advantest corporation TR5821, Operation Manual

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SECTION 4
GPIB INTERFACE
4-1. Introduction
Among the TR5820 series, GPIB interface is standard on the TR5822 and
optional on the TR5823, enabling them to connect to a GPIB, IEEE Standard
488-1978. This section describes the GPIB specifications and functions.
(GPIB: General Purpose Interface Bus)
4-2. General Outline o f the GPIB
The GPIB is an interface system for simple cable (bus line) connections
between measuring equipment and controller or peripheral devices.
The GPIB is much easier to use than conventional interface systems and
includes a greater expansion capacity. And since it is compatible electrically,
mechanically and functionally with other manufacturers’ equipment, it is
possible to construct a wide range o f systems from relatively simple systems
up to high-performance automatic measuring systems by using a single bus
cable.
In GPIB systems, the “address” of individual component devices connected
to the bus line should be first set. Each of these devices may have one or
more of the controller, talker or listener roles. During system operation, only
one “talker” can transmit data via the bus line, while several “listeners” can
receive that data. The controller designates the “talker” and “listener”
addresses and transfers data from the “talker” to the “listener”, or the con­
troller itself ( “talker”) may set measuring conditions for the “listener”.
Eight bit-parallel byte-serial data lines are used for data transfer between
different devices, bidirectional transmission being possible in asynchronous
mode. Furthermore, in asynchronous systems, it is also possible to connect
high-speed and low-speed devices together in any configuration.
The data (messages) transferred between devices includes measurement data,
measuring conditions (program) and various different commands. ASCII
code is employed.
In addition to the 8 data bus lines mentioned above, the GPIB also includes
3 handshake lines for control o f asynchronous data transfer between devices,
and 5 control lines for management of the data flow on the bus.
4-1