Agilent Technologies E1446A User Manual

Agilent 75000 Series C

Agilent E1446A
Summing Amplifier/DAC Module

User’s Manual and SCPI Programming Guide

Where to Find it - Online and Printed Information:

System installation (hardware/software)............. VXIbus Configuration Guide*

Agilent VIC (VXI installation software)*

Module conf i gur at i on and wiring................... ..... This Manual

SCPI programming.............................................. This Manual

SCPI example programs...................................... This Manual

SCPI command reference ................................... This Manual

Register-Based Programming ............................. This Manual

VXIplug&play programming ............ ................. VXIplug&play Online Help

VXIplug&play example programs......... ............. VXIplug&play Online Help

VXIplug&play function refer ence ..................... . VXIplug&play Online Help

Soft Front Panel information............................... VXIplug&play Online Help

VISA language information................................ Agilent VISA User’s Guide

Agilent VEE programming information ............. Agilent VEE User’s Manual

*Supplied with A gilent C om mand Modules, Embe dded Con trollers, and VXLi nk.

*E1446-90001*

Manual Part Number: E1446-90001

Printed in Malaysia E0506

Table of Contents

Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Safety Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

WARNINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Declaration of Conformity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1. Getting Sta rted

Chapter Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

General Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Preparation for Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

Configuring the Amplifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

Installing the Amplifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Addressing the Amplifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5

Downloading the Agilent E1446A SCP I Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7

Basic Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8

Amplifier Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9

Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9

2. Programming the Agilent E1446A

Chapter Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Instrument and P rogramming La ngua ge s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

SCPI Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Command Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

Instrument Driver and Example Programs Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Introductory Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

Executing the Self-Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

Resetting and Clearing the Agilent E1446A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Querying the Power-on/Reset Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Example Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

Generating and Amplifying Sine Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

Amplifying Sine Waves (Agilent E1445A Commander) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

Amplifying Sine Waves (Agilent E1405 Commander) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12

Setting the Input Impedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

Setting the Input Impedance (Agilent E1445A Commander) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

Setting Input Impedance (Agil en t E 1405B Commander) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17

Setting DC Voltage Offsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20

Setting DC Offsets (Agilent E1445A Commander) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20

Setting DC Offsets (Agilent E1405 Commander) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-23

Using the Differential (small signal) Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26

Using the Differential Outputs (Agi le nt E1 445A Commander) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26

Using the Differential Outputs (Agi le nt E1 405 Commander) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-29

Summing Two Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-31

Agilent E1446A User’s Manual Contents 1

3. Command Reference

Chapter Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Command Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Common Command Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

SCPI Command Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Command Separator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

Abbreviated Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

Implied (Optional) Keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

SCPI Command Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Parameter Types, Explanations, and Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Querying Parameter Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

SCPI Command Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Command Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5

Linking Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

SCPI Command Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

Agilent E1446A / E1445A

INPut[1] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7

:ATTenuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7

:IMPedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7

INPut2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9

:ATTenuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9

:IMPedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9

OUTPut2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11

:ATTenuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11

:IMPedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12

:OVERload? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12

[:STATe] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13

[:STATe]:ACTual? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13

OUTPut3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15

:IMPedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15

OUTPut4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16

:IMPedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16

SOURce2:VOLTage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17

[:LEVel][:IMMediate]:OFFSet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17

STATus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18

:OPERation|QUEStionable:CONDition? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18

:OPERation|QUEStionable:ENABle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19

:OPERation|QUEStionable[:EVENt]? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19

:OPERation|QUEStionable:NTRansition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20

:OPERation|QUEStionable:PTRansition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20

:PRESet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21

SYSTem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22

:ERRor? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22

:VERSion? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22

Agilent E1446A / E1405/06

DISPlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7

:MONitor[:STATe] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7

INPut[1] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8

:ATTenuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8

:IMPedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8

2 Agilent E1446A User’s Manual Contents

INPut2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10

:ATTenuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10

:IMPedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10

OUTPut1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12

:ATTenuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12

:IMPedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12

:OVERload? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13

[:STATe] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14

[:STATe]:ACTual? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14

OUTPut2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15

:IMPedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15

OUTPut3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16

:IMPedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16

SOURce:VOLTage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17

[:LEVel][:IMMediate]:OFFSet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17

STATus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18

:OPERation|QUEStionable:CONDition? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18

:OPERation|QUEStionable:ENABle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19

:OPERation|QUEStionable[:EVENt]? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19

:OPERation|QUEStionable:NTRansition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20

:OPERation|QUEStionable:PTRansition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20

:PRESet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21

SYSTem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22

:ERRor? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22

:VERSion? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22

IEEE-488.2 Common Command s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25

*CLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26

*DMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26

*EMC and *EMC? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27

*ESE and *ESE? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27

*ESR? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28

*GMC? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28

*IDN? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29

*LMC? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29

*LRN? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30

*OPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30

*OPC? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30

*PMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31

*RCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31

*RMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31

*RST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32

*SAV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32

*SRE and *SRE? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33

*STB? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33

*TST? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34

*WAI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34

SCPI Conformance Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35

Agilent E1446A User’s Manual Contents 3

A. Specifications

Appendix Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Gain Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2

Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2

AC Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-3

General VXI Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-3

B. Error Messag es

Table B-1. Agilent E1446A Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2

Table B-2. Agi le nt E1446A Settings Confl ic t Errors with the Agilent E 1405/06 . . . B-4

Table B-3. Agi le nt E1446A Settings Confl ic t Errors with the Agilent E 1445A . . . B-4

C. Register-Based Programming

Appendix Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1

Register Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1

The Base Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1

Computer Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-4

Throughput Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-4

Embedded Computer Programming (C-Size Systems) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-4

IBASIC Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-4

External Computer Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-5

Register Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-6

The READ Registers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-6

The ID Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-6

The Device Type Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7

The READ/WRITE Registers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7

The Status Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-8

The Control Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-8

The DAC Control Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-9

The Output Control Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-9

The Input Attenuation Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-10

Programming the Amplifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-12

Program Sequence and Execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-14

Example Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-17

System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-17

Amplifying a Sine Wave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-18

Setting the (a mp li fie r) Input Impedanc e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-19

Setting a DC Voltage Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-21

Using the Differential (small signal) Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-23

Summing Two Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-24

Example Subprograms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-26

Index

4 Agilent E1446A User’s Manual Contents

Certification

Agilent Technologies certifies that this product met its published specifications at the time of shipment from th e factory. Agilent
Technologie s further certifies tha t its calibr ation measure ments are tracea ble to the Unit ed States Nati onal Institu te of Stand ards and
Technology (formerly Nati onal Bureau of Standards), to the ex tent allowed by that organizat ion’s calibrat ion facility , and to the calibration
facilities of other International Standards Organization members.

Warranty

This Agilent Technologies product is warranted against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from date of
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Agilent E1446A Summing Amplifier/DAC User’s Manual

Copyright © 1992-2006 Agil ent Technologies, Inc. All Rights R es erved.

Edition 1 Rev 2

Agilent E1446A Summing Amplifier/DAC User’s Manual 5

Printing H is tory

The Printing History shown below lists all Editions and Updates of this manual and the printing date(s). The first printing of th e manual
is Edition 1. The Editi on number incremen ts b y 1 whenev e r th e ma nua l is revised. Update s, wh ich are issued betwee n Ed itio n s, contain
replacement pages to correct the current Edition of the manual. Updates are numbered sequentially starting with Update 1. When a new
Edition is crea ted, it cont ains all the Upda te i nfor mat ion for the p revious Ed ition. E ach ne w E dition or U pdat e a lso incl udes a re vised copy
of this prin ti ng history page . Many produ ct updates or r evisions do not r equire manu al changes and, conversely, m anual correc tions may
be done without accompanying product changes. Therefore, do not expect a one-to-one correspondence between product updates and
manual updates.

Edition 1 (P ar t Num ber E1446-90001). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 1992

Edition 1 Rev 2 (Pa rt N um ber E1446-90001) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 2006

Safety Symbols

Instructi on manual sy mbol affixed to product.
Indic ates that the use r must refer to the man­ual for specific WARNING or CAUTION
informatio n to avoi d personal injury or dam­age to the pr oduct.

Alternating current (AC).

Direct current (DC).

Indicates t he field wir ing termina l that must
be connec ted to earth gr ound before op erating
the equipment—protects against electrical
shock in case of fault.

or

Frame or chassis ground terminal—typically
connects to the equipment’s metal frame.

WARNING

CAUTION

Indicate s ha zardous voltages.

Calls a tt e ntion to a pr ocedure, pract i ce, or con­dition that could cause bodily injury or deat h.

Calls attention to a procedure, practice, or con ­dition that could possibly cause damage to
equipme nt or pe rm anent loss of data.

WARNINGS

The following general safety precautions must be observed during all phases of operation, service, and repair of this product.
Failure to comply with th ese prec autions or with specific warnings e l se w h er e in this ma nua l violat es safety s tandards of desig n ,
manufacture, and intended use of the product. Agilent Technologies assumes no liability for the customer’s failure to comply with
these re qu i rements.

Ground the equipment: For Safety Class 1 equipment (equipment having a protective earth terminal), an uninterruptible safety earth

ground must be provided from the m ains power sour ce to t he p rod uct i nput w iring terminals or supplied pow er cab le .

DO NOT operate the pr oduct in an expl os ive atmosphere or in the pr esence of flammable gase s or fumes.

For continued protection against fire, replace the line fuse(s) only with fuse(s) of the same voltage and current rating and type.
DO NOT use re pai r ed fuses or short-circuited fuse hol der s.

Keep away fr om live circuits: Ope ra t in g personnel must not remove equipment covers or shields. Procedures involving the removal of
covers or shields are for use by service-trained personnel only. Under certain conditions, dangerous voltages may exist even with the
equipmen t switch ed off. To avoid da ngerou s elec trica l shoc k, DO NOT perform proced ures invo lvin g cover or shield re mova l unless you
are qualified to do so.

DO NOT operate damaged equipment: Whenever it is possible t hat the safety protect ion features built into this product hav e been
impaired, either through physical damage, excessive moisture, or any other reason, REMOVE POWER and do not use the product until
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or perform any unauthorized modification to the product. Return the product to an Agilent Technologies Sales and Service Office for
service and repair to ensure that safety features are maintained.

6 Agilent E1446A Summing Amplifier/DAC User’s Manual

DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY

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

Manufacturer’s Name:
Manufacturer’s Address:

Agilent Technologies, Incorporated
815 – 14th St. SW
Loveland, Colorado 80537
USA

Declares, that the product

Product Name:
Model Number:

Summing Amplifier/DAC
E1446A

Product Options: This declaration covers all options of the above product(s).

Conforms with the following European Directives:

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

Conforms with the following product standards:
EMC Standard

CISPR 11:1990 / EN 55011:1991
IEC 801-2 :1991 / EN50082-1 : 1992
IEC 801-3 :1984 / EN50082-1 : 1992
IEC 801-4 :1988 / EN50082-1 : 1992

The produt was tested in a typical configuration with Agilent Technologies or Hewlett-Packard Company test
systems

Safety

IEC 1010-1:1990+A2:1996 / EN 61010-1:1993
Canada: CSA C22.2 No. 1010.1:1992
UL 3111-1

Limit

Group 1 Class A
4kV CD, 8kV AD
3 V/m

0.5kV signal lines, 1kV power lines

3 May 2001

Date

Ray Corson

Product Regulations Program Manager

Authorized EU-representative: Agilent Technologies Deutschland GmbH, Herrenberger Straβe 130, D 71034 Böblingen, Germany

Agilent E1446A Summing Amplifier/DAC User’s Manual 7

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

Notes

8 Agilent E1446A Summing Amplifier/DAC User’s Manual

Chapter Contents

This chapter provides a description of the Agi le nt E 1446A Summing
Amplifier/DAC m odul e and describes how to install, c onf igure, and
program it. The main sections of this chapter are:

• General Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

• Prepara tion for Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

• Basic Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8

General Description

The Agilent E1446 A Sum mi ng Amplifier/DAC is a multifunction
register-bas ed VXIbus C-size modul e. It is designed to work with either the
Agilent E1445 A Arbitra r y Fun ction Generator (AFG) or to function
stand-alone wit h the Agilent E1405/0 6 Com ma nd Module as a power
amplifier/DAC. The Agil en t E1446A allows you to amplif y or attenuate,
sum, and offset signals via the main output. The differential (small signal)
output allo ws you to invert a signal.

Chapter 1

Getting Started

Features The Agilent E1446 A Summi ng Amplifier/DAC has the follow ing features:

• provides two input chan ne ls that have:

– independently controlled input impedance
– independe ntly controlled input attenuator s of 0 to 31 dB in 1 dB

steps.

• sums the two inpu t c ha nne ls.

• provides output channels that include :

– single -ended main output ( powe r am plifier)
– differential (small signa l) out put; one inverti ng, one

non-inverting.

• functions as stand-alone of f set DAC.

• provides a DAC for offset contro l of the main output

• acts as a servant to the Agilent E1445A AFG.

• has SCPI language com mands using the Agilent E1405/06

Command Modu le or using the Agilent E1445 A AFG.

• uses 1 slot in the Agile nt 75000 Series C main frame .

General Description Getting Started 1-1

Device Information

Device type: register-based
C-size (1 slot)

Addressing modes: A16
VXIbus Revision Compliance: 1.3
SCPI Revision: 1991.0

See side of module for power/cooling

requirements

Figure 1-1. The E1446A Summing Amplifier/DAC.

1-2 Getting Started General Description

Preparation for Use

This section shows you how to configure th e m odule, install it in the
Agilent 75000 Seri e s C mai n frame, address the modul e , and download the
SCPI dr iver.

Note The followin g VXIbu s conf iguration information pertains to the

Agilent E1446A S umm ing Amplifier/DAC. For more (VXIbu s) system
configurat ion information, refer to the C-Size VXIbus Syst em s "I nstallation
and Getting Started Guide" (Agilent P/N E14 05-90021).

Confi g u r in g th e

Amplifier

The Agilent E1446 A Summ ing Amplifier/DAC can be conf i gur e d as a
servant of the Agile nt E1445A Arbitrary Functi on Gene rat or or as a
stand-alone Power Amplifier/DAC.

Logical Add res s The Agilent E1446A logical address is used as foll ows :

• to

place the amplifier in the servant area of a commander such as the
Agilent E1445A AFG, Agilent E1405 Command Module, or an
embedded controller.

In Agilent V XI bus systems, the se r va nt a r ea is defined as:

Servant area = (lo gic a l a ddr ess + 1) through (logical a ddr e ss
+ servant area switch setting)

For example, to place the amplifier in the servant area of the
Agilent E1445A:

Agilent E1445A Logical address: 80
Agilent E1445A Servant Area setting: 8
Agilent E1446A Logical address: 88

Servant Area = (80 + 1) through (80 + 8)

• to address the Agilen t E1446A (see "Addressi ng the Amplifier" later

in this c hapter).

The logical addr e ss factory setting is 88. You c an change the setting during
module inst al la t ion. Valid addresses are from 1 to 255. The amplifier’s
logical addre ss switch is shown in Figure 1- 2.

Note The Agilent E1446A c a n be set to a ny va l id logical address (1 - 255).

However, when used with t he Agilent E1445A or Agilent E1405/06, the

Preparati on for Use Getting Start ed 1-3

(Agilent E1446A) logical address or the ( Agilent E1445A/E14 05/ 06)
servant area must be set such that the Agilent E1446A is in the servant area
of its intend ed commander.

Figure 1-2. Setting the E1446A Logical Address.

Install in g the

Amplifier

The Agilent E1446A Amplifier/DAC can be installed in any ma inf ra me slot,
except slot 0. I f the Agil en t E1445A AFG is a part of your system , i t is
recommended that the Amplifier/DAC be installe d in a slot adjacent to the
AFG. Figure 1-3 shows how to install the modul e in th e Agi lent E1400
Series C mainframe.

1-4 Getting Started Preparation for Use

Figure 1-3. Installing the E1446A Summing Amplifier/DAC.

Addressing the

Amplifier

Using an External

Controller

The Agilent E1446A Sum mi ng Amp li fie r/DAC ca n be add ressed by an
external cont ro ll e r or by an embe dded controller. Thi s sec tion describes
how to address the a mpl if ier using an external c ontroller with the
Agilent E1445 A AFG, with the Agil e nt E1405/06 Command Module, and
with an embedded c ontroller.

The Agilent E1446A can be programmed from an external controller via the
Agilent E1445 A AFG or the Agil e nt E1405/06 Command Module. In an
Agilent VXIbus system using an external controller, the amplifier is located
by an (GPIB) address which consists of an interface select code, a primary
GPIB address, and a seconda ry GPIB addr ess:

Interface Select Code: Det e rm ined by the address of the GPIB interface
card in the controller. For most Agilent Technologies controllers, this card
has a factory set address of 7.

Primary GPIB Address: Determined by the a ddr e ss of the GPIB por t on
the Agilent E1405 Command Module. Valid addresses for the Com mand
Module are 0 to 30. The Command Module has a factory set address of 9.

Preparati on for Use Getting Start ed 1-5

Secondary GPIB Address : Determined by dividing the logical address of
the device by 8. If the am plifier is used with the Agilent E1445A, th e
secondary addr ess is the E1445A logica l add r es s/8. If the amplifie r is used
with the Agilent E1405/06 Command Module, the secon da ry add ress is the
E1446A logica l ad dre ss/8.

Agilent E1445A AFG

An example of the GPIB address in an BASIC statement when the amplifier
is a servant of the Agilent E1445A is:

OUTPUT 70910;"SOUR2:VOLT:OFFS 3"

Where:

Interface Select Code = 7

(Command Modul e) Prima ry GPIB Address = 09

Secondary GPIB address (Agile nt E1445A logical addr e ss/ 8) = 10

Agilent E1405/06 Command Module

An example of the GPIB address in an BASIC statement when the amplifier
is a servant of the Agilent E1405/06 is:

OUTPUT 70911;"SOUR:VOLT:OFFS 3"

Where:

Interface Select Code = 7

(Command Modul e) Prima ry GPIB Address = 09

Secondary GPIB address (Agile nt E1446A logical addr e ss/ 8) = 11

Refer to Chapte r 2, "P r ogr amming the Agilent E1446A", for more detailed
information.

1-6 Getting Started Preparation for Use

Using an Embedded

Controller

The Agilent E1446A Sum mi ng Amp li fie r/DAC ca n be progr ammed a cro ss
the VXIbus backplane (select code 16) from an embedded controller, such
as the Agilent E1480A V/360. With this con figur a ti on, c omm unication with
the registe r -b as ed am pli f ie r module can be accomplished via four pat hs:

1. Embedded controller across the VXIbus bac kplane to the
Agilent E1445A AFG (SCPI programming only).

2. Embedded c ont ro ller to the Agilent E1 405/06 Command Mod ule via
the GPIB interface (SCPI or register-based).

3. Embedded controller to the Agil e nt E1405/06 over the GPIB an d via
the Agilent E1445A (SCPI only).

4. Embedded controller across the VXIbus bac kplane to the
Agilent E1446A (register-based programming only).

Examples of how t he amplifier is addressed in paths 1 through 3 are given
below. Refer to Appendix C for informati on on a ddr e ssing the amplifie r
during registe r-base d programming.

OUTPUT 1680;"INP:IMP 75"

1.

Downloading the

Agilent E1446A

SCPI Driver

In this addressing configuratio n, the E1445A must be in the servant area of
the embedded controller, and the E1446A must be in the servant area of the
E1445A. Select c ode 16 is the only select code that can be used with this
configuration.

OUTPUT 70911;"INP:IMP 75"

2.

In this addressing configuratio n, the E1446 must be in the serva nt are a of
the E1405/06. Select code 7 (GPIB) is the onl y se le c t code that can be used
with this conf i gur a ti on.

OUTPUT 70910;"INP:IMP 75"

3.

In this config ur ation, the E1445 mus t be in the servant area of the E 1405/06.
The E1446 must be in the servant area of the E1445A. Select code 7 (GPIB)
is the only sele c t c ode tha t can be use d with this configur a ti on.

When using the Agil en t E1445A AFG, the SCPI driver is reside nt in ROM
and ready to contro l the Agilent E1446A. However, to use the Agilent
E1405 Comman d Module, the SCPI driver must be downloaded into the
Command Modu le ’ s non- volatile mem or y from a di sk. Both DOS and LIF
formatted driver disks are shipped with t he Agil en t E1446A. The drivers
can be downloaded from con trol le rs ru nning DOS, BASIC (workstation) ,

Preparati on for Use Getting Start ed 1-7

IBASIC, or B ASI C/UX. Downloadable driver ca pa bility is ava ilable on the
Agilent E1406 and on the E1405 with firmware revision A.06. 00 or later.
To verify the firmwa re r ev isi on of the Command Module, you c an use the
*IDN? Command:

10 DIM A$[40]
20 OUTPUT 70900;"*IDN?"
30 ENTER 70900;A$
40 PRINT A$
50 END

*IDN? returns identification information for the Agilent E1405 Command
Module. The result of this comma nd i s:

HEWLETT-PACKARD,E1405B,0,A.06.00

Note For information on how to download the SCPI driver, re fer to the

"Downloading Device Drivers Installation Note" (Agilent P/N
E1400-90021), or the "Agilent E1405B Com ma nd Module User’s Manual"
(Agilent P/N E1405-90004).

Basic Operation

This section provides a block diagram an d de sc ription of the basic operat io n
of the Agilent E1446A Summing Amplifier/DAC. The de sc ript ion is
divi ded into three parts :

• Input

• Output

• Offset DAC

Additional ly, the Output section is subdivided into two parts:

• Main Output

• Differential (small signal) Output.

Refer to Appendix A, "Agilent E1446A Specifica ti ons", for operating
specifications.

1-8 Getting Started Basic Operation

Figure 1-4. E1446A Summing Amplifier/DAC Block Diagram.

Amplifier Block

Diagram

Input The Agilent E1446A Summing Amplifier/DAC has two inp ut cha nne ls that

Output The output channels provide the amplifier with the capabilit y to boost the

Main Output The power amplifier sums the two input channels plus the output of a 16-bit

Figure 1-4 shows a bloc k dia gr a m of the Agilent E1446A Summi ng
Amplifier/DAC.

have identica l input amplifier s wit h independently c ont r olled input
impedance and input attenuation. The input amplifier attenuators provide
independent level control prior to the summing no de . The a tt en ua ti on c an
range from 0 to 31 dB in 1 dB steps. The input impedance can be set to

50Ω, 75Ω, or 1 MΩ.

power output of a low-powe r signal source, and to provide low- l ev el
differential output. The output channels are:

• single-ended main output or power amplifier.

• differential (small signal) output; one inverting, one non- inverting.

offset Digital- to- Ana log Converter (DAC) to obtai n out put levels of ±10
Vpeak into a 50Ω or 75

into high i mpeda nc e . T he voltage gain of the power am pl if ie r is se t at 10
(20 dB) into a matched load, and at 20 ( ab out 26 dB) into a high impedance.
To obtain the desired output, the output attenuation and the output
impedance can be independently sele c te d. The output impedance can be se t

Ω load on the si ngle-ended output or ±20 Vpeak

Basic Operation Getting Started 1-9

to 50Ω or 75Ω, or to 0Ω for driving into high impe da nc e . The output
voltage can be att e nua te d by either 0 or 20 dB when 50Ω or 75Ω output
impedance is selected. Output attenuation is unavailable with the 0Ω mode

(high impe da nc e).

The main output terminal may be en ab le d or disabled under user co ntr ol.
When disable d, the output appears as an open c ir c uit . This output is also
overload protec te d vi a an output relay. The output relay automati cally opens
when an overload condition is detecte d a nd disconnects the out put from the
load. An overlo ad occur s i f t he sum of the inputs, plu s the output of the
offset DAC, is excessive, or if the output current limit is reached. The relay
remains ope n unt il the overload cond ition is corrected and the output is rese t
by the user. Refer to Appe ndi x A o f this manual for these spec ifications.

Differential (Small

Signal) Output

The differential (small signa l) output sums the two input channels to obt ai n
a maximum output level of ±1 Vpeak into a 50/75Ω load. One of the

outputs is a non -i nver ti ng a mplifier (same pola rity as the input); where as the
other is an inverti ng a mp lifier (opposite polarity as the input). Into a high
impedance, ea ch input has a maximum gai n of two. The out put impedance

of each amplifi er c an be i nde pe nde nt ly set to either 50Ω or 75Ω.

With two low le ve l ou tput terminals, ou tput signals can be take n f r om e ither
of the termina ls with respect to ground , or across the two termin als ( in
series). Output signals take n ac ro ss the two terminals will result in two
times the input voltage. Fi gure 1 -5 shows the circuitry of th e output signal
taken across the two termina ls.

Figure 1-5. Measuring the Differential Output across both Terminals.

1-10 Getting Started Basic Operation

Offset DAC A precision (DAC) allows the Agilent E1446A to provide DC offset

voltage levels. The DAC input is a complementary offset bi na r y co de . Th e
full scale output provides approximately ±10V into 50Ω or 75Ω load, or
approximately ±20V into hig h impedance .

Basic Operation Getting Started 1-11

1-12 Getting Started Basic Operation

Programming th e Agilen t E1446A

Chapter Contents

This chapter shows you how to program the Agilent E1446A using SCPI
Commands. The prog r amming exampl es found in the chapter ar e
written in BASIC. The main sections of the chapter are:

• Instrument and Programming Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

• Introductory Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

• Example Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

• Generating and Amplifying Sine Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

• Setting the Input Impeda nce. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

• Setting DC Voltage Offsets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20

• Using the Differential (small signal) Outputs. . . . . . . . . . 2-26

• Summing Two Signals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-31

Instrument and Programming Languages

Chapter 2

Thoug h the E1446A amplifier is a register-based device, this module can
be programmed with SCPI commands using the Agilent E1445A AFG
or Agilent E1405 Command Module. This section describes the SCPI
programmi ng environm ent.

SCPI Programming SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments) i s an

ASC I I -based instrument command language des igned for test and
measurement instruments. The Agilent E1445A AFG or the Agilent
E1405 Command Module (wi th the amplifier driver installed) interprets
the ASCII c ommand strings and s ets the amplifier accordingly. The
AFG and Command Module do this by writing to the amplifier registers.

SCPI Command

Structure

The Agilent E1446A SCPI command set is found in Cha pter 3. SCPI
comma nds a r e b a sed on a hierarchical structure, also known as a tr ee
s ys tem. In this system, ass ociated commands are grouped together under
a c ommon nod e or r oot, thus, form ing subtrees or subsystems . An
exam ple is the amplifier’s ’OUTPut2’ subsystem shown on the fol lowing
page:

Instrument and Program ming Languages Programming the Agilent E1446A 2-1

OUTPut2

:ATTenuati on <attenuation>
:IMP edance <impedance>
:OV E R load? [que ry only]
[:STATe] < mode>

:ACTual? [query only]

OUTPut2 is the root ke ywor d of the c ommand, :ATTenua ti on, :I MP ed an ce,
:OVERload?, and [ :ST ATe ] are se co nd leve l keywords, and :ACTua l? is the
third level key wor d. A col on (:) alwa ys se pa rat e s a com ma nd keyword from
a lower level keyword as shown below:

OUTP2:STAT:ACT?

A semicolon (;) is used to sep ar a te two or more comma nds within the sam e
subsystem, an d can a lso save typing. For exa mple, sending thi s c ommand
message:

OUTP2:IMP 50;OUTP2:ATT 6;OUTP2:STAT ON

is the same as sen d ing these three commands:

OUTP2:IMP 50
OUTP2:A TT 6
OUTP2:STAT ON

A semicolon (;) and a col o n (:) are used to separate t w o or mor e comm ands
from different subsystems in the same command message. For example:

INP1:IMP 50;:OUTP2:IMP 50

Command Coupli ng The followi ng a mpl if i er c ommands are value cou ple d:

E1446 with E1405/06

OUTPut1:ATTenuation <attenuation>
OUTPut1:IMPedance <impedance>
SOURce:VOLTage[:LEVel][:IMMediate]:OFFSet <voltage>

E1446 with E1445

OUTPut2:ATTenuation <attenuation>
OUTPut2:IMPedance <impedance>
SOURce2:VOLTage[:LEVel][:IMMediate]:OFFSet <voltage>

This means th at se nding one of these comm a nds c a n ch an ge the va lue se t
previousl y by an other one of these commands. Often, thi s r es ults in
“Settings Conflict” errors when the program executes. To prevent these
errors these com ma nds must be execute d in a "c oupling group".

2-2 Programming the Agilent E1446A Instrument and Programming Languages

Executing Coupled

Commands

The list b el ow identifies ru le s to follow when exe c uting coupled commands:

• Coupled commands must be con tiguous and execute d in the same

program stateme nt. This done by pl aci ng the commands in th e same
program line, or b y suppressing the end- of-l ine terminator until the
last c ou pled c omman d has be e n sent.

To send multi ple c ommands in a single lin e or in a single statemen t ,
the commands are linked (as described previously) with a semicolon
(;) and a colon(:). For example:

OUTP2:IMP 50;OUTP2:ATT 6

or

OUTP2:IMP 50;
:OUTP2:ATT 6

In BASIC programs, the end-of-line (EOL) term inator is suppressed
by placing a semicolon (;) following the quotation ma r k (") whic h
closes the command string. For example:

OUTPUT 70910;"OUTP2:IMP 50;";
OUTPUT 70910;":OUTP2:ATT 6"
OUTPUT 70910;"OUTP2:STAT ON"

As shown, the fir st two lines are coupl ed toge ther. The third li ne is
not a coupled command, therefore, the EOL terminator is not
suppressed on the second line.

• Commands not in th e coupling group must either preceed or foll ow

commands in the c oupling group.

• Un-coupled commands ex ecut e d in a co upl ing group break the

coupling.

• Error checking occurs at the en d of the co upl ing group.

• Hardware updates occur at the e nd of the c oupling group.

Instrument and Programming Languages Programming the Agilent E1446A 2-3

Instrument Driver

and Example

Programs Disks

The E1446A instrument driver and the example programs contained in this
manual are loc a ted on the following disks:

• Agilent E1446A Instrument Driver and BASI C Examp le

Programs - 3.5" 720 kbyte dis k LIF For mat (E1446-10031)

• Agilent E1446A Instrument Driver and BASI C Examp le

Programs - 3.5" 1.44 M byte disk DO S Form at ( E14 46- 10032)

The example programs are SCPI programs written in BASIC. On the LIF
formatted disk (E1446-10031 ), th e program s are in LOAD / STORE
(PROG) format. On the DOS formatted disk (E1446-10032), the progra ms
are in GET / SAVE (ASCII) format.

System

Configuration

Each program in thi s ch ap te r is written in BASIC. Except whe re noted, the
programs were develope d on t he following system:

Controller: HP 9000 Series 300

Mainframe: Agilen t 75000 Se r ies C

Slot 0/Resource Manager: Agilent E1405B Command

Module

E1445A Logical Address: 80

E1445A Se r va n t Area: 8

E1446A Logical Address: 88

Instrument Language: SCPI

2-4 Programming the Agilent E1446A Instrument and Programming Languages

Introductory Programs

The introdu ct ory pr ogr a ms in this section inc lud e:

• Executing the Ag ilent E1446A self - te st.

• Resetting the Agile nt E 1446A and clearing the Error Queue.

• Querying the Agilent E1 446A power-on/reset sett ings.

The introdu ctor y pr ogra m e xa mp le s in this section were writt e n with the
Agilent E1405 Com ma nd Module as the commande r of the Agilent E1446A
Summing Amplifier/DAC.

Executing the

Self-Test

Executing the Self-Test

1 !Agilent E1446A Self-test
10 !Send the self-test command, enter and display the result.
20 OUTPUT 70911;"*TST?"
30 ENTER 70911;Rslt
40 PRINT Rslt
50 END

The amplifier self-test is executed with the command:

*TST?

During the self-test, communication between the command module and the
on-card registers is tested. The *TST? returns one of the self-test codes
listed below:

• 0 = passed.

• 1 = failed. (An error message describes the failure.)

Introductor y Progra ms Programm ing the Ag il ent E1446A 2-5

Resetting and

The commands to reset and clear the amplifier are:

Clearing the Agile n t

E1446A

Resetting and Clearing the Agilent E1446A

1 !Resetting and clearing the Agilent E1446A
10 !Assign an I/O Path for the computer, command module, and the
20 !E1446A. Send the appropriate commands and wait for completion.
30 ASSIGN @Amp to 70911
40 OUTPUT @Amp;"*RST;*CLS;*OPC?"
50 ENTER @Amp;Complete
60 END

*RST
*CLS

Resetting the amplifier set s it to its power-on config ur at ion. Clearing status
on the amplifier clears the error queue.

Querying the

Power-on/Reset

Configuration

The command used t o que r y each Agilent E1446A setting i s:

*LRN?

The *LRN? command queries the power-on/reset configuration and returns
a sequence of commands that may be re-sent to the amplifier.

2-6 Programming the Agi lent E1 446A Introductory Pr ogr am s

LRN

1 !RE-STORE "LRN"
10 !Assign an I/O path between the computer and the amplifier.
20 ASSIGN @Amp TO 70911
30 !Call the subprogram
40 Lrn_conf(@Amp)
50 END
60 !
70 SUB Lrn_conf(@Amp)
80 Lrn_conf: !subprogram which queries the amp reset configuration
90 DIM Lrn$[1000]
100 OUTPUT @Amp;"*LRN?"
110 ENTER @Amp;Lrn$
120 Lrn$=Lrn$&";"
130 REPEAT
140 I=POS(Lrn$,";")
150 PRINT Lrn$[1;I-1]
160 Lrn$=Lrn$[I+1]
170 UNTIL Lrn$=""
180 SUBEND

Table 2-1. E1446A Power-On/Reset Configuration (as returned by *LRN?).

Parameter Command

Agilent E1446A Agilent E1445A

Input1 Attenuation INP1:ATT INP1:ATT +0.00000000E+000 0 dB
Input1 Impedance INP1:IMP INP1:IMP +5.00000000E+001
Input2 Attenuation INP2:ATT INP2:ATT +0.00000000E+0000 0 dB
Input2 Impedance INP2:IMP INP2:IMP +5.00000000E+001

Main Output Attenuation OUTP1:ATT OUTP2:ATT +0.00000000E+000 0 dB

Main Output Impedance OUTP1:IMP OUTP2:IMP +5.00000000E+001

Main Output State OUTP1:STAT OUTP2:STAT 1 (on)
Diff "+" Impedance OUTP2:IMP OUTP3:IMP +5.00000000E+001
Diff "-" Impedance OUTP3:IMP OUTP4:IMP +5.00000000E+001

DC offset SOUR:VOLT:LEV:IMM:OFFS SOUR2:VOLT:LEV:IMM: OFFS +0.00000000E +000 0V

Power-on/Reset

Settings

50Ω

50Ω

50Ω

50Ω
50Ω

Introductor y Progra ms Programm ing the Ag il ent E1446A 2-7

Example Programs

The example programs in this section include:

These programs con figur e the amplifier according t o the block diagram of
Figure 2-1. The prog ram de sc riptions will often re fer to this figure. The
programs were written with the amplifier configured as a servant of the
Agilent E1445A AFG, and as a servant of the Agilent E1405 Command
Module.

Refer to Chapt e r 3, "C ommand Reference" for a detailed des cription of the
Agilent E1446 A comma nds. Refer to Chapter 8 of the "Agilent E14 45A
Arbitrary Function Generators User’s Manual" for a detai led descri p tion of
the Agilent E1445A commands.

• Generating and amplifying sine waves

• Selecting the inpu t impedance

• Using the differen ti al (s ma ll signal) outputs

• Setting a DC offset voltag e

• Summing two signa ls

Figure 2-6. E1446A Functional Block Diagram.

2-8 Programming the Agi lent E1 446A Example Progr am s

Generating and Amplifying Sine Waves

The examples in this section show you how to amplify a sine wave
generated by th e Agile nt E1445A. In the first program, the E1446A is a
servant of the E14 45A AFG. I n the se c ond pr ogram, the E1446A ampli f ie s
the signal from the E1445A, however; the E1446A is in the servant area of
the E1405 Command Module.

Amplifying Sine

Waves (A g il en t

E1445A

Commander)

This program uses the E1446A to amplify a 2 Vpp E1445A AFG sign al to

14.15 Vpp. Since the intended output amplitud e and t he input amplitude are
known, the amount of attenuatio n (0 - 31 dB at te nuator) is determine d as:

attenuation

where V
and Vi units (Vpp, Vp) must be the sa me ) . Th us,

attenuation

The (main) output of the AFG is connected to ’Input 1’ of the amplif ie r.

The steps of this program are:

1. Reset the E1445A AFG and E1446A amplifier.

*RST

= 20 LOG (Vo/(Vi * 10))

(dB)

is the output amplitude and Vi is the input signal amplitude (V

o

= 20 LOG (14/20) = -3 dB

(dB)

o

2. Set the AFG frequency, function, and amplitude.

[SOURce:]FREQuency[1][:CW|: FIXed] <frequency>

[SOURce:]FUNCtion[:SHAPe] <shape>

[SOURce:]VOLTage[:LEVel][:IMMediate][:AMPLitude]
<amplitude>

3. Couple the AFG output load value to the output impeda nce valu e .

OUTPut[1]:LOAD:AUTO <mode>

OUTPut[1]:IMP edan ce <impedance>

Generating and Ampl ifyin g Sine W aves Programm ing the Ag ilent E1 446A 2-9