HP 34401A, User Manual

Page: 72 / 236

Triggering
The multimeter’s triggering system allows you to generate triggers
either manually or automatically, take multiple readings per trigger,
and insert a delay before each reading. Normally, the multimeter will
take one reading each time it receives a trigger, but you can specify
multiple readings (up to 50,000) per trigger.
You can trigger the multimeter from the front panel using a single
trigger, an external trigger, or auto triggering. Single triggering
takes one reading each time you press the
Single
key. External
triggering is like single triggering, but the multimeter waits for a
pulse on the rear-panel
Ext Trig (external trigger) terminal before
taking a reading. Auto triggering takes continuous readings at the
fastest rate possible for the present configuration.
See also “To Trigger
the Multimeter,” on page 42.
Triggering the multimeter from the remote interface is a multi-step
process that offers triggering flexibility.
•
First, you must configure the multimeter for the measurement by
selecting the function, range, resolution, etc.
•
Then, you must specify the source from which the multimeter will
accept the trigger. The multimeter will accept a software (bus) trigger
from the remote interface, a hardware trigger from the
Ext Trig
terminal, or an immediate internal trigger.
•
Then, you must make sure that the multimeter is ready to accept a
trigger from the specified trigger source (this is called the
wait-for-trigger state).
The diagram on the next page shows the multimeter’s triggering system.
3
Chapter 3 Features and Functions
Triggering
71