Anritsu 68247B SCPI Programming Manual

SERIES

682XXB/683XXB

SYNTHESIZED SIGNAL GENERATORS

SCPI PROGRAMMING MANUAL

490 JARVIS DRIVE
MORGAN HILL, CA 95037-2809

P/N: 10370-10288

PRINTED: NOVEMBER 1996

COPYRIGHT 1994 WILTRON CO.

REVISION: D

WARRANTY

The WILTRON product(s) listed on the title page is (are) warranted against defects in materials
and workmanship for one year from the date of shipment, except for YIG-tuned oscillators and all
WILTRON manufactured microwave components, which are warranted for two years.

WILTRON’s obligation covers repairing or replacing products which prove to be defective during the
warranty period. Buyers shall prepay transportation charges for equipment returned to WILTRON
for warranty repairs. Obligation is limited to the original purchaser. WILTRON is not liable for
consequential damages.

LIMITATION OF WARRANTY

The foregoing warranty does not apply to WILTRON connectors that have failed due to normal wear.
Also, the warranty does not apply to defects resulting from improper or inadequate maintenance by
the Buyer, unauthorized modification or misu se, or operation outside of the environmental spec ifi­cations of the product. No other warranty is expressed or implied, and the remedies provided herein
are the Buyer’s sole and exclusive remedies.

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NOTICE

WILTRON Company has prepared this manual for use by WILTRON Company personnel and
customers as a guide for the proper installation, operation, and maintenance of WILTRON Company
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 — General GPIB Information

Chapter 1 provides a general description of the General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) and the bus

data transfer and control functions. It also contains a listing of the 682XXB/683XXB’s GPIB inter­face function subset capability and response to IEEE-488 interface function messages. Chapter con­tents are detailed immediately following the tab.

Chapter 2 — Programming with SCPI Commands

Chapter 2 provides an introduction to SCPI programming that includes descriptions of the com­mand types, hierarchial command structure, data parameters, and notational conventions. Informa­tion on 682XXB/683XXB stat us system and trigger sys tem programming is also prov ided. Chapter
contents are detailed immediately follo wing the tab.

Chapter 3 — Programming Commands

Chapter 3 contains information on all SCPI programming commands accepted and implemented by
the Series 682XXB/683XXB Synthesized Signal Generators. Chapter contents are detailed immedi­ately following the tab.

Chapter 4 — Error Messages

Chapter 4 lists and describes each of the error messages related to 682XXB/683XXB signal gener­ator operation. In addition, it provides information about the error message elements, the error
query command, the error queue, and the classes of error messages . Chapter contents are detailed
immediately following the tab.

Appendix A — Overall Command Tree

Appendix A provides an overall command tree for the Series 682XXB/683XXB SCPI command set.

Appendix B — SCPI Conformance Information

Appendix B provides SCPI conformance information for the Series 682XXB/683X XB SCPI com­mand set in the form of a command summary.

Subject Index

Provides a subject index.

682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM i/ii

Chapter 1
General GPIB Information

Table of Contents

1-1 SCOPE OF MANUAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

Electronic Man ual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

GPIB Programming Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

1-2 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5

1-3 IEEE-488 INTERFACE BUS DESCRIPTION . . . 1-5

Functional Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

Bus Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7

Data Bus Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7

Data Byte Transfer Control Bus Description . . . 1-8

General Interface Management Bus Description . 1-9

Device Interface Function Capability . . . . . . . 1-10

Message Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11

1-4 682XXB/683XXB GPIB OPERATION . . . . . . . . 1-13

Setting GPIB Operating Parameters . . . . . . . 1-13

Selecting the Interface Language . . . . . . . . . 1-13

Response to GPIB Interface Function Messages . 1-13

Chapter 1
General GPIB Information

1-1

SCOPE OF MANUAL

This manual provides information for remote operation of the Series
682XXB/683XXB Synthesized Signal Generators using commands
sent from an external controller via the IEEE-488 General Purpose In­terface Bus (GPIB). It includes the following:

A general description of the GPIB and the bus data transfer and
control functions.
A listing of the IEEE-488 Interface Function Messages recog­nized by the signal generator with a description of its response.
A c omplete listing and description of all the Standard Commands
for Programmable Instruments (SCPI) commands that can be
used to control signal generator operation with examples of com­mand usage.

This manual is intended to be used in conjunction with the Series
682XXB/683XXB Synthesized Signal Generators Operation Manual,
P/N 10370-10284. Refer to that manual for general information about
the 682XXB/683XXB, including equipment set up and front panel
(manual mode) operating instructions.

Electronic
Manual

This manual is available on CD ROM as an Adobe
Acrobat Portable Document Format (∗.pdf) file. The
file can be viewed using Acrobat Reader, a free pro­gram that is also included on the CD ROM. The file

is “linked” such that the viewer can choose a topic to
view from the displayed “bookmark” list and “jump”
to the manual page on which the topic resides. The
text can also be word-searched. Contact WILTRON
Custormer Service for price and availability.

GPIB Pro­gramming
Manual

In addition to the SCPI programming commands
described in this manual, the signal generator’s
GPIB interface also accepts and implements a set of
682XXB/683XXB GPIB Product-Specific
(“NATIVE”) commands. These GPIB commands are
listed and described in the Series 682XXB/683XXB
Synthesized Signal Generators GPIB Programming
Manual, P/N 10370-10286.

682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM 1-3

GENERAL GPIB IEEE-488 INTERFACE
INFORMATION BUS DESCRIPTION

IEEE-488 BUS (16 Lines)

DEVICE A

Able to talk, listen,
and control

(e.g. COMPUTER)

DEVIC E B

Able to talk and listen

(e.g. 682XXB/683XXB
SIGNAL
GENERATOR)

DEVICE C

Data Bus
(8 signal lines)

Data Byte Transfer
Control Bus

(3 sign al l in es )

DATA LINES

HANDSHAKE Lines

Only able to listen

(e.g. OTHER
INSTRUMENT**)

DEVICE D

Only able to talk

(e.g. OTHER
INSTRUMENT**)

General Interface
Management Bus

(5 sign al l in es )

DATA
INPUT/OUTPUT, DIO
1 thru DIO 8
DAV - DATA VALID

NRFD - NOT READY FOR DATA*
NDAC - NOT DATA ACCEPTED*

IFC - INTERFACE CLEAR
ATN - ATTENT ION
SRQ - SERVI CE REQUE ST
REN - REMOTE ENABLE
EOI - END OR IDEN TI FY

* NEGATION IS REPRESENTED BY
LOW STATE ON THESE TWO
LINES

** IF USED

Figure 1-1. Interface Connections and GPIB Bus Structure

Management
CONTROL Lines

1-4 682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM

GENERAL GPIB IEEE-488 INTERFACE
INFORMATION BUS DESCRIPTION

1-2

1-3

INTRODUCTION

IEEE-488 INTERFACE
BUS DESCRIPTION

This chapter provides a general description of the GPIB and the bus
data transfer and control functions. It also contains a listing of the

682XXB/683XXB’s GPIB interface function subset capability and re­sponse to IEEE-488 interface function messages.

The GPIB information presented in this chapter is general in nature.
For complete and specific information, refer to the following docu­ments: ANSI/IEEE Std 488.1-1987 IEEE Standard Digital Interface

for Programmable Instrumentation and ANSI/IEEE Std 488.2-1987
IEEE Standard Codes, Formats, Protocols and Common Commands.

These documents precisely define the total specification of the me­chanical and electrical interface, and of the data transfer and control
protocols.

The IEEE-488 General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) is an instrumen­tation interface for integrating instruments, computers, printers, plot­ters, and other measurement devices into systems. The GPIB uses 16
signal lines to effect transfer of information between all devices con­nected on the bus.

The following requirements and restrictions apply to the GPIB.

No more than 15 devices can be interconnected by one contiguous
bus; however, an instrumentation system may contain more than
one interface bus.
The maximum total cumulative cable length for one interface
bus may not exceed twic e the number of devices connected (in me­ters), or 20 meters—whichever is less.
A maximum data rate of 1 Mb/s across the interface on any sig­nal line.
Each device on the interface bus must have a unique address,
ranging from 00 to 30.

The devices on the GPIB are connected in parallel, as shown in Figure
1-1. The interface consists of 16 signal lines and 8 ground lines in a
shielded cable. Eight of the signal lines are the data lines, DIO 1 thru
DIO 8. These data lines carry messages (data and commands), one
byte at a time, among the GPIB devices. Three of the remaining lines
are the handshake lines that control the transfer of message bytes be­tween devices. The five remaining signal lines are referred to as inter­face management lines.

The following paragraphs provide an overview of the GPIB including a
description of the functional elements, bus structure, bus data trans­fer process, interface management bus, device interface function re­quirements, and message types.

682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM 1-5

GENERAL GPIB IEEE-488 INTERFACE
INFORMATION BUS DESCRIPTION

Functional
Elements

Effective communications between devices on the
GPIB requires three functional elements; a talker, a
listener, and a controller. Each device on the GPIB
is categorized as one of these elements depending
on its current interface function and capabilities.

Talker

A talker is a device capable of sending device-de­pendent data to another device on the bus when ad­dressed to talk. Only one GPIB device at a time can
be an active talker.

Listener

A listener is a device capable of receiving device-de­pendent data from another device on the bus when
addressed to listen. Any number of GPIB devices
can be listeners simultaneously.

Controller

A c on troller is a device, usually a computer, capable
of managing the operation of the GPIB. Only one
GPIB device at a time can be an active controller.
The active controller manages the transfer of device­dependent data between GPIB devices by designat­ing who will talk and who will listen.

System Controller

The system controller is the device that always re­tains ultimate control of the GPIB. When the sys­tem is first powered-up, the system controller is the
active controller and manages the GPIB. The sys­tem controller can pass control to a device, making
it the new active controller. The new active control­ler, in turn, may pass control on to yet another de­vice. Even if it is not the active controller, the
system controller maintains control of the Interface
Clear (IFC) and Remote Enable (REN) interface
management lines and can thus take con trol of the
GPIB at anytime.

1-6 682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM

GENERAL GPIB IEEE-488 INTERFACE
INFORMATION BUS DESCRIPTION

Bus
Structure

The GPIB uses 16 signal lines to carry data and
commands between the devices connected to the
bus. The interface signal lines are organized into
three functional groups.

Data Bus (8 lines)
Data Byte Transfer Control Bus (3 lines)
General Interface Management Bus (5 lines)

The signal lines in each of the three groups are des­ignated according to function. T able 1-1 lists these
designations.

Table 1-1. Interface Bus Signal Line Designations

DAV
NRFD
NDAC

ATN
IFC
SRQ
REN
EOI

Signal Line

Name

Function

Data Availa ble
Not Ready For Data
Not Data Accepted

Attention
Interface Clear
Service Request
Remote Enable
End Or Identify

Bus Type

Data Bus D IO1–DIO8 Data Input/Output, 1 thru 8
Data Byte

Transfer
Control Bus

General
Interface
Management
Bus

Data Bus
Description

The data bus is the conduit for the transfer of data
and commands between the devices on the GPIB. It
contains eight bi-directional, active-low signal lines

—DIO 1 thru DIO 8. Data and commands are trans­ferred over the data bus in byte-serial, bit-parallel
form. This means that one byte of data (eight bits)
is transferred over the bus at a time. DIO 1 repre­sents the least-significant bit (LSB) in this byte and
DIO 8 represents the most-significant bit (MSB).
Bytes of data are normally formatted in seven-bit
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information In­terchange) code. The eighth (parity) bit is not used.

Each byte placed on the data bus represents either
a command or a data byte. If the Attention (ATN) in­terface management line is TRUE while the data is
transferred, then the data bus is carrying a bus com­mand which is to be received by every GPIB device.
If ATN is FALSE, then a data byte is being trans­ferred and only the active listeners will receive that
byte.

682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM 1-7

GENERAL GPIB IEEE-488 INTERFACE

1st Data Byte 2nd Data Byte

Valid

Not

Valid

Valid

Not

Valid

All

Ready

None

Ready

All

Ready

None

Ready

All

Accept

None

Accept

None

Accept

All

Accept

DIO1-DIO8

(composite)

DAV

NRFD

NDAC

INFORMATION BUS DESCRIPTION

Figure 1-2. Typical GPIB Handshake Operation

Data Byte
Transfer
Control Bus
Description

Control of the transfer of each byte of data on the
data bus is accomplished by a technique called the

“three-wire handshake”, which involves the three
signal lines of the Data Byte Transfer Control Bus.
This technique forces data transfers at the speed of
the slowest listener, which ensures data integrity in
multiple listener transfers. One line (DAV) is con­trolled by the talker, while the other two (NRFD
and NDAC) are wired-OR lines shared by all active
listeners. The handshake lines, like the other GPIB
lines, are active low. The technique is described
briefly in the following paragraphs and is depicted
in Figure 1-2. For further information, refer to
ANSI/IEEE Std 488.1.

DAV (Data Valid)

This line is controlled by the active talker. Before
sending any data, the talker verifies that NDAC is
TRUE (active low) which indicates that all listeners
have accepted the previous data byte. The talker
then places a byte on the data lines and waits until
NRFD is FALSE (high) which indicates that all ad­dressed listeners are ready to accept the informa­tion. When both NRFD and NDAC are in the proper
state, the talker sets the DAV line TRUE (active
low) to indicate that the data on the bus is valid
(stable).

NRFD (Not Ready For Data)

This line is used by the listeners to inform the
talker when they are ready to accept new data. The
talker must wait for each listener to set the NRFD
line FALSE (high) which they will do at their own

1-8 682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM

GENERAL GPIB IEEE-488 INTERFACE
INFORMATION BUS DESCRIPTION

rate. This assures that all devices that are to accept
the data are ready to receive it.

NDAC (Not Data Accepted)

This line is also controlled by the listeners and is
used to inform the talker that each device ad­dressed to listen has accepted the data. Each device
releases NDAC at its own rate, but NDAC will not
go FALSE (high) until the slowest listener has ac­cepted the data byte.

General
Interface
Management
Bus
Description

The general interface management bus is a group of
five signal lines used to manage the flow of informa­tion across the GPIB. A description of the function
of each of the individual control lines is provided be­low.

ATN (Attention)

The active controller uses the ATN line to define
whether the information on the data bus is a com­mand or is data . When ATN is TRUE (low), the bus
is in the command mode and the data lines carry
bus commands. When ATN is FALSE (high), the bus
is in the data mode and the data lines carry device­dependent instructions or data.

EOI (End or Identify)

The EOI line is used to indicate the last byte of a
multibyte data transfer. The talker sets the EOI
line TRUE during the last data byte.

The active controller also uses the EOI line in con­junction with the ATN line to initiate a parallel poll
sequence.

IFC (Interface Clear)

Only the system controller uses this line. When IFC
is TRUE (low), all devices on the bus are placed in a
known, quiescent state (unaddressed to talk, unad­dressed to listen, and service request idle).

REN (Remote Enable)

Only the system controller uses this line. When
REN is set TRUE (low), the bus is in the remote
mode and devices are addressed either to listen or
to talk. When the bus is in remote and a device is
addressed, it receives instructions from the GPIB
rather than from its front panel. When REN is set
FALSE (high), the bus and all devices return to lo­cal operation.

682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM 1-9

GENERAL GPIB IEEE-488 INTERFACE
INFORMATION BUS DESCRIPTION

SRQ (Service Request)

The SRQ line is set TRUE (low) by any device re­questing service by the active controller.

Device
Interface
Function
Capability

An interface function is the GPIB system element
which provides the basic operational facility
through which a device can receive, process, and
send messages. Each specific interface function may
only send or receive a limited set of messages
within particular classes of messages. As a result, a
set of interface functions is necessary to achieve
complete communications among devices on the
GPIB. ANSI/IEEE Std 488.1 defines each of the
interface functions along with its specific protocol.

ANSI/IEEE Std 488.2 specifies the minimum set of
IEEE 488.1 interface capabilities that each GPIB de­vice must have. This minimum set of interface func­tions assures that the device is able to send and
receive data, request service, and repond to a device
clear message. Table 1-2 lists the interface function
capability of the series 682XXB/683XXB signal gen­erators.

Table 1-2. 682XXB/683XXB Interface Function Capability

Function
Identifier

AH1 Acceptor Handshake Complete Capability

Function 682XXB/683XXB Capability

SH1 Source Handshake Compl et e C ap ab il ity

T6 Talker No Talk Only (TON)

L4 Listener No Listen Only (LON)
SR1 Service Request Complete Capabil it y
RL1 Remote/Local Complete Capab il it y
PP1 Parallel Poll Complete Capability
DC1 Device Clear Complete Capability
DT1 Device T r ig ge r Complete Capab il it y

C0, 1, 2, 3,28Controller Capability

Options

E2 Tri-State Drivers Three-state bus drivers

C0, No Capability;
C1, System Controller;
C2, Send IFC and Take Charge;
C3, Send REN;
C28, Send IF Messages

1-10 682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM

GENERAL GPIB IEEE-488 INTERFACE
INFORMATION BUS DESCRIPTION

Message
Types

There are three types of information transmitted

over the GPIB—interface function messages, device­specific commands, and data and instrument status
messages.

Interface Function Messages

The controller manages the flow of information on
the GPIB using interface function messages, usu­ally called commands or command messages. Inter-
face function messages perform such functions as
initializing the bus, addressing and unaddressing
devices, and setting device modes for remote or local
operation.

There are two types of commands—multiline and
uniline. Multiline commands are bytes sent by the
active controller over the data bus (DIO1-DIO8)
with ATN set TRUE. Uniline commands are signals
carried by the individual interface management
lines.

The user generally has control over these com­mands; however, the extent of user control depends
on the implementation and varies with the specific
GPIB interface hardware and software used with
the external controller.

Device-Specific Commands

These commands are keywords or mnemonic codes
sent by the external controller to control the setup
and operation of the addressed device or instru­ment. The commands are normally unique to a par­ticular instrument or class of instruments and are
described in its documentation.

Device-specific commands are transmitted over the
data bus of the GPIB to the device in the form of
ASCII strings containing one or more keywords or
codes.They are decoded by the device’s internal con-
troller and cause the various instrument functions
to be performed.

Data and Instrument Status Messages

These messages are sent by the device to the exter­nal controller via the GPIB. They contain measure­ment results, instrument status, or data files that
the device transmits over the data bus in response
to specific requests from the external controller. The
contents of these messages are instrument specific
and may be in the form of ASCII strings or binary
data.

682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM 1-11

GENERAL GPIB IEEE-488 INTERFACE
INFORMATION BUS DESCRIPTION

In some cases data messages will be transmitted
from the external controller to the device. For exam­ple, messages to load calibration data.

An SRQ (service request) is an interface function
message sent from the device to the external control­ler to request service from the controller, usually
due to some predetermined status condition or er­ror. To send this message, the device sets the SRQ
line of the General Interface Management Bus true,
then sends a status byte on the data bus lines.

An SRQ interface function message is also sent by
the device in response to a serial poll message from
the controller, or upon receiving an Output Status
Byte(s) command from the controller. The protocols
associated with the SRQ functions are defined in
the ANSI/IEEE Std 488.2 document.

The manner in which interface function messages
and device-specific commands are invoked in pro­grams is implementation specific for the GPIB inter­face used with the external controller. Even though
both message types are represented by mnemonics,
they are implemented and used in different ways.

Normally, the interface function messages are sent
automatically by the GPIB driver software in re­sponse to invocation of a software function. For ex­ample, to send the
fuction message, one would call the
the National Instruments software driver. On the
other hand, the command
command string to the addressed device. In the case
of the National Instruments example, this would be
done by using the

IFC (Interface Clear) interface

ibsic function of

*RST (Reset) is sent in a

ibwrt function call.

1-12 682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM

GENERAL GPIB 682XXB/683XXB
INFORMATION GPIB OPERATION

1-4

682XXB/683XXB GPIB
OPERATION

All Series 682XXB/683XXB Synthesized Signal Generator functions,
settings, and operating modes (except for power on/standby) are con­trollable using commands sent from an external controller via the
GPIB. When in the remote (GPIB) mode, the signal generator func­tions as both a listener and a talker. The GPIB interface function capa­bility of the 682XXB/683XXB is listed in Table 1-2 (page 1-10).

Setting GPIB
Operating
Parameters

Selecting the
Interface
Language

The 682XXB/683XXB leaves the factory with the
GPIB address value set to
terminator set to carriage return and line feed

CR/LF). A different address value can be entered

(
from the front panel using the Configure GPIB
menu. Using this same menu, the data delimiting
terminator can be changed to carriage return (
only. Refer to Chapter 2 of the Series 682XXB/
683XXB Synthesized Signal Generators Operation
Manual for the procedure.

Series 682XXB/683XXB Synthesized Signal Gener­ators with Option 19 can be remotely operated us-

ing one of two external interface languages—Native
or SCPI. The Native interface language uses a set of
682XXB/683XXB GPIB Product Specific commands
to control the instrument; the SCPI interface lan­guage uses a set of the Standard Commands for Pro­grammable Instruments commands to control the
unit. Selecting which of these external interface lan­guages is to be used can be made from the front
panel using the Configure GPIB menu. Refer to
page 2-11 for the procedure.

5 and the data delimiting

CR)

Response to
GPIB
Interface
Function
Messages

Table 1-3 (page 1-14) lists the GPIB Interface Func­tion Messages that the 682XXB/683XXB will recog­nize and respond to. With the exception of the
Device Clear and Selected Device Clear messages,
these messages affect only the operation of th e
682XXB/683XXB GPIB interface. The signal gener­ator’s response for each message is indicated.

Interface function messages are transmitted on the
GPIB data lines and interface management lines as
either unad dressed or addressed commands. The
manner in which these messages are invoked in pro­grams is implementation dependent. For program­ming information, refer to the documentation
included with the GPIB Interface used for the exter­nal controller.

682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM 1-13

GENERAL GPIB 682XXB/683XXB GPIB
INFORMATION OPERATION

Table 1-3. 682XXB/683XXB Response to GPIB Interface Function Messages

Interface Function Message

Device Clear (DCL)
Selected Device Clear (SDC)

Go To Local (GTL) Yes Returns the 682XXB/ 68 3XXB to

Group Execute Trigger
(GET)

Interface Clear (IFC) No Stops the 682XXB/683XXB GPIB

Local Lockout (LLO) No Disables the front panel menu

Remote Enable (REN) No Places the 682XXB/683XXB unde r

Serial-Poll Enable (SPE) No Outputs the serial-poll status byte.
Serial-Poll Disable (SPD) No Disables the serial-poll func ti on .
Parallel-Poll Configure (PPC) Yes Responds to a parallel -po ll

Addressed

Command

No

Yes

Yes Execute s a st r in g of commands, if

682XXB/683XXB Response

Resets the 682XXB/683XXB to its
default state. (Equivalent to sending
the *RST command.)

local (front panel) control.

programmed.

interface from listening or talking.
(The front panel controls are not
cleared.)

RETURN TO LOCAL soft-key.

remote (GPIB) control when it has
been addressed to listen.

message (PPOLL) by setting
assigned data bus line to the logi ca l
state (1,0) that indicates its correct
SRQ status.

Parallel-Poll Unconfigure
(PPU)

No Disables the parallel-poll func ti on.

1-14 682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM

Chapter 2
Programming with
SCPI Commands

Table of Contents

2-1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

2-2 INTRODUCTION TO SCPI PROGRAMMING . . . 2-3

SCPI Command Ty pes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

Common Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Required and Optional SCPI Commands . . . . . 2-4

Query Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Command Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

Hierarchical Command Structure . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Data Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7

Unit Suffixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7

2-3 NOTATIONAL CONVENTIONS . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

General Notations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8

Parameter Notations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

Notational Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

2-4 SCPI INTERFACE LANGUAGE SELECTION . . 2-11

Front Panel Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

Remote Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

2-5 STATUS SYSTEM PROGRAMMING . . . . . . . . 2-12

Status Group Registers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12

Status Group Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

2-6 TRIGGER SYSTEM PROGRAMMING . . . . . . . 2-19

T rigger System Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19

Chapter 2
Programming with
SCPI Commands

2-1

2-2

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION TO SCPI
PROGRAMMING

This chapter provides an introduction to SCPI programming that in­cludes descriptions of the command types, hierarchial command struc­ture, data parameters, and notational conventions. Information on
682XXB/683XXB status system and trigger system programming is
also provided.

The Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments (SCPI) de-
fines a set of standard programming commands for use by all SCPI
compatible instruments. SCPI is intended to give the ATE user a con­sistent environment for program development. It does so by defining
controller messages, instrument responses, and message formats for
all SCPI compatible instruments. The IEEE-488 (GPIB) interface for
the 682XXB/683XXB was designed to conform to the requirements of
SCPI 1993.0. The set of SCPI commands implemented by the 682XXB/
683XXB GPIB interface provides a comprehensive set of programming
functions covering all the major functions of the 682XXB/683XXB sig­nal generators.

SCPI
Command
Types

SCPI commands, which are also referred to as SCPI
instructions, are messages to the instrument to per­form specific tasks. The 682XXB/683XXB command
set includes:

“Common” commands (IEE488.2 mandated
commands)

SCPI required commands
SCPI optional commands (per SCPI 1993.0)
SCPI compliant commands that are unique to

the 682XXB/683XXB.

The SCPI conformance information for the 682XXB/
683XXB command set is contained in Appendix B —
SCPI Conformance Information.

682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM 2-3

PROGRAMMING WITH INTRODUCTION TO
SCPI COMMANDS SCPI PROGRAMMING

Common Commands

∗CLS ∗RST
∗ESE ∗SRE
∗ESE? ∗SRE?
∗ESR? ∗STB?
∗IDN? ∗TST?
∗OPC ∗WAI
∗OPC?

SCPI Required Commands

:STATus

:OPERation

[:EVENt]?
:CONDition?

:ENABle
:PRESet
:QUEStionable

[:EVENt]?

:CONDition?

:ENABle

:SYSTem

:ERRor?
:VERSion?

Common
Commands

Required
and Optional
SCPI Com­mands

Query
Commands

The required common commands are IEEE-488.2
mandated commands that are defined in IEEE-488.2
and must be implemented by all SCPI compatible in­struments. These commands (see table at left) are
identified by the asterisk (∗) at the beginning of the
command keyword. These commands are used to
control instrument status registers, status reporting,
synchronization, and other common functions. The
common commands and their syntax are described
in detail in Chapter 3, paragraph 3-2.

The required SCPI commands are listed in the table
at left and are described in detail in Chapter 3, para­graphs 3-11 and 3-12. The optional SCPI commands
and 682XXB/683XXB unique commands comprise
the remainder (major portion) of the 682XXB/
683XXB command set. They control the majority of
the programmable functions of the 682XXB/683XXB.
They are described in detail in Chapter 3 starting at
paragraph 3-3.

All commands, unless specifically noted in the syn­tax descriptions in Chapter 3, have a query form. As
defined in IEEE-488.2, a query is a command with a
question mark symbol appended (examples: ∗

ESR?,

and :FREQuency:CENTer?). When a query form of a
command is received, the current setting associated
with the command is placed in the output buffer.

2-4 682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM

PROGRAMMING WITH INTRODUCTION TO
SCPI COMMANDS SCPI PROGRAMMING

Command
Names

Typical SCPI commands consist of on e or more key­words, parameters, and punctuation. SCPI com­mand keywords can be a mixture of upper and lower
case characters. Except for common commands, each
keyword has a long and a short form. In this man­ual, the long form is presented with the short form
in upper case and the remainder in lower case. For
example, the long form of the command keyword to
control the instrument display is:

The short form keyword is usually the first four char­acters of the long form (example:
The exception to this is when the long form is longer
than four characters and the fourth character is a
vowel. In such cases, the vowel is dropped and the
short form becomes the first three characters of the
long form. Example: the short form of the keyword
POWer is POW.

Some command keywords may have a numeric suffix
to differentiate between multiple instrument fea­tures such as dual channel inputs. For example: key­words
are used to differentiate between the 682XXB/
683XXB front panel and rear panel MODULATION con­nectors.

EXTernal1 and EXTernal2 (or EXT1 and EXT2)

DISPlay.

DISP for DISPlay).

As with any programming language, the exact com­mand keywords and command syntax must be us ed.
The syntax of the individual commands is described
in detail in Chapter 3. Unrecognized versions of long
form or short form comma nds, or improper syntax,
will generate an error. Error reporting is described
in Chapter 4.

682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM 2-5

PROGRAMMING WITH INTRODUCTION TO
SCPI COMMANDS SCPI PROGRAMMING

Hierarchical
Command
Structure

All SCPI commands, except the common commands,
are organized in a hierarchical structure similar to
the inverted tree file structure used in most comput­ers. The SCPI standard refers to this structure as

“the Command Tree.” The command keywords that
correspond to the major instrument control functio ns
are located at the top of the command tree. The com­mand keywords for the 682XXB/683XXB SCPI com­mand set are shown in the diagram below.

root

:ABORt :CONTrol :DIAGnostic :DISPLAY :INITiate

:OUTPut :SOURce :STATus :SYSTem :TRIGger :UNIT

All 682XXB/683XXB SCPI commands, except the
ABORt command, have one or more subcommands
(keywords) associated with them to further define
the instrument function to be controlled. The sub­command keywords may in turn also have one or
more associated subcommands (keywords). Each sub­command level adds another layer to the command
tree. The command keyword and its associated sub­command keywords form a portion of the command
tree called a command subsystem. The
mand subsystem is shown below.

:CONTrol com-

:CONTrol

:BLANking :RAMP :PENLift

:POLarity :REST [:STATe] : TIME :POLarity

An overall command tree for the 682XXB/683XXB
SCPI command set is shown in Figure A-1 of Appen­dix A.

2-6 682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM

PROGRAMMING WITH INTRODUCTION TO
SCPI COMMANDS SCPI PROGRAMMING

Data
Parameters

Data parameters, referred to simply as “parame­ters,” are the quantitative values used as arguments
for the command keywords. The parameter type as­sociated with a particular SCPI command is deter­mined by the type of information required to control
the particular instrument function. For example,
Boolean (
commands that control switch functions.

The command descriptions in Chapter 3 specify the
type of data parameter to be used with each com­mand. The most commonly used parameter types
are numeric, extended numeric, discrete, and
Boolean.

Numeric

Numeric parameters comprise integer numbers, or
any number in decimal or scientific notation and
may include polarity signs. This includes
<NR2>, and <NR3> numeric data as defined in Pa­rameter Notations on page 2-9. This type of numeric
element is abbreviated as
document.

Extended Numeric

Extended numeric parameters include values such
as MAXimum and MINimum.

ON | OFF) type parameters are used with

<NR1>,

<NRf> throughout this

Discrete

Discrete parameters, such as INTernal and EXTer­nal, are used to control program settings to a prede­termined finite value or condition.

Boolean

Boolean parameters represent binary conditions and
may be expressed as

Unit Suffixes Unit suffixes are not required for data parameters,

provided the values are scaled for the global default
units. The 682XXB/683XXB SCPI default units are:
Hz (Hertz) for frequency related parameters and S
(seconds) for time related parameters. For example,
the command below sets the 682XXB/683XXB out­put frequency to 3 GHz.

:SOURce:FREQuency:CW 3000000000

The global default units may be changed via use of

:UNIT Subsystem commands described in Chap-

the
ter 3, paragraph 3-15.

ON, OFF or 1, 0.

682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM 2-7

PROGRAMMING WITH NOTATIONAL
SCPI COMMANDS CONVENTIONS

2-3

NOTATIONAL
CONVENTIONS

The SCPI interface standardizes command syntax and style which
simplifies the task of programming across a wide range of instrumenta­tion. As with any programming language, the exact command key­words and command syntax must be used. Unrecognized commands, or
improper syntax, will generate an error (refer to Chapter 4 for error re­porting).

General
Notations

The syntax conventions that are used for all SCPI
command keywords and data parameter descriptions
in this manual are described below.

: A colon links command keywords together to

form commands. The colon is not an actual part
of the keyword but is a signal to the SCPI inter­face parser. A colon must precede a root key­word immediately following a semicolon. (See
Notational Examples on page 2-10.)

; A semicolon separates commands if multiple

commands are placed on a single program line.
(See Notational Examples on page 2-10.)

[] Square brackets enclose one or more optional

parameters.

{} Braces enclose one or more parameters that may

be included one or more times.

| A vertical bar indicates “or” and is used to

separate alternative parameter options.
Example:

<> Angle brackets enclose parameter descriptions.
::= means “is defined as.” For example:

<a>::=<b><c> indicates that <b><c> can
replace <a>.

sp

space(s), referred to as whitespace, must be used
to separate keywords from their associated data
parameters. It must not be used between key­words, or inside keywords .

XXX indicates a root command name.
For further information about SCPI command syn-

tax and style, refer to the Standard Commands for
Programmable Instruments (SCPI) 1993.0 document.

ON|OFF is the same as ON or OFF.

2-8 682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM

PROGRAMMING WITH NOTATIONAL
SCPI COMMANDS CONVENTIONS

Parameter
Notations

The following syntax conventions are used for all
data parameter descriptions in this manual.

<arg> ::=a generic command argument consisting

of one or more of the other data types.

<bNR1> ::=boolean values in <NR1> format;

numeric

<boolean>

<integer> ::=an unsigned integer without a decimal

<NR1> ::=a signed integer without a decimal point

<NR2> ::=a signed number with an explicit radix

<NR3> ::=a scaled explicit decimal point numeric

<NRf> ::=<NR1>|<NR2>|<NR3>

::=ON|OFF. Can also be represented as

1 or 0, where 1 means ON and 0 means OFF.

Boolean parameters are always returned as
1 or 0 in <NR1> format by query commands.

point (implied radix point)

(implied radix point).

point.

value with and exponent (e.g., floating point
number)

1 or 0

<nv>

::=SCPI numeric value: <NRf>|MIN|MAX|UP

|DOWN|DEF|NAN|INF|NINF

<char> ::=<CHARACTER PROGRAM DATA>.

Examples: CW, FIXed, UP, and DOWN,

<string>

<block>
<NA> ::=Not Applicable

::=<STRING PROGRAM DATA>.
ASCII characters surrounded by double
quotes, example:

::=IEEE-488.2 block data format

“OFF”

or other types

682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM 2-9

PROGRAMMING WITH NOTATIONAL
SCPI COMMANDS CONVENTIONS

Notational
Examples

The following is an example showing command syn­tax (It is not an actual command):

[SOURce]:POWer[:LEVel][:IMMediate][:AMPLitude]

sp

:STEP[:INCRement]

Command statements read from left to right and
from top to bottom. In the command statement
above, the
:AMPLitude keyword with no separating space. A
space (
its argument (a

Note that the first keyword in the command string
does not require a leading colon; however, it is good
practice to always use a leading colon for all key­words. Note also that the
tional. This is a SCPI convention for all voltage or
signal source type instruments that allows shorter
command statements to be used.

The following is an example of a multiple command
statement that uses two seperate commands in a sin­gle statement. Note the semicolon used to join the
commands. (Also note the leading colon used immedi­ately after the semicolon.)

:STEP keyword immediately follows the

sp

) is used between the command string and

<nv> type data parameter).

dBm|DOWN|UP

:SOURce keyword is op-

:FREQuency:STARt 10E6;:FREQuency:STOP 20E9

2-10 682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM

PROGRAMMING WITH SCPI INTERFACE
SCPI COMMANDS LANGUAGE SELECTION

2-4

SCPI INTERFACE
LANGUAGE SELECTION

The Series 682XXB/683XXB Synthesized Signal Generators can be re-

motely operated using one of two external interface languages—Native
or SCPI. (The Native interface language uses a set of 682XXB/683XXB
GPIB Product Specific commands to control the instrument.) Before
programming with SCPI commands it is necessary to select SCPI as
the external interface language.

Front Panel
Selection

SCPI can be selected as the 682XXB/683XXB inter­face language from the front panel Configure GPIB
menu.

To access the Configure GPIB Menu, first press the

SYSTEM main menu key on the front panel to ac-

cess the System Menu. At the menu display, press
Config to access the System Configuration Menu.
Then, press
played.

The Configure GPIB menu has an additional menu
display. Language selection is made from this addi­tional menu. To access the additional menu, press
More . At the menu, press
SCPI. The language selection will appear on the dis­play.

GPIB . The Configure GPIB Menu is dis-

SCPI/Native to select

Remote
Selection

SCPI can be selected as the 682XXB/683XXB inter­face language during remote operations.

To change the interface language from Native to
SCPI use the command

SYST:LANG "SCPI"

Do not use the long form of the command and do no t
use a leading colon (:) with the command. The com-

:SYSTem:LANGuage "SCPI" results in a syn-

mand
tax error.

NOTE

When the 682XXB/683XXB signal generator
is remotely operated using the SCPI inter­face lanuage, cycling the power returns the
instrument to a reset condition.

682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM 2-11

PROGRAMMING WITH STATUS SYSTEM
SCPI COMMANDS PROGRAMMING

2-5

STATUS SYSTEM
PROGRAMMING

The 682XXB/683XXB status system (shown in Figure 2-1) consists of
the following SCPI-defined status-reporting structures:

The Instrument Summary Status Byte Group
The Standard Event Status Group
The Operational Status Group
The Questionable Status Group

The following paragraphs describe the registers that make up a status
group and explain the status information that each status group pro­vides.

Status Group
Registers

In general, a status group consists of a condition reg­ister, a transition filter, an event register, and an en­able register. Each component is briefly described in
the following paragraphs.

Condition Register

The condition register is continuously updated to re­flect the current status of the 682XXB/683XXB.
There is no latching or buffering for this register, it
is updated in real time. Reading the contents of a
condition register does not change its contents.

Transition Filter

The transition filter is a special register that speci­fies which types of bit state changes in the condition
register will set corresponding bits in the event regis­ter. Negative transition filters (NTR) are used to de­tect condition changes from True (1) to False (0);
postive transition filters (PTR) are used to detect
condition changes from False (0) to True (1). Setting
both positive and negative filters True allows an
event to be reported anytime the condition changes.
Transition filters are read-write. Transition filters
are unaffected by queries or ∗

RST commands.

∗

The command

sition filters to all 0’s and sets all positive transition
filters to all 1’s.

Event Register

The event register latches transition events from the
condition register as specified by the transition filter.
Bits in the event register are latched, and once set
they remain set until cleared by a query or a ∗
command. Event registers are read only.

:STATus:PRESet sets all negative tran-

CLS (clear status) and

CLS

2-12 682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM

PROGRAMMING WITH STATUS SYSTEM
SCPI COMMANDS PROGRAMMING

:STAT:QUES:EVEN?

:STAT:QUES:NTR

:STAT:QUES:PTR

:STAT:QUES:COND?
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
RF Unleveled
Not Used
Lock Error or RF Unlocked
Not Used
Modulation Range Error
Not Used
SELF TEST FAILED
ANALOG SWEEP LOCK ERROR
XTAL OVEN FAILURE
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used (= 0)

:STAT:OPER:COND? NTRPTR
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Sweeping
Measuring
Waiting for Trigger
Not Used
Not Used

Not Used
Self Test In Progress
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used
Not Used (= 0)

CONDition EVENt ENABle

b0
b1
b2
b3
b4
b5
b6
b7
b8

b9
b10
b11
b12
b13
b14
b15

:STAT:OPER:EVEN?

:STAT:OPER:NTR

:STAT:OPER:PTR

CONDition EVENt ENABle

b0

b1

b2

b3

b4

b5

b6

b7

b8

b9
b10
b11
b12
b13
b14
b15

QUESTIONABLE STATUS

b0
b1
b2
b3
b4
b5
b6
b7
b8

b9
b10
b11
b12
b13
b14
b15

OPERATIONAL STATUS

b0
b1
b2
b3
b4
b5
b6
b7
b8

b9
b10
b11
b12
b13
b14
b15

:STAT:QUES:ENAB?

NTRPTR

b0

b0

b1

b1

b2

b2

b3

b3

b4

b4

b5

b5

b6

b6

b7

b7

b8

b8

b9

b9

b10

b10

b11

b11

b12

b12

b13

b13

b14

b14

b15

b15

*CLS

:STAT:OPER:ENAB?

b0

b0

b1

b1

b2

b2

b3

b3

b4

b4

b5

b5

b6

b6

b7

b7

b8

b8

b9

b9

b10

b10

b11

b11

b12

b12

b13

b13

b14

b14

b15

b15

Error Queue

b0
b1
b2
b3
b4
b5
b6

&

&

b7
b8

b9
b10
b11
b12
b13
b14
b15

b0-b15

b0

b1

b2

b3

b4

b5

b6

b7

b8

b9
b10
b11
b12
b13
b14
b15

b0-b15

QUESTIONABLE

EVENT

Operation Complete (OP)
Not Used
Query Error
Device Dependent Error
Execution Error
Command Error
Not Used
Not Used

OPERATIONAL

EVENT

STANDARD EVENT STATUS

*ESR?

EVENt

b0
b1
b2
b3
b4
b5
b6
b7

*CLS

*ESE n
*ESE?

&

ENABle

b0
b1
b2
b3
b4
b5
b6
b7

b0-b7

STANDARD

EVENT

Error Code/Error Description

Mssg Available (MAV)

Master Summary Status (MSS/RQS)

Error Queue
not empty

INSTRUMENT SUMMARY

Not Used
Not Used

ERRQ
QUEST

MAV
STD

OPER

*STB?

Summary

STATUS BYTE

STATUS BYTE

b0
b1
b2
b3
b4
b5
b6
b7

*CLS

*SRE n
*SRE?

b0-b7

NOTE: Not Used bits are always cleared to 0.

Bit Weight

1

b0

2

b1
b2

4
8

b3

16

b4

32

b5

64

b6

128

b7

*CLS

Summary

ENABle

b0
b1
b2

b8

b9
b10
b11
b12
b13
b14
b15

b3
b4
b5
b6
b7

256

512
1024
2048
4096
8192

16384
32768

&

Figure 2-1. 682XXB/683XXB Status-Reporting Structure

682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM 2-13

PROGRAMMING WITH STATUS SYSTEM
SCPI COMMANDS PROGRAMMING

Enable Register

The enable register specifies the bits in the event
register that can produce a summary bit. The
682XXB/683XXB logically ANDs corresponding bits
in the event and enable registers, and ORs all the re­sulting bits to obtain a summary bit. Summary bits
are recorded in the Summary Status Byte. Enable
registers are read-write. Querying an enable register
does not affect it.

Status Group
Reporting

The command
Status Enable register and the Questionable Status

Enable register to all 0’s.
The state of certain 682XXB/683XXB hardware and

operational events and conditions can be determined
by programming th e st atu s sy st em. As s ho wn i n Fi g­ure 2-1, the three lower status groups provide status
information to the Summary Status Byte group. The
Summary Status Byte group is used to determine
the general nature of an event or condition and the
other status groups are used to determine the spe­cific nature of the event or condition.

Programming commands for the status sys­tem, including examples of command usage,
can be found in Chapter 3.

The following paragraphs explain the information
that is provided by each status group.

:STATus:PRESet sets the Operational

NOTE

2-14 682XXB/683XXB SCPI PM