OTHER WARRANTY IS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS THE IMPLIED

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual iii

WARRANTIES OR MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES. THE REMEDIES PROVIDED HEREIN ARE

BUYER’S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES. AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY.

YEAR 2000. Agilent Technologies warrants that each Agilent Technologies hardware, software, and firmware product on Agilent Technologies’ Corporate Price List (dated July 1, 1998 or later) delivered under the product’s contract of sale will be able to accurately process date data (including, but not limited to, calculating, comparing, and sequencing) from, into, and between the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and the years 1999 and 2000, including leap year calculations, when used in accordance with the product documentation provided that all other products (that is, hardware, software, firmware) used in combination with such Agilent Technologies product(s) properly exchange date data with it. If the agreement requires that specific Agilent Technologies products must perform as a system in accordance with the foregoing warranty, then that warranty will apply to those Agilent Technologies products as a system, and Customer retains sole responsibility to ensure the year 2000 readiness of its information technology and business environment. The duration of this warranty extends through January 31, 2001.

The remedies available under this warranty will be defined in, and subject to, the terms and limitations of the warranties contained in the contract of sale. To the extent permitted by local law, this warranty applies only to branded Agilent Technologies products and not to products manufacture by others that may be sold or distributed by Agilent Technologies. Nothing in this warranty will be construed to limit any rights or remedies provided elsewhere in the contract of sale with respect to matters other than year 2000 compliance.

Assistance Product maintenance agreements and other customer assistance agreements

are available for Agilent Technologies products.

For assistance, call your local Agilent Technologies Sales and Service Office (refer to “Service and Support” on page v).

iv Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Service and Support

Any adjustment, maintenance, or repair of this product must be performed by qualified personnel. Contact your customer engineer through your local Agilent Technologies Service Center. You can find a list of local service representatives on the Web at:

If you do not have access to the Internet, one of these centers can direct you to your nearest representative:

www.agilent.com/find/assist

United States

(tel) 1 800 452 4844

New Zealand

(tel) 0 800 738 378 (fax) (+64) 4 495 8950

Latin America

(tel) (305) 269 7500 (fax) (305) 269 7599

Japan

(tel) (+81) 426 56 7832 (fax) (+81) 426 56 7840

Canada

(tel) 1 877 894 4414 (fax) (905) 282-6495

Australia

(tel) 1 800 629 485 (fax) (+61) 3 9210 5947

Asia Call Center Numbers

Country Phone Number Fax Number

Singapore 1-800-375-8100 (65) 836-0252

Malaysia 1-800-828-848 1-800-801664

Philippines (632) 8426802

1-800-16510170 (PLDT Subscriber Only)

Thailand (088) 226-008 (outside Bangkok)

(662) 661-3999 (within Bangkok)

Hong Kong 800-930-871 (852) 2506 9233

Taiwan 0800-047-866 (886) 2 25456723

(632) 8426809 1-800-16510288 (PLDT Subscriber Only)

(66) 1-661-3714

Europe

(tel) (+31) 20 547 2323 (fax) (+31) 20 547 2390

People’s Republic of China

India 1-600-11-2929 000-800-650-1101

800-810-0189 (preferred) 10800-650-0021

10800-650-0121

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual v

Safety and Regulatory Information

Review this product and related documentation to familiarize yourself with safety markings and instructions before you operate the instrument. This product has been designed and tested in accordance with international standards.

WARNING The WARNING notice denotes a hazard. It calls attention to an operating

procedure, practice, or the like that, if not correctly performed or adhered to,

could result in personal injury or death. Do not proceed beyond a WARNING

notice until the indicated conditions are fully understood and met.

CAUTION The CAUTION notice denotes a hazard. It calls attention to an operating

procedure, practice, or the like that, if not correctly performed or adhered to, could result in damage to the product or loss of important data. Do not proceed beyond a CAUTION notice until the indicated conditions are fully understood and met.

Instrument Markings

When you see this symbol on your instrument, you should refer to the instrument’s

instruction manual for important information.

This symbol indicates hazardous voltages.

The laser radiation symbol is marked on products that have a laser output.

This symbol indicates that the instrument requires alternating current (ac) input.

The CE mark is a registered trademark of the European Community. If it is

accompanied by a year, it indicates the year the design was proven.

The CSA mark is a registered trademark of the Canadian Standards Association.

The C-tick mark is a registered trademark of the Spectrum Management Agency

of Australia. This signifies compliance with the Australian EMC Framework

regulations under the terms of the Radio communications Act of 1992.

1SM1-A This text indicates that the instrument is an Industrial Scientific and Medical Group

1 Class A product (CISPER 11, Clause 4).

vi Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Safety Earth Ground

This is a Safety Class I product (provided with a protective earthing terminal). An uninterruptible safety earth ground must be provided from the main power source to the product input wiring terminals, power cord, or supplied power cord set. Whenever it is likely that the protection has been impaired, the product must be made inoperative and secured against any unintended operation.

Before Applying Power Verify that the product is configured to match the available main power

source as described in the input power configuration instructions in this manual. If this product is to be powered by autotransformer, make sure the common terminal is connected to the neutral (grounded) side of the ac power supply.

OMPLIANCE WITH GERMAN NOISE REQUIREMENTS

This is to declare that this instrument is in conformance with the German Regulation on Noise Declaration for Machines (Laermangabe nach der Maschinenlaermrerordnung-3.GSGV Deutschland).

Acoustic Noise Emmision/Geraeuschemission

LpA <70 dB LpA <70 dB

Operator position am Arbeitsplatz

Normal position normaler Betrieb

per ISO 7779 nach DIN 45635 t.19

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual vii

WARNING

General Safety Considerations

• This product has been designed and tested in accordance with IEC

Publication 1010, Safety Requirements for Electronic Measuring

Apparatus, and has been supplied in a safe condition. The instruction

documentation contains information and warnings which must be

followed by the user to ensure safe operation and to maintain the product

in a safe condition.

• This is a Safety Class 1 Product provided with a protective earthing

ground incorporated in the power cord. The mains plug shall only be

inserted in a socket outlet provided with a protective earth contact. Any

interruption of the protective conductor inside or outside of the product is

likely to make the product dangerous. Intentional interruption is

prohibited.

• The ON/OFF switch or the detachable power cord is the instrument

disconnecting device. It disconnects the mains circuits from the mains

supply before other parts of the instrument. Alternately, an externally

installed switch or circuit breaker, which is readily identifiable and is easily

reached by the operator, may be used as a disconnecting device.

WARNING

• This product is designed for use in Installation Category and Pollution

Degree 2 per IEC 1010 and 664 respectively.

• Install the instrument according to the enclosure protection provided. This

instrument protects against finger access to hazardous parts within the

enclosure. The instrument does not protect against the ingress of water.

• If this product is not used as specified, the protection provided by the

equipment could be impaired. This product must be used in a normal

condition (in which all means for protection are intact) only.

• When installing the product in a cabinet, the convection into and out of the

product must not be restricted. The ambient temperature (outside the

cabinet) must be less than the maximum operating temperature of the

product by 4

power dissipated in the cabinet is greater than 800 watts forced

convection must be used.

C for every 100 watts dissipated in the cabinet. If the total

viii Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual ix

Typeface Conventions

Italics • Used to emphasize important information:

Use this software only with the 87130A.

• Used for the title of a publication:

Refer to the Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual.

• Used to indicate a variable:

LOAD BIN filename.

Type

Instrument Display • Used to show on-screen prompts and messages that you will see on the

display of an instrument:

The 87130A will display the message

[Keycap] • Used for labeled keys on the front panel of an instrument or on a

computer keyboard:

[Return].

Press

{Softkey} • Used for simulated keys that appear on an instrument display:

{Prior Menu}.

Press

CAL1 SAVED.

User Entry • Used to indicate text that you will enter using the computer keyboard;

text shown in this typeface must be typed exactly as printed:

LOAD PARMFILE

Type

• Used for examples of programming code:

#endif // ifndef NO_CLASS

Path Name • Used for a subdirectory name or file path:

Edit the file

Computer Display • Used to show messages, prompts, and window labels that appear on a

usr/local/bin/sample.txt

computer monitor:

Edit Parameters window will appear on the screen.

The

• Used for menus, lists, dialog boxes, and button boxes on a computer

monitor from which you make selections using the mouse or keyboard:

Double-click

EXIT to quit the program.

x Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Contents

1. Introducing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Features of the Attenuator/Switch Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

Figure 1-1. 87130A Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

Drive Pulse and Sensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

Compatible Switches and Attenuators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Table 1-1. Compatible Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Table 1-2. Compatible Attenuators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Front Panel Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5

Figure 1-2. 87130A Front Panel Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5

Unpacking Your Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

Table 1-3. 87130A Package Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

Determining Your Module Serial Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

Environmental Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

Figure 1-3. Packaging Materials for the 87130A Switch Driver . . . 1-7

Before Installing the Attenuator/Switch Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8

Figure 1-4. Static-Safe Work Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8

Reducing ESD Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9

Table 1-4. Static-Safe ESD Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9

Returning Your Instrument for Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10

2. Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

Initial Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

Preparing for Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

GPIB Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

Figure 2-1. 87130A GPIB Address Switch (Default 9 shown) . . . . . 2-3

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and Attenuators . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Driver Boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Using the Internal Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Figure 2-2. Typical Operating Setup Using Internal Driver . . . . . . . 2-4

Using External Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

Figure 2-3. Typical Operating Setup Using External Drivers . . . . . 2-5

Figure 2-4. 84940A External Driver Card with Prefixes Prior to US4016

2-6

Figure 2-5. 84940A External Driver Card with Prefixes US4016 and

Above . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Wiring Channel Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7

Figure 2-6. Typical Single Switch Channel Connector . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7

Connecting Multiple Driver Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual Contents-1

Figure 2-7. Daisy Chain of Driver Cards in Single Enclosure . . . . 2-8

Figure 2-8. Daisy Chain of Driver Cards in Different Enclosures . 2-8

Connecting Attenuators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

Figure 2-9. Typical Attenuator Cables Connected to an 84940A . . 2-9

Optimizing Switching Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

Table 2-1. Relay Drive Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

Driver Card Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

Figure 2-10. Eight Driver Card Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

Driver Cable and Switch Cable Length Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

Pin Functions for 36-Pin I/O Data Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13

Table 2-2. Standard 36-Pin (Male) SCSI II Type Connector Pin

Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13

Pin Functions for 68-pin Driver Output Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

Table 2-3. Rear Panel 68-Pin (Female) SCSI II Type Connector Pin

Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

3. Specifications

Performance Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Table 3-1. 87130A Electrical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Table 3-2. 87130A Environmental Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

4. Remote Operation

Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Standard Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Programming Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3

Talking to the Switch Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3

Programming Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3

Addressing the Switch Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4

Program Message Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4

Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5

Program Header Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6

Program Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6

Program Message Terminator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7

Query Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7

Programming the Switch Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9

Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9

Setting Up the Switch Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9

Receiving Information from the Switch Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9

String Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11

Instrument Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11

Common Commands Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12

Table 4-1. IEEE 488.2 Common Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12

*CLS (Clear Status) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13

*ESE (Event Status Enable) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14

Table 4-2. Event Status Enable Register Bit Definitions . . . . . . . . 4-14

*ESR? (Event Status Register Query) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15

Table 4-3. Event Status Register Bit Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15

Contents-2 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

*IDN (Identification Number) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16

*OPC (Operation Complete) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-17

*RST (Reset) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18

*SRE (Request Enable) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-19

Table 4-4. Service Request Enable Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-19

*STB (Status Byte) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20

Table 4-5. Status Byte Bit Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20

*TST? (Test) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-21

*WAI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-22

Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-23

Table 4-6. Command Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-23

SCPI Command Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-26

Channel Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-26

SCPI Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-26

:ADD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-27

:AUTOselect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-28

:CATalog? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-29

:CLOSe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-30

:CYCLes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-33

:DEFine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-34

:DELay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36

:DELete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-38

:DRIVe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-40

:EERom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-42

:ERRor? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-43

:FREE? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-46

:GROUP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-47

:INITialize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-48

:LABel[?] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-49

MEMory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-50

:NAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-51

:OPEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-52

:PATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-55

:PFAil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-56

:REMove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-57

ROUTe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-58

:SAVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-59

STATus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-60

SYSTem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-61

TRIGger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-62

:VALue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-63

:VERify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-64

:VERsion? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-66

:WIDTh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-67

Example Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-68

Example Speed Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-74

Table 4-7. Relay Drive Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-74

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual Contents-3

Figure 4-1. Timing Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-77

5. Replaceable Parts

Accessory Boards and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13

Table 5-1. Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13

Firmware Revisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13

Table 5-2. Replaceable Parts - 87130A Chassis Assembly (1) . . . 5-14

Figure 5-1. 87130A Chassis Assembly (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15

Table 5-3. Replaceable Parts - 87130A Chassis Assembly (2) . . . 5-16

Figure 5-2. 87130A Chassis Assembly (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17

Table 5-4. Replaceable Parts - 87130A Cable Assembly . . . . . . . . 5-18

Figure 5-3. 87130A Cable Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19

6. Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

Figure 6-1. 87130A DC Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3

Fuse and Power Supply Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4

Fuse Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4

Figure 6-2. Power Supply Test Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4

Power Supply Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4

Procedure for Setting Up the EPROM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5

Contents-4 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

1 Introducing the 87130A

Attenuator/Switch Driver

Overview In this chapter you will find:

• Function, features, and capabilities of the

87130A attenuator/switch driver

• How to unpack and check your instrument

• How to set up a static-free workstation

• How to contact Agilent Technologies for service

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 1-1

Introducing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Features of the Attenuator/Switch Driver

The Agilent 87130A attenuator/switch driver is a GPIB compatible instrument designed to drive electromechanical switches and step attenuators.

• The standard instrument has a single internal driver board capable of

driving up to 31 SPDT switches, or combinations of SPDT and multithrow switches.

• The attenuator/switch driver may be externally connected to a maximum

of seven 84940A driver boards and can control and sense switching for up to 248 switches.

The block diagram is shown below. Refer to Figure 6-1 on page 6-3 for a detailed DC Schematic.

Figure 1-1 87130A Block Diagram

1-2 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Introducing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Features of the Attenuator/Switch Driver

Drive Pulse and Sensing

The attenuator/switch driver can deliver 500 mA, 24 Vdc current pulses to 31 individual switch sections and up to a total of 248 switch sections by the addition of external 84940A driver boards (or driver boards inside externally connected equipment such as switch matrixes). These low impedance pulses can be adjusted for pulse width in order to optimize switching speed. Pulse width and sensing delay can be set from 0.005 to 1.275 seconds.

Sensing Disabled

Each switch coil is internally connected to the + 24 V bias supply. A power transistor on the driver board supplies the ground that will activate the switch coil. The controller assembly actuates the transistor for a predetermined time that is set by the :WIDTh command. (Refer to “:WIDTh” on page 4-67.) The default setting is 30 ms.

Sensing Enabled

For switches that can be sensed, the switch coil is internally connected to the + 24 V bias supply via a dc switch that removes the bias from the activated coil after the switch has changed position and applies the bias to the opposite coil. By monitoring the presence of this bias through the opposite coil, the switch controller can determine the switch position.

After the initial 30 ms closure pulse, an additional 20 ms time is allowed for the sense lines to settle. At this time an error and a programmed position check are performed.

The power supply allows the switch driver four switching operations at the same time. This means that at the default setting, seven groups of four switches and one group of three switches will each take 50 ms to switch and verify. This results in a default switching speed of 0.4 seconds for 31 relays with sensing enabled. Refer to “Example Speed Calculation” on page 4-74 for more information.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 1-3

Introducing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Features of the Attenuator/Switch Driver

Compatible Switches and Attenuators

The attenuator/ switch driver is designed to drive Agilent switches and attenuators shown in the tables below.

NOTE If you are using switches or attenuators made by another company, check

their switching characteristic against those specified in Chapter 3, “Specifications”.

All Agilent switches and attenuators have internal clamp diodes to limit reverse EMF energy from the switch solenoid. If other switches are used, this energy must be limited to less than 10 millijoules to prevent damage to the switch driver circuit.

Table 1-1 Compatible Switches

Agilent Model Number Description Agilent Model Number Description

33311A,B,C,D Terminated SPDT 8765A,B,C,F (Opt 024) Unterminated SPDT*

33312A,B,C Terminated transfer 8766K SP3T

33313A,B,C 5 port switch 8767K SP4T

33314A,B,C,D (Opt 024) Unterminated SPDT* 8768K SP5T

33363K SP3T 8769K SP6T

33364K SP4T 87104A,B,C SP4T*

33365K SP5T 87106 A,B,C SP6T*

33366K SP6T 87204A,B,C SP4T

8762A,B,C,F Terminated SPDT 87206A,B,C SP6T

8763A,B,C,F Terminated transfer 87222C,D,E Transfer switch

8764A,B,C,F 5 port switch 87606B Matrix switch

* No position verification

Table 1-2 Compatible Attenuators

Agilent Model Number Description Agilent Model Number Description

33320G,H 11 dB, 1 dB steps 8494G,H 11 dB, 1 dB steps

33321G,H,K 70 dB, 10 dB steps 8495G,H,K 70 dB, 10 dB steps

33322G,H 110 dB, 10 dB steps 8496G,H 110 dB, 10 dB steps

33323K 90 dB, 10 dB steps 8497K 90 dB, 10 dB steps

33324K,L 11 dB, 1 dB steps 84904K,L 11 dB, 1 dB steps

33326K,L 90 dB, 10 dB steps 84906K,L 90 dB, 10 dB steps

33327K,L 70 dB, 10 dB steps 84907K,L 70 dB, 10 dB steps

1-4 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Introducing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Features of the Attenuator/Switch Driver

Front Panel Features The front panel LEDs indicate the status of the 87130A attenuator/switch

driver. The front-panel LEDs should turn on and off while the switch driver is performing the self-test (for example, at turn-on).

If the ERROR LED lights at any time other than during self test, an error condition exists in the switch matrix. The switch driver ERROR light indicates it is ready to report one or more error codes. The error codes may be viewed by using the GPIB command “:ERRor?” on page 4-43 for more information.

:ERRor? command from a controller. Refer to the

Figure 1-2 87130A Front Panel Features

The user may remotely set the SRQ (service request) state to take place under certain conditions, (for example: completion of an operation or if an error condition occurs). The SRQ LED will only be lit during self test, when it is turned on and off to test the LED.

The other LEDs, RMT (remote), LSN (listen), TLK (talk), and SWITCHING indicate the normal functioning of the switch driver and do not indicate an error condition.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 1-5

Introducing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Unpacking Your Instrument

Unpack and inspect the shipping container and its contents thoroughly to ensure that nothing was damaged during shipment. If the shipping container or cushioning material is damaged, the contents should be checked both mechanically and electrically.

WARNING To avoid hazardous electrical shock, do not perform electrical tests when there

are signs of shipping damage to any portion of the outer enclosure (covers,

panels, connectors.)

Table 1-3 87130A Package Contents

Description Quantity Part Number

Determining Your Module Serial Number

Switch driver 1 87130A

Operating and Service Manual 1 87130-90007

Cable, 68-pin to 68-pin SCSI II, 6 ft. 1 70611-60004

❍ If the shipping container is damaged, or the cushioning material

shows signs of stress, notify the carrier as well as Agilent Technologies. Keep the shipping material for the carrier’s inspection. Refer to Figure 1-3.

❍ If the contents are damaged or defective, contact your nearest

Service Center listed under “Service and Support” on page v. Agilent will arrange for repair or replacement of the damaged or defective equipment. Always refer to your instrument by its full model number and serial number.

A serial number is attached to a label on the rear panel of the module. The first six entries are the same for all identical modules; they only change when a change in the electrical or physical functionality is made. The remaining entries change sequentially and are different for each module.

Environmental Limitations

The instrument should be stored in a clean, dry environment. The following environmental limitations apply to both shipment and storage:

Temperature

− 40 to + 70° C

Humidity < 95% relative

Altitude < 15300 meters (50,000 feet)

1-6 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Introducing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Unpacking Your Instrument

Figure 1-3 Packaging Materials for the 87130A Switch Driver

Item Quantity Part Number Description

1 1 9211-6365 Outer carton

2 1 5181-5515 Foam Insert

3 Foam insert (Part of item 2.)

4 1 5181-5535 Spacer

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 1-7

Introducing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Before Installing the Attenuator/Switch Driver

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage or destroy electronic components. All work performed on assemblies consisting of electronic components should be done at a static-safe workstation.

An example of a static-safe work station is shown below using two types of ESD protection:

• conductive table mat and wrist strap combination, and

• conductive floor mat and heel strap combination

These methods may be used together or separately. A list of static-safe accessories and their part numbers is given on the following page.

Figure 1-4 Static-Safe Work Station

1-8 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Introducing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Before Installing the Attenuator/Switch Driver

Reducing ESD Damage

To help reduce the amount of ESD damage that occurs during installation, testing, or servicing instruments use the following guidelines:

• Be sure that all instruments are properly earth-grounded to prevent

buildup of static charge.

• Personnel should be grounded with a resistor-isolated wrist strap before

touching the center pin of any connector and before removing any

assembly from the instrument.

• Before connecting any coaxial cable to an instrument connector for the

first time each day, momentarily ground the center and outer conductors

of the cable.

• Handle all PC board assemblies and electronic components only at

static-safe work stations.

• Store or transport PC board assemblies and electronic components in

static-shielding containers.

• PC board assembly edge-connector contacts may be cleaned by using a

lintfree cloth with a solution of 80% electronics-grade isopropyl alcohol

and 20% deionized water. This procedure should be performed at a

static-safe work station.

Table 1-4 Static-Safe ESD Accessories

Part Number Description

9300-0797 Set includes:

3M static control mat 0.6 m x 1.2 m (2 ft x 4 ft) and 4.6 m (15 ft)

ground wire. (The wrist-strap and wrist-strap cord are not included.

They must be ordered separately.)

9300-0865 Ground wire, 4.6 m (15 ft)

9300-0980 Wrist-strap cord 1.5 m (5 ft)

9300-1367 Wrist-strap, color black, stainless steel, without cord, has four

adjustable links and a 7 mm post-type connection.

9300-1308 ESD heel-strap (reusable 6 to 12 months)

Order the above by calling an Agilent Sales and Service Office.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 1-9

Introducing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Returning Your Instrument for Service

To obtain servicing information or to order replacement parts, contact your nearest Agilent Technologies Service Center listed under “Service and

Support” on page v.

Use the following procedure to return your instrument to Agilent for service:

1. Fill out a service tag and attach it to the instrument. Please be as specific as possible about the nature of the problem.

CAUTION

Damage can result if the original packaging materials are not used. Packaging materials should be anti-static and should cushion the instrument on all sides.

Never use styrene pellets in any shape as packaging materials. They do not adequately cushion the instrument or prevent it from moving in the shipping container. Styrene pellets can also cause equipment damage by generating static electricity or by lodging in fan motors.

2. Place the switch driver in its original packaging materials.

If the original packaging materials are not available, you can contact an Agilent sales and service office to obtain information on packaging materials or you may use an alternative packing material referred to as “bubble-pack”.

Surround the module with at least 3 to 4 inches of its original packing material or bubble-pack to prevent it from moving in its shipping container.

3. Place the switch driver after wrapping it with packing material, in its original shipping container or a strong shipping container that is made of double-walled corrugated cardboard with 159 kg (350 lb) bursting strength.

The shipping container must be both large enough and strong enough to accommodate your module and allow at least 3 to 4 inches on all sides for packing material.

4. Seal the shipping container securely with strong nylon adhesive tape.

5. Mark the shipping container “Fragile, Handle with Care” to help ensure careful handling.

6. Retain copies of all shipping papers.

1-10 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

2 Installing the 87130A

Attenuator/Switch Driver

Overview In this chapter you will learn about:

• How to install your switch driver

• How to verify its basic functionality

• How to address your instrument

• How to connect it to a switch matrix

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 2-1

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Getting Started

Initial Inspection 1. Unpack and inspect the shipping container and its contents thoroughly to

ensure that nothing was damaged during shipment. If the shipping container or cushioning material is damaged, the contents should be checked both mechanically and electrically. A procedure for checking the electrical performance is given in Chapter 4, Verification.

❍ If the shipping container is damaged, or the cushioning material

shows signs of stress, notify the carrier as well as Agilent Technologies. Keep the shipping material for the carrier’s inspection. Refer to Figure 1-3.

❍ If the contents are damaged or defective, contact your nearest

Service Center listed under “Service and Support” on page v. Agilent will arrange for repair or replacement of the damaged or defective equipment.

Preparing for Use 2. Use the following properties of the attenuator/switch driver to plan your

system configuration.

Power requirements

The internal power supply adjusts automatically to the input line voltage. See table 3-2 on page 3-3 for additional information.

Power cord

In accordance with international safety standards, a three-wire power cable is provided with this instrument. When it is connected to an appropriate ac power receptacle, this cable grounds the instrument cabinet. The type of power cable plug shipped with each instrument depends on the country of destination.

Fuses

The 87130A is shipped with a 3A fuse (F3) installed in the + 24 Vdc line and a 3A fuse (F2) in the + 5 Vdc line. The 1 A, 250 V power line fuse is located inside the AC input module.

2-2 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Getting Started

GPIB Addressing 3. Use the five-bit binary address switches located on the rear panel of the

instrument to change the GPIB address.

❍ The 87130A has a factory preset address of 9. There are 32 possible

addresses. The switch labeled with a one is the least significant bit.

❍ Addresses 0 and 31 are typically reserved for GPIB functions and

should not be used. IEEE-488.1 limits the number of addressable elements (instruments) to 16.

Figure 2-1 87130A GPIB Address Switch (Default 9 shown)

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 2-3

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and Attenuators

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and

Attenuators

Driver Boards The standard 87130A attenuator/switch driver has a single internal driver

board capable of driving 31 switches. The attenuator/switch driver may also be connected to a maximum of seven external 84940A driver board which can control and sense switching states for up to 217 additional switches.

The internal driver card is terminated with a 68-pin SCSI II type connector for connecting external switches. The 84941A distribution board should be used to connect the switch driver to switches and attenuators.

❍ The distribution board has 31 4-pin black output connectors

numbered J1 to J31 (silkscreened on the circuit side of the PCA), in addition to 31 mating cables which allow a cable harness to be quickly assembled to connect to relays. Refer to Figure 2-6 for pin wiring that determines an OPEN or CLOSE condition on each switch.

❍ Each relay (switch) is referred to as a channel by the switch driver.

Each channel has its own unique address. The switch driver begins numbering channels at 0 instead of 1. Switch one, wired to J1 on driver card 1, would have a channel address of 100.

Using the Internal Driver

Figure 2-2 Typical Operating Setup Using Internal Driver

1. Connect the internal driver board of the switch driver which is terminated with a 68-pin SCSI II type connector (driver output) to an 84941A distribution board. Use the six foot cable with two male 68-pin SCSI II type connectors that is shipped with the 87130A.

2-4 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and Attenuators

Using External Drivers A standard switch driver can control up to seven external 84940A driver

cards.

❍ Each driver card has 31 4-pin black output connectors numbered J1

to J31 (silkscreened on the circuit side of the PCA) which connect to relays.

❍ Each relay is referred to as a channel by the switch driver. Therefore,

there are a total of 248 relays (channels) that can be driven from a single switch driver.

❍ Each card must have a unique address. (Refer to Figure 2-10). The

internal driver card is set to card 1. On card 1, J1 to J31 correspond to channels 100 to 130 on your switch driver channel menu. Card 2 would correspond to channels 200 to 230; card 3, 300 to 330, and so forth up to card 8, 800 to 830. All of these channels are set with the drive enabled.

Figure 2-3 Typical Operating Setup Using External Drivers

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 2-5

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and Attenuators

CAUTION

Do not connect or disconnect relays from 84940A external driver cards with prefixes prior to US4016 while the attenuator/switch driver line switch is turned on. An unintentional short between the + 24 V wire and the driver outputs may result in a catastrophic driver board failure.

Although these driver cards will function properly when driven by the 87130A, they are only specified to 800 mA maximum per group of four relays (200 mA per relay section); however, the + 24 V power supply from the 87130A provides 3 A of dc current.

Break-Off Section

Figure 2-4 84940A External Driver Card with Prefixes Prior to US4016

Figure 2-5 84940A External Driver Card with Prefixes US4016 and Above

The 84940A driver board includes the following items:

Description Quantity Part Number

Driver board 1 84940A

Cable, 36-pin to 36-pin SCSI, female to female, 5 feet, 28 AWG 1 70611-60010

Cable, 34-pin to 36-pin SCSI, 18 inches, 28 AWG 1 70611-60011

Ribbon cable kit, 36-pin to 34-pin, 6 feet, 28 AWG 1 70611-60013

2-6 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and Attenuators

Wiring Channel Connectors

When installing the switch driver, it is imperative to know which wires will cause an OPEN or CLOSE condition on each switch.

• An OPEN condition is defined as the black wire from J1 pin 1 is

active-to-common (+ 24 Vdc red wire).

• A CLOSE condition is defined as the white wire from J1 pin 3 is

active-to-common (+ 24 Vdc red wire).

Figure 2-6 Typical Single Switch Channel Connector

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 2-7

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and Attenuators

Connecting Multiple Driver Cards

The cards are numbered from 1 to 8; the relays on each card are numbered from 0 to 30. Each relay is referred to as a channel by the switch driver. Therefore, there are a total of 248 relays (channels) that can be driven from a single switch driver.

In a single enclosure, place connectors (part number 1251-7090) on ribbon cables (part number 70611-60013) to daisy chain driver cards.

To reliably install the 34-pin connector to the ribbon cable use the following

 tools. (To order from 3M, call 1-800-225-5373).

Item 3M

Platen 3442-1A

Locator plate 3443-94

Hand press 3540

Part Number

Figure 2-7 Daisy Chain of Driver Cards in Single Enclosure

Use the cables shown below to connect 84940A external cards to expand drive capability in different enclosures.

Figure 2-8 Daisy Chain of Driver Cards in Different Enclosures

2-8 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and Attenuators

Connecting Attenuators

Connect attenuator cables using a Viking connector and a ten pin connector. A typical connection of four section attenuators is shown below.

When connecting attenuators

• A CLOSE position should add attenuation.

• An OPEN position should remove attenuation.

Figure 2-9 Typical Attenuator Cables Connected to an 84940A

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 2-9

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and Attenuators

Optimizing Switching Speed

To increase the speed at which your switch matrix operates, refer to the table below to determine which four relays, when connected, will be on the same drive lines.

a. Refer to Figure 2-6 to wire your relays into the arbitrary positions of

OPEN and CLOSE.

b. Refer to the section “Example Speed Calculation” on page 4-74 for

an explanation on calculating and minimizing overall switching time.

Switching speed is a function of pulse widths, sensing delays, the state of the chosen channels, the sequence of relays driven and the power supply recovery time. Pulse widths, sensing delays, and which channels are opened or closed are determined by the user, and cannot be predicted here.

NOTE The channel number must be preceded by the driver card number. Channels

connected to driver card 1 would be numbered 100 to 130; card 2, 200 to 230; card 3, 300 to 330, and so forth up to card 800 to 830. All of these channels are set with the drive enabled.

Table 2-1 Relay Drive Sequence

Drive Line Connector Locator Channel List

1 J1, J2, J3, J4 00, 01, 02, 03

2 J5, J6, J7, J8 04, 05, 06, 07

3 J9, J10, J11, J12 08, 09, 10, 11

4 J13, J14, J15, J16 12, 13, 14, 15

5 J17, J18, J19, J20 16, 17, 18, 19

6 J21, J22, J23, J24 20, 21, 22, 23

7 J25, J26, J27, J28 24, 25, 26, 27

8 J29, J30, J31 28, 29, 30

NOTE The maxium Power Supply Recovery Time should only be required when

driving multiple external driver boards with longer interconnect cables. A significant switching speed advantage can be realized if this value is reduced from the 200 msec default. See the command called “TRIGger” on

page 4-62 and the “Example Speed Calculation” on page 4-74.

2-10 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and Attenuators

Driver Card Address Set the 4-bit DIP switch on the 84940A driver assembly card to each address

as shown in the figure below. (S1 “up” is open or away from the PC board.)

Each card must have a unique address setting. The internal driver is set to card 1. Card 1 shown below is the factory default setting.

Figure 2-10 Eight Driver Card Addresses

Driver Cable and Switch Cable Length Limitations

It is impossible to predict the exact configuration of your particular switch matrix. It is assumed that each 84940A driver assembly will be in a separate grounded switch matrix box.

When you connect multiple driver boards and switches at a distance from the 87130A, voltage drop limitations due to switch drive requirements, switch quiescent current, drive transistor drop, cable resistance, and LED current must be taken into account.

Agilent “24 volt” switches are guaranteed to work with a minimum drive voltage of 20 volts. The 87130A puts out a minimum of 22.5 V, and the open drain DMOS output drivers of each channel on the driver board have a drop of 1.0 V. Thus 1.5 V is left for the total voltage drop for the driver board cables and switch wires.

For example, a seventh external driver board, “fully loaded” with seven 87104A switches (maximum 350 mA quiescent current plus 400 mA actuating current) located at the end of the sequence of 70611-60010,

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 2-11

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and Attenuators

70611-60011, and 70612-60011 cables of #28 AWG wire size, at a total cable length of 32.8 feet from the 87130A would have a voltage of 20.3 volts available at the driver board. (21.5 V - (750 mA X 0.065 ohms per foot X

32.8 feet X 0.75)).*

This leaves 0.3 V that can be dropped in the wires from the board to the switches. Thus, if each switch has 400 mA actuating plus 50 mA quiescent current, a combined length of 16.6 feet of #26 AWG wire would be the maximum length permissible to meet switch specifications. (450 mA X 0.04 ohms per foot X 16.6 feet = 0.3 V) Any LED current must also be added to these calculations.

Special longer lengths of heavier-gauge driver (68 pin) and CPU (36 pin) cables are available. Refer to “Service and Support” on page v for ordering information.

* This calculation makes two assumptions:

(1) There are no other devices which consume quiescent current

connected to the driver boards between the 87130A and the seventh driver board.

(2) The factor 0.75 in this equation is used to calculate an “equivalent”

cable length for forward and return path since there are two + 24 V lines in parallel and 4 return lines in parallel.

2-12 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and Attenuators

Pin Functions for 36-Pin I/O Data Cable

Table 2-2 Standard 36-Pin (Male) SCSI II Type Connector Pin Functions

• The standard switch driver has a high density male, 36-pin SCSI II type

connector.

• The standard I/O data cable is a five-foot 28 AWG cable with two

female, 36-pin SCSI II type connectors.

Pin Function Pin Function

1 Return 19 D6, Data Line

2 Return 20 D7, Data Line

3 NC 21 D8, Data Line

4 NC 22 D9, Data Line

5 NC 23 D10, Data Line

6 NC 24 D11, Data Line

7 + 5 Vdc 25 D12, Data Line

8 + 5 Vdc 26 D13, Data Line

9 + 24 Vdc 27 D14, Data Line

10 + 24 Vdc 28 NC

11 Re tur n 2 9 NC

12 Return 30 Register CLR

13 D0,Data Line 31 Store

14 D1,Data Line 32 I/O

15 D2,Data Line 33 Return

16 D3,Data Line 34 Return

17 D4,Data Line 35 NC

18 D5,Data Line 36 NC

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 2-13

Pin Functions for 68-pin Driver Output Connector

Table 2-3 Rear Panel 68-Pin (Female) SCSI II Type Connector Pin Functions

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and Attenuators

• The 87130A has a rear-panel 68-pin connector for driving attached

switches. The standard output cable is a six-foot 28 AWG cable with two male 68-pin SCSI II type connectors.

• When you wire the switch driver to the switches, use the following table

to define an OPEN or CLOSE position.

Pin Function Pin Function

1 Return 35 Return

2 Channel 0, Open 36 Channel 0, Close

3 Channel 1, Open 37 Channel 1, Close

4 Channel 2, Open 38 Channel 2, Close

5 Channel 3, Open 39 Channel 3, Close

6 Channel 4, Open 40 Channel 4, Close

7 Channel 5, Open 41 Channel 5, Close

8 Channel 6, Open 42 Channel 6, Close

9 Channel 7, Open 43 Channel 7, Close

10 Channel 8, Open 44 Channel 8, Close

11 Channel 9 Open 45 Channel 9, Close

12 Channel 10, Open 46 Channel 10, Close

13 Channel 11, Open 47 Channel 11, Close

14 Channel 12, Open 48 Channel 12, Close

15 Channel 13, Open 49 Channel 13, Close

16 Channel 14, Open 50 Channel 14, Close

17 Channel 15 Open 51 Channel 15, Close

18 Channel 16, Open 52 Channel 16, Close

19 Channel 17, Open 53 Channel 17,Close

20 Channel 18, Open 54 Channel 18, Close

21 Channel 19, Open 55 Channel 19, Close

22 Channel 20, Open 56 Channel 20, Close

23 Channel 21, Open 57 Channel 21, Close

24 Channel 22, Open 58 Channel 22, Close

25 Channel 23, Open 59 Channel 23, Close

26 Channel 24, Open 60 Channel 24, Close

27 Channel 25, Open 61 Channel 25, Close

28 Channel 26, Open 62 Channel 26, Close

29 Channel 27, Open 63 Channel 27, Close

30 Channel 28, Open 64 Channel 28, Close

31 Channel 29, Open 65 Channel 29, Close

32 Channel 30, Open 66 Channel 30, Close

33 + 24 Vdc 67 + 24 Vdc

34 Return 68 Return

2-14 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

3 Specifications

Overview Performance specifications are the performance standards or limits against

which the 87130A can be tested. The specifications are organized into two categories:

• Measurement related specifications which describe warranted

performance for the 87130A over the temperature range of 0 to + 55 after one hour of continuous operation, unless otherwise noted.

• Characteristics which provide useful (typical) but non-warranted

functional and performance information for the 87130A.

°C

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 3-1

Specifications

Performance Specifications

Table 3-1 87130A Electrical Specifications

Electrical Specifications

Drive Capacity - 87130A 248 relays, when mated with seven external 84940A daisy chained driver cards.

Each 84940A can drive up to 31 relays. The equivalent of one 84940A

driver card is installed within the 87130A.

Voltage + 24 + 3.0 / − 1.5 Vdc

Current Pulses 1600 mA maximum per four relay group

400 mA per relay (typically 500 mA maximum)

Pulse width is adjustable for 5 ms to 1275 ms

Load Inductance

Load Capacitance Typically < 0.01

Switching Speed Sensing delay is adjustable, per relay, from 5 to 1275 ms

Remote Programming All functions are GPIB programmable except the line switch and bus address.

Interface to Controller GPIB

Interface to External Driver Cards 36-pin SCSI II type

Interface to Relays 68-pin SCSI II type

Hardware Limits Each open collector driver IC can drive only one channel (a maximum of four switches) at

Typically < 500 mH

µF

adjustable, per relay, from 5 to 1275

from 0 to 200 msec

Refer to Chapter 6, “Troubleshooting.” The final switching speed is a function of

pulse widths, sensing delays, the sequence of relays driven, the state of the chosen

channels, and the Power Supply Recovery Time.

All functions are programmable to conform with IEEE 488.2-1987 Standard Commands

for Programmable Instruments (SCPI).

The 87130A can output over the interface almost all settings, error/malfunction codes

and operational status codes.

a time to avoid exceeding package dissipation limits.

± 5 ms. Power Supply RecoveryTime is adjustable

± 5 ms, in 5 ms steps.

± 5 ms. Pulse width is also

1. Refer to “Compatible Switches and Attenuators” on page 1-4 if you are using switches or

attenuators made by another company.

3-2 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Temperature

Specifications

Performance Specifications

Table 3-2 87130A Environmental Specifications

Environmental Specifications

Operating 0 to + 55

Non-operating − 40 to 70

Humidity

Operating and

Non-operating 80% relative humidity up to 31

Altitude

Operating and non-operating 5600 meters (15,000 feet)

Environmental Compatibility Radiated and conducted emission is in compliance with CISPR Pub 11/1990, Group 1, Level A

Environmental Qualification Test

Humidity 5 day, 25 to 40

Vibration a. Operating: MIL-PRF-28800F, Class 3, par. 4.5.5.3.1 (random, 10 to 500 Hz, 0.21 g rms)

b. Non-operating: swept sine, 5 to 500 Hz, 0.5g, 15 min/axis, 3 axis

c. Non-operating: MIL-PRF-28800F, Class 3, par. 4.5.5.3.1 (random, 10 to 500 Hz, 2.1 g rms)

Shock a. Non-operating, 170 g, 1/2 sine 2ms, 1 drop/face, 6 faces

b. Non-operating, 30 g, trapezoidal, 28 ms, 1 drop/face, 6 faces

Environmental Conditions This product is designed for indoor use in Installation Category II and Pollution Degree 2 per

IEC 1010 and IEC 664, respectively. Enclosure protection is IP 2 0 according to IEC 529.

°C

°C decreasing linearly to 50% relative humidity at 40 °C

°C, 50 to 95% relative humidity

Line Voltage 100 to 240 Vac

Power Consumption 110 Watts MAX

Weight 6.2 kg (13.7 lb)

Dimensions 10.2 cm (h) x 45.7 cm (w) X 55.9 cm (d)

4 in. x 18 in. x 22.5 in

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 3-3

Specifications

Performance Specifications

3-4 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

4 Remote Operation

Overview In this chapter you will learn about programming the 87130A using a

controller:

• How to set up the switch driver and start programming groups and paths

for switches

• How to set switch delay, pulse width, and sensing

• How to sense switch status

• How to store and retrieve switch parameters via remote interface

• How to perform more complicated tasks using a combination of these

four basic functions

You will also find:

• A command tree of SCPI commands

• An alphabetical list of common commands

• An alphabetical list of SCPI commands

• Three programming examples:

❍ Save memory

❍ Restore memory

❍ Speed calculation

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-1

Remote Operation

Programming

Standard Commands The instrument command language is Standard Commands for

Programmable Instruments (SCPI).

The programming examples and information in this chapter use the SCPI format. SCPI follows IEEE 488.2-1987 Codes, Formats, Protocols and Common Commands. Commands are sent over an GPIB bus which follows IEEE 488.1.

If you are already familiar with Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments (SCPI) programming techniques, go to the section “Example

Speed Calculation” on page 4-74 for switching speed information. The

alphabetical listing of commands and command tree can be used for your own applications.

Language The programming examples in this manual are written in HP BASIC 5.0 for

GPIB.

HP BASIC handles some of the redundant miscellaneous overhead associated with IEEE Standard 488.1 (GPIB). For instance, when a BASIC OUTPUT statement is used (by the active controller) to send data to an GPIB device, a sequence of commands and data are sent over the bus. The HP BASIC OUTPUT statement causes more than just the output of data to take place.

OUTPUT 709 “Data”

1. The unlisten command is sent.

2. The talker’s address command is sent (the address of the computer).

3. The listener’s address command (09) is sent.

4. The data bytes “D”, “a”, “t”, and “a” are sent.

5. Terminators CR and LF are sent.

All bytes are sent using the GPIB’s interlocking handshake to ensure that the listener has received each byte.

For controllers that are using a programming language other than HP BASIC, additional steps may have to be added to the program examples given in this manual. For more information, refer to IEEE Standard 488.1 (GPIB) and IEEE Standard 488.2-1987 Codes, Formats, Protocols and Common Commands.

4-2 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Programming Syntax

Remote Operation

Programming Syntax

Talking to the Switch Driver

Example The following query command reads out the firmware datecode:

In general, computers acting as controllers communicate with the switch driver by passing messages over a remote interface using the I/O statements provided in the instruction set of the controller’s host language. Therefore, the messages for programming the switch driver described in this manual, will normally appear as ASCII character strings imbedded inside the I/O statements of your controller’s program.

For example, the HP 9000 Series 300 BASIC and PASCAL language systems use the switch driver, and the the switch driver.

Messages are placed on the bus by using an output command and passing the device selector, program message, and terminator. Passing the device selector ensures that the program message is sent to the correct interface and instrument.

OUTPUT <device selector>;“:SYSTEM:VERSION?”

where <device selector> represents the address of the device being programmed.

OUTPUT statement for sending program messages to the

ENTER statement for receiving response messages from

Programming Conventions

The programming examples in this manual are written in HP Basic 5.0 for an GPIB controller compatible system.

• The actual OUTPUT command used when programming is dependent on

the controller and the programming language being used.

• Angular brackets “< >,” in this manual, enclose words or characters that

symbolize a program code parameter or a bus command.

• Information that is displayed in quotes represents the actual message

that is sent across the bus. The message terminator (NL or EOI) is the only additional information that is also sent across the bus.

• On most controllers, it is not necessary to type in the actual

<terminator> at the end of the program message. These controllers automatically supply the program message terminator when the return key is pressed.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-3

Remote Operation

Programming Syntax

Addressing the Switch Driver

Example DEVICE SELECTOR = (Interface Select Code x 100) + (Instrument Address)

Since GPIB can address multiple devices through the same interface card, the device selector passed with the program message must include not only the correct interface code, but also the correct instrument address.

Interface Select Code (Selects Interface)

Each interface card has a unique interface select code. This code is used by the controller to direct commands and communications to the proper interface. The default is typically 7 for GPIB controllers.

Instrument Address (Selects Instrument)

Each instrument on an GPIB bus must have a unique instrument address between decimal 0 and 30. The address must not be the address of the controller. (Refer to Chapter 2, “Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch

Driver.”) The device address passed with the program message must include

both the correct instrument address and the correct interface select code.

If the instrument address for the switch driver is 9 and the interface select code is 7, when the program message is passed, the routine performs its function on the instrument at device selector 709.

Program Message Syntax

For the switch driver, the instrument address is typically set to 9 at the factory. The program examples in this manual assume the switch driver is set

to device address 709.

To program the switch driver over the bus, you must have an understanding of the command format and structure expected by the switch driver.

The switch driver is remotely programmed with program messages. These are composed of sequences of program message units, with each unit representing a program command or query.

A program command or query is composed of a sequence of functional elements that include separators (a blank space which is required to separate the program mnemonic from the program data), headers, program data, and terminators. These elements are sent to the switch driver over the system interface as a sequence of ASCII data messages.

4-4 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Remote Operation

Programming Syntax

Commands A command is composed of a header, any associated data, and a terminator.

The header is the mnemonic or mnemonics that represent the operation to be performed by the switch driver. The different types of headers are discussed in the following paragraphs.

Compound Command Header

Compound command headers are a combination of two or more program mnemonics. The first mnemonic selects the subsystem, and the last mnemonic selects the function within that subsystem. Additional mnemonics appear between the subsystem mnemonic and the function mnemonic when there are additional levels within the subsystem that must be transversed. The mnemonics within the compound message are separated by colons.

Example To execute a single function within a subsystem:

:<subsystem>:<function><separator><program data><terminator>

ROUTE:GROUP <group name>:AUTOSELECT:OFF;

Example To transverse down a level of a subsystem to execute a subsystem within that

subsystem:

:<subsystem>:<subsystem>:<function><separator><program data> <terminator>

ROUTE:GROUP:LABEL “Atten 0 to 110 dB by 10 dB steps”;

Selecting Multiple Subsystems

You can send multiple program commands and program queries for different switch driver subsystems on the same line by separating each command with a semicolon.

Example The colon following the semicolon enables you to enter a new subsystem.

:<subsystem>:<function><separator><data>; <function><separator><data><terminator>

ROUTE:DRIVE:OFF:ALL;:SYSTEM:VERSION?

Common Command Header

Common command headers control IEEE 488.2 functions within the switch driver (such as clear status, etc.). Their syntax is:

*<command header><terminator>

No space or separator is allowed between the asterisk and the command header.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-5

Remote Operation

Programming Syntax

Example *CLS is an example of a common command header.

*CLS; ROUTE:DRIVE:ON (@100,102,104,106,....);

Common commands used by the switch driver are explained in more detail in the “Common Command Reference” later in this chapter.

Program Header Options

Program headers can be sent using any combination of uppercase or lowercase ASCII characters.

Both program command and query headers may be sent in either longform (complete spelling), shortform (abbreviated spelling), or any combination of longform and shortform.

NOTE ONLY the longform or shortform of a command will be accepted by the

switch driver. Either of the following examples read out the firmware datecode:

SYSTEM:VERSION? – longform

SYST:VERS? – shortform

❍ Programs written in longform are easy to read and are almost

self-documenting.

❍ The shortform syntax conserves the amount of controller memory

needed for program storage and reduces the amount of I/O activity. The shortform abbreviation is given for each command in the section “SCPI Command Reference” on page 4-26.

Program Data Program data is used to convey a variety of types of parameter information

related to the command header. At least one space must separate the command header or query header from the program data.

When a program mnemonic or query has multiple data parameters, a comma separates sequential program data.

Example <program mnemonic><separator><data>,<data><terminator>

ROUTE:DELAY .02,(@101,103,105);

4-6 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Character Program Data

Character program data is used to convey parameter information as alpha or alphanumeric strings.

Example ROUTE:VERIFY:ON:ALL

The :VERIFY function is specified to be ON for ALL channels.

Numeric Program Data

Some command headers require program data to be a number.

Example ROUTE:DELAY .03,(@101,103,105)

where the :DELAY function is specified to be 30 ms on channels 101, 103, and 105.

Remote Operation

Programming Syntax

Program Message Terminator

The program codes within a data message are executed after the program message terminator is received. The terminator may be either an NL (New Line) character, an EOI (End-Or-Identify) asserted, or a combination of the two. All three ways are equivalent. Asserting EOI sets the GPIB EOI control line low on the last byte of the data message. The NL character is an ASCII linefeed (decimal 10).

Query Command Command headers immediately followed by a question mark (?) are queries.

Query commands are used to find out how the switch driver is currently configured. After receiving a query, the switch driver interrogates the requested function and places the answer in its output queue. The output message remains in the queue until it is read or another command is issued. When read, the message is transmitted across the bus to the designated listener (typically a controller).

Example The query ROUTE:PATH:VALUE? <path name> places the value of the named

path in the output queue. In conjunction with this, the controller input statement:

ENTER <device selector>;Values$

passes the value across the bus to the controller and places it in the BASIC variable “Val u es $ ”.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-7

Remote Operation

Programming Syntax

Query commands are also used to get results of switch status made by the switch driver, with the query actually activating the switch.

Example ROUTe:CLOSE? <channel spec>

instructs the driver to sense the status of the switch and place the result in the output queue.

The output queue must be read before the next program message is sent.

Example When the query

ROUTE:VERIFY:ON?

is sent, that query must be followed with a program statement like,

ENTER 709;Verify$

to read the result of the query and place the result in a BASIC variable (Verify$).

Sending another command before reading the result of the query will cause the output buffer to be cleared and the current response to be lost. This will

also generate an error in the error queue.

4-8 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Remote Operation

Programming the Switch Driver

Initialization To make sure the bus and all appropriate interfaces are in a known state,

begin every program with an initialization statement.

Example CLEAR 709 ! initializes the interface of the driver.

Then initialize the switch driver to a preset state. For example:

OUTPUT 709;“*RST” ! initializes the instrument to a preset state.

The actual commands and syntax for initializing the switch driver are discussed in the section “Common Commands Reference” on page 4-12. Refer to the controller manual for information on initializing the interface.

Setting Up the Switch Driver

Receiving Information from the Switch Driver

A typical switch driver setup would set the drive (ON or OFF) paths, delay time, sensing ( commands sent to the driver are:

OUTPUT 709;“*CLS;ROUTE:DRIVE:ON (@100,102,104,106,....);”

OUTPUT 709;“ROUTE:DRIVE:OFF (@101,103,105,107,....);”

OUTPUT 709;“ROUTE:VERIFY:ON (@100,102,104,106,....);”

OUTPUT 709;“ROUTE:WIDTH .04,(@100,102,104,106,....);”

OUTPUT 709;“ROUTE:DELAY .03,(@100,102,104,106,....);”

After receiving a query (command header followed by a question mark), the switch driver interrogates the requested function and places the answer in its output queue. The answer remains in the output queue until it is read or another command is issued. When read, the message is transmitted across the bus to the controller.

The input statement for receiving a response message from an instrument’s output queue typically has two parameters; the device address and a format specification for handling the response message.

ON or OFF), and pulse width. Some typical examples of the

Example To read the result of the query command

:GROUP:LABEL?

you would execute the statement:

10 OUTPUT 709;“ROUT:GROUP:LABEL? GROUP1”

20 ENTER 709;Setting$

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-9

Remote Operation

Programming the Switch Driver

where GROUP1 represents the name of the desired group. This would enter the current label of the group in the string variable Setting$.

Example All results for queries sent in a program message must be read before

another program message is sent.

NOTE

When you send the query:

you must follow that query with the program statement:

ENTER 709;Sense$

to read the result of the query and place the result in a variable (SENSE$).

ROUTe:CLOSE? (@101)

• Sending another command before reading the result of the query will

cause the output buffer to be cleared and the current response to be lost. This will also cause an error to be placed in the error queue.

• Executing an ENTER statement before sending a query will cause the

controller to wait indefinitely.

• The actual ENTER program statement used when programming is

dependent on the programming language being used.

• The format specification for handling the response message is dependent

on both the controller and the programming language.

4-10 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Remote Operation

Programming the Switch Driver

String Variables If you want to observe the headers for queries, you must bring the returned

data into a BASIC string variable. Reading queries into string variables is simple and straightforward, requiring little attention to formatting.

Example ENTER 709;Result$

places the output of the query in the string variable Result$.

The output of the switch driver may be either numeric or character data depending on what is queried. Refer to the specific commands for the formats and types of data returned from queries.

For the example programs, assume that the device being programmed is at device selector 709. The actual address will vary according to how you have configured the bus for your own application.

Example This example shows the data being returned to a string variable:

10 DIM Rang$[40]

20 OUTPUT 709;“ROUTE:VERIFY:OFF:ALL;”

30 OUTPUT 709;“ROUTE:VERIFY:OFF? (@101:105);”

40 ENTER 709;Rang$

50 PRINT Rang$

60 END

After running this program, the controller displays a list of 1’s or 0’s separated by commas for every channel in the list.

1,1,1,1,0

Instrument Status Status registers track the current status of the switch driver. By checking the

instrument status, you can find out whether an operation has been completed, whether the switch driver is receiving triggers, and query for command and execution errors. Refer to the command *ESR? (Event Status

for more information.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-11

Remote Operation

Common Commands Reference

The common commands used in this instrument are shown in the following table.

• The common commands control some of the basic instrument functions,

such as instrument identification and reset and how status is read and cleared.

• The common commands are defined by the IEEE 488.2 standard and are

common to all instruments that comply with this standard.

Table 4-1 IEEE 488.2 Common Commands

Command Command Name

*CLS Clear Status Command

*ESE Event Status Enable Command

*ESE? Event Status Enable Query

*ESR? Event Status Register Query

*IDN? Identification Query

*OPC Operation Complete Command

*OPC? Operation Complete Query

*RST Reset Command

*SRE Service Request Enable Command

*SRE? Service Request Enable Query

*STB? Read Status Byte Query

*TST? Self-Test Query

*WAI Wait-to-Continue Command

4-12 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

*CLS (Clear Status)

Syntax

*CLS

Description

The *CLS (clear status) common command clears the status data structures, including the device defined error queue. This command also clears and *OPC?.

If the *CLS command immediately follows a PROGRAM MESSAGE TERMINATOR, the output queue and the MAV bit will be cleared.

Example Command OUTPUT 709;“*CLS”

Remote Operation

*CLS (Clear Status)

*OPC

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-13

Remote Operation

*ESE (Event Status Enable)

Syntax

*ESE mask

*ESE?

Description

The *ESE command sets the Standard Event Status Enable Register bits. This register contains a mask value for the bits to be enabled in the Standard Event Status Register. A one in the Standard Event Status Enable Register will enable the corresponding bit in the Standard Event Status Register; a zero will disable the bit.

Refer to the table below for the information about the Standard Event Status Enable Register bits, bit weights, and what each bit masks. Valid number range is 0 to 255.

*ESE query returns the current contents of the register.

The

Table 4-2 Event Status Enable Register Bit Definitions

Bit Weight Enables

7 128 PON- Power ON

6 64 (not used)

5 32 CME- Command Error

4 16 EXE- Execution Error

3 8 DDE- Device Dependent Error

2 4 QYE- Query Error

1 2 (not used)

0 1 OPC- Operation Complete

Example Command OUTPUT 709;”*ESE 64”

Example Query OUTPUT 709;”*ESE?”

ENTER 709; Event

PRINT Event

4-14 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Remote Operation

*ESR? (Event Status Register Query)

Syntax

*ESR?

Description

The *ESR query returns the contents of the Standard Event Status Register.

The table shows each bit in the Event Status Register and the bit weight. When you read the Event Status Register, the value returned is the total bit weights of all bits that are high at the time you read the byte. The register is cleared to 0 on a

*CLS and after *ESR? is executed.

Refer to the command

ESR is reported through the Status Byte.

the

*STB (Status Byte) on page 4-20 to learn how

Table 4-3 Event Status Register Bit Definitions

Bit Weight Name Condition

7 128 PON 1 = an OFF to ON transition has occurred

6 64 URQ (not used) always 0

5 32 CME 0 = no command errors

1 = a command error has been detected

4 16 EXE 0 = no execution errors

1 = an execution error has been detected

3 8 DDE 0 = no device dependent errors

1 = a device dependent error has been detected

2 4 QYE 0 = no query errors

1 = a query error has been detected

1 2 RQC (not used) always 0

0 1 OPC 0 = operation is not complete

1 = operation is complete

Example Query OUTPUT 709;“*ESR?”

ENTER 709; Event

PRINT Event

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-15

Remote Operation

*IDN (Identification Number)

Syntax

*IDN?

Description

The *IDN query allows the instrument to identify itself. It returns a string such as:

HEWLETT-PACKARD,87130A,US12345678,950713

Where 950713 is the firmware version number and US12345678 is the serial number.

Example Command DIM Id$[72]

OUTPUT 709;“*IDN?”

ENTER 709;Id$

PRINT Id$

4-16 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Remote Operation

*OPC (Operation Complete)

Syntax

*OPC

*OPC?

Description

The *OPC and *OPC? commands are used to synchronize remote interface software to internal module events.

• The *OPC (operation complete) command will cause the instrument to

set the operation complete bit in the Standard Event Status Register when any switching operations that were in process at the time the command was received have completed.

*OPC

• *OPC is also used to signal the end of MEM:SAVE operation.

• *OPC? causes a 1 to be put into the output buffer when any switching

operations that were in process at the time the received have completed.

If no switching operations were in process at the time the command was sent, the response will be generated immediately. Hence should only be sent after an operation has been initiated.

Example Command OUTPUT 709;“*OPC”

Example Query The following sequence is correct, because the OPC command is sent after

the operation is initiated:

OUTPUT 709; “ROUT:CLOS (@1(1,3,5,7,9));*OPC?”

ENTER 709;A

PRINT A

The following sequence is incorrect, because the OPC command is sent before the operation is initiated:

*OPC?;ROUT:CLOSE (@1(1,3,5,7,9));

*OPC? command was

*OPC or *OPC?

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-17

Remote Operation

*RST (Reset)

Syntax

*RST

Description

*RST is equivalent to a power up condition for the switch hardware.

All relays for which DRIVE is ON are set to the positions determined by

ROUTe:PFAil. For any relays not in either the ROUTe:PFAil:OPEN or ROUTe:PFAil:CLOSE list, the positions which are stored in the “last state”

list in RAM are used to set the initial switch position. The “last state” list contains the programmed positions of the switch hardware that existed the last time a

MEM:SAVE command or a SAVE TO EEROM keypress took place.

The setting of the switches during

*RST or power up is done with VERIFY

turned OFF, to get all the relays and sense lines into a known state. VERIFY is then turned on for any switches in the VERIFY list.

*RST affects only the switches themselves and does not affect the

configuration data stored in RAM (DRIVE and VERIFY lists, drive and delay times, etc).

IP] or [Instr Preset] key does a *RST operation, as does the *TST?

The [ command.

Example Command OUTPUT 709;“*RST”

NOTE The power supply recovery time (see TRIG:SEQ:DEL on page 4-62) will be

reset to the default value of 200 msec if the *RST command is issued.

4-18 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Remote Operation

*SRE (Request Enable)

Syntax

*SRE mask

*SRE?

Description

The *SRE command sets the Service Request Enable Register bits. This will indicate whether or not the device has at least one reason for requesting service. A one in the Service Request Enable Register will enable the corresponding bit in the Status Byte Register; a zero will disable the bit.

Refer to the table below for the bits in the Service Request Enable Register and what they mask. Legal number range is 0 to 255.

• At power up the SRE register is 0.

• The *SRE query returns the current value.

Table 4-4 Service Request Enable Register

Bit Weight Enables

7 128 SCPI Operation Summary Bit

6 64 RQS - Request Service

5 32 ESR - Event Status Register

4 16 MAV - Message Available

3 8 SCPI Questionable Summary Bit

2 4 Not used

1 2 Not used

0 1 Not used

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-19

Remote Operation

*STB (Status Byte)

Syntax

*STB?

Description

The *STB query returns the current value of the instrument’s status byte. Refer to the table below for the definitions of the bits in the status byte.

Table 4-5 Status Byte Bit Definitions

Bit Weight Name Condition

7 128 OPER 0 = no operation status events have occurred

1 = an operation status events has occurred

6 64 RQS/MSS 0 = instrument has no reason for service

5 32 ESR 0 = no event status events have occurred

4 16 MAV 0 = no output messages are ready

3 8 QUES 0 = no questionable conditions have occurred

2 4 ___

1 2 ___

0 1 ___

Example Query OUTPUT 709;“*STB?”

ENTER 709;Value

PRINT Value

Refer to the command STATus on page 4-60 for more information on the OPERATION register and summary bit.

1 = instrument is requesting service

1 = an enabled event status condition has occurred

1 = an output message is ready

1 = a questionable condition has occurred

always 0

4-20 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Remote Operation

*TST? (Test)

Syntax

*TST?

Description

*TST? causes all relays to cycle through both of their positions (first all the

CLOSE paths are set; then all the OPEN paths), and then get placed in the appropriate power up positions. Refer to

All relays for which sensing is enabled (VERIFY:ON) are checked for proper operation each time they are switched. Unused relays ( neither switched nor checked.

The result of the test will be placed in the output queue. A 0 indicates that the test passed and a non-zero value indicates the test failed.

*RST (Reset) on page 4-18.

DRIVE:OFF) are

Example Query OUTPUT 709;“*TST?”

ENTER 709;Result$

PRINT VAL(Result$)

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-21

Remote Operation

*WAI

Syntax

*WAI

Description

The *WAI command causes the instrument to wait for all pending GPIB operations to finish before processing any further commands.

Example OUTPUT 709;“*WAI”

4-22 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Hierarchy

Table 4-6 Command Tree

ROUTE

Remote Operation

Hierarchy

:CLOSe

:OPEN

:PATH

:DEFine

:CATalog

:LABel

:VALue

:DELete :ALL

:GROUP

:NAME

:CATalog

:ADD

:REMove

:DEFine?

:LABel

:AUTOselect

:ON

:OFF

:DELete

:DELete :ALL

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-23

Remote Operation

Hierarchy

Table 6-6. Command Tree (continued)

ROUTE

:PFAil

:VERify

:DRIVe

:CLOSe

:OPEN

:DELete

:ON

:OFF

:ALL

:ON

:OFF

:WIDth

:DELay

:SERialnumber[?]

:MODelnumber[?]

:EEROM

:ALL

:CYCles?

4-24 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Table 6-6. Command Tree (continued)

MEMory

:DELete

:INITialize

:SAVE

:FREE?

STATus

:OPERation

Remote Operation

Hierarchy

:[EVENt]?

:CONDition?

:ENABle[?]

:PTRansition

:NTRansition

:QUEStionable

:[EVENt]?

:CONDition?

:ENABLe[?]

SYSTem

:VERSion?

:ERRor?

TRIGger

:SEQuence

:DELay[?]

NOTE A colon ( : ) must be used in front of the ROUTE, DIAGnostics, MEMory, etc.

commands if that command is not the first item in a command string. (The colon is optional if the command is the first in the string.)

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-25

Remote Operation

SCPI Command Reference

Channel Lists The 87130A can control up to seven different external driver cards, each of

which can drive up to 31 different relays. The cards are numbered from 1 to 8; the relays on each card are numbered from 0 to 30. Each relay is referred to as a channel by the switch driver. Therefore, there are a total of 248 relays (channels) that can be driven from a single switch driver.

In order to realize the capability of the switch driver, many of the commands listed in the “SCPI Command Reference” utilize a language construct called a channel list. A single remote command may specify single or multiple relays by means of this channel list.

The syntax for channel lists is as follows:

(@channel number, channel number,...,)

(@channel number: channel number,),(a range)

(@card number, (channel number, channel number,...,))

(@card number, (channel number: channel number,))

(@) empty channel list

The card number must always be sent, either as the card number parameter or as part of a channel number (or range). When sent as part of a channel number, the card number is multiplied by 100 and added to the channel number. For example, 214 would mean channel 14 on card 2.

Example (@101,2(0:5),3(1,3,5),406:410)

This means channel 1 on card 1, channels 0 through 5 on card 2, channels 1, 3 and 5 on card 3, and channels 6 through 10 on card 4.

SCPI Commands The following pages list all of the SCPI compound command program

mnemonics used to program this instrument.

4-26 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

:ADD

Syntax

ROUTE:GROUP:ADD <group name>,<path name>

Description

This command adds an existing path to the end of an existing group. The group name and path name must have been previously defined using

GROUP:NAME and PATH:DEF. A path may be added to a group in several

places by issuing this command several times. Only one path can be added for each issuance of

Example Command ROUTE:GROUP:ADD ATTEN,ATTEN_14;

ADD.

Remote Operation

:ADD

A previously defined path ATTEN_14 is added to group ATTEN. Refer to the

:DEFine? <group name> to list all paths in a group.

query

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-27

Remote Operation

:AUTOselect

Syntax

ROUTe:GROUP:AUTOselect[?] <group name>

Description

This turns the current Auto Select state for the group on or off.

Example Command ROUTE:GROUP:AUTO:ON ATTEN;

This turns the current Auto Select state for the group ATTEN on.

ROUTE:GROUP:AUTO:OFF ATTEN;

[:ON]

 

:OFF



This turns the current Auto Select state for the group ATTEN off.

Example Query ROUTE:GROUP:AUTO? ATTEN;

ROUTE:GROUP:AUTO:ON? ATTEN;

This queries the current autoselect state for the group. If the current state of autoselect for group

ROUTE:GROUP:AUTO:OFF? ATTEN;

If the current state of autoselect for group ATTEN is OFF, a 1 will be returned.

ATTEN is ON, a 1 will be returned.

4-28 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

:CATalog?

Syntax

:PATH

ROUTe :CATALOG?

Description

Returns a list of groups (up to 16) or all defined paths in the module.

Example Query ROUTE:GROUP:CATALOG?

This query returns a list of all of the group names, in order from 1 to 16, separated by commas.

 

:GROUP



Remote Operation

:CATalog?

ROUTE:PATH:CATALOG?

This query returns a list of all the defined paths in the module, separated by commas.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-29

Remote Operation

:CLOSe

Syntax

ROUTe:CLOSe

ROUTe:PFail:CLOSe[?]

Description

Each channel has a CLOSE or OPEN position. On Agilent relays, the CLOSE path is the path between the input terminal labeled 2 on the relay and the input terminal labeled C. It is recognized that CLOSE and OPEN are arbitrary for this type of switch; they are, however, in keeping with the SCPI language specification.

  

 



Example Command ROUTe:CLOSe (@101,2(0:5),3(1,3,5),406:410);

Sending the above command causes channel 1 on card 1, channels 0 through 5 on card 2, channels 1, 3 and 5 on card 3, and channels 6 through 10 on card 4 to be closed.

• Channels must have DRIVe:ON to be closed or they will be ignored.

• During any switching operation (OPEN or CLOSE) the settling bit in the

OPER status register is set (1). It is cleared (0) when the operation completes.

Example Query ROUTE:CLOSE? (@101,103,105);

Sending the query (question mark) causes the channels in the channel list parameter to be checked for closed channels. The readback is a list of 1’s and 0’s separated by commas, one for each channel in the list. A 1 is sent if the specified channel is closed; otherwise a 0 is sent.

Devices for which sensing is on which they were sensed the last time a switching operation took place.

Devices with sensing off simply read back the currently programmed state (which, if they haven’t been switched since power up, will be the state they were set to at power up). Devices with which they were set.

(VERify:ON)read back the position in

DRIVE:OFF read back the last value to

4-30 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Example Command ROUTE:CLOSE ATTEN_14;

Sending the above command causes the set of switch OPENs and CLOSEs defined by the

PATH (refer to :PATH on page 4-55) with name ATTEN_14 to

be executed. The first group of switch settings in the

CLOSE settings and the second group as OPEN settings. The ΧΛΟΣΕ settings

are all executed first, followed by the

Example If ATTEN_14 had been defined as:

ROUTE:PATH:DEF ATTEN_14,(@101,102),(@103,104);

Remote Operation

:CLOSe

PATH is interpreted as

OPEN settings.

when that path is sent by

ROUTE:CLOSE ATTEN_14, switches 101 and 102

will first be closed, and then switches 103 and 104 will be opened.

The query form is not available when using a path name, due to the potential for confusion between the first and second groups in the path.

NOTE If you are configuring hardware for switching systems, keep in mind that

CLOSE settings are executed before OPEN settings when a path is sent.

For example, multistage attenuators should be set up so that a CLOSE operation always adds attenuation and an

OPEN operation removes

attenuation. This ensures that in moving from one attenuation setting to another, the intermediate stage (after the CLOSEs and before the OPENs) is a stage representing higher attenuation and thus avoids signal spikes that could damage sensitive hardware.

Example Command ROUTE:PFAIL:CLOSE (@101,2(0:5),3(1,3,5));

The ROUTe:PFAil:CLOSe command lists the channels desired to be closed on power up or after * restrictions as those for the in the example above causes channel 1 on card 1, channels 0 through 5 on card 2, and channels 1, 3 and 5 on card 3 to be closed on power up.

RST or *TST?. The channel list has the same

ROUTE:CLOSE command. Sending the command

ROUTe:PFAil:CLOSE ATTEN_14;

Sending the above command causes the set of switch OPENs and CLOSEs defined by the first group of switch settings in the the second group as

PATH with name ATTEN_14 to be added to the PFAIL list. The

PATH is interpreted as CLOSE settings and

OPEN settings.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-31

Remote Operation

:CLOSe

Example Query ROUTE:PFAIL:CLOSE? (@101,205);

The inclusion of a question mark causes a readback of the power up state of the requested channels as a list of 1’s and 0’s separated by commas. A 1 means the channel is in the

PFA:CLOS list. A 0 means that it is not.

• When querying the PFAil state, the PFA:OPEN list must be checked as

well to determine whether the power up state for a given channel is programmed at all.

• If a relay is not in the PFAil:OPEN list or the PFAil:CLOSe list, its power

up state is determined by the last save stored to EEROM for that relay.

4-32 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

:CYCLes?

Syntax

DIAGnostics:EERom:CYCLes?

Description

This query causes the 87130A to read back the number of times to which the EEROM has been written. If this number exceeds 10,000 the EEROM should be replaced. If the EEROM has never been written to, then 0 is returned.

Example Command DIAG:EEROM:CYCLES?

Remote Operation

:CYCLes?

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-33

Remote Operation

:DEFine

Syntax

ROUTe:PATH:DEFine <path name>,<channel list> [,<channel list>]

ROUTe:GROUP:DEFine? <group name>

ROUTe:PATH:DEFine? <path name>

Description

Under the PATH subsystem, this command is used to define or redefine the switch settings that make up a path.

• This command effectively “creates” a path by assigning the path name to

one of the 256 internal path registers (if no register is available, a memory error will be declared). No other command referencing that path name may be sent before the

DEFine command is sent.

• A path name is any collection of up to 12 uppercase letters (lowercase

letters are automatically uppercased), numbers, or underscore characters, starting with a letter.

• If the path name already exists, the old settings (both CLOSE and OPEN)

will be erased and the new settings established from the new channel list.

• The channel lists used by PATH:DEF follow all the normal rules for

channel lists, and may contain any combination of switches from one or more driver cards. The second channel list is optional; if not sent it will be treated as empty. The empty channel list (@) may be sent for either parameter.

• If a channel is included in both of the channel lists in a path, no error is

declared, but the channel will be removed from the first list and only retained in the second.

• The interpretation of the data in a path depends on how it is used. If sent

ROUTE:CLOSE <path name> or by the manual interface, the first

using channel list is a CLOSE list and the second an OPEN list. If sent using

ROUTE:OPEN <path name>, the first channel list is an OPEN list and the

second a

CLOSE list.

4-34 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Example Command ROUTE:PATH:DEF ATTEN_14,(@101,2(0:5)),(@102);

This command defines a path whose name is ATTEN_14 whose first channel list affects channel 1 on card 1 and channels 0 through 5 on card 2, and whose second channel list affects channel 2 on card 1.

Example Query ROUTE:PATH:DEFine? ATTEN_14;

The query form returns a path description as two channel lists separated by a comma. It can be sent back by appending it to a

PATH:DEF command to

recreate the path. For the example command above, the response should look like:

(@101,2(0:5)),(@102)

Example Query ROUTE:GROUP:DEF? ATTEN;

This query returns a list of all of the path names in the group ATTEN, in order, separated by commas.

Remote Operation

:DEFine

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-35

Remote Operation

:DELay

Syntax

ROUTe:DELay:<delay time>,

Description

This commands sets the delay time in seconds required to validate the sense lines on a relay for which sensing will be used. The drive signal will be held on the relay for this amount of time after the pulse width requirement (refer to :WIDTh on page 4-67) has been satisfied.

The delay time may be set in 5 ms increments up to 1275 ms. The delay time defaults to 20 ms when memory is initialized. The delay parameter may be an integer or real number.

 



NOTE The

applies only in syntax with other subsystems and not directly to channel lists.

Example Command ROUTE:DELAY .02,(@101,103,105);

In the above example, the delay time is set to 20 ms for channels 1, 3, and 5.

This command causes the drive to the set of relays (defined by the

ROUTe:PATH command) with path name ATTEN_14 to be set to 20 ms If the

path includes two channel lists, all relays in both list are affected.

Example Query ROUTE:DELAY? (@101,103,105);

In this case, the sense delay for channels 101, 103 and 105 is read back, with the values separated by commas. For example, if all three are set to 20 ms, then the readback is:

:DELete and the :DELay shortform is the same. The :DELete command

OUT:DEL 20ms,(@101,103,105);

ROUTE:DELAY .02,ATTEN_14;

+2.000E-02,+2.000E-02,+2.000E-02

4-36 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Remote Operation

:DELay

NOTE The query form is not available when using a path name due to the potential

for confusion between the first group and the second in the path.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-37

Remote Operation

:PATH :GROUP







:DELete

Syntax



ROUTE :DELete



 

[:ALL]



Description

This command deletes:

• All data associated with the specified path or group and frees up the path

storage register.

• All channels from the PFAIL list.

This command sets memory to an initial state.

NOTE The

applies only in syntax with other subsystems and not directly to channel lists from

Example Command • ROUTE:PATH:DELETE ATTEN_14;

This deletes the path with pathname ATTEN_14 and all data in it.

• ROUTE:PATH:DELETE:ALL;

This deletes all paths.

• ROUTE:GROUP:DEL ATTEN;

This deletes all data associated with the group ATTEN. The group name is set to the default (refer to

• ROUTE:GROUP:DEL:ALL;

This deletes all data associated with all the groups. The group names are set to the default (refer to

:DELete and the :DELay shortform is the same. The :DELete command

ROUTe.

MEM:DELETE).

• ROUTe:PFAil:DELete;

This command removes all data from the PFAIL:OPEN and PFAIL:CLOSE lists.

4-38 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

• MEMory:DELete;

Remote Operation

:DELete

MEMory:DELete

erases all data from CMOS RAM, by filling it with zeroes,

and then sets it to an initial state. That state is as follows:

❍ The power fail channel lists are empty (ROUT:PFA:CLOS and

ROUT:PFA:OPEN).

❍ Sensing (VERIFY) is OFF for all devices.

❍ The ROUT:DRIVE:ON list has channels 0 through 30 on card 1 used

and all other channels unused.

❍ The WIDTH is set to 30 ms pulse width; DELAY is set to 20 ms for all

256 devices.

❍ The group names are defaulted to GROUP1, GROUP2, and so on

through

❍ The path VALues are defaulted to the path register number, 1–256.

❍ The GROUP and PATH registers are empty.

GROUP16.

If you also wish to delete the EEROM data, this command should be followed by a

MEM:SAVE command to copy this state to the EEROM.

This command does not affect the “last switch state” area in the RAM image, even though there is a “last switch state” stored in the EEROM, because the last state must always the match the actual last state of the switches. Nor does it affect the model number and serial number.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-39

Remote Operation

:DRIVe

Syntax

[:ON]

ROUTe:DRIVe : ALL

ROUTe:DRIVe

Description

There is a list of relays considered unused or “not there” by the firmware. Unused channels are not driven even if included in a channel list or path and are not checked for proper sense line state and cannot generate errors. Turning

 

:OFF



[:ON]

  

[:ON]

  

:DRIVE:OFF for a channel adds it to the Unused List.

[?]<channel list>

:OFF

: <pathname>

:OFF

NOTE In systems without CMOS RAM it is necessary to execute a write to

EEROM to ensure that the

MEM:SAVE command.

the

DRIVe data will survive a power cycle. Refer to

Example Command • ROUTe:DRIVe:ON (@101,103,105);

This command removes channels 1, 3, and 5 on card 1 from the Unused List.

• ROUTE:DRIVE:OFF (@101,103,105);

This command adds channels 1, 3, and 5 on card 1 to the Unused List.

• ROUTE:DRIVE:OFF ATTEN_14;

This command causes the set of relays (defined by the ROUTe:PATH command) with name ATTEN_14 to be added to Unused List.

If the path includes two channel lists, all relays in both lists are affected.

• ROUTE:DRIVE:ON:ALL;

This turns drive on for all channels.

• ROUTE:DRIVE:OFF:ALL;

Drive is turned off for all channels; that is, all channels are “unused”.

4-40 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Example Query • ROUTE:DRIVE:ON? (@101,103,105);

This command returns a list of 1’s and 0’s, separated by commas, depending on whether drive is on or off for the indicated channels.

If it is on for channels 101 and 105 and off for 103, the switch driver will return:

1,0,1

• ROUTE:DRIVE:OFF? (@101,103,105)

This command returns a list of 1’s and 0’s, separated by commas, depending on whether drive is on or off for the indicated channels.

If it is on for channels 101 and 105 and off for 103, the switch driver will return:

0,1,0

The query form is not available when using a path name, due to the potential for confusion between the first group and the second in the path.

Remote Operation

:DRIVe

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-41

Remote Operation

:EERom

Syntax

DIAGnostics:EERom:CYCLes?

Description

This function allows EERom information to be read out. (Refer to

:CYCLes? on page 4-33.)

4-42 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Remote Operation

:ERRor?

Syntax

SYSTem:ERRor?

Description

As SCPI specifies, this reads out the full error number and error description for the first error in the error queue. It can be issued repeatedly until the queue is empty (indicated by

All possible error numbers with their descriptions are listed below.

Command Errors

These set the Cmd Err bit in ESR.

0,”No error”).

-100,Command error

-100,Command error;SCPI unused invalid character

-101,Invalid character;bad type Syntax error

-103,Invalid separator

-104,Data type error

-105,GET not allowed

-108,Parameter not allowed

-108,Parameter not allowed;invalid

-109,Missing parameter

-112,Program mnemonic too long

-113,Undefined header

-121,Invalid character in number

-123,Exponent too large

-124,Too many digits

-128,Numeric data not allowed

-131,Invalid suffix

-138,Suffix not allowed

-141,Invalid character data

-148,Character data not allowed

-150,String data error

-151,Invalid string data

-158,String data not allowed

-161,Invalid block data

-168,Block data not allowed

-170,Expression error;too long

-171,Invalid expression

-178,Expression data not allowed

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-43

Remote Operation

:ERRor?

-181,Invalid outside macro definition

-183,Invalid inside macro definition

Execution Errors

These set the Exec Err bit in ESR.

-200,Execution error

-222,Data out of range

-223,Too much data

-270,Macro error

-272,Macro execution error

-273,Illegal macro label

-276,Macro recursion error

-277,Macro redefinition not allowed

Device Specific Errors

These set the Cmd Err bit in ESR.

-310,System error

-310,System error;SCPI internal

-310,System error;no memory

-310,System error;formatter

777,Queue Overflow

1001,Sense error;<17 hex digits>

This error is generated when an apparently impossible state of the sense lines from one or more relays is detected. The first of the 17 hex digits represents the card number on which the failure was detected; the rest represent a 64-bit binary number which indicates which of the 32-channels experienced failures.

Each channel has two associated bits; the leftmost indicates that the error was detected on the CLOSed side of the relay; the rightmost that the error was detected on the OPEN side. A failure is indicated with a 1. The least significant (rightmost) two bits are channel 0, the most significant (leftmost) are channel 31. If more than one card experiences failures then more than one error will be reported.

1002,Memory capacity exceeded

An attempt has been made to store more data than will fit in the 16 Kbyte nonvolatile memory area.

1003,Timer unstable

Instability has been detected in the 6840 timer chip, so the operating system cannot run reliably.

4-44 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Remote Operation

:ERRor?

1004,EEROM data invalid

Corruption has been detected in the EEROM; it needs to be replaced, or, if brand new, it needs to have

1006,Channel timeout <17 hex digits>

MEM:SAVE executed once.

This error is generated when a relay apparently fails to switch, based on the detected state of the sense lines. The 17 hex digits indicate which card and which of the 32 channels experienced failures just as for error 1001. Each channel has two associated bits; the leftmost indicates that the error was detected on the CLOSED side of the relay; the rightmost that the error was detected on the OPEN side. A failure is indicated with a 1.

❍ A Channel timeout without an accompanying Sense error

indicates that the sense lines were in a valid state, but it was the wrong state.

❍ A Channel timeout with a Sense error indicates that both sense

lines appeared to be at 0 V.

❍ A Sense error without a Channel timeout means both sense lines

appeared to be at 24 V.

1007,Label too long

A path or group label was more than 32 characters long.

1008,Nonexistent group

An attempt was made to use a group name which was not previously set up with a GROUP:NAME command.

1009,Group already exists

An attempt was made to name a group with a name already in use by another group.

1010,Nonexistent path

An attempt was made to use a path name which was not previously set up

PATH:DEF command.

with a

4000,Divide by Zero

4001,Float Overflow

4002,Float Underflow

4003,Logarithm Error

4004,Integer Overflow

4005,Square Root Error

Query Errors

These set the Query Err bit in ESR.

-400,Query error

-410.Query INTERRUPTED

-420,Query UNTERMINATD

-430,Query DEADLOCKED

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-45

Remote Operation

:FREE?

Syntax

MEMory:Free?

Description

This is a query which returns the number of bytes that remain in RAM for storing configuration data, followed by the number of bytes initially available. The two quantities are separated by commas. For a brand new system there are around 13,000 bytes initially available.

The group names and titles, power fail, verify and drive lists, and device switching times are saved in a fixed size area of memory, and available RAM is unaffected by changing this data.

For the rest of the data, it is allocated as needed. For any given or more of the eight cards in the 87130A will be represented. It takes nine bytes to store the complete state of a card and only those cards actually referenced in a given path are saved.

Path titles take up the number of characters in title, and path names take up the number of characters in the name. Every path added to a group takes up one byte. It is up to the user to allocate this memory as appropriate; for example, if a lot of path data is going to be used, path names and titles can be kept short to conserve space.

PATH , one

4-46 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

:GROUP

Remote Operation

:GROUP

Syntax

ROUTE: GROUP:

:NAME

 

:CATALOG?

 

:ADD[?]



:REMOVE[?]

 

:DEFine[?]

 

:LABEL[?]

 

:AUTOselect[?]



:DELete :ALL[]



Description

The GROUP subsystem allows grouping of paths to customize the manual interface to the 87130A.

A “group” is an ordered collection of up to 256 paths. Paths can be collected into meaningful groups using the up to 16 groups. Each group may be defined and labeled.

NOTE In systems without CMOS RAM it is necessary to execute a write to

EEROM after configuring custom groups to ensure that the group data will survive a power cycle. Refer to the

GROUP command. The 87130A can store

MEM:SAVE command.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-47

Remote Operation

:INITialize

Syntax

MEMory:INITialize

Description

When this command is issued, RAM is initialized according to the following algorithm:

1. RAM is initialized to the state described in command essentially erases any changes that have been made to RAM since the last power cycle.

2. The model number is initialized to 87130A. The serial number is initialized to USXXXXXXXX.

When equipment is manufactured by Agilent Technologies, it is given a unique serial number. A serial number label is attached to the rear panel of the module. The first six entries are the same for all identical modules; they only change when a change in the electrical or physical functionality is made. The remaining digits are assigned sequentially and are different for each instrument.

3. If the EEROM is not defective, its data is downloaded into RAM, which cancels the effect of steps 1 and 2. If the EEROM is faulty, no download is performed.

This initialization algorithm is the same algorithm used at power up to initialize RAM, except that at power up, before step three is performed, the “last state” in RAM is set to all relays OPEN. Hence, in the case of a failed EEROM, “last state” defaults to all relays OPEN.

MEMory:DELete. This

4-48 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

:LABel[?]

Syntax

Remote Operation

:LABel[?]

ROUTe :LABEL “<label>”;

:PATH

:GROUP

 



Description

This command specifies a label (32 characters max) to be used when labeling the group on manual interface screens. Any character may be used within the quotes as long as its value is between 32 and 127. These values are treated as ASCII characters.

Example Command ROUTE:PATH:LABEL ATTEN_14,“14 dB ATTEN”;

The above commands assigns the label 14 dB ATTEN to the previously defined path with the pathname

ATTEN_14.

Example Query :LABel? <path name>

ROUTE:PATH:LABEL? ATTEN_14;

The query form returns the programmed label:

14 dB ATTEN

Example Command ROUTE:GROUP:LABEL ATTEN,“Attenuation”;

The above commands assigns the label Attenuation to the group with the group name

ATTEN.

Example Query :LABel? <group name>

ROUTE:GROUP:LABEL? ATTEN;

The query form returns the programmed label:

Attenuation

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-49

Remote Operation

MEMory

Syntax

MEMory



:DELete



:INITialize

 

:SAVE

 

:FREE?



Description

The MEMory subsystem is used to delete, initialize RAM, and save EEROM information to the controller.

4-50 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Remote Operation

:NAME

Syntax

ROUTE:GROUP:NAME <number>,<group name>

Description

The groups are numbered from 1 to 16. They may be named or renamed using this command. An attempt to name a group using a name already in use for another group will result in an error.

A group name is any collection of up to 12 uppercase letters (lowercase letters are automatically uppercased), numbers, or underscore characters, starting with a letter.

Refer to the assigned when memory is initialized or a group is deleted.

MEM:DELETE command description for the default group names

Example Command ROUTE:GROUP:NAME 1,ATTEN;

This command associates the name ATTEN with group 1 for programming purposes.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-51

Remote Operation

:OPEN

Syntax

ROUTe:OPEN[?]

ROUTe:PFail:OPEN[?]

Description

Each channel has a CLOSE or OPEN position. On Agilent relays, the OPEN path is the path between the input terminal labeled 1 on the relay and the input terminal labeled C. It is recognized that CLOSE arbitrary for this type of switch; they are, however, in keeping with the SCPI language specification.

 



 



and OPEN are

Example Command ROUTE:OPEN (@101,2(0:5),3(1,3,5),406:410);

During any switching operation (OPEN or CLOSE) the settling bit in the OPER status register is set (1). It is cleared (0) when the operation completes.

Sending the above command causes channel 1 on card 1, channels 0 through 5 on card 2, channels 1, 3 and 5 on card 3, and channels 6 through 10 on card 4 to be opened. Channels must be part of the drive list opened or they will be ignored.

Example Query ROUTE:OPEN? (@101,103,105);

Sending the query (optional question mark) causes the channels in the channel list parameter to be checked for opened channels. The readback is a list of 1’s and 0’s separated by commas, one for each channel in the list. A 1 is sent if the specified channel is opened, otherwise a 0 is sent. Although this command is not strictly necessary ( included for completeness.

Devices for which sensing is on, read back the position in which they were sensed the last time a switching operation took place. Devices with sensing off simply read back the currently programmed state (which will be the state they were set to at power up if they haven’t been switched since power up). Devices with

DRIVE:OFF read back the last value to which they were set.

ROUTE:CLOSE? is sufficient), it is

(DRIVE:ON) to be

4-52 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

It is possible to combine OPEN and CLOSE in a single command since they are both part of the

ROUTE:CLOSE (@406:410);OPEN (@202);

ROUTe subsystem. For example:

This command will close channels 6 through 10 on card 4 and open channel 2 on card 2.

Example Command ROUTE:OPEN ATTEN_14;

Sending the above command causes the set of switch OPENs and CLOSEs defined by the PATH with name ATTEN_14 of switch settings in the PATH is interpreted as OPEN settings and the second group as CLOSE settings.

The CLOSE settings are all executed first, followed by the OPEN settings.

Remote Operation

:OPEN

to be executed. The first group

For example, if

ROUTE:PATH:DEF ATTEN_14,(@101,102),(@103,104);

ATTEN had been defined as:

then when that path is sent by ROUTE:OPEN ATTEN_14, switches 103 and 104 will first be closed and then switches 101 and 102 will be opened.

NOTE If you are configuring hardware for switching systems, keep in mind that

For example, multistage attenuators should be set up so that a CLOSE

settings are executed before OPEN settings when a path is sent.

operation always adds attenuation and an OPEN operation removes attenuation. This ensures that in moving from one attenuation setting to another, the intermediate stage (after the CLOSEs and before the OPENs) is a stage representing higher attenuation, and thus avoids signal spikes that could damage sensitive hardware.

Example Command ROUTE:PFAil:OPEN (@101,2(0:5),3(1,3,5));

The ROUTe:PFAil:OPEN command lists the channels desired to be opened on power up or after those for the above causes channel 1 on card 1, channels 0 through 5 on card 2, and channels 1, 3 and 5 on card 3 to be opened on power up.

*RST or *TST?. The channel list has the same restrictions as

ROUTe:OPEN command. Sending the command in the example

ROUTE:PFAil:OPEN ATTEN_14;

Sending the above command causes the set of switch OPENs and CLOSEs defined by the PATH with name ATTEN_14 to be added to the PFAIL list.

The first group of switch settings in the PATH is interpreted as OPEN settings and the second group as CLOSE settings.

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-53

Remote Operation

:OPEN

Example Query ROUTE:PFAil:OPEN? (@101,205);

The inclusion of a question mark causes a readback of the power up state of the requested channels as a list of 1s and 0s separated by commas.

❍ A 1 means the channel is in the PFA:OPEN list.

❍ A 0 means that it is not.

When querying the PFAIL state, the PFA:CLOS list must be checked as well to determine whether the power up state for a given channel is programmed at all.

If a relay is in neither the PFAil:OPEN or PFAil:CLOS lists, its power up state is determined by the last save stored to EEROM for that relay.

The query form is not available when using a path name, due to the potential for confusion between the first group and the second in the path.

4-54 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Remote Operation

:PATH

Syntax

:DEFine[?]

 

:CATalog?

ROUTe:PATH



:LABel[?]

 

:VALue[?]

 

:DELete[:ALL]

Description

The PATH subsystem allows storing of channel lists to simplify remote access and to customize the manual interface to the 87130A.

• Paths are specified using CLOSE and OPEN channel lists. Each relay

contains one CLOSE and one OPEN path. Refer to the command explanations :CLOSe on page 4-30 and information.

:OPEN on page 4-52 for more

• A path is defined as a specification of switch positions for a range of

switches. Thus it may require one or two channel lists to fully specify a path, depending on the mix of OPENs and CLOSEs in the path.

• The paths can be defined, labeled, and/or sent to the hardware. Each path

has a name by which it is referenced for the purpose of programming, which is established by the

PATH:DEF command.

• The paths can be collected into meaningful groups using the GROUP

command. They can also be sent in place of channel lists by the and other commands.

NOTE In systems without CMOS RAM it is necessary to execute a write to

EEROM after configuring custom paths to ensure that the path data will survive a power cycle. Refer to the

MEM:SAVE command section.

ROUTE

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-55

Remote Operation

:PFAil

Syntax

ROUTe:PFAil



:CLOSe



:OPEN

 

:DELete



 



Description

The ROUTe:PFAil subsystem of SCPI allows specification of which channels will be closed on a power cycle (or

*RST or *TST?).

• Channels not specified by ROUTE:PFAIL:CLOSE or

ROUTE:PFAIL:OPEN are set during power up by reading the last switch state out of EEROM or CMOS RAM, or if the EEROM data is corrupt, by OPENing the channel.

• Channels not on the drive list (DRIVE:OFF) are not affected at power up

even if in the PFAIL list.

NOTE In systems without CMOS RAM it is necessary to execute a write to

EEROM to ensure that the PFAIL lists will survive a power cycle. Refer to

MEM:SAVE command section.

the

4-56 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

:REMove

Syntax

ROUTe:GROUP:REMove <group name>,<path name>

Description

This command removes all instances of the specified path from a group. The group name and path name must have been previously defined using

GROUP:NAME and PATH:DEF.

Example Command ROUTE:GROUP:REMOVE ATTEN,ATTEN_14;

Removes all paths named ATTEN_14 from group ATTEN. Refer to the query :

DEFine? <group name> to list all paths in a group.

Remote Operation

:REMove

Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual 4-57

Remote Operation

ROUTe

Syntax

Refer to the command tree.

Description

Relay switching and configuration is accomplished by the ROUTe command tree.

4-58 Agilent 87130A Operating and Service Manual

Agilent Technologies 87130A User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Features of the Attenuator/Switch Driver

Drive Pulse and Sensing

Compatible Switches and Attenuators

Front Panel Features The front panel LEDs indicate the status of the 87130A attenuator/switch

Unpacking Your Instrument

Determining Your Module Serial Number

Environmental Limitations

Before Installing the Attenuator/Switch Driver

Reducing ESD Damage

Returning Your Instrument for Service

Installing the 87130A Attenuator/Switch Driver

Getting Started

Initial Inspection 1. Unpack and inspect the shipping container and its contents thoroughly to

Preparing for Use 2. Use the following properties of the attenuator/switch driver to plan your

GPIB Addressing 3. Use the five-bit binary address switches located on the rear panel of the

Connecting Switch Drivers to Switches and Attenuators

Driver Boards The standard 87130A attenuator/switch driver has a single internal driver

Using the Internal Driver

Using External Drivers A standard switch driver can control up to seven external 84940A driver

Wiring Channel Connectors

Connecting Multiple Driver Cards

Connecting Attenuators

Optimizing Switching Speed

Driver Card Address Set the 4-bit DIP switch on the 84940A driver assembly card to each address

Driver Cable and Switch Cable Length Limitations

Pin Functions for 36-Pin I/O Data Cable

Pin Functions for 68-pin Driver Output Connector

3 Specifications

Performance Specifications

4 Remote Operation

Programming

Standard Commands The instrument command language is Standard Commands for

Language The programming examples in this manual are written in HP BASIC 5.0 for

Programming Syntax

Talking to the Switch Driver

Programming Conventions

Addressing the Switch Driver

Program Message Syntax

Commands A command is composed of a header, any associated data, and a terminator.

Program Header Options

Program Data Program data is used to convey a variety of types of parameter information

Program Message Terminator

Query Command Command headers immediately followed by a question mark (?) are queries.

Programming the Switch Driver

Initialization To make sure the bus and all appropriate interfaces are in a known state,

Setting Up the Switch Driver

Receiving Information from the Switch Driver

String Variables If you want to observe the headers for queries, you must bring the returned

Instrument Status Status registers track the current status of the switch driver. By checking the

Common Commands Reference

*CLS (Clear Status)

*ESE (Event Status Enable)

*ESR? (Event Status Register Query)

*IDN (Identification Number)

*OPC (Operation Complete)

*RST (Reset)

*SRE (Request Enable)

*STB (Status Byte)

*TST? (Test)

*WAI

Hierarchy

SCPI Command Reference

Channel Lists The 87130A can control up to seven different external driver cards, each of

SCPI Commands The following pages list all of the SCPI compound command program

:ADD

:AUTOselect

:CATalog?

:CLOSe

:CYCLes?

:DEFine

:DELay

:DELete

:DRIVe

:EERom

:ERRor?

:FREE?