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Keysight M8070A Programming Guide
2
Recommended Programming Techniques
Allowing the M8020A/M8030A/M8040A to Settle
Allowing the M8020A/M8030A/M8040A to Settle - Concepts
When patterns are sent to the pattern generator or error detector, the
M8020A/M8030A/M8040A requires some time to settle. The following
topics explain how the instruments react to pattern changes.
How Pattern Changes Affect the Pattern Generator
The M8020A/M8030A/M8040A requires some time to change the patterns
at the pattern generator and error detector. This is particularly true for
large text-based (ASCII) patterns that have to be loaded from the file
system.
In such a case, it is a recommended technique to always query the
M8020A/M8030A/M8040A's Operation Complete status after changing
the pattern.
How Pattern Changes Affect the Error Detector
When the pattern changes, the error detector has to resynchronize to the
new incoming signal. Depending on the signal, the alignment method used
and the desired BER threshold, this procedure can take up to half a minute
or more.
Checking Operation Status and Sync using SCPI Commands
The :STATus:OPERation:RUN? SCPI command returns the status of all
pattern generators, error detectors and clock generator. Query the desired
hardware component using the identifier (for example, ‘M1.DataOut1’).
The :STATus:INSTrument:SLOSs? SCPI command is a query that indicates
the status of the error detector synchronization. This query returns either
true (1) if all error detectors are synchronized, or false (0) if the error
detectors are not synchronized.