Field Master Pro™ MS2090A Programming Manual : Programming with SCPI : SCPI Command Programming Examples
 
SCPI Command Programming Examples
SCPI commands are sent to port 9001 of the instrument. Command statements read from left to right and from top to bottom. In the command statement below, the :FREQuency keyword immediately follows the :SENSe keyword with no separating space. A space is used between the command string and its argument.
Notational Examples
[:SENSe]:FREQuency:STARt <numeric_value>{HZ|KHZ|MHZ|GHZ}
The following command syntax all produce the same result:
:SENSe:FREQuency:STARt 1 MHZ
:SENS:FREQ:STAR 1 MHZ
:sense:frequency:start 1000000
:FREQ:STAR 1000 KHZ
Note 
Note that the first keyword in the command string does not require a leading colon; however, it is good practice to always use a leading colon for all keywords. Note also that the :SENSe keyword is optional. This is a SCPI convention for all voltage or signal source type instruments that allows shorter command statements to be used.
:CALCulate:MARKer<n>:X <numeric_value>{HZ|KHZ|MHZ|GHZ}
The first two commands below set the location of marker 1, the third command sets the location of marker 2:
:CALC:MARK:X 1 GHZ
:CALC:MARK1:X 1 GHZ
:CALC:MARK2:X 2ghz
:UNIT:POWer <DBM|DBUV>
The following command syntax is identical:
:UNIT:POWer DBM
:unit:pow dbm
:INITiate:CONTinuous <0|1|ON|OFF>
The following commands are identical:
:INITiate:CONTinuous OFF
:init:cont 0
 
The following is an example of a multiple command statement that uses two separate commands in a single program line:
:FREQuency:STARt 10E6;:FREQuency:STOP 20E9
Note 
A semicolon is used to join the commands and a leading colon used immediately after the semicolon to start the second command.
Application Mode Switching
This section provides abbreviated examples of switching between measurement applications and modes via SCPI commands. SCPI commands are sent to port 9001 of the instrument.
 
//Turn off all Apps:
INST:APPL:STAT SPA, 0
INST:APPL:STAT HIPM, 0
INST:APPL:STAT CAAUSB, 0
 
//Turn on HIPM:
INST:APPL:STAT HIPM, 1
//Wait 18 seconds
inst:nsel?
 
//Turn on CAAUSB:
w:INST:APPL:STAT CAAUSB, 1
//Wait 25 seconds
inst:nsel?
 
//Turn on SPA:
INST:APPL:STAT SPA, 1
//Wait 33 seconds
inst:nsel?
Spectrum Trace Data via SCPI
This section provides an abbreviated example of setting up and capturing spectrum trace data via SCPI commands. SCPI commands are sent to port 9001 of the instrument.
//Set the Start and Stop Frequencies
SENS:FREQ:STAR 88 MHz
SENS:FREQ:STOP 108 MHz
 
//Set the RBW to 30 kHz
BAND:RES 30 KHz
 
//Set the Reference Level to -30 dBm
DISP:WIND:TRAC:Y:SCAL:RLEV -30
 
//Set to single sweep
INIT:CONT OFF
 
//Get trace amplitude data
TRACE:DATA? 1
 
//Get number of display points to calculate frequency array
DISP:POIN?
 
C/C++
This example is run on the command line using the USBTMC interface. It sends the *IDN? query to the instrument and prints the response to the console.
// IdnExample.cpp : Microsoft Visual Studio-Generated Example
//Usage : IdnExample “USB0::0x0B58::0xFFF9::xxxxxxxx_xxx_xx::INSTR”
//where xxxxxxxx_xxx_xx is the USB Device ID of the instrument.
//Output : The string identity string returned from the instrument.
//VISA Header : visa.h (must be included)
//VISA Libarary : visa32.lib(must be linked with)
#include “stdafx.h”
#include “stdio.h”
#include “string.h”
#include “visa.h”
#define BUFFER_SIZE 255
int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
ViStatus status; /* For checking errors */
ViSession defaultRM, instr; /* Communication channels */
ViUInt32 retCount; /* Return count from string I/O */
ViChar buffer[BUFFER_SIZE]; /* Buffer for string I/O */
char tempDisplay[BUFFER_SIZE]; /* Display buffer for example */
char *pAddress;
/* Make sure we got our address. */
if ( argc < 2 )
{
printf(”Usage: IdnExample
\”USB0::0x0B58::0xFFF9::xxxxxxxx_xxx_xx::INSTR”);
printf(”\t where xxxxxxxx_xxx_xx is the USB Device ID of your instrument.\n”);
return -1;
}
/* Store the address. */
pAddress = argv[1];
/* Begin by initializing the system*/
status = viOpenDefaultRM(&defaultRM);
if (status < VI_SUCCESS)
{
/* Error Initializing VISA...exiting*/
printf(”Can't initialize VISA\n”);
return -1;
}
/* USB0::0x0B58::0xFFF9::xxxxxxxx_xxx_xx::INSTR*/
/* NOTE: For simplicity, we will not show error checking*/
/* TODO: Add error handling. */
status = viOpen(defaultRM, pAddress, VI_NULL, VI_NULL, &instr);
/* Set the timeout for message-based communication*/
/* TODO: Add error handling. */
status = viSetAttribute(instr, VI_ATTR_TMO_VALUE, 120000);
/* Ask the device for identification */
sprintf(buffer, “*IDN?\n”);
status = viWrite(instr, (unsigned char *)&buffer[0], 6, &retCount);
status = viRead(instr, (unsigned char *)buffer, BUFFER_SIZE, &retCount);
/* TODO: Add code to process data. */
strncpy(tempDisplay, buffer, retCount);
tempDisplay[retCount] = 0; /* Null-terminate display string. */
printf(”*IDN? Returned %d bytes: %s\n”, retCount, tempDisplay);
/* Close down the system */
/* TODO: Add error handling. */
status = viClose(instr);
status = viClose(defaultRM);
return 0;
}
 
IQ Capture Programming Examples
Raw Socket Connection
import socket from time import sleep, time
 
class SocketConnection:
 
"""Provides a means to connect and send SCPI commands to the DUT using a raw TCP socket."""
 
def __init__(self, ipAddress):
"""Initializes an instance of SocketConnection class
@param ipAddress The IP address of the device"""
 
# split out port number if given
splitIpAddress = ipAddress.split(':')
 
assert len(splitIpAddress) > 0
assert len(splitIpAddress) <= 2
self._ipAddress = splitIpAddress[0]
 
#assign port
if len(splitIpAddress) == 2:
self._portNumber = int(splitIpAddress[1])
else:
self._portNumber = 9001
 
self._socketConnection = None
 
self._timeoutInSec = 120
self._socketReadSize = 4096
self.__nonBulkDataSizeCuttoff = 32768
# Time to let the other end of the connection close
self.__timeoutAfterCloseInSec = 1
self._terminatedBlockResponse = False
self.prefix = ''
self._verbose = False
 
self._establishConnection()
 
def __del__(self):
"""This gets called by the garbage collector so it is possible that the connection will remain open for a while before this gets collected."""
self._closeConnection()
 
def getpeername(self):
return self._ipAddress, self._portNumber
 
def settimeout(self, *args, **kwargs):
return self._socketConnection.settimeout(*args, **kwargs)
 
def expectTerminatedBlockResponse(self, newval=None):
if newval is not None:
self._terminatedBlockResponse = newval
return self._terminatedBlockResponse
 
def sendWriteCommand(self, scpiCommand):
"""Sends a SCPI write command. @param scpiCommand The SCPI command to send."""
 
scpiCommand = self.prefix + scpiCommand
try:
returnValue = self._socketConnection.sendall(scpiCommand + "\n")
assert returnValue is None, "Error sending command: " + scpiCommand
if self._verbose:
if len(scpiCommand) < self.__nonBulkDataSizeCuttoff:
print(scpiCommand + " sent successfully")
else:
print( "sent long scpi command of length: " + str(len(scpiCommand)))
except socket.error as msg:
assert False, "Failed to send SCPI command: a socket error occurred (Error code: " + str(msg[0]) + ", Error message: " + str(msg[1]) + ")"
return
 
def sendQueryCommand(self, scpiCommand):
"""Sends a SCPI query command and return the response. @param scpiCommand The SCPI query to send. @return The result of the SCPI command."""
scpiCommand = self.prefix + scpiCommand
try:
returnValue = self._socketConnection.sendall(scpiCommand + "\n")
assert returnValue is None, "failed to send command"
if self._verbose:
print(scpiCommand + " sent successfully")
 
# Read 1 byte to check for a block data response header
data = self._socketConnection.recv(1)
assert len(data) > 0, "No data returned for query"
if len(data) > 0 and data[0] == '#':
# Block data response
data = self._getBlockDataResponse()
elif len(data) > 0 and data[0] == '\n':
# Check for a response string that only contains a newline. Remove the newline and return empty data.
data = data[:-1]
elif len(data) > 0:
# ASCII response: receive until the entire response is read
while True:
data += self._socketConnection.recv(self._socketReadSize)
 
assert len(data) < self.__nonBulkDataSizeCuttoff, \
"No newline character found in response to " + scpiCommand + " SCPI command."
 
# Check for a new line at the end of the response
if data[-1] == '\n':
break;
 
# Remove the trailing \n from the response
data = data[:-1]
if self._verbose:
print('Data received: "%s"' % data)
 
except socket.error as msg:
assert False, "Failed to send SCPI command: a socket error occurred \n" + msg.__str__()
return data
 
def _establishConnection(self):
"""Establishes a connection. The call will fail if a connection is already open."""
assert self._socketConnection is None, "connection should not already be open"
try:
self._socketConnection = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
self._socketConnection.setsockopt(socket.SOL_SOCKET, socket.SO_REUSEADDR, 1)
self._socketConnection.settimeout(self._timeoutInSec)
self._socketConnection.connect((self._ipAddress, self._portNumber))
self._socketConnection.setsockopt(socket.IPPROTO_TCP, socket.TCP_NODELAY, 1)
except socket.error as msg:
assert False, "Failed to establish DUT connection (Error code: " + str(msg[0]) + ", Error message: " + str(msg[1]) + ")"
 
def _closeConnection(self):
"""Closes the socket connection and asserts that it closed. This informs the other end of the socket that it should close but it may take some time depending on implementation, network conditions, etc."""
if self._socketConnection is not None:
self._socketConnection.shutdown(socket.SHUT_RDWR)
self._socketConnection.close()
self._socketConnection = None
sleep(self.__timeoutAfterCloseInSec)
assert self._socketConnection is None, "Socket connection not closed"
 
def _getBlockDataResponse(self):
""" Receives a SCPI block data response of the form 'AXD' where A is a single ASCII byte specifying the number of digits in X, X is one or more ASCII bytes specifying the number of bytes in D, and D is one or more bytes containing the response binary data."""
numSizeBytes = int(self._socketConnection.recv(1))
 
assert numSizeBytes > 0, "The definite-length empty block response must be #10 not #0."
 
numDataBytesLeft = int(self._socketConnection.recv(numSizeBytes))
responses = []
readBuffer = bytearray(numDataBytesLeft)
view = memoryview(readBuffer)
 
timeoutSeconds = self._socketConnection.gettimeout()
lastReadTime = time()
 
while numDataBytesLeft > 0:
numBytesRead = self._socketConnection.recv_into(view, numDataBytesLeft)
if numBytesRead > 0:
lastReadTime = time()
 
dt = time() - lastReadTime
if dt > timeoutSeconds:
raise Exception('Timeout after %d ms: Only read %d/%d bytes'
% (dt, len(readBuffer),
len(readBuffer) + numDataBytesLeft))
 
view = view[numBytesRead:]
numDataBytesLeft = numDataBytesLeft - numBytesRead
 
if self._terminatedBlockResponse:
blockTerminator = self._socketConnection.recv(2)
assert blockTerminator in ('\r\n', '\n')
 
if self._verbose:
print("Read bytes of block data: ", len(readBuffer))
return readBuffer
 
def reset(self, delay_seconds=-1):
"""Resets the established connection @param delay_seconds: Wait time between closing the connection and attempting tore-establish the connection. This is useful when rebooting an instrument."""
self._closeConnection()
 
if delay_seconds >= 0:
sleep(delay_seconds)
try:
self._establishConnection()
except socket.error as msg:
assert False, "Failed to establish DUT connection (Error code: " + str(msg[0]) + ", Error message: " + str(msg[1]) + ")"
else:
reset_timeout = 300 # 300 seconds == 5 minutes == max polling time
time.sleep(5) # Fixed delay before attempting to reconnect
while reset_timeout > 0:
try:
self._socketConnection = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
self._socketConnection.setsockopt(socket.SOL_SOCKET, socket.SO_REUSEADDR, 1)
self._socketConnection.settimeout(self._timeoutInSec)
self._socketConnection.connect((self._ipAddress, self._portNumber))
break
except Exception as msg :
self._socketConnection.close()
self._socketConnection = None
sleep(1)
reset_timeout -= 1
if reset_timeout <= 0:
assert False, "Failed to establish DUT connection (Error code: " + str(msg[0]) + ", Error message: " + str(msg[1]) + ")"
 
IQ Block Capture via SCPI
SENS:FREQ:CENTER 100 MHz
SENS:FREQ:SPAN 20 MHz
SWEEP:MODE FFT
//Set RBW 30 kHz
BANDWIDTH 30 KHz
//Set Reference Level to -30 dBm
DISP:WIND:TRAC:Y:SCAL:RLEV -30
//Set to single sweep
INIT:CONT OFF
//abort any sweep in progress
:ABORT
 
//Set Capture bandwidth. Not same as RBW.
[:SENSe]:IQ:SAMPle SB2
 
//Set 16 bit resolution
IQ:BITS I16
 
//Set to IQ block capture mode
IQ:MODE SINGLE
//enable time stamp
SENS:IQ:TIME 1
 
//Set capture length to 5 msec
IQ:LENGTH 5 ms
 
//Start IQ Capture. Triggers single capture. Data is saved to DDR2 SDRAM memory.
MEAS:IQ:CAPT
 
//Check if capture is completed normally
STATus:OPERation?
 
//The STATus:OPERation? query responds with a integer. Convert this integer to binary.
//Bit 9 is set to 1 when the MEAS:IQ:CAPT command is issued.
//Bit 9 is set to 0 when the capture is completed normally in block mode.
IQ Capture Data to Absolute Power Level
This is a sample Matlab/Octave program that shows how Raw IQ capture data can be related to an Absolute power level.
%Copy data into captureData array
%Separate the data and build the complex IQ vector.
%First column contains Q and the second I
quadphase = captureData(:,1);
inphase = captureData(:,2);
IQData = (inphase+1i*quadphase);
%Send SCPI Command [:SENSe]:iQ:SAMPle:CALibration:CONFiguration?
%and get absolute reference offset
absolute_ref_offset = -2.007958;
fs = 122.88e6;%Sampling frequency
n = 1024; %number of samples
%Perform fft
y = abs(fft(IQData, n));
y = fftshift(y);
%Scale fft output
y = y/n;
%To power
y = 20 * log10(sqrt(10 * y);
%To Absolute power level
y = y + absolute_ref_offset;
%Peak Value
peak = max(y);
f = fs*(-n/2:n/2-1)/n;
plot(f, y);
xlabel("Frequency in Hz"); % x-axis label
ylabel("Power in dBm"); % y-axis label