Anritsu ML2438A User Manual

Download

Operation and Remote Programming Manual

ML2437A / ML2438A Power Meter

Anritsu Company 490 Jarvis Drive Morgan Hill, CA 95037-2809 USA

http://www.anritsu.com

Part Number: 10585-00001

Published: March 2013

Revision: M

WARRANTY

The Anritsu product(s) listed on the title page is (are) warranted against defects in materials and workmanship for one year from the date of shipment.

Anritsu’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 Anritsu for warranty repairs. Obligation is limited to the original purchaser. Anritsu is not liable for consequential damages.

LIMITATION OF WARRANTY

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

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANRITSU COMPANY AND ITS SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH REGARD TO THE PRODUCT. THE USER ASSUMES THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THE PRODUCT. ANY LIABILITY OF PROVIDER OR MANUFACTURER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT.

NO LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL ANRITSU COMPANY OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, OR ANY OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE PRODUCT, EVEN IF ANRITSU COMPANY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES AND JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

TRADEMARK ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Bluetooth word mark and logos are owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Anritsu is under license. Other trade marks and trade names are those of their respective owners. Windows XP and Windows Vista are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.

NOTICE

Anritsu Company has prepared this manual for use by Anritsu Company personnel and customers as a guide for the proper installation, operation and maintenance of Anritsu Company equipment and computer programs. The drawings, specifications, and information contained herein are the property of Anritsu Company, and any unauthorized use or disclosure of these drawings, specifications, and information is prohibited; they shall not be reproduced, copied, or used in whole or in part as the basis for manufacture or sale of the equipment or software programs without the prior written consent of Anritsu Company.

UPDATES

Updates, if any, can be downloaded from the Documents area of the Anritsu Website at:

http://www.anritsu.com

For the latest service and sales contact information in your area, please visit:

http://www.anritsu.com/contact.asp

CE Conformity Marking

Anritsu affixes the CE Conformity marking onto its conforming products in accordance with Council Directives of The Council Of The European Communities in order to indicate that these products conform to the EMC and LVD directive of the European Union (EU).

C-tick Conformity Marking

Anritsu affixes the C-tick marking onto its conforming products in accordance with the electromagnetic compliance regulations of Australia and New Zealand in order to indicate that these products conform to the EMC regulations of Australia and New Zealand.

Notes On Export Management

This product and its manuals may require an Export License or approval by the government of the product country of origin for re-export from your country.

Before you export this product or any of its manuals, please contact Anritsu Company to confirm whether or not these items are export-controlled.

When disposing of export-controlled items, the products and manuals need to be broken or shredded to such a degree that they cannot be unlawfully used for military purposes.

Mercury Notification

This product uses an LCD backlight lamp that contains mercury. Disposal may be regulated due to environmental considerations. Please contact your local authorities or, within the United States, the Electronics Industries Alliance (www.eiae.org) for disposal or recycling information.

Safety Symbols

To prevent the risk of personal injury or loss related to equipment malfunction, Anritsu Company uses the following symbols to indicate safety-related information. For your own safety, please read the information carefully before operating the equipment.

Symbols Used in Manuals

Danger

This indicates a risk from a very dangerous condition or procedure that could result in serious injury or death and possible loss related to equipment malfunction. Follow all precautions and procedures to minimize this risk.

Warning

Caution

This indicates a risk from a hazardous condition or procedure that could result in light-to-severe injury or loss related to equipment malfunction. Follow all precautions and procedures to minimize this risk.

This indicates a risk from a hazardous procedure that could result in loss related to equipment malfunction. Follow all precautions and procedures to minimize this risk.

Safety Symbols Used on Equipment and in Manuals

The following safety symbols are used inside or on the equipment near operation locations to provide information about safety items and operation precautions. Ensure that you clearly understand the meanings of the symbols and take the necessary precautions before operating the equipment. Some or all of the following five symbols may or may not be used on all Anritsu equipment. In addition, there may be other labels attached to products that are not shown in the diagrams in this manual.

This indicates a prohibited operation. The prohibited operation is indicated symbolically in or near the barred circle.

This indicates a compulsory safety precaution. The required operation is indicated symbolically in or near the circle.

This indicates a warning or caution. The contents are indicated symbolically in or near the triangle.

This indicates a note. The contents are described in the box.

These indicate that the marked part should be recycled.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 1-1

For Safety

Warning

Always refer to the operation manual when working near locations at which the alert mark, shown on the left, is attached. If the operation, etc., is performed without heeding the advice in the operation manual, there is a risk of personal injury. In addition, the equipment performance may be reduced. Moreover, this alert mark is sometimes used with other marks and descriptions indicating other dangers.

When supplying power to this equipment, connect the accessory 3-pin power cord to a 3-pin grounded power outlet. If a grounded 3-pin outlet is not available, use a conversion adapter and ground the green wire, or connect the frame ground on the rear panel of the equipment to ground. If power is supplied without grounding the equipment, there is a risk of receiving a severe or fatal electric shock.

This equipment can not be repaired by the operator. Do not attempt to remove the equipment covers or to disassemble internal components. Only qualified service technicians with a knowledge of electrical fire and shock hazards should service this equipment. There are high-voltage parts in this equipment presenting a risk of severe injury or fatal electric shock to untrained personnel. In addition, there is a risk of damage to precision components.

Caution

Warning

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) can damage the highly sensitive circuits in the instrument. ESD is most likely to occur as test devices are being connected to, or disconnected from, the instrument’s front and rear panel ports and connectors. You can protect the instrument and test devices by wearing a static-discharge wristband. Alternatively, you can ground yourself to discharge any static charge by touching the outer chassis of the grounded instrument before touching the instrument’s front and rear panel ports and connectors. Avoid touching the test port center conductors unless you are properly grounded and have eliminated the possibility of static discharge.

Repair of damage that is found to be caused by electrostatic discharge is not covered under warranty.

This product is supplied with a rechargeable battery that could potentially leak hazardous compounds into the environment. These hazardous compounds present a risk of injury or loss due to exposure. Anritsu Company recommends removing the battery for long-term storage of the instrument and storing the battery in a leak-proof, plastic container. Follow the environmental storage requirements specified in the product technical data sheet.

1-2 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Table of Contents (Continued)

Chapter 1—General Information

1-1 About this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

1-2 Associated Documentation and Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

1-3 Identification Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

1-4 Available Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

1-5 Available Options, Accessories, and Power Sensors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

Chapter 2—Installation

2-1 Initial Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

2-2 Sensor Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

2-3 Power Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

AC Line Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

DC Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Battery Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

Fuses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

Grounding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

2-4 Environmental Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

2-5 Rack Mounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

2-6 Battery Charging, Removal and Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

2-7 Storage and Shipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Preparation for Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Environmental Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

2-8 Preparing for Shipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Chapter 3—Memory and Security Considerations

3-1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

Internal Flash Memory (8 MB EEPROM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

RAM Memory used by the DSP microcomputer (640 KB). . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

RAM Memory as non-volatile RAM (1 MB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

3-2 Secure Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

3-3 Clearing the Non-Volatile Static RAM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

3-4 Anritsu Power Sensors EEPROM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

EEPROM Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M Contents-1

Table of Contents (Continued)

Chapter 4—Connections

4-1 Front Panel Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

Calibrator Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

Sensor A Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

Sensor B Connector (ML2438A only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

4-2 Rear Panel Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Chapter 5—Front Panel Operation

5-1 Front Panel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

5-2 Power-On Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

5-3 Sensor Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4

Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4

Calfactor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5

Averaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8

Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10

Duty cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11

Rng Hold [RGH]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11

5-4 Channel Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12

Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12

Rel 1 [REL] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13

Rel 2 [REL] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13

Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13

5-5 Trigger Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15

Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16

5-6 System Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21

Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21

Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22

Power vs. Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23

Source Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24

Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25

Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29

Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30

Print [PRINT] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31

Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31

Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32

Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35

Secure [SECURE] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36

Identity [*IDN, OI] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36

Contents-2 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Table of Contents (Continued)

5-7 Cal/Zero Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37

Zero/Cal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37

Cal 0 dBm [CAL] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37

Zero [ZERO] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37

RF ON/OFF [RFCAL] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37

Ext V [VZERO] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37

Chapter 6—Procedures

6-1 Power Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

6-2 Zeroing the Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

6-3 Sensor Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

6-4 Sensor Zero/Cal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

6-5 Performance Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3

6-6 Printer Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3

6-7 GPIB Remote Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3

6-8 Serial Remote Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4

6-9 RS232 Modem Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5

6-10 Profile Operation Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10

Typical Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10

Scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11

Cursor Readout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11

Triggered Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12

Control of x-axis - Width of Profile - Sample Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-13

Advanced Triggering and Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-14

6-11 Source Sweep Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15

Frequency Sweep Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15

Power Sweep Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15

Source Sweep Graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-16

Using an Anritsu Synthesizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-16

6-12 Power vs. Time Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-17

6-13 User Cal Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-17

Example Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-18

Readout Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-18

6-14 Optimizing Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-19

DISP ON/OFF command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-20

FAST ON/OFF command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-21

Using Buffered Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-21

Changing Measurement Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-22

An Example Program in C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-23

6-15 Operator Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-24

Software Loader Instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-24

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M Contents-3

Table of Contents (Continued)

Chapter 7—Measurement Examples

7-1 Example 1: Standard CW Power Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1

7-2 Example 2: Measuring Modulated Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8

7-3 Example 3: Optimizing Measurements at Low Power Levels. . . . . . . . . . . 7-9

7-4 Example 4: Using Both Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11

7-5 Example 5: Using Two Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13

7-6 Example 6: Gain Compression Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15

7-7 Example 7: Measuring Pulse Signals With a Duty Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-17

7-8 Example 8: Profiling Pulse Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19

7-9 Example 9: Displaying GSM-TDMA Bursts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23

7-10 Example 10: Power Versus Time Data Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-27

7-11 Example 11: Frequency Measurements Using a Separate Source . . . . . 7-31

Chapter 8—GPIB Operation

8-1 Data I/O Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1

<NR1> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2

<NR2> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2

<NR3> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3

<NRf> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3

<String> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3

<Arbitrary ASCII> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3

<Arbitrary Block> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3

8-2 Query Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4

8-3 GPIB PC Card Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4

GPIB Device Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4

GPIB Card Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4

8-4 Using 488.1 GPIB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5

Device Clear (DCL) and Selected Device Clear (SDC) . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5

Device trigger (GET) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5

Goto local (GTL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5

Interface clear (IFC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5

Local lockout (LLO) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5

Serial poll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5

8-5 Using 488.2 GPIB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6

Contents-4 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Table of Contents (Continued)

8-6 488.2 Command Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6

Status Byte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6

Event Status Bit (ESB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6

Message Available Bit (MAV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-7

Getting a Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8

Service Request Status (SRQ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8

RGH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8

LIM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8

MAV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8

ESB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8

8-7 Functional Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9

BNC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9

Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9

Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9

Data Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9

Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9

GPIB 488.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9

GPIB Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9

GPIB Trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9

Profile Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10

Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10

System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10

Trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M Contents-5

Table of Contents (Continued)

8-8 ML24xxA Native Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-11

*CLS (Clear GPIB status bytes). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-11

*ESE (Event Status byte Enable) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12

*ESE? (Return Event status register enable mask). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-14

*ESR? Event status register request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-14

*IDN? (Request device identification) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-14

*OPC (Operations complete) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-14

*OPC? (Operations complete Output '1') . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-14

*RCL (Recall a stored setup) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-15

*RST (Reset Device) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-15

*SAV (Save configuration) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-15

*SRE (Setup service request enable register) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-15

*SRE? (Return Service Request Enable register) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-16

*STB? (Return Status Byte register) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-16

*TRG (Perform the GPIB 'Group Execute Trigger' command) . . . . . . 8-16

*TST? (Self Test) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-16

ADDR (Change GPIB address) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-17

AVG (Sets up averaging for a sensor). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-18

AVGLL (Auto low level averaging). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-19

AVGM (Manual Averaging) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-19

BAUTS (Battery Auto Turn OFF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-20

BAUTT (Battery Auto shut off after x minutes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-20

BUFF (GPIB response buffering enabled) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-20

CAL (Cal sensor to 0 dBm reference) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-21

CFADJ (Cal Adjust) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-21

CFCAL (Cal factor manual setting) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-21

CFFRQ (Cal Factor Frequency value) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-22

CFSRC (Cal factor source) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-22

CFUADD (Add an entry pair to a cal factor table) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-23

CFUCT (Clear cal factor table) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-23

CFUID (Cal factor table identity update) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-24

CFUNITS (Cal factor display units) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-24

CFULD (Cal factor table binary load). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-24

CFUPT (Preset cal factor table) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-25

CFURD (Cal factor table binary read) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-25

CFUSAV (Cal factor table save) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-25

CFUSEL (Select cal factor table) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-26

CFUTBL (Number of cal factor tables in the sensor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-26

CFUUSE (Number of cal factor table being used) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-26

CFUVLD (Valid cal factor table check) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-26

CFVAL Current cal factor value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-27

CHCFG (Channel input configuration). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-27

CHRES (Set channel decimal pint resolution) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-28

Contents-6 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Table of Contents (Continued)

CHUNIT (Set Channel units) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-28

CONT (Continue) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-28

CUR (Cursor in Power vs. Time and Source Sweep modes) . . . . . . . 8-29

CURLK (Link cursors in all graphic modes). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-29

CVSPF (V/GHz calibration factor stop frequency). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-30

CVSPV (V/GHz calibration factor stop voltage). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-30

CVSTF (V/GHz calibration factor start frequency). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-30

CVSTV (V/GHz calibration factor start voltage). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-31

DBLGHT (Battery LCD Back light mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-31

DBLTIM (Auto Backlight OFF timer setting) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-31

DCONT (Set Display Contrast) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-32

DCONTD (Set display contrast down by one) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-32

DCONTU (Set display contrast up by one) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-32

DISP (Display On or OFF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-32

DTRGD (Display Trigger Delay) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-33

DUTY (Duty cycle). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-34

DUTYS (Duty cycle state) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-34

EMUL (GPIB emulation mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-35

ENTERR (Entry Error beep) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-35

ERRLST (Returns the DDE error list) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-36

FAST (Operate in non-488.2 compliant mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-37

FHOLD (Fail indicator Hold) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-38

FRST (Factory Reset) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-39

GMNMX (Return the minimum and maximum values) . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-39

GPRST (Reset min/max graph). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-40

GRAUTO (Auto scaling) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-40

GRAVG (Average between profile cursors). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-40

GRCP (Connect points on profile) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-40

GRDATA (Display Graph Cursor Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-41

GRDDT (Power vs. Time data display time) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-41

GRDRQ (Return Graph Data readout) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-42

GRFS (Profile Reference line state) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-42

GRMD (Profile, Power vs. Time and Source Sweep Selection) . . . . . 8-42

GRPIX (Profile type) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-43

GRPRD (Profile data collection period) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-43

GRPTP (Graph Pretrigger Percentage). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-43

GRSWP (Graph Averaging Number for Profile or Source Sweep) . . . 8-44

GRSWR (Reset Graph Averaging for Profile or Source Sweep) . . . . 8-44

GRSWS (Graph Average State for Profile or Source Sweep) . . . . . . 8-44

GRTMM (Profile Min/Max tracking mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-45

GRYB (Set graph Y-axis bottom scale) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-45

GRYT (Set graph Y-axis top scale) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-45

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M Contents-7

Table of Contents (Continued)

GT0 (Set to ignore the Group Execute Trigger (GET) command) . . . 8-46

GT1 (Set 'GET' command to TR1 type (immediate) trigger) . . . . . . . . 8-46

GT2 (Set 'GET' command to TR2 type (settling delay) trigger) . . . . . 8-46

GTARM (Set profile trigger arming) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-46

GTDLY (Set profile trigger sample delay) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-47

GTGW (Set profile trigger gate width) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-47

GTLVL (Set profile trigger level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-47

GTSRC (Set Profile Trigger source) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-48

GTTYP (Set profile trigger type) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-48

GTXTTL (Set profile external trigger edge) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-49

HLIM (Set High limits) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-49

HLIMS (Turn on/off High limits) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-50

HOLD (Graph hold) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-50

IBBLP (Blanking active TTL level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-50

KEYCK (Turn key click sound on or off) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-51

LINK (Trigger linking) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-51

LLIMS (Turn on/off low limits) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-52

MMRST (Min Max Tracking reset) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-53

MNGDB (Output Min Graph Binary Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-53

MNGD (Output Min Graph Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-53

MNMXS (Track min and max values) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-54

MODDEL (Modem redial delay time) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-54

MODINIT (Initialize modem) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-54

MODLIM (Autodial enable for limits failure) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-54

MODPH (Autodial phone number) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-55

MODPWR (Autodial enable for power on) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-55

MODRED (Redial count) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-55

MODRNG (Autodial enable for range error) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-56

MXGDB (Output Max Graph Binary Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-56

MXGD (Output Max Graph Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-56

O (Return display channel reading) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-57

OBACM (AC mod output polarity configuration) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-57

OBCH (BNC output port channel configuration) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-57

OBDSP (BNC analog output display stop value) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-58

OBDST (BNC analog out display start value) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-58

OBMD (BNC output mode select) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-59

OBPL (BNC pass/fail pass level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-59

OBVSP (BNC analog output stop voltage scale) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-60

OBVST (BNC analog output start voltage scale) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-60

OBZL (BNC RF blanking output level when zeroing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-60

OFFCLR (Clear an offset table) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-60

OFFFIX Offset fixed value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-61

Contents-8 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Table of Contents (Continued)

OFFTBL (Specify the table used to apply offsets to the sensor) . . . . 8-61

OFFTBU (Updates an offset table) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-62

OFFTYP (Offset type to use) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-63

OFFVAL (Sensor Offset Value) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-63

OGBD (Output Graph Binary Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-63

OGD (Output Graph Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-64

OGSD (Output Valid Samples Array (Power vs. Time mode only)) . . 8-64

OI (Output device identification) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-64

ON (Output number of channel readings) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-65

OPMD (ML243xA operation mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-65

PRINT (Send details to the connected printer.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-66

PRNSEL (Select the type of printer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-66

RCD (Range Calibrator data request) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-66

REL (Relative control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-67

RFCAL (Turn RF reference calibrator ON or OFF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-67

RGH (Range Hold Sensor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-67

RSBAUD (RS232 Baud Rate) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-68

RSMODE (RS232 Operating Mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-68

SECURE (Secure system state) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-68

SENMM (Sensor Measurement mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-69

SENMO (Universal Sensor Operation Mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-69

SENSTL (Set Sensor Settle Percentage) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-70

SENTYP (Return sensor information) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-70

SRCMOD (Source Sweep Mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-70

SRCSPFRQ (Source Sweep Stop Frequency) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-70

SRCSPPWR (Source Sweep Stop Power) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-71

SRCSTAT (Source Sweep mode status request) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-71

SRCSTFRQ (Source Sweep Start Frequency) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-71

SRCSTPWR (Source Sweep Start Power) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-71

START (Initial startup self test command) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-72

STATUS (Status Message) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-73

STERR (Returns results of POST or *TST?) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-75

SYSLD (Load saved setup store over the GPIB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-75

SYSLNM (Saved set naming) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-76

SYSRD (Output the saved setup over the GPIB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-76

TEXT (User text command) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-77

TEXTS (User text display command) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-77

TR0 (Trigger hold mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-77

TR1 (Trigger immediate) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-78

TR2 (Trigger with a settling delay) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-78

TR3 Trigger free run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-79

TRGARM (Trigger arming) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-79

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M Contents-9

Table of Contents (Continued)

TRGDLY (Trigger sample delay) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-80

TRGGW (Set trigger gate width) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-80

TRGLVL (Set trigger level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-81

TRGMODE (Change trigger mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-81

TRGSRC (Set trigger source) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-82

TRGTYP (Set Trigger type) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-82

TRGXTTL (Set external trigger edge type) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-83

VZERO (Zero the BNC input connector) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-83

ZERO (Zero the selected sensor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-83

8-9 GPIB Emulation Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-84

Zeroing a Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-84

Sensor Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-84

Output Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-84

Contents-10 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Table of Contents (Continued)

8-10 ML4803A Emulation Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-85

SRQs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-85

Status Byte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-85

Output Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-86

Unsupported Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-86

AVE (Sensor averaging setting) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-87

CAL (Set the user cal factor value) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-87

CCA (Clear the calfactor value to zero). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-87

CDJ (Perform a CAL 0 dBm) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-87

COF (Clear the offset value to zero) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-87

COS (Turn ON the 50 MHz, 0 dBm RF calibrator output) . . . . . . . . . . 8-87

CRF (Clear the reference value to zero) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-87

CST (Turn OFF the 50 MHz, 0 dBm RF calibrator output) . . . . . . . . . 8-87

DBM (Sets the display channel units to dBm) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-88

DBR (Sets display channel units to dB’s and takes the relative value) 8-88

EMUL (GPIB emulation mod) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-88

MCA (Set the cal factor value at the specified memory location in dBm)8-88 MCC (Clears the cal factor value at the specified memory location). . 8-89

MCO (Clears the offset value at the specified memory location) . . . . 8-89

MCQ (Clears the frequency value at the specified memory location) . 8-89 MCR (Clears the reference value at the specified memory location) . 8-89

MCT (Clears all the entries at the specified memory location) . . . . . . 8-89

MDI (Disable memory store setting and use) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-89

MEN (Enable setting of the memory stores) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-89

MFG (Set the frequency value at the specified location in GHz). . . . . 8-90

MFM (Set the frequency value at the specified location in MHz) . . . . 8-90

MOF (Set the offset value at the specified location in dBm) . . . . . . . . 8-90

MRF (Set the reference value at the specified location in dBm) . . . . . 8-90

ODT (Output the current calibration factor, offset, and reference level)8-91

OFF (Set sensor offset value) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-91

OI? (Request identity) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-91

OMR (Output a memory store set of data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-92

OPW (Request for channel reading) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-92

REF (Set the reference value). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-95

RNG (Sensor measurement range hold). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-95

SRQ (Turns on or off the SRQ on output data ready) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-95

STA (Restart averaging reading). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-95

WAT (Sets the display channel units to Watts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-95

ZAJ (Zero the sensor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-96

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M Contents-11

Table of Contents (Continued)

8-11 HP436A Emulation Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-97

+ (Disable cal factor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-97

– (Enable cal factor). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-97

1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 (Set sensor operating rang). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-97

9 (Auto rang) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-97

A (Wat). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-97

B (dB (rel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-98

C (dB (ref) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-98

D (dB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-98

EMUL (Select emulation mod). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-98

H (Hold mod) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-99

I (Trigger without settling) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-99

OI (Identificatio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-99

R (Free run mod) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-99

T (Trigger with settling) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-99

V (Free run mode with settling) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-99

Z (Zero sensor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-100

Output Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-100

Contents-12 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Table of Contents (Continued)

8-12 HP437B Emulation Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-102

*CLS (Clear GPIB status byte) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-103

*ESE (Set the Event Status register enable mask) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-103

*ESE? (Return Event status register enable mask). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-105

*ESR? (Event status register request). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-105

*RST (Reset Device) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-105

*SRE (Setup service request enable register). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-105

*SRE? (Return Service Request Enable register) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-105

*STB? (Return Status Byte register) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-106

*TST? (Self Test). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-106

@1 (Set SRE mask) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-106

CL (Cal Adjust) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-107

CS (Clear all status byte). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-107

CT (Clear the cal factor table) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-107

DA (Display All) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-107

DC (Duty Cycle state) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-108

DD (Display disable) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-108

DE (Display enable). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-108

DF (Display disable) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-108

DR (Set GPIB address) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-108

DY (Duty Cycle). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-109

EMUL (GPIB emulation mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-109

EN (Enter command). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-110

EX (Exit cal factor table mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-110

FA (Auto average) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-110

FH (average hold) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-111

FM (Set average value) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-111

FR (Frequency of the input signal) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-111

GT (Set group trigger) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-112

ID (Return identification string) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-112

IDN? (HP437B identity request) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-112

KB (Calibration factor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-113

LG (Set log units). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-113

LH (Set high limit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-113

LL (Set low limit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-113

LM (limits check state) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-114

LN (Set linear units). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-114

OC (Set calibrator state) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-114

OD (Output the display) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-114

OF (Offset state) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-115

OI (Return identification string) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-115

OS (Set offset value) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-115

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M Contents-13

Table of Contents (Continued)

PR (Preset the unit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-115

RA (Auto Range) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-115

RC (Recall setup) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-116

RE (Set decimal point resolution) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-116

RF (Set the reference cal factor value for a table) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-116

RH (Range hold) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-116

RL (Relative mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-117

RM (Range hold set) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-117

RV (Service request mask value) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-117

SE (Select cal factor table) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-117

SM (status message). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-118

ST (Store setup) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-119

SV (Save cal factor table) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-119

TR0 (Trigger hold mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-119

TR1 (Trigger immediate) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-120

TR2 (Trigger with a settling delay). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-120

TR3 (Trigger free run) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-120

ZE (Zero sensors) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-120

Contents-14 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Table of Contents (Continued)

8-13 HP438A Emulation Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-121

?ID (HP Identity request) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-122

@1 (Set SRE mask) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-122

AD (Set display to A – B). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-122

AP (Set single sensor A display) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-122

AR (Set display A / B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-122

BD (Set display B – A). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-122

BP (Set single sensor B display) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-123

BR (Set display B / A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-123

CL (Cal Adjust) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-123

CS (Clear all status bytes). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-123

DA (Display All) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-123

DD (Display disable) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-123

DE (Display enable). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-124

DR (Set GPIB address) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-124

EMUL (GPIB emulation mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-124

FA (auto average) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-124

FH (average hold) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-125

FM (Set average value) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-125

GT (Set group trigger) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-125

KB (Calibration factor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-126

LG (Set log units). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-126

LH (Set high limit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-126

LL (Set low limit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-126

LM (limits check state) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-126

LN (Set linear units). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-127

OC (Set calibrator state) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-127

OI (HP Identity request). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-127

OS (Set offset value) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-127

PR (Preset the unit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-128

RA (Auto Range) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-128

RC (Recall setup) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-128

RH (Range hold) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-128

RL (Relative mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-129

RM (Range hold set) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-129

RV (Service request mask value) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-129

SM (Status Message) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-130

ST (Store setup) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-130

TR0 (Trigger hold mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-131

TR1 (Trigger immediate) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-131

TR2 (Trigger with a settling delay). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-131

TR3 (Trigger free run) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-131

ZE (Zero sensors) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-131

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M Contents-15

Table of Contents (Continued)

8-14 Programming Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-132

Output Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-132

Get Graph Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-133

Status Register Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-134

488.2 General Send/Receive System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-134

Binary Output Message Decoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-136

Appendix A—Technical Support

A-1 Getting Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Appendix B—Specifications

B-1 System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

B-2 System Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3

B-3 System Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10

B-4 Calibration and Zero Error Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-12

Appendix C—GPIB Quick Reference

C-1 ML24XXA Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-1

BNC Functional Group Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-1

Calibration Functional Group Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-1

Channel Functional Group Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-1

Data Output Functional Group Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-2

Display Functional Group Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-3

GPIB 488.2 Functional Group Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-3

GPIB Setup Functional Group Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-3

GPIB Trigger Functional Group Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-4

Profile Setup Functional Group Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-4

Sensor Functional Group Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-5

System Functional Group Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-6

Trigger Functional Group Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-7

ML24XXA Native Mode Query Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-8

C-2 ML4803A Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-12

ML4803A Emulation Mode Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-12

C-3 HP436A Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-14

HP436A Emulation Mode Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-14

C-4 HP437B Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-15

HP437B Emulation Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-15

C-5 HP438A Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-16

HP438A Emulation Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-16

C-6 HP-IB Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-18

HP437B Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-18

HP438A Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C-21

Contents-16 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Table of Contents (Continued)

Appendix D—Connector Care and Handling

D-1 Pin Depth Mating Connectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1

D-2 Torquing Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-2

D-3 Mechanical Shock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-2

D-4 Cleaning Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-3

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M Contents-17

Table of Contents (Continued)

Contents-18 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Chapter 1 — General Information

1-1 About this Manual

This manual provides installation and operational information for the ML2437A and ML2438A Power Meters. All explanations in this manual apply equally to both units unless otherwise stated. For simplicity, the term “ML243xA” is used to refer to both units.

1-2 Associated Documentation and Software

In addition to this manual, the following items are also available on the product disc shipped with the power meter:

• Power Meters & Power Sensors Technical Data Sheet and Product Brochure

• PowerSuite Software and Quick Start Guide: PowerSuite is a PC application designed

to demonstrate the features and capabilities of the ML2437A/38A that are available when interfacing to the device via a GPIB card or RS232 Serial port. PowerSuite is written in Visual Basic 6.0 and the source code, included in the directory, can be used or adapted to add extra features as required.

• ML2419x Range Calibrator Operation and Maintenance Manual

• Performance Verification and Uncertainty Spreadsheets

Updated software and related literature can be downloaded from the product page Library tab:

http://www.anritsu.com/en-us/products-solutions/products/ml2437a.aspx

http://www.anritsu.com/en-us/products-solutions/products/ml2438a.aspx

1-3 Identification Number

The ML243xA ID number is affixed to the rear panel. Please use the complete ID number when ordering parts or corresponding with the Anritsu Customer Service department.

1-4 Available Models

The following ML243xA Power Meters are available with either one or two sensor inputs and are delivered with a 1.5 m sensor cable for each input.

Table 1-1. Model Numbers and Sensor Channels

Model Number Number of Sensor Channels

ML2437A Single Channel

ML2438A Dual Channel

Note

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 1-1

The use of sensor cables greater than 10 meters in length is not recommended when measuring pulses of less than 10 ms.

Available Options, Accessories, and Power Sensors General Information

1-5 Available Options, Accessories, and Power Sensors

Refer to the Anritsu Power Meters & Power Sensors Technical Data Sheet, PN: 11410-00423 for a complete listing of additional options and accessories, including power sensors available for the ML243xA power meters.

1-2 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Chapter 2 — Installation

2-1 Initial Inspection

Inspect the shipping container for damage. If the container or cushioning material is damaged, retain until the contents of the shipment have been checked against the packing list and the instrument has been checked for mechanical and electrical operation. If the power meter is damaged mechanically, notify your local sales representative or Anritsu Customer Service Center. If either the shipping container is damaged or the cushioning material shows signs of stress, notify the carrier as well as Anritsu. Retain the shipping materials for the carrier's inspection.

2-2 Sensor Handling

The sensors are enclosed in a polycarbonate case to help prevent damage. The sensor connectors, however, are exposed and are a critical part of the microwave instrument. Refer to the MA24xxA Series Power Sensor manual (10585-00004) for detailed information on proper connector care.

2-3 Power Requirements

The ML243xA Power Meter can be operated from either AC line power, external DC power, or from the optional internal battery. The ML243xA Power Meter is intended as an Installation (Overvoltage) Category II, Insulation Category I device. At power-on, the power meter will perform a brief power-on self test (POST). If a POST error occurs, information and available options are displayed on the screen. If the POST is successful, the instrument loads the last used configuration, unless Secure mode has been selected.

AC Line Power

The ML243xA Power Meter can operate on AC input power of 85-264 V, 47-440 Hz, 40 VA maximum. The power meter automatically configures itself for the voltage applied. The AC line input is protected by an internal fuse.

DC Power

The ML243xA Power Meter can also operate from a nominal external 12-24 VDC input in the absence of AC line power. DC line power is protected by a fuse mounted inside the unit, on the main board. A grounding terminal is provided on the rear panel to ground the unit during operation from a DC supply.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 2-1

Environmental Requirements Installation

Battery Power

The ML243xA Power Meter can be operated using the optional internal battery pack. During battery operation, an icon is displayed on measurement screens indicating the state of charge. When the remaining capacity reaches less than 10 %, the icon will flash, indicating that charging will soon be required. When running from battery power, an estimate of typical-use running time remaining can be viewed using the System menu. Note that, due to power consumption considerations, GPIB and serial remote operation are not available when the power meter is running from the battery.

The AUTO POWER OFF feature is also available through the System menu, and can be used to automatically switch the unit to standby after a specified period of inactivity to save battery power. The timer can be set for 10 to 240 minutes, and any key press will restart the timer. This same feature will automatically switch the unit to standby when the battery is fully discharged (in order to minimize the risk of over-discharge).

The ML243xA Power Meter uses a high-capacity Ni-MH battery. Over-discharge

Note

For optimum battery life, store the battery pack at -20 to +50 °C (-4 to +122 °F) for short periods and -20 to +35 °C (-4 to +95 °F) for long term storage. The ML243xA Power Meter will operate from AC or DC main power with this battery removed. This battery is not used for the retention of nonvolatile memory functions. Refer to Battery Charging, Removal and Replacement, for further information.

can result in a permanent loss of battery capacity of as much as 20 %. If the unit is to be stored for an extended period (longer than one week), remove the optional battery pack so as to preclude over-discharge.

Fuses

The ML243xA Power Meter AC and DC input lines are protected by internally mounted fuses. These fuses should only be changed by qualified service personnel. Replace only with fuses of the same type and rating (AC fuse is 2 A, 250 V, slow-blow; DC fuse is 3 A, 125 V, slow-blow).

Grounding

The ML243xA Power Meter must be properly grounded. Failure to ground the instrument could be hazardous to operating personnel. The meter is supplied with a three-conductor power cord. The instrument is properly grounded during AC line operation when the plug is connected to a properly installed three-prong receptacle. A grounding terminal is provided on the rear panel to ground the unit during operation from a DC supply.

2-4 Environmental Requirements

The ML243xA Power Meter is designed to operate within the temperature range of 0 to 50 °C (32 to 122 °F) with a maximum humidity of 90 % at 40 °C (104 °F), non-condensing. Full accuracy is specified at 5 to 35 °C (23 to 95 °F). Although not recommended, operation in temperatures to -20 °C (-4 °F) is possible. At these temperatures the liquid crystal display may exhibit excessively slow response. The soft sided carry case (part number D41310) and optional front panel cover (PN: 2000-1535) can be used to help retain internally generated heat and may improve response.

2-2 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Installation Rack Mounting

2-5 Rack Mounting

The ML243xA can be ordered with rack mounting hardware that allows it to be mounted into a standard 48 cm equipment rack. There are two rack mount option kits available:

• The 2400-82 Rack Mount option allows the installation of a single ML243xA in either the left or right side rack position.

• The 2400-83 Rack Mount option allows side-by-side mounting of two ML243xA.

Refer to the instructions that come with the mounting kit for installation.

2-6 Battery Charging, Removal and Replacement

The optional ML243xA Power Meter battery is a 12 Volt, 3000 mA-h nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) multi-cell pack, located in a compartment on the bottom of the housing. The compartment cover is secured by fractional turn fasteners, as shown in the figure below. Rotate the fasteners approximately 1/4-turn counter-clockwise to release the cover.

Figure 2-1. Battery Compartment

Note

To improve charging of the battery used in the power meter, a battery charger is supplied with every battery as standard. The life of the battery (the number of useful charges and available operating time) can be extended by correct use. It is also possible to recover some of the performance of a battery after is has been used incorrectly.

1. A battery will be damaged if left inside a power meter when the power meter is not used for a period longer than two week. Do not leave a battery in a power meter if it is not being used.

2. An Anritsu external battery charger is now supplied with every power meter battery. Best charging of the battery is achieved using this external battery charger.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 2-3

The battery is shipped with a partial charge only, and should be fully charged before use.

Battery Charging, Removal and Replacement Installation

3. It is not recommended for a battery to be charged with the power meter internal charger. However the power meter can charge a well-maintained battery.

4. A battery should always be fully discharged before being re-charged. Fit the battery to the power meter and discharge the battery before charging. The battery charge level may be checked by fitting the battery in the power meter and pressing the following front panel keys

a. Press [System] > [more] > [more] > [Battery] > [STATUS].

b. The remaining capacity is shown as a percentage of full charge.

5. An acceptable level of charge is defined by the number of hours the power meter will

operate with the charged battery. Typically this is 4.5 hours with the display backlight on, and 9 hours with the backlight off. The percentage of charge is a guide not a specification.

6. The power meter can operate with two types of battery.

• Duracell DR36 2800 mAh

• Energizer NJ1020 3500 mAh

The NJ1020 has 25 % more capacity than the DR36.

For the DR36, 80 % of charge is approximately 4.5 hours operation (backlight on).

For the NJ1020, 66 % of charge is approximately 4.5 hours operation (backlight on).

7. If a battery repeatedly charges to less than 50 % it may be possible to recover some of the lost charge capability. This is achieved by completely discharging the battery and then recharging it 5 times. The best way to discharge the battery is to disable the auto off function so that the power meter will operate until automatically shut down.

Battery voltage. Press the following keys to set auto off to no:

a. Press [System] > [more] > [more] > [Battery].

b. Press [AUTO] to change the AUTO power off states to “Disable”.

Note

To avoid excessive heat build up, always remove the ML243xA from the optional soft-sided carrying case (D41310) before selecting fast charging.

The ideal battery temperature ranges are:

• Discharging: -20 to +50 °C (-4 to +122 °F)

• Charging: 10 to +45 °C (+50 to +113 °F)

Note that charging will be inhibited if the temperature falls outside these limits.

To remove the battery, first disconnect any AC or DC input line power. Open the battery compartment as illustrated and remove the battery. Replace the battery with an identical battery or with an equivalent as recommended by an Anritsu Service Center. Ensure that the battery is correctly connected and that the battery compartment cover is securely fastened.

2-4 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Installation Battery Charging, Removal and Replacement

Note that the battery is an optional component that is not used for the retention of non-volatile memory functions, and is not required for the power meter to operate from either AC or DC line sources. Serial and GPIB remote operation, however, are not available when the power meter is running from battery power.

Warning

long-term storage of the instrument and storing the battery in a leak-proof, plastic container. Follow the environmental storage requirements specified in the product technical data sheet.

The ML243xA battery pack can leak, explode, or catch on fire if it is opened, disassembled, or exposed to fire or very high temperatures. No attempt should be made to open, repair, or modify the battery package. When a battery pack has reached the end of its functional life, it should be returned to the nearest Anritsu Service Center for proper recycling or disposal. Do not treat a used battery as normal waste.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 2-5

Storage and Shipment Installation

2-7 Storage and Shipment

The following paragraphs describe preparing the power meter for storage and shipment.

Preparation for Storage

Preparing the power meter for storage consists of cleaning the unit and packing it with moisture-absorbing desiccant crystals. Whenever the unit is to be stored for an extended period (longer than one week), it is advisable to remove the optional battery pack. Refer to Section 2-8, “Battery Charging, Removal and Replacement” for instructions.

Warning

Environmental Requirements

Store the unit in a temperature controlled environment that is maintained between -40 °C and +70 °C (-40 °F to +156 °F), with a maximum humidity of 90 % at 40 °C (104 °F), non-condensing. For optimum battery life, store the battery pack at -20 °C to +50 °C (-4 °F to +122 °F) for short periods and -20 °C to +35 °C (-4 °F to +95 °F) for long term storage.

2-8 Preparing for Shipment

Follow the procedure below if it is necessary to return the ML2437A/38A to Anritsu.

1. Wrap the ML243xA to protect the finish.

2. Position the ML243xA in the original shipping container.

Note

If the original shipping container is no longer available, use a strong corrugated cardboard container that is at least 15 cm larger than the ML243x8A.

3. Insert cushioning material between the ML243xA and the container. Pack the cushioning material tightly in place while taking care not to put pressure on the RF connector on the front panel.

4. Seal the container carefully; use shipping tape or an industrial stapler.

5. Return the container to the appropriate Anritsu service center. The address of your local

service center can be found at http://www.anritsu.com/Contact.asp

2-6 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Chapter 3 — Memory and Security Considerations

3-1 Introduction

The ML2437A/38A Power Meters have three different types of memory devices:

Internal Flash Memory (8 MB EEPROM)

This memory space is used to store the instrument firmware for the main processor and DSP factory calibration. Also stored in this memory is the model number and serial number. During a firmware update, the old firmware is erased. The firmware does not contain any user information or any variables generated during the execution of the code. The internal flash memory is not user accessible.

RAM Memory used by the DSP microcomputer (640 KB)

This is volatile memory used to store many parameters needed for the normal operation of the instrument along with current measurement data. It is initialized on power up and is completely cleared when powered down. This memory is not user accessible.

RAM Memory as non-volatile RAM (1 MB)

Non-volatile memory is used to store many parameters such as the current instrument setup, saved instrument setups, offset tables, calibration adjustment values, user-set parameters, etc. The user cannot write to this memory directly, but can store and retrieve instrument set-up parameters in this memory. It can be cleared by an instrument reset operation (see below).

3-2 Secure Mode

Information such as the cal factor frequency needs to be removed from the power meter if the power meter is moved out of a secure environment. This can be accomplished by using the secure mode to completely wipe the non-volatile static RAM of all information.

The user sets the secure mode on the power meter. When the power meter is next turned on the non-volatile static RAM is completely purged of all information. The power meter then sets the factory defaults for the current settings. To set Secure mode on, use the following key sequence:

System | Secure | ON

Secure mode can also be enabled via the SECURE GPIB command (refer to “SECURE (Secure

system state) ” on page 8-68.

To manually reset the status to factory default, use the factory reset button described below.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 3-1

Clearing the Non-Volatile Static RAM Memory and Security Considerations

3-3 Clearing the Non-Volatile Static RAM

Warning

Turn the instrument on and use the following key sequence:

System | Setup | more | Preset | Factory

The following procedure will permanently erase all user data, including saved set-up data.

3-4 Anritsu Power Sensors EEPROM

Anritsu manufactures several different families of sensors. All families have an EEPROM type of memory device in the power sensor.

All A,B,C sensors (except MA2490/1A and MA2411B series sensors)

These sensors all contain a 64 Kb (8 K x 8) EEPROM.

All D sensors (including MA2490/1A and MA2411B series sensors)

These sensors all contain a 128 Kb (16 K x 8) EEPROM.

EEPROM Contents

The EEPROM is used to store the following information

• Linearity data

• Temperature Correction Coefficients

• Sensor ID

• Factory cal factor data

• User cal factor table data

Only the user cal factor table data can be erased without the functionality of the sensor being affected. This can be done by using the following key sequence:

Sensor | Calfactor | Edit | Clear

3-2 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Chapter 4 — Connections

4-1 Front Panel Connectors

The front panel connectors are illustrated in the figure below. Detailed descriptions of each connector follow.

Figure 4-1. Front Panel Connectors

Calibrator Connector

This connector is a precision female N-Type, 50 Ohm connector that provides a precision, traceable 0.0 dBm, 50 MHz reference signal for absolute calibration of the sensors. The calibration signal can be turned on or off through the Cal/Zero menus. Use only compatible 50 Ohm N-Type connectors.

An optional rear panel Calibrator connector is offered as an alternative (see figure overleaf). If the rear panel connector option is installed, the front panel connector is not installed. Refer to Chapter 5, Procedures, for information on using the Calibrator output.

Sensor A Connector

This connector is a 12-pin circular precision connector to be used in conjunction with power sensor cables. An optional rear panel Channel A connector is offered as an alternative (see figure overleaf). If the rear panel connector option is installed, the front panel connector is not installed.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 4-1

Rear Panel Connectors Connections

H I J K L M N

D E F

Made in USA

Sensor B Connector (ML2438A only)

This connector is a 12-pin circular precision connector to be used in conjunction with power sensor cables. An optional rear panel Channel B connector is offered as an alternative (see figure below). If the rear panel connector option is installed, the front panel connector is not installed.

Only MA2400A Series sensors can be connected directly to the ML243xA Power

Note

Meters. MA4700A and MA4600A Series sensors require the MA2499A or MA2499B Anritsu Sensor Adapter. MP-Series (10-pin) sensors require an MA4001A or MA4002B adapter and an MA2499B.

4-2 Rear Panel Connectors

The Rear Panel connectors are shown in the figure below.

Figure 4-2. Rear Panel Connectors

Tab le 4-1. Rear Panel Connectors

Key Item Description

A RS232 Serial

Connector

Serial control and data output commands are entered using the same format as the GPIB interface. Refer to chapter 5 for more information on using Serial Remote Operation. Allows communication with an Anritsu synthesizer in Source Sweep mode. Also allows service access for software upgrades. The hardware handshake lines RTS and CTS are used to control the flow of data.

B Parallel Printer

Port

Provides an interface to a standard parallel printer. Compatible printers include the Canon BJC80, HP340 Deskjet, and most other 300 and 500 Series HP Deskjet printers.

4-2 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Connections Rear Panel Connectors

Table 4-1. Rear Panel Connectors

Key Item Description

C GPIB/ IEEE488

Connector

Standard General Purpose Interface Bus connector used to connect through GPIB to other test equipment and a host computer. The ML243xA is compatible with IEEE-488.1 requirements.

D ID Number Label The ML243xA ID number is affixed to the rear panel here. Please

use the complete ID number when ordering parts or corresponding with the Anritsu Customer Service department.

E AC Main Power

Input

85-264 VAC, 47-440 Hz, 40 VA maximum. The power meter automatically configures itself for the voltage applied. Connecting AC power here will turn the instrument on. Subsequently, the instrument can be switched between the ON state and the STANDBY state using the front panel ON/OFF button. The optional battery can be fast charged when AC input voltage is applied through this connector and all other power meter functions are off.

F Chassis Ground Used as a convenient earth ground reference when DC line power

is applied. Used as an optional safety ground when operating from battery power.

GSensor

Connectors

Alternate Sensor input connectors for Channels A and B. If the rear panel optional connectors are installed, the front panel connectors are not installed.

HSensor

Connectors

Alternate Sensor input connectors for Channels A and B. If the rear panel optional connectors are installed, the front panel connectors are not installed.

I Calibrator

Connector

Alternate Calibrator output connector. If this rear panel connector option is installed, the front panel connector is not installed. Refer to Chapter 5, Procedures, for information on using the Reference Calibrator output.

J Output 1 Multi-purpose BNC connector is user-configurable for Modulation

Output (TTL), Analog Output 1 (volts/units), or Limits Pass/fail (TTL). Supports pass/fail testing for channels 1 and 2. Also configurable to output a real-time measurement signal from sensor input A, suitable for levelling purposes.

K Output 2 Multi purpose BNC connector is user configurable for Analog

Output 2 (volts/units), Blanking Zero (TTL), or Limits Pass/Fail (TTL). Supports pass/fail testing for channels 1 and 2. Also configurable to output a real-time measurement signal from sensor input B, suitable for levelling purposes.

L Input 1, Digital Multi purpose BNC connector is user configurable for Blanking

Input (used to ARM measurements in triggering modes) or TTL Trigger Input.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 4-3

Rear Panel Connectors Connections

Tab le 4-1. Rear Panel Connectors

Key Item Description

M Input 2, Analog Multi-purpose BNC connector used for Volts per GHz connection.

Supports 0 to +20 V nominal input voltage with software selectable scaling. V/GHz is used for automatic CAL FACTOR correction by applying an external voltage, scaled to frequency. The correct calibration factor for this frequency is automatically interpolated and applied when in V/GHz calibration factor mode. Different scaling may be applied to sensor A or B allowing for measurement of frequency translation devices. Available simultaneously with channel A and/or B data, the data rate is as set on the channel. The default data rate is 20 ms in DEFAULT measurement mode (with the default settling time of 0.1 %), and programmable in PROFILE operation mode and CUSTOM measurement mode.

N DC Power Supply

Input

Used for 12-24 VDC input in the absence of AC line power. The optional battery can be fast-charged when the DC input voltage is greater than or equal to 21 V and all other functions are off. Fast-charge must be selected from the System menu. The external DC Power Supply input line is protected by an internal fuse.

4-4 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Chapter 5 — Front Panel Operation

BCA

The ML243xA Power Meter is controlled from the front panel using the five main menu keys: Sensor, Channel, Trigger, System, and Cal/Zero. This chapter explains the power-on procedure and the features and functions of each of the menus. Refer to Appendix C for quick reference Menu Maps.

5-1 Front Panel Controls

The front panel controls are shown in the figure below. The following sections provide more detailed explanations of the menus and soft keys.

Figure 5-1. Front Panel Controls

Table 5-1. Front Panel Connectors

Key Item Description

A Numeric Keypad Provides the means for entering numeric data in the appropriate

B Graphic LCD with

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-1

Backlight

menus as required for system configuration or calibration.

The LCD display settings are configured in the System menus. The backlight can be turned on or off, or time-delayed, as required to suit ambient conditions and battery drain. The backlight is controlled through the System menus when operating from the internal battery.

Power-On Procedure Front Panel Operation

Tab le 5-1. Front Panel Connectors

Key Item Description

C Soft Keys Soft keys select submenus, toggle selections, control cursor

position, and allow data entry. A flashing cursor indicates when numbers can be entered using the numeric keypad. Refer to the following sections of this chapter for detailed information on using the soft keys.

D Power On /Off Switches the power meter from STANDBY to ON, or ON to

STANDBY. Note that whenever AC power is applied, the power meter defaults to the ON state. Subsequently, the instrument can be switched between the ON state and the STANDBY state using this front panel Power On /Off key. When External or Internal (battery) DC power is first applied to the instrument (no AC present) the power meter defaults to the STANDBY state. It can then be switched to the ON state using the front panel Power On /Off key.

E Clear Key The clear (CLR) key performs various functions depending on

when it is pressed. For example, when editing an entry in a menu, pressing the CLR key clears the digits. If in a menu screen, pressing the CLR key returns to the previous menu level. If the limits FAIL indicator HOLD audible alarm is sounding, pressing the CLR key stops the alarm. The FAIL indication is not affected by the clear key, and can only be cleared by turning fail hold off. If the GPIB box is on the screen and the system is not in a menu screen, and the system is in local mode (menus available), and no GPIB operations are pending, then pressing the CLR key clears the GPIB box off the screen.

F Menu Keys When pressed, the first level submenus appear on the display

directly above the soft key for that menu function. Refer to the following sections of this chapter for detailed information on using the menu keys.

5-2 Power-On Procedure

At power-on, the power meter performs a brief power-on self test (POST). After the POST, the instrument loads the last used configuration and display settings. If a POST error occurs, information and available options are displayed on the screen.

The following tests are performed during the power-on self test, and also when the GPIB *TST? command is sent.

Tab le 5-2. Power-on Self Test

Test sequence Possible status

Flash EPROM code checksum Pass or Fail

Flash EPROM personality data checksum

5-2 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Pass or Fail

Front Panel Operation Power-On Procedure

Table 5-2. Power-on Self Test

Test sequence Possible status

Flash EPROM calibration data

Pass or Fail

checksum

Volatile RAM tests Pass or Fail

Non-volatile RAM checksums Pass or Fail

WARNING - Software version changed - all non-vol stores reset

Current store failed - current store reset

Saved store(s) failed - failed store status changed to not saved

WARNING - Secure mode clear memory - all non-vol stores reset

Display Pass or Fail

Keyboard Pass or Fail

Failure and warning messages that can be displayed on the front panel are:

• Flash code csum

• Personality csumVolatile RAM

• Cal data csum

• Non-Vol RAM

• Software version - this is only a warning

• Current Setup

• Saved Setups

• Secure - Mem clear - this is only a warning

• Display

• Keyboard

• DSP error # - followed by a 4-digit hexadecimal error code

If an error, other than a DSP error, is encountered, the text: “Press ANY key to continue” is displayed at the bottom of the screen. If only warnings are encountered, nothing is displayed at the bottom of the screen, and the unit continues to initialize.

If a DSP error occurs, the text, "Restart unit. If error persists, contact Service Center." is displayed and the unit will halt the self test. Make a note of the hexadecimal error code displayed and contact your nearest Anritsu Service Center.

Self test error messages are also available over the GPIB, as a self test status string (see STERR command in chapter 7).

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-3

Sensor Menu Front Panel Operation

5-3 Sensor Menu

The Sensor menu has controls for sensor data processing.

Note

When editing an entry in a menu, pressing the CLR key clears the digits. If in a menu screen, pressing the CLR key returns to the previous menu level.

Setup

Selects the data acquisition controls for the sensor. The following submenus are displayed.

SENSOR

Model ML2438A (dual channel) only. Select the sensor to be configured. Toggles between Channel A and Channel B for all submenu functions.

OPTION

Only displayed if a Universal Power Sensor with Option 01 is connected to selected input channel. This key selects between True RMS sensor operation (for WCDMA measurements) and Fast CW (for TDMA/Pulse measurements).

MODE

Note The MODE selection is not available in Profile or Source Sweep modes.

Select either Default, Modulated Average, or Custom.

Default is the sensor mode setting following system preset. It is the ML243xA simplest operating mode. Measurement speed is automatically adjusted according to sensor response times and the user-adjustable Settling %. Triggering controls, except for GPIB trigger, are disabled when the sensor mode is set to Default. This is intended to simplify basic power measurement by avoiding the necessity of specific trigger settings.

Modulated Average mode is used to stabilize the front panel digital readout. It is a specialized sensor mode for either MA2440A or MA2470A Series power sensors. These sensors are fast enough to demodulate the amplitude modulation of many RF test signals. The Mod Average sensor mode is unnecessary for thermal power sensors.

The Custom sensor mode permits the highest measurement rates. Trigger controls are available with this sensor mode. Trigger Delay (the time between the ML243xA receipt of a valid trigger event and the start of sample integration) and Gate Width (the duration of sample integration) controls are located in the Trigger menus.

When using universal power sensors only default mode is a available unless OPTION is set to Fast CW. Fast CW can only be selected for sensors supplied with option 01.

Note

5-4 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

When measuring modulated signals with a diode sensor, ensure Modulated Average is selected or measurement errors may result.

Front Panel Operation Sensor Menu

HOLD [RGH]

Allows the operating range of the selected sensor to be set to the desired range. Select a Range Hold value of 1 to 5, or Auto. When in Auto, the range changes to take the best measurement automatically. Auto is the default setting following system preset.

Table 5-3. Typical Range Hold Values for Diode Sensors

Range Values

Range 1 above approximately –12 dBm

Range 2 -10 to -27 dBm

Range 3 -25 to -42 dBm

Range 4 -40 to -57 dBm

Range 5 below -55 dBm

SETTLE % [SENSTL]

Settle % per reading is available when the sensor mode is set to Default. The settling time allows some control over the trade-off between speed and the extent to which a measurement has settled to its final value. A 1 % settling value relates to approximately 0.04 dB, 0.5 % relates to 0.02 dB and 0.25 % to 0.01 dB. The default value after a system preset is 0.1 %, or about 0.004 dB. Increasing the Settle percent to 1 % or more will substantially increase measurement speed.

Note SETTLE% affects GPIB speed. Consider this when optimizing GPIB performance.

Calfactor

Allows entry of the calibration correction factor. The calibration factor compensates for mismatch losses and effective efficiency over the frequency range of the power sensor.

SENSOR

Model ML2438A (dual channel) only. Select the sensor to be configured. Toggles between Sensor A and Sensor B for all submenu functions.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-5

Sensor Menu Front Panel Operation

SOURCE [CFSRC, CFVAL]

Three selections are available, Frequency, Manual, and V/GHz.

Frequency: In this mode, correction data is read from the EEPROM in the sensor

and applied automatically to the measurement based on the user’s input frequency. The EEPROM correction data value nearest to the entered frequency is used to calculate the correction applied to the signal. For greater accuracy, calibration factors are interpolated for settings that are between the calibration factor data provided in the sensor EEPROM. For example, if calibration factors exist for 1 and 2 GHz, then the calibration factor applied for 1.5 GHz will be a value midway between the two.

Sensor linearity adjustments for temperature are also interpolated; If the correction factor for 1.5 GHz at 25°C is 1 dB, and for 35 ° C is 1.1 dB, then at 30 °C a value of 1.05 dB will be used.

Note

Frequency or V/GHz are preferred methods as the sensors have internal linearity correction which varies with frequency.

Manual Set: Allows manual correction of sensor data either as a percentage or a

fixed dB value. An input frequency is also required to allow the correct linearity correction factors to be applied.

V/GHz: Most modern synthesized sources have a rear panel BNC connector

which outputs a voltage proportional to the synthesized frequency. The V/GHz is supplied to the rear panel input connector of the ML243xA. The SETUP submenu has controls for customizing the voltage and frequency relationship.

When the MA2499B Anritsu Sensor Adapter or the MA2497A HP Sensor Adapter

Note

are used, the input frequency should be set to 50 MHz irrespective of the measurement frequency. Linearity correction factors are not applied when the adapters are being used.

FREQ [CFFRQ]

When the Cal Factor source is set to Frequency or manual, enter the input signal frequency in GHz or MHz. The correct sensor calibration factor is automatically interpolated and applied to the displayed power reading.

You will see a live update of the Current Cal Factor only if that sensor is being used

Note

on a channel. For example: If you are editing the Cal Factor Frequency on Sensor B, but you only have channel 1 set to A and channel 2 off, you will not see the "Current Cal Factor" being updated.

5-6 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation Sensor Menu

USE TABLE [CFUSEL, CFUTBL, CFUUSE, CFUVLD]

Defines which calibration factor table is to be used. Can be set to Factory, table number 1-10, or Factory + table number. The maximum number of tables available is displayed on the screen, and is never greater than 10. If a selected table has not been used before, the user will be prompted to CLEAR or PRESET the table, or cancel the selection. If a table is CLEARED, all entries are cleared except for a single entry of 100 % @ 50 MHz. If a table is PRESET - the factory defined calibration factor table is copied into the specified user calibration factor table. The CLEARED or PRESET table is saved directly to the sensor. PRESET clears the ID string, while CLEAR leaves the ID string as currently set.

The number of tables available is defined by the frequency range of the sensor and the amount of factory calibration data stored.

User defined Cal Factor tables are available for applications where user-supplied

Note

calibration points are required. Additional cal factor frequencies can be entered in a user table and used in conjunction with the factory table.

Delete: Deletes the currently displayed table number.

Factory: Selects the Factory calibration factor table. Pressing Factory and the +/-

key on the numeric keypad allows selection of a user-defined table in addition to the factory table. This allows full factory calibration to be active, and allows adjustments or corrections to be entered in the user-defined table. If user table 1 was selected, the menu would show ‘Factory+1’ and the Status box on the readout display would show a warning ‘*’ sign on the Cal Factor line (bottom text line in the box) to show that non-standard calibration is being applied (CAL *F or CAL *V).

Enter: Confirms the selection.

Whichever set, or sets, of cal factors are used, the linearity and temperature

Note

correction remains active at all times. Ensure the power meter is programmed with the frequency of the signal being measured.

%/dB [CFUNITS]

Toggles the Current Cal factor display format from percentage to dB, and back.

EDIT [CFUADD, CFUSAV, CFUCT, CFUPT, CFULD, CFURD, CFUID]

Edit any of the available user calibration factor tables in the sensor. Options available are CLEAR or PRESET the table, enter a new table identity string, change or delete existing frequency/cal factor data pairs, or enter new frequency/cal factor data pairs. All frequency/cal factor data pairs can have both frequency and calibration factor value modified, except for the data pair at 50 MHz, which can only have its cal factor value changed. All frequency/cal factor data pairs can be deleted, but there must always be one data pair remaining. If there is a data pair at 50 MHz, this will be the data pair that will remain.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-7

Sensor Menu Front Panel Operation

The user must ensure that the maximum number of cal factor data pairs entered into a table is not exceeded. Sensors with a maximum frequency of up to 40 GHz will hold 90 pairs, while sensors with a maximum frequency of 50 GHz will hold 110 pairs.

Once all changes have been made, the SAVE soft key saves the changed data to the sensor. If any user cal factor data is changed and not saved, any attempt to exit the cal factor menu or select a new table will result in a prompt to discard or save the changes.

FACTOR [CFCAL]

When the Cal Factor Source is set to Manual, the operator is expected to enter the calibration factor value in dB or % terms.

CAL ADJUST [CFADJ]

Sets a calibration factor to be used when performing a 0 dBm calibration and the calibration factor source is set to 'Manual.' This value is the only factor applied when performing a 0 dBm reference calibration. If the sensor calibration factor source is set to V/GHz or Frequency, the sensor internal EEPROM correction value at 50 MHz is used.

SETUP [CVSTF, CVSPF, CVSTV, CVSPV]

Sets up the Start and Stop frequencies and voltages when Source is set to V/GHz. This tells the ML243xA how to determine the frequency of the swept signal based on the applied rear panel voltage.

Averaging

Sensor data averaging. The available soft keys depend upon the operating mode selected.

In Readout and Power vs. Time modes, the following soft keys appear:

SENSOR

Model ML2438A (dual channel) only. Select sensor A or B, in Power vs. Time or Readout modes.

MODE [AVG AVGM]

Select OFF, AUTO, MOVING or REPEAT, in Power vs. Time or Readout modes.

AUTOMATIC averaging uses a MOVING type of average and increases the amount of averaging as the noise level increases. The display updates at approximately 100 ms intervals, however the data is available at the full rate. The display is slowed down to prevent jitter and allow the user to follow the update.

Note

MOVING average allows the user to manually select the amount of averaging regardless of the signal level. The display is continually updated while averaging.

Automatic averaging also applies an algorithm to enhance settling at low power levels (e.g., signal sources).

When selected, the following soft key becomes available:

5-8 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation Sensor Menu

NUMBER [AVG AVGM]

Sweep averaging number (1 to 512).

REPEAT averaging also allows the user to manually select the amount of averaging regardless of the signal level, however the display is updated only when the NUMBER of readings specified have been taken (1-512).

Due to the nature of this method of operation, if the power level changes between updates, the display update will not reflect the true input power for one

Note

measurement only. When a channel is set to a ratio, e.g., A–B or A/B etc., the repeat method described above only operates if all sensors are set to the REPEAT mode.

GPIB trigger commands automatically apply REPEAT averaging after TR2

Note

commands to ensure ‘old’ samples are excluded from the measurement. However, the user should be aware that due to the high speed of the meter, other instruments in the ATE system may not be settled.

LOW LEVEL [AVGLL]

Select OFF, LOW, MEDIUM, or HIGH, Low Level Averaging, in Power vs. Time or Readout modes. Sets the low level averaging window for the sensor. At resolution settings of 0.01 and 0.001 dB, digital readouts may flicker due to the high reading rate of the power meter. Low level averaging applies a low pass filter to post-average data readings to achieve a more stable front panel display without slowing down the response of the meter to larger changes in level. The three windows for LOW, MEDIUM and HIGH low level averaging are ± 0.01, 0.02, and 0.05 dB.

For example: When a LOW setting of low level averaging is applied while stepping from 0 dBm to –1 dBm, the meter displays the final reading within 0.01 dB with no delay. The final settling of 0.01 dB will settle over a short subsequent period of time, leading to a stable high resolution readout.

With a HIGH setting of low level averaging, the settling window is increased (up to approximately 0.05 dB) and the settling time is longer.

With low level averaging OFF, the meter displays the final reading instantly with no further settling observed. Any jitter due to noise is reflected in the displayed reading, which may be inconvenient for high resolution readings.

In Profile and Source sweep modes, the following soft keys appear:

STATE [GRSWS]

Graph averaging state, ON or OFF. When set to ON, the following additional soft keys appear:

A NUMBER [GRSWP]

B NUMBER (ML2438A only) [GRSWP]

Sweep averaging number (1 to 512).

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-9

Sensor Menu Front Panel Operation

RESET

Sweep average reset. If the graph sweep averaging state is ON, this key resets the data points and restarts the sweep to sweep mode.

CURSOR [GRSWR]

Between cursor averaging ON or OFF. When ON, a digital readout of the average power between the two cursors is displayed in the readout area of the PROFILE display.

Offset

Allows an offset, in dB, to be applied to sensor data for the selected sensor.

SENSOR

Model ML2438A (dual channel) only. Used to select the sensor to be configured. Toggles between Channel A and Channel B for all submenu functions.

TYPE [OFFTYP]

Selects the type of offset to be applied:

Off: No offset applied.

Fixed: A fixed dB offset VALUE is applied to the sensor data.

Table: The tables are a set of frequency-against-dB offsets. The offset value used

from the table depends on the setting of the frequency correction source. If the source is FREQUENCY, the entered frequency is used to calculate the offset from the table. If the frequency correction source is V/GHz, the frequency value calculated from the supplied ramp input is used to calculate the offset from the table.

If the frequency does not match any frequency in the table, interpolation is used to calculate the correct offset.

Use Fixed or Table to compensate for a fixed attenuator on a sensor for measuring

Note

VALUE [OFFFIX OFFVAL]

Enter the offset value (dB) when Offset TYPE is set to Fixed. Valid range is –99.99 to +99.99.

higher power levels. A better method is to apply a Fixed cal factor in the User tables as this is then taken into account in the Zero/Cal process.

If the frequency is greater than the maximum frequency in the table, the offset value from the maximum table frequency is used. If the frequency is less than the minimum frequency in the table, the offset from the minimum table frequency is used.

5-10 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation Sensor Menu

TABLE [OFFTBL, OFFTBR, OFFTBU, OFFVAL]

Select the offset table number (1-5) when Offset TYPE is set to Table. When a table is selected, additional soft keys become available:

EDIT: This will bring up all of the selected offset table’s entries, with their

associated frequencies and offsets. Select an entry and enter the frequency and offset using the keypad.

CLEAR [OFFCLR]:

When an offset table is selected, CLEAR will set all of the table’s elements to zero.

Duty cycle

Applies a duty cycle to the selected sensor. An offset will be applied based on the entered value.

SENSOR

Model ML2438A (dual channel) only. Used to select the sensor to be configured. Toggles between sensor A and sensor B for all submenu functions.

STATE [DUTYS]

ON or OFF

DUTY [DUTYS]

Delete, Enter, or Cancel. An offset will be applied based on the entered value. For example, specifying a duty cycle of 50 % will alter the displayed readings by approximately +3.01 dB.

Rng Hold [RGH]

This function will toggle the sensor between holding the present operating range and Auto Ranging. Auto Ranging automatically selects the best range to take the measurement.

If either sensor is auto ranging, this key will force both sensors to hold their present operating ranges. If either sensor is held within an operation range, this key will force both sensors to Auto Range.

Note

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-11

Rng Hold is not available when System > Setup > mode is set to Source Sweep. In this mode, AUTO ranging is used.

Channel Menu Front Panel Operation

5-4 Channel Menu

The Channel menu controls the operation of a display channel. There are two display channels, Channel 1 and Channel 2. Channel 1 appears at the top of the readout display and channel 2 at the bottom. If a channel input configuration is turned off, the remaining channel appears in the centre of the screen.

Note

The Channel submenus are as follows:

When editing an entry in a menu, pressing the CLR key clears the digits. If in a menu screen, pressing the CLR key returns to the previous menu level.

Setup

The setup menu allows the user to set up the configuration of the display channels. The setup parameters are:

CHANNEL

Selects the channel to be configured. Toggles between Channel 1 and Channel 2.

INPUT [CHCFG]

This is the sensor, combination of sensors, or rear panel BNC input that is used to calculate the measured and processed value for this channel. For the ML2437A (single input) power meter, the available options are A, External Volts, or OFF. For the ML2438A (dual input) power meter, the options are A, B, A – B, B – A, A/B, B/A, External Volts, or OFF.

UNITS [CHUNIT]

The units can be dB(m), Watts, dBV, or dBmV. If the External Volts input is selected, the units are fixed to Volts.

RESOLUTION [CHRES]

The number of decimal places in which the results are displayed in Readout mode, with certain limitations. If the units selected are in Watts or Volts, and the value goes down to pW or V, the number of decimal places is forced to zero. If the number to be displayed is too large for the number of decimal places selected, the decimal places displayed will be reduced.

MIN/MAX [MNMXS GMNMX]

This selection turns on the Min/Max Tracking for the display channel selected. On the top line of the data display, when not in menu mode, the min and max of the channel data (after combination and unit conversion calculations) is displayed. The left hand set of data is for display channel 1 and the right hand set for display channel 2.

5-12 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation Channel Menu

In Profile mode, the Min/Max is between cursors only, as controlled by selecting SINGLE or INFINITE through the System > Graphics > TRACKING menu. SINGLE (default) is the most useful as it provides a continuously updated readout of the Min/ Max points within the cursor window. The INFINITE setting is used when the results needs to be collated over a large number of samples.

Note

RESET [MMRST]

This function resets the Min/Max (when ON) for the channel selected.

Use MIN/MAX to track variations in a measurement over time, or while adjusting external devices or tuning over frequency.

Rel 1 [REL]

After the relative power level is set by the operator, the Relative mode subtracts that value from the current measured power. If selected when in Relative mode, the relative operation for channel one is turned off.

Pressing the Rel 1 soft key when in Readout mode will subtract the last used relative value. Hold down the key to retake this value. The readout will display 0.00 dBr. This relative value will be used thereafter until it is replaced by another one in the same manner. This allows the user to refer to a previously referenced value, without the meter resetting itself back to a 0.00 display.

Rel 2 [REL]

Relative mode control for Channel 2 is labelled Rel 2.

Limits

Pressing the Limits menu soft key displays the test limits for the selected channel. This menu sets individual high and low pass/fail limits for the two display channels. These limits drive the PASS/FAIL display flags and the PASS/FAIL TTL output if selected.

In Power vs. Time graphic mode and Readout digital mode, each fail of the limits produce a separate fail flag and fail beep (if ON) and also drive the rear panel BNC (if enabled) for each pass or fail reading. In PROFILE mode, each fail of the limits produce a fail beep (if ON) and hold the fail output if any point in a sweep fails. If FAIL indicator HOLD is ON, both the screen FAIL indicator and the BNC output are held in the fail state whenever the limits specified for the channel have been exceeded, regardless of whether the reading subsequently goes into pass or not. This state remains until FAIL indicator HOLD is turned OFF.

CHANNEL

The limits are set for the selected display channel unit type. The display channel units selected when the limit was originally set or turned on become the limit units. If the display channel units are changed, and the limits not altered, limit checking is turned off for that channel. If the display channel units are subsequently returned to the same units selected when the limit was entered or turned on, limit checking is turned on again.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-13

Channel Menu Front Panel Operation

Whenever the limit units are active, limit checking is applied as follows: If the channel value is greater than the high limit, and the high limit is turned ON, a FAIL is indicated. If the channel value is below the low limit, and the low limit is ON, a FAIL is indicated. Otherwise, if any limit is ON and a FAIL is not detected, PASS is indicated.

HIGH Limit [HLIM]

Sets the high limit. It is not necessary to enter the units as the limit value is checked against the displayed value. Therefore, if the limits have been set for –10 dBm and the display units are subsequently changed from dBm to Watts, the system still checks for the reading to rise above –10, even though the display units type has been changed.

Tab le 5-4. High Limit

Units Min Max

dBm -99.99 +99.99

dBmV -53.00 147.00

dBμV 7.00 207.00

Watts 0.0 50.0

Setting a limit value automatically turns on the limit state, except when done via GPIB.

LOW Limit [LLIM]

Sets the low limit. It is not necessary to enter the units as the limit value is checked against the displayed value.

HIGH State [HLIMS]

Select ON or OFF to enable or disable high limit checking.

LOW State [LLIMS]

Select ON or OFF to enable or disable low limit checking.

FAIL HOLD [FHOLD]

If FAIL HOLD is ON, both the screen FAIL indicator and the BNC output are held in the fail state whenever the limits specified for the channel have been exceeded, regardless of whether the reading subsequently goes into pass or not. This state remains until FAIL HOLD is turned OFF.

BEEP [FBEEP]

If BEEP is ON, and FAIL HOLD is OFF, whenever the limits specified for the channel have been exceeded, a single beep sounds.

If fail BEEP is ON and FAIL HOLD is ON, whenever the limits specified for the channel have been exceeded, a beep will sound once every second until FAIL HOLD is turned OFF, or the CLEAR key (CLR) is pressed.

The FAIL indication is not affected by the CLEAR key, and can only be cleared by turning FAIL HOLD off. If a limit fail happens again, the alarm will sound again.

5-14 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation Trigger Menu

5-5 Trigger Menu

The Trigger function in the ML243xA allows the user to define under what conditions measurements are taken, and the time period they are taken over. For instance, the READOUT mode can be configured to display the average power of the ON period of a square wave, or an individual slot in a GSM burst.

The Trigger menus are always available in PROFILE operation mode, as selected from the System menu. If PROFILE cannot be selected within the System > Setup submenu, change the GPIB mode to ML24XX in the System > Rear Panel submenu.

In READOUT or Power vs. Time modes, the trigger setup menus are available if the channel input configuration SENSOR > Setup > MODE is set to CUSTOM. A display channel using more than one sensor (A–B for example) where either sensor is in CUSTOM mode, is assumed to be in custom mode and can use triggering. Trigger setup is available only for the display channels that meet the above criteria.

In PROFILE mode, the display shows an ‘x’ marking the trigger point plus the display trigger delay time, updated for each new set of data. This trigger point mark rotates as the profile data is updated, changing between '´' and '+' on each data update. On rapid updates, the trigger point mark may appear like a star ( or GPIB triggered displays, the mark rotates at a slower rate and each true data update can be seen.

This point can be moved across the x axis by the pre trigger percentage. If the trigger source is either default, mod average or custom continuous, the trigger point has no meaning since the system is continuously triggering. The mark does not appear in the Power vs. Time or Source Sweep modes, as it is not applicable.

Trigger icons indicate the type of triggering selected and appear level with the related channel on the far left of the screen. Trigger icons are not displayed if the system is in Profile, Power vs. Time, or Source Sweep operation modes, if all sensors used in a channel input configuration are in the DEFAULT measurement mode, or if the peakmeter is displayed.

S), as it is rotating so quickly. In manual, external

Note

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-15

When editing an entry in a menu, pressing the CLR key clears the digits. If in a menu screen, pressing the CLR key returns to the previous menu level.

Trigger Menu Front Panel Operation

MOD

MAN

INT

TTL TTL

Modulated Average

Continuous

Manual

Rising Edge Falling Edge

External

Internal A

Internal B

The trigger icons are shown in the figure below.

Figure 5-2. Trigger Icons

Note External trigger is only effective at 800 kHz or lower.

Only when a channel input configuration includes a sensor with a measurement mode that requires an icon, will an icon be displayed.

Setup

This menu is used to set up the trigger conditions for the display channels. In readout display mode with sensor mode set to custom, the trigger can be set to display channel 1 and 2 separately, or together as channel 1 & 2.

The channels are triggered simultaneously if the trigger conditions are set to 1 & 2. This guarantees the trigger conditions are the same, and therefore the readings are taken at the same time. In Readout and Power vs. Time modes, if the menu is exited with the trigger selection at channel 1 & 2, this setup is used for trigger control. Otherwise, if the trigger setup display is left with channel 1 or channel 2 displayed, the individual trigger settings are used for trigger control.

Note

CHANNEL [TRGMODE]

Select display channel 1 or 2 (or 1&2 when setting trigger conditions in Readout or Power vs. Time modes).

Simultaneous trigger channels guarantee identical sampling for both channels, essential for accurate ratio (A/B) measurements.

5-16 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation Trigger Menu

SOURCE [TRGSRC GTSRC]

The trigger sources are CONTINUOUS, Internal A, Internal B (ML2438A only), EXTTTL, or MANUAL. When the trigger source is set to INT A or INT B (Internal A or B) the power meter triggers on a rising or falling power level on the associated sensor. See LEVEL for the setting of the trigger power level.

DELAY [TRGDLY GTDLY]

In Profile mode, DELAY sets the time delay (after the display trigger delay) to when the system starts to take and display readings, represented by the left most cursor. Enter 0.0 to 1.0 seconds, in ms or μs.

Changing the left most cursor, or the trigger delay time, updates the cursor or the

Note

delay time value accordingly. In Profile mode, moving the cursor only allows updates to the pixel resolution of the display. In Power vs. Time mode, the delay and width can be used to alter the update rate.

In Readout mode (CUSTOM sensor mode), the value entered for DELAY is applied after a trigger event, and before samples are taken. Enter 0.0 to 1.0 seconds, in ms or μs.

WIDTH [TRGGW GTGW]

Enter 100 ns to 7.0 s (the default is 20 ms). In Profile mode, WIDTH is the gate time the system uses to perform a cursor average measurement. The time interval is represented by the space between the left most cursor and the right most cursor. Changing either cursor, or the gate width value, updates both the cursors and the gate width value.

In Readout mode, this value defines the measurement gate width. A measurement is presented as the average of all data taken in this gate width.

In Power vs. Time mode, the delay and width can be used to alter the update rate or sample rate.

The averaging function averages a number of gate WIDTHS, so for a given

Note

averaging number, larger WIDTHS will take longer to AVERAGE. Narrower widths will average faster (but may yield a less-settled measurement).

EDGE [TRGXTTL GTXTTL]

When set to External TTL, the power meter triggers on a TTL level rising or falling. This selection sets the trigger for either a rising or falling edge.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-17

Trigger Menu Front Panel Operation

-9

dBm

-50

TTL

GSM BURST

FROM GENERATOR

BURST TRIGGER SYNC

FROM GENERATOR

ARMING [TRGARM GTARM]

Sets the trigger arming, unless the trigger source is set to EXTTTL. When ARMING is set to Blanking ON, only samples taken when the rear panel Digital Input BNC is active will be averaged in the measurement. The polarity of the rear panel Digital Input BNC signal can be set (high or low) using the System > Rear Panel > BNC > TTL LEVEL menu setting.

Use Arming to synchronize to other equipment or modulation/burst

Note

synchronization. This is a simple way to inhibit measurements during user-defined periods without entering actual time periods.

When ARMING is set to Blanking OFF, all samples are read irrespective of the level on this BNC.

Figure 5-3. Typical Arming Diagram

1. Connect to the rear panel digital input.

2. Select Trigger > Setup > ARMING > Blanking ON.

3. Set the polarity of the blanking (System menu)

Example power meter reading: –9.16 dBm.

TYPE [TRGTYP GTTYP]

The Type selection (RISE or FALL) sets the trigger for a rising or falling edge. When the trigger source is set to INTA or INTB (Internal A or B) the power meter triggers on a power level which is rising or falling.

LEVEL [TRGLVL GTLVL]

The Level selection sets the internal trigger level. When the trigger source is set to either INTA or INTB (internal sensor A or B) the channel triggers on a power level (in dBm) given by the sensor. This value must not take any cal factors or offsets that the meter applies into account.

5-18 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation Trigger Menu

INCOMING SIGNAL FROM SENSOR

TRIGGER POINT

DATA COLLECTION TIME

(PROFILE MODE)

DISPLAY TRIGGER DELAY

(PROFILE MODE)

GATE

WIDTH

DELAY

PRETRIGGER % CURSOR1CURSOR

Trig 1

If Trigger Channel 1 SOURCE is set to Manual, this softkey initiates a measurement for channel 1.

Trig 2

If Trigger Channel 2 SOURCE is set to Manual, this softkey initiates a measurement for channel 2.

Trig 1&2

If Trigger Channels 1 and 2 SOURCE are set to Manual, this softkey triggers both channels simultaneously.

Note

The effective range is approximately -30 dBm and is only active in DC ranges 1 and 2.

The following figure shows a typical trigger timing diagram. Note that the display trigger delay is only present when in Profile operation mode, and helps in setting the ‘window’ position along the signal.

Figure 5-4. Sample Trigger in Graphic Mode

The Data Collection Time (collection period) is only present when in Profile operation mode (System > Profile > PERIOD), and is the period of time displayed on the profile graph.

The Gate Width is the section of the signal in which the measurements are performed. In Profile mode, this is the time between Cursor 1 and Cursor 2 and is used to provide the Between Cursor Average measurement.

Display Trigger Delay (System > Profile > DELAY) is the delay after the trigger point.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-19

Trigger Menu Front Panel Operation

The Pretrigger % (System > Graphics > PRE TRG%) is only used in the Profile mode, and shows a percentage of the data collection time as pretrigger information. If the display trigger delay is less than the pretrigger delay period, there will be no Pretrigger information as it will be before the trigger point itself.

Setting the display trigger delay to the length of the data pulse causes a trigger on the first pulse, but displays the second pulse with valid “pretrigger information.” This is the best method for repetitive signals and can be used to verify signal repetition intervals.

Note External trigger is only effective at 800 kHz or lower.

5-20 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation System Menu

5-6 System Menu

The System menus control the operating modes, display visibility, sound, rear panel functions, and battery state of the ML243xA Power Meter. Note that the soft keys will appear differently depending upon the operation mode selected with the Setup soft key below.

Note

When editing an entry in a menu, pressing the CLR key clears the digits. If in a menu screen, pressing the CLR key returns to the previous menu level.

Setup

This menu selects the operation mode, allows system setups to be saved or recalled, and provides two options to reset the system parameters to the default setup.

MODE [OPMD]

Select between Readout, Power vs. Time, Source Sweep and Profile operation modes. If only Readout is available, check the System > Rear Panel > GPIB > Mode setting. This setting must be ML24XX for Profile, Power vs. Time and Source Sweep modes to be available.

Note

SAVE [*SAV SYSLD SYSRD SYSLNM]

Save the current instrument setup in one of 10 memory locations.

RECALL [*RCL SYSLD SYSRD SYSLNM]

Recall a saved instrument setup from one of 10 memory locations.

When using the ML243xA Series Power Meter with an MA2499A or MA2499B Sensor Adapter, only Readout and Power vs. Time modes are allowed.

LINK [LINK]

There are two trigger conditions saved; one for Profile mode and one for Readout mode. Normally, Profile mode trigger conditions can be changed without affecting the trigger conditions used in Readout mode. With LINK set to ON, the Profile mode trigger conditions are used for both Profile and Readout modes.

In Profile mode, the user can view what is being measured with the selected trigger conditions, but only over a limited dynamic range, as it only uses the two DC ranges of the signal channel. Profile mode measurement rate is also limited by sweep speed.

With LINK readout/profile trigger set to ON, switching to Readout mode uses the same trigger conditions, but allows the full dynamic range of the meter to be used, as well as providing full GPIB speed on data acquisition.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-21

System Menu Front Panel Operation

When moving between Readout and Profile modes, with LINK enabled, the value used for “sample delay” is modified using the “display trigger delay.” In Readout mode, the “sample delay” and “display trigger delay” values are combined as “sample delay,” whereas in Profile mode they are both available separately.

With LINK set to ON, Readout mode is temporarily forced to Custom mode, and

Note

FAS T

Fast recall of a saved instrument setup from one of the 10 memory locations. In FAST system recall mode, a single key press recalls a saved setup. A message across the lower area of the screen will prompt for keypad keys 1-9, or 0, to be pressed to recall setups 1-10 (if saved setup data is available in the selected location). The -exit- softkey or any other menu key will exit fast recall mode.

PRESET

Resets the system parameters to the default setup.

RESET [*RST] This selection will reset the system setup. The offset tables and

the default and Mod Average modes are inhibited. To use these modes, deselect LINK.

the GPIB interface will not be affected.

FACTORY [FRST] This selection will reset the system setup, including the offset

tables and GPIB interface.

Profile

This soft key becomes available when the System > Setup > MODE is set to Profile. Profile operation mode includes the following display controls:

CHANNEL [GRMD]

Select Channel 1 or Channel 2. The channel selected will be displayed on the left of the screen, above the middle value of the y axis and is used for all Profile data displays.

PERIOD [GRPRD]

Sets the time period over which the system collects data and scales the data into the profile graph after a trigger event. Enter the data collection period in ms or s. See System > Graphics > Pretrig % to move the t=0 (trigger event position) of the displayed waveform.

Note PERIOD sets the x-axis time.

DELAY [DTRGD]

Specifies the period of time after a trigger event to delay the start of the display window. For the trigger to line up with the marked trigger point on repetitive waveforms, the delay period should be either zero, or set to integer multiples of 1/PRF (Pulse Repetition Frequency). Enter the delay period in ms or s.

5-22 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation System Menu

DATA HOLD [GRPIX]

This selects how the graph is displayed on the screen. Select from NORMAL, Min&Max, Min, or Max. This is useful for tracking peak levels over a period of time or detecting glitches.

If either Min&Max, Min, or Max is selected, the display will keep the “old” data and

Note

With Min & Max selected, the minimum and maximum points for each sample are shown. If Connect Points is ON (default) (SYSTEM > Graphics > CONNECT), a vertical bar is drawn between these points. See CLEAR, under CONTROL to restart the process.

Min displays only the minimum for this sample position until reset by returning to NORMAL. Max displays only the maximum for this sample position until reset by returning to NORMAL.

may appear stationary. The DATA HOLD mode in use is displayed on the left of the screen, below the middle value of the y axis.

Power vs. Time

This soft key becomes available when the System > Setup > MODE is set to Power vs. Time mode. Power vs. Time mode displays measurements in a chart-like format showing history over a period of time. The measurements displayed are taken under the conditions of the Readout mode, and can therefore include all triggering and correction settings set up in that mode.

Power vs. Time operation mode includes the following display control:

CHANNEL [GRMD]

Select Channel 1 or Channel 2. The channel selected will be displayed on the left of the screen, above the middle value of the y axis.

DATA HOLD [GRPIX]

Selects how the graph is displayed on the screen. Select from NORMAL, AVG, Min&Max, Min, or Max.

TIME [GRDDT]

Sets the data hold time, from 1 minute to 24 hours.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-23

System Menu Front Panel Operation

ML2430A Series Power Meter

Anritsu 68/69000 Synthesized Sweep Generator

Anritsu MG3690 Series Synthesized Sweep Generator

DIGITAL INPUT 1

SEQ

SYNC

OUT

ANALOG INPUT 2

HORIZ

OUT

DWELL IN

10 MHz REF OUT

EXT ALC IN

HORIZ OUT

V/GHz OUT

SEQ SYNC OUT

10 MHz REF IN

SERIAL I/O

AUX I/O

NOTE: USE SLOW BLO FUSES ONLY

CAUTION

> 18 kg

HEAVY WEIGHT

CAUTION

DO NOT OPERATE WITH POWER CORD

UNGROUNDED

220V

2.5A 110V 5A

SELECT

LINE

INPUT

90 - 132VAC

180 - 264VAC

48 - 440Hz

IEEE-488 GPIB

110

220

ML2430A Series Power Meter

AUX I/O to BNC Cable

AUXI/O

10MHz

REF

HORIZ

OUT

PULSE

TRIG

10MHz

REF OUT

EXT ALC

SERIAL

I/O

IEEE-488GPIB

PULSE VIDEO

OUT

PULSE SYNC

OUT

FM/ M

OUT

FM/ M

EFC IN

AUX I/O

- HORIZ OUT (1)

- SEQ SYNC OUT (3)

DIGITAL INPUT 1

ANALOG INPUT 2

Source Sweep

This soft key becomes available when the System > Setup > MODE is set to Source Sweep. The Source Sweep mode provides interconnection between a signal source/generator and the power meter. Using simple techniques, this can provide swept power-accurate measurements over any frequency range at very high speed. The sweep data is available over GPIB and can provide a simple low cost scalar analyzer function.

BNC Cables

Figure 5-5. Source Sweep Mode Interconnection Example

If the source used does not provide a blanking output, the blanking signal may be disabled as follows: select System > Rear Panel > BNC. Select PORT until INPUT 1 (digital) is selected, then select TTL Level to alter the active state of the blanking signal expected. Setting the TTL Level to LOW will allow the Source sweep to progress without a Blanking signal. This is useful for third party sources or simple VTO systems. If a Source Sweep is later selected which does provide a blanking signal, remember to restore the polarity of this signal to HIGH or an incorrect display will result. Operating a source sweep which has BANDSWITCH blanking delays in it without an appropriate blanking signal may lead to glitches in the resulting measurement at the bandswitch points (simple VTO systems do not usually have bandswitch points).

Note

5-24 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Anritsu MG3690-series synthesizers provide both HORIZ OUT and SEQ SYNC OUT signals via the AUX I/O 25 pin D-connector using Anritsu cable part number 806-97. Refer to the signal source manual for rear panel connection details.

Front Panel Operation System Menu

Source sweep operation mode includes the following display controls:

CHANNEL [GRMD]

Select Channel 1 or Channel 2. The channel selected will be displayed on the left of the screen, above the middle value of the y axis.

DATA HOLD [GRPIX]

This selects how the graph is displayed on the screen. Select from NORMAL, Min&Max, Min, or Max.

With Min & Max selected, the minimum and maximum points for each sample are shown. If Connect Points is ON (SYSTEM > Graphics > CONNECT), a vertical bar is drawn between these points. Min displays only the minimum for this sample. Max displays only the maximum for this sample.

If either Min&Max, Min, or Max is selected, the display will keep the “old” data and

Note

MODE [SRCMOD]

Source sweep mode: FREQUENCY or POWER.

may appear stationary. The DATA HOLD mode in use is displayed on the left of the screen, below the middle value of the y axis.

START [SRCSTFRQ SRCSTPWR]

Sweep start frequency (MHz or GHz) or power (dBm).

STOP [SRCSPFRQ SRCSPPWR]

Sweep stop frequency (MHz or GHz) or power (dBm).

When the power meter is communicating with a signal source/generator over the

Note

serial interface, if the source frequency power level or the frequency itself is changed, the source sweep display will be updated where appropriate.

Control

The Control menu adjusts cursor position and toggles the readout display in Profile, Power vs. Time and Source Sweep modes, and provides control over display scaling.

SWAP << >> [CUR]

SWAP selects which cursor to move. The presently selected cursor is defined by a triangular marker at the top of the cursor line. Press the << soft key to move the selected cursor left, and the >> soft key to move the selected cursor right. Trigger delay and Gate Width are related to the cursor positions. This feature aids in measurement of pulsed signals. Changing either cursor, or adjusting the Gate width value, updates both the cursors and the gate width value.

When enabled through the System > Sound > CURSOR menu selection, if a cursor is moved into an illegal space such as the edge of the screen or the end of valid data (trigger point on the left of the screen) a warning beep will sound.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-25

System Menu Front Panel Operation

dB dB dB ms dB

-10.61

-12.63

-0.00

8.85

-17.41

1 2

ACTIVE CURSOR

AVERAGE READING

BETWEEN CURSORS

SCALE [GRYT GRYB]

Adjust the Y-axis of the graph using TOP dB Value and BOTTOM dB Value parameters in the SCALE submenu. AUTO scale is based on the min and max of the previous sweep.

READOUT [GRDATA GRDRQ]

The supplemental data readout is displayed or removed with the READOUT soft key. The readout provides display data depending on the graph mode and the data hold type selected, as shown below.

Figure 5-6. Sample Readout Display

5-26 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation System Menu

Profile Mode

Data hold = NORMAL:

1 cursor 1 reading

2 cursor 2 reading

△ P Power difference between cursor 1 and cursor 2

△ t Time difference between cursor 1 and cursor 2

AV Between cursor average if ON

Data hold = MIN (or MAX):

1 cursor 1 minimum reading, or maximum if MAX mode

2 cursor 2 minimum reading, or maximum if MAX mode

△ P Power diff between cursor 1 and cursor 2 minimums

(or maximums if MAX mode)

△ t Time difference between cursor 1 and cursor 2 minimums

(or maximums if MAX mode)

Data hold = MIN&MAX:

1 cursor 1 MIN reading

cursor 1 MAX reading

2 cursor 2 MIN reading

cursor 2 MAX reading

△ t Time difference between cursor 1 and cursor 2

Power vs. Time Mode

Data hold = NORMAL or AVERAGE:

1 cursor 1 reading

2 cursor 2 reading

△ P Power difference between cursor 1 and cursor 2

T1 Time at cursor 1

T2 Time at cursor 2

Data hold = MIN (or MAX):

1 cursor 1 minimum reading, or maximum if MAX mode

2 cursor 2 minimum reading, or maximum if MAX mode

△ P Power diff between cursor 1 and cursor 2 minimums

(or maximums if MAX mode)

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-27

System Menu Front Panel Operation

T1 Time at cursor 1

T2 Time at cursor 2

Data hold = MIN&MAX:

1 cursor 1 MIN reading

cursor 1 MAX reading

2 cursor 2 MIN reading

cursor 2 MAX reading

△ t Time difference between cursor 1 and cursor 2

Source Sweep mode

Data hold = NORMAL or AVERAGE:

1 cursor 1 reading

2 cursor 2 reading

△ P Power difference between cursor 1 and cursor 2

X1 X axis at cursor 1

X2 X axis at cursor 2

Data hold = MIN (or MAX) :

1 cursor 1 minimum reading, or maximum if MAX mode

2 cursor 2 minimum reading, or maximum if MAX mode

△ P Power diff between cursor 1 and cursor 2 minimums

(or maximums if MAX mode)

X1 X axis at cursor 1

X2 X axis at cursor 2

Data hold = MIN&MAX:

1 cursor 1 MIN reading

cursor 1 MAX reading

2 cursor 2 MIN reading

cursor 2 MAX reading

CLEAR [GPRST]

Available in Profile, Source Sweep and Power vs. Time modes when the DATA HOLD representation selection is not set to NORMAL (or AVERAGE for Power vs. Time). Pressing the CLEAR key restarts the min/max collection.

5-28 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation System Menu

LINK CURSOR [CURLK]

Links the screen cursors in Profile and Power vs. Time modes so that when one is moved, both are moved. When the cursors are linked, a horizontal bar is drawn between them on the screen. If one cursor is moved, the other cursor moves with it to maintain their relative positions and time interval between them. When the cursors are linked, the relative time positions are altered by adjusting the gate width in the TRIGGER > SETUP > WIDTH submenu.

HOLD [HOLD]

In Profile, Power vs. Time, and Source Sweep modes the graph HOLD function allows a graph to be held and printed. The key action is a toggle action, with the warning message Graph Display HELD displayed at the top of the screen when HOLD is active. Whenever measurement setup parameters are changed, graph hold will automatically be released.

AUTO scale [GRAUTO]

Auto scale for all graphic modes (Profile, Source Sweep and Power vs. Time). In Profile and Source Sweep modes, auto scale will be based on the min and max of the previous profile or sweep.

Display

Controls the characteristics of the LCD display.

BACKLIGHT [DBLGHT]

Controls the LCD backlight during internal battery operation. Can be ON, OFF, or timed to go off after a specified period to save battery life. The backlight is always on during AC or external DC power operation.

Contrast DOWN [DCONTD, DCONT]

Reduces the display contrast. Adjust to suit ambient conditions.

Contrast UP [DCONTU, DCONT]

Increases the display contrast. Adjust to suit ambient conditions.

TIMED [DBLTIM]

Sets the time limit when the backlight will turn off if the BACKLIGHT setting is set to TIMED. Enter a value from 0.0 to 100.0 minutes.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-29

System Menu Front Panel Operation

PEAKMETER [DPEAK]

Turns on the peakmeter display for Sensor A, Sensor B, or both Sensors A and B. The peakmeter display will eclipse any trigger icons. The peak meter display range covers 12 dB. When above the displayed maximum or below the displayed minimum, the range is switched by 10 dB in the appropriate direction. Note that in the event that the channel is displaying an alternative measurement (for example, external volts from the rear panel BNC) the peak meter will continue to represent the Sensor A and/or B data. This is useful for monitoring an external voltage on the meter, while peaking up a response being monitored by a sensor, such as RF output.

FREQ [FROFF]

Turns FREQuency offset display ON or OFF. When ON, a continuous indication of the frequency (used for Cal Factor) is displayed in small text at the top of the display along with any sensor offset (if applied).

TEXT [TEXT, TEXTS]

GPIB user TEXT display ON or OFF. When ON, a user-defined text string can be displayed at the top of the display area. The text string can only be defined over the GPIB.

Sound

Controls system sounds.

KEY [KEYCK]

Turns the audible key click on or off.

EDIT [ENTERR]

Turns the audible edit error tone on or off.

LIMIT 1 [FBEEP]

Limit Fail beep on channel 1 on or off.

LIMIT 2 [FBEEP]

Limit Fail beep on channel 2 on or off.

CURSOR

CURSOR out of screen beep. If a cursor is moved into an illegal space, such as the edge of the screen or the end of valid data, a warning beep is sounded.

5-30 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation System Menu

ANRITSU Power Meter ML2437A s/n: 97180010

Firmware: 2.02

Sensor A: NOT FITTED

Sensor Measurement Setup

Measurement Channel Setup

Readout

Measurement mode Cal factor Averaging mode & number Low level averaging Offset type & value Settle % per reading Range hold Sensor zeroed

Trigger source Trigger sample delay Trigger gate width Trigger arm

Measured value

High limit Low limit Limits test

A: Default

Frequency (50.00MHz) Auto Low Off

0.10% Off No

1: (A) 2: OFF

Continuous

1.00ms

20.00ms Blanking OFF

------

Off Off Off

Print [PRINT]

This selection prints the screen and various operational settings through the rear panel printer port.

Figure 5-7. Sample ML2430A Series Printout

Battery

Controls battery setup when the optional battery pack is installed.

AUTO [BAUTS]

Enables or disables the automatic power off feature. Automatic power off can be used to conserve battery power when operating from the internal battery.

TIME [BAUTT]

When operating from the internal battery, Time sets the number of minutes that the instrument will run before powering off in absence of any key activity. Enter a value of 10 to 240 minutes.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-31

System Menu Front Panel Operation

STATUS

Displays the installed battery type, remaining capacity (%), estimated operating time remaining (minutes), and the battery’s full charge capacity (mAh).

Immediately after power-on, the “estimated operating time remaining” displayed

Note

CHARGE

Available only when the instrument is being powered by AC line power or external DC power greater than 21 volts. This selection starts the battery charging cycle. Note that the instrument will shut down during the charging cycle, and restart automatically when the charging is completed. A series of 10 beeps signals completion of the charge cycle.

may not be genuine, as the battery requires a few minutes to calculate the present rate of discharge. An accurate indication will be displayed only after a few minutes of continuous operation.

Rear Panel

Controls for rear panel connections are located in the Rear Panel submenu.

GPIB

Sets the GPIB address and emulation modes.

ADDRESS [ADDR] Set the GPIB address for the power meter. The default is 13.

MODE [EMUL] Selects the power meter emulation mode. Select from

ML24XX (native), HP436A, HP437B, HP438A, or ML4803A modes.

BUFFER [BUFF] If BUFFER Enabled is TRUE (default): In the ML243X

native mode, 488.2 GPIB operation, when a request for data is made the response is put in an output buffer ready to be read by the controller. If another data request is made and the previous data has not been read out of the output buffer; the new data is queued after the original request. In this mode of operation the GPIB response buffering enable is TRUE, and following the 488.2 specifications, the response should be read when ever a request for data is made. If BUFFER Enabled is FALSE: In this mode when ever a request for data is made, (except by serial poll) the output buffer is cleared and the only data in the output queue will be the response to the last data request made. The output buffer is cleared once a valid GPIB data request command has been recognized.

BUFFER Enabled TRUE is the default. Use FALSE when programming simple

Note

command sequences to read data and you do not want to bother with decoding status or keeping track of multiple results or readings.

5-32 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation System Menu

RS232

Sets the serial communication parameters.

MODE [RSMODE] Selects External Communication or Source IF. External

Communication allows GPIB type commands to be sent to the power meter over the serial interface from a local computer or a remote computer via a modem. Source IF allows the power meter to communicate with an Anritsu synthesizer when the operation mode is set to Source Sweep.

BAUD [RSBAUD] Sets the serial port BAUD rate. Select from 1200, 2400, 4800,

9600 (default), 19200, or 38400. The other RS232 serial parameters are fixed at 8 bits, 1 stop bit, and no parity.

MODEM This menu controls how a modem will react when the power

meter attempts to connect to a remote computer. It allows entry of a PHONE number, redial COUNT and redial DELAY, and permits INITialisation of a connected modem.

PHONE number [MODPH]

The phone number can be up to 40 digits. When the number is being dialed, a dot (.) will be interpreted as a 2-second delay in the dialing sequence; a minus sign (–) will be interpreted as wait for another dialing tone.

Redial COUNT [MODRED]

If the dialed number does not connect, because it was not answered or was engaged, then the power meter will try to redial the same number according to the count specified. This has a minimum value of 0, maximum value of 10 and default value of 5.

Redial DELAY [MODDEL]

If the dialed number does not connect, and is to be redialled, this value specifies the delay in minutes before redialling. This has a minimum value of 1 minute, maximum value of 10 minutes and a default value of 5 minutes.

INITialize Modem [MODINIT]

This is a single shot command to reinitialize a connected modem. As at power on, if this command is executed with a PC connected directly to the power meter, then a string of modem commands will be seen by the PC.

AUTO Sets up the power meter to autodial if there is a LIMITS test

failure, sensor RANGE error, or the instrument POWER is cycled.

LIMITS [MODLIM] If this is set, and the limits fail, then the number specified in

the “phone number” field will be dialed. Remote communications can then continue as normal.

RANGE [MODRNG] If this is set, and there is a signal channel range error, then

the number specified in the “phone number” field will be dialed. Remote communications can then continue as normal.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-33

System Menu Front Panel Operation

POWER [MODPWR] If this is set, and the power cycles on the meter, then the

number specified in the “phone number” field will be dialed. When a connection is established, an SRQ will be sent to the host PC. Remote communications can then continue as normal.

BNC [OBMD, OBCH, OBVST, OBVSP, OBDST, OBDSP, OBCH, OBPL, OBACM, OBCH, OBZL, IBBLP]

Configures the input and output rear panel BNC connectors.

PORT Output 1 or 2: Select the output port to configure (see MODE below).

Input 1 Select what type of Blanking input you are providing (see TTL

LEVEL below) on Input 1.

Input 2 Selects input 2 for V/GHz or External volts input. You cannot

configure the V/GHz or External volts input port here. To configure V/GHz set Sensor > CalFactor > Source to V/GHz. To use the External Volts Input set Channel > Setup > Input to EXT V.

MODE (output ports only)

OFF (output set to ground) port 1 or 2

Analog OUT (analog scaled output) port 1 or 2 provides an output voltage

proportional to the measurement.

RF Blanking (output 2 only) provides a logic level output during the ZERO

process. This can be used to switch off RF from external sources.

PASS/FAIL port 1 or 2 logic level output

Signal channel A or B

(port 1 or port 2) provides a real time output from the signal channel. Being real time, it shows modulation, etc., and is taken after the signal has been through range amplifiers. It is not directly proportional to the measurement.

Levelling A or B (range 1 or 2) (port 1 or 2). This is similar to the signal channel A or

B outputs, except it connects to range 1 or 2 only of the signal channel. See below for more information on levelling.

ACMod output (port 1 only) is a TTL signal synchronized to the internal chopper

(when used) of the signal channel. This signal can be used for synchronization with external sources or when viewing AC range (chopped) signals.

5-34 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation System Menu

Levelling outputs

TTL LEVEL (Input port 1 only)

To allow the power meter to be used in a levelling loop, the signal channel output is available on the rear panel. The levelling loop will be broken every time the signal channel autoranges. To overcome this, the outputs of ranges 1 and 2 can be made directly available on the rear panel BNC connector. This feature is only available as a NON DRAWN option. It can be selected from the System > Rear Pane l >BNC menu - PORT 1 for sensor A and PORT 2 for sensor B. Levelling A(1) selects range 1 on sensor A. If the hardware is not available, 0 volts will be set on the appropriate output when selected.

For signal levels below –25 dBm on a diode sensor, the levelling outputs will not be valid as the signal channel operates in chopping mode below this level.

When in Readout or Power vs. Time operation mode, this selects the blanking input type, HIGH active or LOW active, you are providing. The blanking input will be used if the Trigger > Setup > ARMING is set to Blanking ON and the Sensor > Setup > Mode is set to Custom.

When in Profile operation Mode, the blanking input is ignored.

When in Source Sweep operation Mode, if the Blanking input is set to HIGH, the ML24xxA uses the digital input to sync to. Your sweeper must provide a Sequential Sync output which is connected to the digital input of the meter.

If Blanking input is set to LOW, the ML24xxA does not use the digital input and therefore can be connected to a sweeper which does not provide a Sequential Sync output. The ML24xxA will use the Horizontal Ramp input only.

Printer [PRNSEL]

Configures the rear panel printer port. Select from the listed compatible printers which include, but are not limited to, the following:

HP DeskJet 340 Canon BJC80

Other 300, 500, 600 Series and later HP printers are typically compatible.

For proper operation with the ML243xA, the Canon BJC80 printer must be set to the EPSON LQ emulation mode. Refer to the printer manual for instructions on setting the emulation mode.

Graphics

This menu presents additional graphic display controls:

CONNECT [GRCP]

This control is normally ON and causes the data between samples to be interpolated and lines drawn between sample points. When OFF, the sample points only are displayed as pixels.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-35

System Menu Front Panel Operation

TRACKING [GRTMM]

The number of scans of graph data between resetting the tracked min and max when in graph mode. Select SINGLE or INFINITE.

These options allow either the min/max of each sweep to be displayed (single) or

Note

REF LINE [GRFS]

Causes a dotted horizontal line to be drawn at the reference point on the graph screen; normally OFF.

PRE TRG% [GRPTP]

Percentage of the screen that displays pretrigger information at the best resolution available. The display shows an ‘x’ marking the trigger point on the time axis.

Data before the actual trigger event is not available. The trigger reference point (x) indicates the active trigger point after the DELAY setting in the System > Profile menu. Providing sufficient delay has been set, the PRE TRG% can be used to move this reference to anywhere on the screen. The amount of valid data displayed before the trigger reference point is dependent on the System > Profile > DELAY setting.

the conventional method for tracking variation of levels over an extended period of time (infinite).

Secure [SECURE]

Normally OFF. When the system is powered on the ML243xA returns to the state it was in when it was powered off. This includes all of the offset tables, calibration adjust values, etc. If Secure is set to Clear memory, non-volatile memory is disabled and all stored values are reset to the factory defaults when the system is powered on. As long as this selection is set to Clear memory, the system will load the presets (see Appendix A, Section A-3) every time it is turned on.

Identity [*IDN, OI]

This selection will display the installed firmware version, the instrument serial number, and the instrument type (model number).

5-36 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Front Panel Operation Cal/Zero Menu

5-7 Cal/Zero Menu

The Cal/Zero menu establishes the 0.0 dBm reference calibration and zeroing of the sensors. Refer to Chapter 5 for specific procedures.

Zero/Cal

This function zeros and then sets the 50 MHz, 0.0 dBm reference of the connected sensor. In dual sensor systems with both sensors connected, sensor A or B must be selected.

Cal 0 dBm [CAL]

References the connected sensor to 0.0 dBm at 50 MHz. In dual sensor systems with both sensors connected, sensor A or B must be selected.

Zero [ZERO]

Zeros the connected sensor. Zeroing a power sensor compensates for noise and thermal EMF of the device under test. It is recommended prior to taking important power readings in the bottom 20 dB of a power sensor’s dynamic range. In dual sensor systems with both sensors connected, sensor A or B must be selected.

RF ON/OFF [RFCAL]

Turns the RF calibrator ON or OFF.

Ext V [VZERO]

Zeros the rear panel multi-purpose BNC connector used for Volts per GHz connection (Analog Input). This will calibrate the units to read zero volts on this BNC. During this operation the connector should either not be connected to anything, or should be connected to a 0 Volt source.

The rear panel voltage can be viewed by selecting CHANNEL > INPUT > VOLTS, although this does not have to be selected in order for the function to operate.

This calibration is non-volatile and does not normally need to be performed. In the case of offsets being introduced by the user’s setup, it is possible to leave the BNC cable connected to zero out system offsets, however the offset zero range is limited to approximately 100 mV.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 5-37

Cal/Zero Menu Front Panel Operation

5-38 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Chapter 6 — Procedures

This chapter presents some common procedures for use with the ML243xA Power Meter. These procedures refer to the ML243xA front and rear panel connectors and front panel keys and menus as explained in Chapter 3, Connections, and Chapter 4, Front Panel Operation. The operator should be familiar with the front and rear panel layouts and with the use of the keys and menus before attempting these procedures.

6-1 Power Measurement

To perform a power measurement, follow these steps:

1. Connect the sensor(s) as described in Chapter 3, Connections.

2. Configure the meter for the application. Refer to Chapter 4, Front Panel Operation, for

specific configuration options. The simplest operation is obtained with SENSOR > SETUP > MODE set to DEFAULT. Power readings are continuous with the default setting.

3. Zero the sensor(s) as described below.

4. Calibrate the sensor(s) as described on the following page.

5. Measure power.

6-2 Zeroing the Sensor

Zero the sensor before making power measurements, particularly when operating within the lower 20 dB dynamic range of the power sensor. If frequent low level measurements are being made, it is advisable to zero the sensor regularly.

To zero the sensor, connect it to the UUT (Unit Under Test) test port, and remove RF power from the connection to a level 20 dB below the tangential noise floor of the power sensor. For –70 to +20dBm dual-diode power sensors, this level is less than –100 dBm.

It is preferable to leave the sensor connected to the UUT test port so that ground noise and thermal EMF are zeroed out of the measurement. Alternately, in order of preference, the sensor can be connected to:

• A grounded connector on the UUT,

• The ML243xA Calibrator connector,

• Disconnected from any signal source.

When a new sensor is attached, the message SENSOR x NOT ZEROED (where x = A or B as appropriate) is displayed. If a sensor is removed and then reconnected, the message is not displayed.

The sensor can either be zeroed, or zeroed and calibrated in the same operation.

To zero the sensor without calibration, press the Cal/Zero front panel key and the Zero soft key, then select the appropriate sensor.

Note that if only one sensor is connected, the A-B selection is not displayed and the zeroing process begins immediately.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 6-1

Sensor Calibration Procedures

The message changes to SENSOR x ZERO. On successful completion of the zeroing operation, the buzzer sounds. Sensor calibration should be performed next.

If the sensor fails the zeroing operation, the message SENSOR x ZERO fail nxnnn is displayed. The hexadecimal error code 'nxnnn' indicates the detailed reason for the failure, which is usually due to excessive RF noise.

The sensors can also be zeroed using the GPIB ZERO command (see Chapter 6, “GPIB Operation”).

6-3 Sensor Calibration

Referencing power sensors to the ML243xA 50 MHz, 0.0 dBm calibrator is recommended. Sensors should be zeroed before being calibrated, either as a separate operation or in conjunction with calibration.

To reference the sensor, connect the sensor to the ML243xA 50 MHz, 0.0 dBm reference output connector labelled CALIBRATOR or another 50 MHz, 0.0 dBm reference.

When the sensor is first attached, the message SENSOR x NOT ZEROED (where x = A or B as appropriate) is displayed. Perform the sensor zeroing procedure described in Section 5-3 to zero the sensor.

To calibrate the sensor after zeroing, press the Cal/Zero front panel key and the Cal 0 dBm soft key, then select the appropriate sensor.

Note that if only one sensor is connected, the A-B selection is not displayed and the zeroing process begins immediately.

On successful completion of the calibration operation, the buzzer sounds.

If the sensor fails the calibration operation, the message SENSOR x CAL 0 dBm invalid is displayed.

Any error conditions encountered during calibration, for example the presence of extraneous noise or RF signals, will result in an error message on the front panel display.

The sensors can also be calibrated using the GPIB CAL command (see Chapter 6, GPIB Operation).

Note

When a Universal Power Sensor with option 1 fitted is changed from T-RMS mode to F-CW mode the user should perform a new zero/cal.

6-4 Sensor Zero/Cal

Sensors must be zeroed before being calibrated. The Zero/Cal function completes both operations in sequence.

To zero and calibrate the sensor, connect the sensor to the ML243xA 50 MHz, 0.0 dBm reference output connector labelled CALIBRATOR.

When the sensor is first attached, the message SENSOR x NOT ZEROED (where x = A or B as appropriate) is displayed.

Press the Cal/Zero front panel key and the Zero/Cal function key, then select the appropriate sensor. The message changes to SENSOR x ZERO. Note that the power meter automatically switches the reference calibrator OFF during the zeroing operation.

6-2 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Procedures Performance Verification

If only one sensor is connected, the A-B selection is not displayed and the zeroing process begins immediately.

On successful completion of the zeroing operation, the calibration process begins.

On successful completion of the calibration operation, the buzzer sounds and the message is cleared.

If the sensor fails either operation, the message SENSOR x ZERO fail nxnnn or Sensor x Cal fail nxnnn is displayed. The hexadecimal error code 'nxnnn' indicates the reason for the failure.

The sensors can also be zeroed and calibrated using GPIB commands (see Chapter 6,” GPIB Operation”).

6-5 Performance Verification

The performance of the power meter’s individual signal channel inputs can be verified using an Anritsu ML2419x Range Calibrator. Refer to the ML2419x Range Calibrator Operation and Maintenance Manual (10585-00007) for specific instructions.

6-6 Printer Connection

See Chapter 3, Connectors, for the location of the parallel port connector on the rear panel. Connect a parallel printer cable from the ML243xA rear panel 25-pin D-sub connector to the printer.

Select System > Print to begin printing. See Chapter 4, Front Panel Operation, for specific printer connector configuration options.

Printing can also be initiated in ML24XXA (native) mode using the GPIB PRINT command.

6-7 GPIB Remote Operation

The ML243xA Power Meter can be operated remotely through a General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) connection to a host computer/controller. See Chapter 3, Connectors, for the location of the GPIB connector. The GPIB connector is configured through the System > Rear Panel > GPIB submenu. See Chapter 4, Front Panel Operation, for specific GPIB connector configuration options that can be set from the front panel. Refer to Chapter 7, GPIB Operation, for a listing of the available GPIB commands.

If the ML243xA is addressed, and the Remote Enable and Local Lockout (REM and LLO) lines are not set, the front panel menus are still available, even if the unit is communicating. As long as the ML243xA is GPIB addressed, the GPIB status box will be displayed on the front panel whether the remote line is set or not.

If the GPIB box is on the screen and the system is not in a menu screen, and the system is in local mode (menus available), and no GPIB operations are pending, then pressing the CLR key clears the GPIB box off the screen.

Note

GPIB remote operation is not available when the ML243xA Series Power Meter is operating from the internal battery.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 6-3

Serial Remote Operation Procedures

6-8 Serial Remote Operation

The ML243xA Power Meter can be operated remotely through the rear panel serial connector (See Chapter 3, Connectors, for the location of the serial connector). Whereas GPIB has restrictions on total cable length and cable length between instruments, RS232 serial communication is not as limited. The GPIB can also be prone to electrical interference and is not easily electrically isolated, while RS232 can be isolated using optical couplers. Serial interface remote operation can be useful if the testing is to be done in the presence of high electrical fields and like environments.

While most standard serial cables will suffice, a 9-pin null-modem serial interface cable is available from Anritsu as an optional accessory (part number 2000-1544). Note that the hardware handshake CTS and RTS lines are used to control the flow of data in and out of the power meter and must be available in the cable as hardware handshaking is always enabled. The DTR and DSR lines are connected together within the meter.

Note

Tab le 6-1. ML243xA Power Meter Serial Connector Pinouts

PIN SIGNAL

1 NOT USED

2 RX data

3 TX data

4 DTR handshake signal

5 signal ground

6 DSR handshake signal

7 RTS handshake signal

8 CTS handshake signal

9 NOT USED

The serial interface baud rate can be set using the System > Rear panel > RS232 menu selection or the RSBAUD command. Available baud rates are: 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600 (default), 19200, and 38400. Other parameters are predefined as: 8 bits, no parity and 1 stop bit and cannot be changed.

Commands are entered as with the GPIB interface, conforming to the command format for the operation (emulation) mode selected. All GPIB commands are supported. There are some additional commands, specific to the serial interface, that are prefixed with an exclamation mark (!). In the emulation modes, when running under GPIB, the measured data is always available when the meter has been addressed to talk. In serial mode, the meter cannot be addressed to talk, but measurement data can still be obtained by using the GPIB trigger commands TR1 and TR2 in the HP437 and HP438 emulation modes, and T and I in the HP436 emulation mode.

All GPIB type commands and command strings should be terminated with a new line character (0A hex). The special serial mode commands do NOT require a termination character.

Serial interface remote operation is not available when the ML243xA Series Power Meter is operating from the internal battery.

6-4 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Procedures RS232 Modem Support

Requested data is returned in the same format as with GPIB, but with a preceding 'R' and a terminating new line character. SRQs are available, and are output as SRQ message 'S' followed by a terminating new line character. When the SRQ message has been received, an "!SPL" command (equivalent to the GPIB serial poll) can be issued. The power meter will respond with the serial poll data message which is a single character preceded by 'P' and terminated by a new line character.

A device clear message !DCL can be sent to clear the power meter input and output message queues, and terminate any GPIB or serial actions pending.

At power on, factory reset, in response to the MODINIT command, and after the INIT key in the modem menu is pressed, the following sequences will be output:

1. +++ath\r\r

2. at&h1&r2x4v1q0f1s0=1e0\r\r

There will be a delay between the two sequences.

These sequences will initialize an attached Hayes-compatible modem. This is the only type of modem supported.

Note

It is recommended that there is only one serial command in each command string. Terminate each command with a newline character.

6-9 RS232 Modem Support

The ML243xA Power Meter can be operated remotely through a modem connected to the rear pane serial connector (See Chapter 3, Connectors, for the location of the serial connector) using the GPIB/RS232 command set. The menu selection System > Rear panel > RS232 > MODE must be set to EXT COMMS.

To initiate communications with the power meter from a remote computer, communications must be established between the two modems. Once this is done, the modems become transparent to the user, and GPIB/RS232 commands can be entered as if the power meter is connected directly to the remote computer.

The power meter can also be configured to automatically dial a specified number if one or more predetermined error conditions are met.

When an instrument state change occurs that initiates an AUTODIAL sequence, the power meter will send an escape sequence "+++" to the modem. It will then output commands to determine if there is a modem connected and, if there is, whether it is connected through to another modem. If a modem is found and it is not connected to a remote modem, the power meter will dial the number specified in the "phone number" field. When the connection to the remote computer is established, the power meter will send the serial SRQ message.

When an autodial sequence is initiated, different sets of characters will be seen on the remote PC depending on what is connected to the power meter serial port.

Note

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 6-5

Serial interface remote operation is not available when the ML243xA Series Power Meter is operating from the internal battery.

RS232 Modem Support Procedures

Tab le 6-2. Character Sequences

Connected Device Character Sequence

Computer connected directly "+++at\r\rS\n"

Modem offline from phone network

modem status data followed by "S\n" Sequence will be seen if remote connection established

Modem connected through to remote computer "+++S\n"

GPIB/RS232 Modem Commands

The following table lists the GPIB/RS232 Modem Commands and the special serial interface only commands:

Tab le 6-3. Modem and Special Serial Interface Commands

Command Parameter Definition

!BYE RS232-type command only, allows the remote PC to

instruct the power meter to tell its local modem to hang-up. This ensures that when communication is completed, the modems at both ends of the line can be disconnected and the telephone line released.

!DCL RS232 type command only. Clears all buffered

GPIB/RS232 messages waiting to be processed. Clears all buffered GPIB/RS232 data waiting to be output. Stops any pending actions.

!SPL RS232 type command only. Allows a GPIB type

serial poll to be requested in response to an SRQ from the power meter. This will return the instrument status register and clear the SRQ bit within that register. The *CLS command should be used to clear the rest of the register.

MODDEL <value> Modem redial delay time, 1 to 10 minutes (default =

5 min.)

MODINIT Initialize connected modem

MODLIM <TRUE | FALSE> Autodial enable for limits failure

MODPH <string> Phone number - up to 40 characters

MODPWR <TRUE | FALSE> Autodial enable for power on

MODRED <value> Modem redial count, 0 to 10 (default = 5)

MODRNG <TRUE | FALSE> Autodial enable for range failure

The RS232-type commands (!BYE, !SPL and !DCL) do NOT require terminating. All other commands or command strings require a new line character to terminate.

Refer to the System Menu explanation in chapter 4 for information on using the front panel menus to configure modem operation. Refer to Native GPIB Commands in chapter 6, for information on using GPIB commands to configure modem operation.

6-6 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Procedures RS232 Modem Support

Modem Compatibility and Commands

The ML243xA Power Meter firmware supports Hayes-compatible modems. The commands used are as follows:

Table 6-4. Modem Compatibility Commands

Command Definition

+++ modem escape sequence

atz reset modem to factory defaults

at&h1&r2x4v1q0f1s0=1e0 initialize modem for power meter use

atd “number” dial “number”

Serial Interface Remote Operation Example

This section presents an example of Autodial using a terminal emulator on a remote computer ( \n = newline, \r = carriage return).

1. Initialize local modem, using the same setup as the power meter:

at&h1&r2x4v1q0f1s0=1e0\r

&h1 transmit data flow control - use CTS

&r2 receive data flow control - use RTS

x4 full result code setting

v1 result codes in verbal mode

q0 result codes displayed

f1 local data echo OFF

s0=1 auto answer after 1 ring

e0 local command echo off

The modem should respond:

OK\n\r

2. Dial power meter:

atd<phone number>\r

When the modem finally connects to the power meter modem, the response will be:

CONNECT\n\r

There might be additional information after “CONNECT” but before the line termination characters.

3. The remote computer is now connected to the power meter. The power meter can now be asked to identify itself:

*IDN?\n

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 6-7

RS232 Modem Support Procedures

The response from an ML2438A operating in native mode will be:

RANRITSU,ML2438A,<serial number>,<firmware version>

4. To set a limit for channel 1 and to have the power meter autodial a remote computer when this limit fails, send the following sequence:

LLIM 1,-12DBM Sets low limit on channel 1 to -12dBm

LLIMS 1,ON Turn low limit testing ON for channel 1

MODLIM ON Set meter to autodial when any limits fail

MODPH <phone

Set phone number to be auto-dialed

number>

MODRED 3 Set redial count to 3

MODDEL 2 Set delay between each attempt to dial to 2 min.

5. Disconnect from power meter and wait for limit failure:

!BYE Instruct power meter to hang-up its modem

Wait at least 1 second.

+++

wait at least another second.

The local modem will now respond:

OK\n\r

The local modem can now be told to hang up using the command:

ATH0\r

Again the local modem will respond

OK\n\r

6. When a limits failure occurs, the power meter will instruct its modem to dial the previously set up phone number. As the connection is being established through to the remote computer, a sequence of status messages will be reported by the modem to the computer, ending with a final message of:

CONNECT\n\r

There might be additional information after “CONNECT” but before the line termination characters.

7. After connection has been established, the power meter will send an SRQ to the remote computer. The SRQ message is:

S\n

To determine what has caused the SRQ, the status register in the power meter must be read. The status register in the meter is an 8-bit register. There are two ways to do this.

6-8 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Procedures RS232 Modem Support

a. Read the status register using the equivalent of a GPIB serial poll. Send the message:

!SPL

Note There is NO terminator to this message.

The power meter will respond:

Px\n

x is the ASCII character determined by the value in the meter status register.

x = “B” gives a status register value of 01000010 binary. Comparing this with the status byte description in Section 6-7 of the manual will show that the SRQ and limits error bits are both set.

b. Alternatively the status register can be read directly using the command:

*STB?\n

This will respond:

Ry\n

y can be up to 3 digits and is the decimal representation of the status register.

y="66" gives a status register value of 01000010 binary. Comparing this with the status byte description in section 6-7 of the manual will show that the SRQ and limits error bits are both set.

Once the status register has been read, it must be cleared to allow further SRQ messages to be sent. Before the status register is cleared, further autodial actions (limits failure or sensor range error) should be disabled to prevent any unnecessary autodial attempts by the meter when already connected to a remote PC. To clear the status register, use the command:

*CLS\n

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 6-9

Profile Operation Mode Procedures

6-10 Profile Operation Mode

The ML243xA Power Meter can be used to view signals in Profile, Readout, Power vs. Time and Source Sweep modes. This section describes setting up and viewing signals in the Profile mode. Profile mode allows the viewing of a single channel (1 or 2 as set up in the Channel menu) plotted against time.

To view the time profile of a signal, enter the PROFILE mode via SYSTEM > SETUP > MODE (toggles through READOUT, PROFILE and Power vs. Time). Parameters needed to set up a PROFILE display are:

To operate the Universal power sensors in profile mode Option 1 must be fitted.

Note

1. TRIGGER > SETUP provides access to a special TRIGGER configuration options. The default mode is CONTINUOUS which provides for a non-synchronized, oscilloscope type display. This type of display is useful for general monitoring of a signal and showing its variation over time. The settings for the DELAY and gate WIDTH provide the points at which the measurement is triggered and read out of the cursor. The other options are similar to other triggering modes.

2. SYSTEM > PROFILE sets up the channel (1 or 2) to be displayed and the time-axis, as well as the way that the data is displayed (for example, monitoring the minimum or maximum data over time). Note that in all cases, the PROFILE > CHANNEL selection (1 or 2) relates to a measurement channel set up in the CHANNEL menu, not directly to the A or B sensors.

Activate option 1 mode before selecting profile mode under the SENSOR > Setup OPTION FAST CW menu.

If the DATA HOLD mode is set to display min or max data, as opposed to the

Note

3. SYSTEM > CONTROL provides control over the readout and CURSORs as well as the scaling of the display. From the CURSOR menu (using the << and >> arrows) the positions of the readout cursors can be adjusted. The cursors directly relate to the DELAY and gate WIDTH parameters in the TRIGGER > SETUP menu, but allow for visual movement of the parameters on the display itself. The TRIGGER > SETUP menu requires direct entry of the actual parameters when the timing criteria is known.

Note

default (NORMAL), the display will continue to track the min/max until the DATA HOLD mode is returned to NORMAL.

Dynamic range is limited in Profile mode to DC ranges only. For maximum dynamic range, measured signals need to be repetitive (not single-shot) when profiling over less than 30 ms width. Above this, single-shot profiles can be measured over the full dynamic range.

Typical Setup

A typical situation with no triggering (CONTINUOUS):

1. Select SYSTEM > SETUP > PRESET to reset the instrument to the standard default conditions (see Appendix B for a listing of the system defaults).

6-10 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Procedures Profile Operation Mode

2. Connect sensor A to the signal source.

3. Select SYSTEM > SETUP and press MODE to select PROFILE.

4. Press CLR or any other menu key to return to the display screen. The display now

shows a power profile of sensor A on channel 1.

5. Press SYSTEM > CONTROL to get access to the cursor. Press << and >> to move the selected cursor, and SWAP to select the other cursor.

With a CONTINUOUS trigger such as this, there will most likely not be specific points of interest, so the movement of the cursors is rather arbitrary.

Note

If modulation is applied to the signal, or its power level altered, the signal should change on the display. The signal may not be visible if it is not in the default range which covers +20 to –50 dBm.

Scaling

In the example above, if the measured power signal is not visible because the power is too high or low, the scaling can be altered as follows:

1. Press SYSTEM > CONTROL > more > SCALE. There are now soft keys for TOP and BOTTOM dB levels, referring to the top and bottom of the screen, and AUTO SCALE, which will optimize the displayed graph.

2. Enter new values so that the measured power signal is visible. The TOP value must always be higher than the BOTTOM value.

3. When finished, press another soft key or CLR to return to the display.

Cursor Readout

To display the CURSOR READOUT box on the screen, press SYSTEM > CONTROL > more > READOUT. This is a toggle action and will display or remove the cursor data readout box from the display.

The readout shows a digital representation of data at the two cursor positions on the currently displayed channel, along with the differences in power (D p) and time (D t). The value of D p represents the selected cursor reading minus the other cursor reading, and D t represents the time difference between the two cursors. If SENSOR > AVERAGING > between CURSOR averaging is on, the average reading between the cursors is displayed at the bottom of the readout.

If continuous trigger is selected, or the display is changing while trying to read the readout, select TRIGGER > MANUAL to stop the display update. The readouts are

Note

To link the cursors, select SYSTEM > CONTROL > more > more > LINK CURSR. When the cursors are linked, a line is drawn on the display connecting the two cursors and they will move together as one. This is discussed more fully in the Triggered Measurements section below.

updated whenever the signal trace is updated, or if the cursors are moved. It is possible to link the movement of the cursors so they move at the same time. This is useful if measurements need to be taken at specific times between the cursors, as with channelled signals.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 6-11

Profile Operation Mode Procedures

Range Hold may be selected to limit dynamic range and prevent small range change disturbances on very high speed signals. Use Range Hold 1 for measurements down to -25 dBm, and Range Hold 2 up to -25. If the display update is turned off via GPIB, only the average is updated.

Triggered Measurements

Since non-triggered measurements are of limited use in the PROFILE mode, most applications require triggering. For example:

1. Provide a 1 kHz square wave modulated signal to sensor A, and set TRIGGER > SETUP > MODE to Internal A (Int A). This causes the PROFILE sweep to wait until a certain power level is present on the sensor before starting the sweep.

2. The DELAY and WIDTH parameters, as discussed above, are the positions of the two CURSORS. These can be set to specific locations; for example, if the signal is a 1 kHz square wave, setting the DELAY to 250 s places the cursor in the first cycle at the midpoint of one of the phases. Setting the WIDTH to 500 s sets the other CURSOR to exactly one half-cycle later, thus allowing display of the power levels in the two phases of the signal.

If the modulation is turned off, then the trigger conditions will not be met and the

Note

sweep will not continue to be updated. This is useful to ‘freeze’ a display. To display a CW signal again, re-select CONTINUOUS trigger in TRIGGER > SETUP > MODE.

In some conditions, it is useful to view triggered signals independent of signal

Note

3. The dynamic range in PROFILE mode should extend to the maximum specification of the meter, to approximately –40 dBm (diode sensors only). If the displayed range is restricted, check that RANGE HOLD is not applied.

Note

levels. In these cases, provide an external trigger source into the rear panel TRIGGER input to trigger such a measurement.

If RANGE HOLD 1 is applied, the lower limit will be approximately –30 dBm. If RANGE HOLD 2 is applied, the maximum level will be limited to approximately –10 dBm. In most triggered situations, range hold should be set to AUTO.

The unique method of range changing applied in this mode means that the change between range 1 and 2 is effected in less than 2 ms. In most cases it is not noticeable, although there may be a slight discontinuity.

Due to the range-change method, if a triggered signal is not repetitive the range change may not settle instantly, and the displayed result may be in error. This is generally true for x-axis times of less than 6 ms where it takes more than one pass to completely update the display.

6-12 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Procedures Profile Operation Mode

Control of x-axis - Width of Profile - Sample Time

The control of the time-frames over which the PROFILE is gathered is very precise, but there are certain restrictions. With care it can be used to display the profile of signals down to typically 100 ms or better.

1. Select SYSTEM > PROFILE. The first two items in the menus have already been covered (selection of channel 1 or 2, and the method of display, min max). The last two selections control the data collection PERIOD (the time span of the window). The default period is 10 ms, and it can be adjusted down to 100 ms and below. If you are still displaying the 1 kHz square wave, enter a period of 3 ms. The display will zoom in to show more detail of the pulses.

Thermal sensors have rise and fall times of <4 ms. Do not use a thermal sensor for

Note

2. Note that the cursors have remained at their set positions in time, that is, when altering the time axis the cursors stay at their set positions in terms of time - NOT POSITION ON THE SCREEN. This is very important when measuring specific points or peaks in a signal.

fast signal profiles. Typical MA2470A and MA2440A Series sensors have rise times of <4 ms. Fall time is typically <10 ms, except at low power levels. Consider this when looking at fast signals.

3. By altering the DELAY parameter, the PROFILE can be made to look at a segment of time long after or very close to the trigger point. That is, by setting the DELAY to 100 ms, the PROFILE will show the 100th pulse (and onwards) of a 1 kHz square wave. By setting to ZERO, the profile will show data immediately after the trigger has occurred. This is the DISPLAY TRIGGER DELAY and is denoted by a small ‘x’ on the PROFILE display. This marks the point on the display where data is taken at the time DISPLAY TRIGGER DELAY is placed. For example, for the 1 kHz square wave, the pulse edge would occur at the ‘x’ point whenever the DISPLAY TRIGGER DELAY is a multiple of 1 ms. The x-axis nomenclature always denotes this point with a time of ZERO (t=0), this allows the user to always consider time intervals relative to the display trigger which is usually the point of interest.

For smaller values of display trigger delay, it is possible that the display will cover time intervals (on the left of the display) for which there is no data. In these conditions, the cursors are normally prevented from displaying data taken there as it will be in error (there is no data). The position of ‘x’ is nominally 10 % of the screen. This can be altered to any percentage the user requires in the

Note

SYSTEM > more > more > GRAPHICS preferences menu as the PRETRIGGER percentage. It can also be set to ZERO to remove pretrigger data and prevent confusion in cases of small display trigger delays. Profile can display A, B, or A–B measurements. Note that in the case of a ratioed measurement (A–B), the data is calculated as a straight dB difference (not a LINEAR mw difference). This is not the same as a MODULATED POWER AVERAGE measurement.

4. As well as the CURSOR readouts described above, the POWER AVERAGE method can be used to display the average power between the two cursors. This is performed as a TRUE AVERAGE and is the actual average of all the data points between and

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 6-13

Profile Operation Mode Procedures

including the cursors. By placing the cursors on the top of a pulse, the flat top power can be measured. By placing the cursors with a period of the pulse, the average power of the pulse is calculated. This is more accurate than a simple duty cycle calculation which makes assumptions about the pulse shape. Use the SENSOR > AVERAGE menu to enable this readout method.

The display resolution is 200 pixels. Consider this effect on the resolution of timing data. For example, a 1 millisecond PROFILE window would have a cursor

Note

resolution on the display of 5 microseconds. The LIMITS test functions on PROFILE data, and can be configured to BEEP on fail conditions.

Advanced Triggering and Setup Options

The other aspects of triggering allow for fine tuning of the trigger conditions. This includes:-

• Selection of HIGH or LOW going edge in External TTL.

• Level setting on Internal A or B trigger, as well as polarity - HIGH or LOW going.

• ARMING via an External BLANKING input. When ARMING is set to Blanking ON,

only samples taken when the rear panel Digital Input BNC is active will be averaged in the measurement. The polarity of the rear panel Digital Input BNC signal can be set (high or low) using the System > Rear Panel > BNC > TTL LEVEL menu setting. When ARMING is set to Blanking OFF, all samples are read.

• In the SYSTEM > more > more > GRAPHICS menu, there are options for:

(a) CONNECT points. With this ON (default) the data points are connected with vectors to resemble a real time trace. When OFF, the data points are displayed as data points only, with no connecting line. This can give a faster display update, however, it may be confusing as near vertical lines will have very few points defined within them.

(b) If Tracking min/max is selected for the CHANNEL being used for the PROFILE, it is possible to configure the tracking min/max to display the min and max values for all the data BETWEEN THE CURSORS. This provides easy access to peak values within a time-window; for example, the top of a pulse.

When set to SINGLE it is updated EACH SWEEP and reflects the min and max values only within that sweep.

When set to INFINITE, it maintains the min/max from the point it is started until it is reset, updating the MAX if it sees a HIGHER measurement within the CURSOR window, and updating the MIN readout if or when it sees a lower value than that which it has already. This option, in the SYSTEM menu, is only a preferences option and not the main control for the feature.

6-14 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Procedures Source Sweep Mode

The control for the min/max remains in the CHANNEL menu (CHANNEL > SETUP>-more-> MIN/MAX > RESET). The user should select the way he wants to work and leave it. In most cases the SINGLE (default) is the most useful as it provides a continuously updated readout of the min and max points within the cursor window. The INFINITE setting is used when the results need to be collated over a large number of samples. In order to RESET the INFINITE configuration, use the CHANNEL menu.

In the triggered modes, such as Internal A or B and External TTL, the SENSOR >

Note

SETUP > Range HOLD feature can still be applied to restrict dynamic range if required.

6-11 Source Sweep Mode

This feature allows the ML243xA Power Meter to be synchronized to an RF source using the Horizontal ramp (to Analog Input) output on the RF source. The ML243xA can also optionally use a Sequential Sync (to Digital Input) output on the RF source.

To enable the Seq Sync input for RF sources that do provide this output (the default), set the System > Rear Panel > BNC > Input Port 1 > TTL LEVEL to HIGH. This way the device will use both the Horizontal Ramp and Seq Sync inputs to sync to the sweep.

To disable the Seq Sync input for RF sources that do not provide this output, set the System > Rear Panel > BNC > Input Port 1 > TTL LEVEL to LOW. This way the device will only use the Horizontal Ramp to sync to the sweep.

Frequency Sweep Mode

When the sensor/cal factor source is set to V/GHz in Source Sweep mode, the start and stop voltages are assumed to be 0 and 10V, and the start and stop frequencies are taken from the System > Source sweep menu.

Calibrate the V/GHz setup by setting 0 and 10v and the frequencies (F1 and F2) that these voltages correspond to (sweep width). This method activates real-time cal factor correction on a swept basis (including any user cal factor tables) providing swept power measurements. Note that V/GHz output should not be used, as this limits the range of the signal applied to the meter when sweeping narrow widths. The fixed 0-10V ramp should be used to ensure correct sweep operation.

In normal operation, leave the CalFactor > SOURCE set to V/GHz as this instructs the meter to apply cal factor correction proportional to the input ramp, and ensures that the whole sweep of data is cal factor corrected in real time at every data point. If the CalFactor > Source is set to Manual or Frequency, a single frequency cal factor will be applied through the sweep (or a manually entered value). This may be useful for some applications where the sweep signal is used for others purposes (for example, power sweep, etc.).

Power Sweep Mode

In this mode the Ramp input is scaled to Start and Stop power settings. The start and stop voltages are assumed to be 0 and 10V, and the start and stop power settings are taken from the System > Source sweep menu.

Make sure the Sensor > CalFactor > SOURCE is set to Frequency or Manual. In power sweep mode V/GHZ is not used.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 6-15

Source Sweep Mode Procedures

Source Sweep Graph

The annotation at the bottom of the screen is manually entered (there is currently no digital connection between the power meter and the source), and these can be entered through the SYSTEM > Source sweep > more- Start and Stop softkeys. Note that the scaling for the 10V ramp input is not directly applied to the bottom of the screen; the user is able to enter this directly and may include effects of frequency translation devices.

The other controls remain similar to the Profile graphic mode. SYSTEM > Control provides access to most other functions used during measurement, such as CURSOR movement and control, SCALING, and READOUT from the cursor. Note that the “between cursor average” has no meaning in Source Sweep mode, and in place of this the frequency of the measurement is indicated instead (x1 and x2). The readout is only updated while the system is sweeping.

Averaging may be applied by selecting SENSOR > Averaging and setting the STATE to ON. An averaging number may then be applied for either sensor independently. Averaging is ‘EXPONENTIAL’ in character so changes in response (for example, adjusting tuning of a filter) will gradually settle to their final measurement value over a period of time. A larger number will take longer to settle. Good measurements may be achieved down to –45 dBm (65 dB dynamic range) with an average value as low as 4. Values up to 64 and higher produce significantly lower noise readings. All averaging is performed on a true linear basis.

System > Source Sweep > Data Hold can be used to select the way in which data is plotted. Using Min/Max variation (both minimum and maximum) can be shown on the display. Using Max effectively provides a peak hold. If the display of swept power is not what is expected, check the setting of AVERAGE and the DATA HOLD mode in case it is affecting the data processing.

As with other graphic modes, improved speed can be achieved in ATE systems by disabling the graphic draw function for the LCD through the menus using SYSTEM > more > more > Graphics > CONNECT. Setting CONNECT to OFF displaces the

Note

line-drawing between samples, and improves update rate. Similarly, for ATE systems, the READOUT should be disabled for fastest throughput as this can all be handled within the controller (PC). Sensor range hold is not available in this mode of operation as auto ranging is selected.

Using an Anritsu Synthesizer

The ML243xA can be connected directly to the Anritsu MG3690- and 68/69000-Series Synthesized Signal Generators using a special RS232 cable (Anritsu part number C37399). To use this remote connection, the System > Setup mode must be set to Source sweep, and the System > Rear panel > RS232 mode must be set to SOURCE IF. The RS232 mode can also be changed using the GPIB command RSMODE.

When set up in this manner, all sweep frequency and power parameters will be communicated from the source to the meter. If the source frequency power level or the frequency itself is changed, the source sweep display will be updated where appropriate.

Using the MG3690-Series Synthesizer

The MG3690-series synthesizer can be used for source sweep mode. Option 06, Analog sweep, must be installed in the synthesizer for this functionality.

6-16 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Procedures Power vs. Time Mode

Using the 68/69000-Series Synthesizer

To communicate with an Anritsu 68/69000-series synthesizers, the synthesizer model and firmware must be later than the levels shown below for each model.

680xxB - 3.39, 681xxB - 3.44, 682xxB - 2.41, 683xxB - 2.50, 680x5B - 1.26, 681x5B - 1.32, 682x5B - 1.30, 683x5B - 1.34, 690xxA - 1.21, 691xxA - 1.26, 692xxA - 1.26, 693xxA - 1.35, 690x5A - 1.21, 691x5A - 1.24, 692x5A - 1.24, 693x5A - 1.31

Contact your nearest Anritsu Service Center for a firmware upgrade if necessary.

6-12 Power vs. Time Mode

The ML243xA Power vs. Time mode is a graphical chart display of one of the display channels, as selected in the SYSTEM > PWR vs. TIME menu. The triggering setup is as set for Readout mode operation.

Power vs. Time mode provides a chart display on a timed basis where the x-axis of the graph is defined in units of time. The user specifies the sweep period and, within this sweep period, each pixel depicts all the measurements taken within a 200th of the sweep period.

The data can be displayed as a maximum value only, a minimum value only, maximum and minimum values, the average of all the readings during the time slot period, or the latest measured value. These display modes are selected in the SYSTEM > Pwr Vs Time menu, DATA HOLD representation. Measurement setup, i.e., trigger, etc., is selected the same way as in Readout mode. The minimum sweep time is 1 minute, and the maximum sweep time is 24 hours.

6-13 User Cal Factors

All MA24XXA-D Power Sensors have an internal EEPROM containing correction and calibration factors programmed into the sensor at the factory. This “cal factor” data is used when the power meter is set up to use frequency or volts per GHz calibration factors. The correction is in linearity (across the dynamic range) and sensitivity (across frequency).

The ML243xA has the capability to define sets of calibration factor data and store them in the sensor. A user-defined cal factor table can be used on its own, or in conjunction with the factory-defined cal factor table. Linearity correction is not affected provided the meter cal factor frequency is set correctly.

This feature is also available when using Anritsu MA4700A/ MA4600A sensors

Note

with the Anritsu MA2499B Sensor Adapter. Since the MA4700A/ MA4600A sensors do not contain an EEPROM, the user cal factors are stored in the MA2499B adapter EEPROM.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 6-17

User Cal Factors Procedures

Depending on the amount of factory calibration data stored in the sensor, there can be up to 10 user-defined cal factor tables. A “user” cal factor table consists of up to 90 frequency/cal factor data pairs for sensors up to 40 GHz or 110 frequency/cal factor data pairs for sensors up to 50 GHz, plus a 7-character identity text string. User cal factor tables are fully interpolated, and can be used to apply correction for attenuators placed in front of the sensor. In this situation, determine the attenuation factors and use them in addition to the Factory cal factors. The number of frequency/cal factor data pairs in the factory defined table depends on the sensor being used.

The cal factor tables for a particular sensor are not maintained by the meter, but are held in the sensor. This means that when moving a sensor (perhaps with an associated attenuator or calibration record) from one meter to another, the calibration stays valid. It is not necessary to re-setup the new meter.

Note

The first time a sensor is used with the ML243xA, a slight delay may be experienced when the sensor is first plugged in. This is caused by the firmware preparing the sensor to accept user cal factor tables. After first initialization, user cal factor tables will have only a single entry at 50 MHz, 100 %.

Cal factor tables are accessed through the Sensor > CalFactor > USE TABLE front panel menus (Chapter 4), or through GPIB commands.

A * in the displayed status box by the Cal Factor indicator, signifies User Cal Factors are active. User Cal Factors are maintained in the sensor.

Example Procedure

Use the key sequence Sensor > Cal Factor > EDIT to get to the table edit menu. Use the TABLE key to select the table, then the EDIT key to edit that table. Press the INSERT key to enter frequency and cal factor data pairs.

For example, in order to enter the frequency/cal factor pairs 1 GHz @ 100 %, 2 GHz @ 101 %, 3 GHz @ 98 % and 4 GHz @ 98 %, step through the keys in the following sequence:

FREQ, 1, GHz.Entr FACTOR, 100, % FREQ, 2, GHz. Entr FACTOR, 101, % FREQ, 3, GHz. Entr FACTOR, 98, % FREQ, 4, GHz. Entr DONE

The frequency/cal factor pairs can be entered in any order. Each time a new frequency is entered, a new data pair is formed. As the data pairs are entered, they are sorted into frequency ascending order.

Readout Mode

In Readout mode, the bottom text line in the Status box indicates what type of calibration factors are being used. At any time, if anything other than the factory supplied cal data is applied, the Status box display shows a warning ‘*’ sign on the Cal Factor line to show that non-standard calibration is being applied. For example:

6-18 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Procedures Optimizing Readings

CAL F = frequency cal factors using factory defined table CAL V = volts per GHz cal factors using factory defined table CAL M = manual cal factor CAL *F = frequency cal factors employing a user defined table CAL *V = volts per GHz cal factors employing a user defined table

This is because the application of user cal factors can completely change the calibrated response of the Sensor.

6-14 Optimizing Readings

This section presents information on how to get the fastest readings from the ML243xA Power Meter when operating under GPIB control. Refer to Chapter 6, GPIB Operation, for specific command descriptions.

Measurement speed depends greatly on the type of measurements being taken, the power level, and the amount of settling used.

All results shown in this section are from DOS programs running on a 200 MHz

Note

Using the default system set up (system preset), the “O 1” command is used to retrieve one reading from channel 1 ten times (channel 1 = Sensor A).

controller using IEEE 488.2 GPIB function calls. The timings (readings/second) presented in this section are for illustrative purposes only.

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 6-19

Optimizing Readings Procedures

C code example:

/* Reset the unit */ Send(0, 13, “*RST”, 4L, NLend);

/* Ask for 10 readings */ for(i=0; i<10; i++) {

Send(0, 13, “O 1”, 3L, NLend); Receive(0, 13, buffer[i], 20, STOPend); }

Tab le 6-5. Power Levels and Reading per Second

Settling (%) Power Level (dBm) Readings/s

0.1 0 150

0.1 -30 150

10.0 -30 150

There are, however, methods of improving the speed of the measurement without having to change the power level or settling time.

DISP ON/OFF command

Using the DISP command the readout display can be turned OFF, yet data can still be acquired from the readout channels.

C code example:

/* turn display off */ Send(0, 13, “DISP OFF”, 8L, NLend);

/*Ask for 10 readings */ for(i=0; i<10; i++) {

Send(0, 13, “O 1”, 3L, NLend); Receive(0, 13, buffer[i], 20, STOPend); }

Tab le 6-6. Power Levels and Reading per Second

Settling (%) Power Level (dBm) Readings/s

0.1 0 160

0.1 -30 160

10.0 -30 160

The 0.1 % settling on –30 dBm power level results were not improved because of the amount of time needed to settle to 0.1 % on –30 dBm.

6-20 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Procedures Optimizing Readings

FAST ON/OFF command

Using the FAST command limits the types of measurements that can be taken. As some processes are turned off, higher measurement speeds can be achieved. FAST will not operate when sent via RS232. When THE FAST ON command is selected, the readout display is also turned OFF.

Note

C code example:

/* send fast mode ON*/ Send(0, 13, “FAST ON”, 7L, NLend);

/* Setup the power meter into talk addressed. In this mode*/ /* we can read from power meter without readdressing each */ /* time. */

Receivesetup(0,13);

/* Now read 10 readings */ for (loop = 0; loop < 10; loop++)

{

RcvRespMsg(0,buffer,STOPend); }

Table 6-7. Power Levels and Reading per Second

Settling (%) Power Level (dBm) Readings/s

0.1 0 150

0.1 –30 150

10.0 0 610

10.0 –30 250

Using FAST mode only increases speed when asking for one measurement at a time, using the ‘Receive’ command.

The 0.1 % settling on –30 dBm power level results were not improved because of the time needed to settle to 0.1 % at –30 dBm.

Using Buffered Requests

Using the buffered Output channel ON command, even faster measurement speeds can be achieved. By using the ON command instead of the O command x number of times, extra processing is removed, resulting in improved speed.

Note

ML2437A/38A OM/PM PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M 6-21

Using FAST mode here will not increase the speed as this mode only works when asking for one measurement at a time (i.e., the ‘O’ command only.)

Optimizing Readings Procedures

C code example:

/* Reset unit and ask for 200 buffered readings n channel 1 */ Send(0, 13, “*RST; ON 1, 200”, 15L, NLend);

/* use a large buffer size (4K for 200 readings) */ Receive(0, 13, buffer, 4096, STOPend);

Tab le 6-8. Power Levels and Reading per Second

Settling (%) Power Level (dBm) Readings/s

0.1 0 216

0.1 –30 202

Changing Measurement Modes

By changing the sensor measurement mode to Custom, the ML243xA can be precisely configured to meet the needs of the specific application.

In this example, the Trigger Gate Width has been reduced to 1 ms, Channel 1 is set to Sensor A, and Channel 2 is off.

C code example:

/* reset unit. Custom measurement mode, 1 ms TRGGW */ /* Auto averaging Sensor A Channel 2 off*/ /* Use FAST mode*/ Send(0, 13, “*RST; FAST ON; SENMM A, CUSTOM; TRGGW 1 ms”, 51L, NLend);

Receivesetup(0,13);

/* Fast mode, therefore do not send ‘O 1’ for data, just read.*/ for(i=0; i<10; i++) RcvRespMsg(0,buffer,STOPend);

Tab le 6-9. Power Levels and Reading per Second

Power Level (dBm) Readings/s

0 240

–30 240

6-22 PN: 10585-00001 Rev. M ML2437A/38A OM/PM

Anritsu ML2438A User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 — General Information

1-1 About this Manual

1-2 Associated Documentation and Software

1-3 Identification Number

1-4 Available Models

1-5 Available Options, Accessories, and Power Sensors

Chapter 2 — Installation

2-1 Initial Inspection

2-2 Sensor Handling

2-3 Power Requirements

AC Line Power

DC Power

Battery Power

Fuses

Grounding

2-4 Environmental Requirements

2-5 Rack Mounting

2-6 Battery Charging, Removal and Replacement

2-7 Storage and Shipment

Preparation for Storage

Environmental Requirements

2-8 Preparing for Shipment

Chapter 3 — Memory and Security Considerations

3-1 Introduction

Internal Flash Memory (8 MB EEPROM)

RAM Memory used by the DSP microcomputer (640 KB)

RAM Memory as non-volatile RAM (1 MB)

3-2 Secure Mode

3-3 Clearing the Non-Volatile Static RAM

3-4 Anritsu Power Sensors EEPROM

EEPROM Contents

Chapter 4 — Connections

4-1 Front Panel Connectors

Calibrator Connector

Sensor A Connector

Sensor B Connector (ML2438A only)

4-2 Rear Panel Connectors

Chapter 5 — Front Panel Operation

5-1 Front Panel Controls

5-2 Power-On Procedure

5-3 Sensor Menu

Setup

Calfactor

Averaging

Offset

Duty cycle

Rng Hold [RGH]

5-4 Channel Menu

Setup

Rel 1 [REL]

Rel 2 [REL]

Limits

5-5 Trigger Menu

Setup

5-6 System Menu

Setup

Profile

Power vs. Time

Source Sweep

Control

Display

Sound

Print [PRINT]

Battery

Rear Panel

Graphics

Secure [SECURE]

Identity [*IDN, OI]

5-7 Cal/Zero Menu

Zero/Cal

Cal 0 dBm [CAL]

Zero [ZERO]

RF ON/OFF [RFCAL]

Ext V [VZERO]

Chapter 6 — Procedures