R&S ZNH, User Manual

Page: 196 / 369

Remote Commands
R&S
®
ZNH
189 User Manual 1334.5985.02 ─ 02
12 Remote Commands
The commands required to perform measurements in the Cable and Antenna Test
application in a remote environment are described here.
● Interfaces and Protocols ....................................................................................... 189
● Setting Up the Remote Control Connection ..........................................................192
● Instrument Model and Command Processing .......................................................193
● SCPI Command Structure and Syntax ..................................................................196
● Command Sequence and Command Synchronization ......................................... 205
● Remote Control - Commands ............................................................................... 205
12.1 Interfaces and Protocols
The R&S ZNH supports two different interfaces for remote control.
●
LAN Interface : The protocol is based on TCP/IP and supports the VXI-11 standard
●
USB Interface
The connectors are located at the side of the instrument and permit a connection to a
controller for remote control via a local area network (LAN) or directly via USB.
SCPI
SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments) commands - messages -
are used for remote control. Commands that are not taken from the SCPI standard fol-
low the SCPI syntax rules. The instrument supports the SCPI version 1999. The SCPI
standard is based on standard IEEE 488.2 and aims at the standardization of device-
specific commands, error handling and the status registers. The tutorial "Automatic
Measurement Control - A tutorial on SCPI and IEEE 488.2" from John M. Pieper (order
number 0002.3536.00) offers detailed information on concepts and definitions of SCPI.
The requirements that the SCPI standard places on command syntax, error handling
and configuration of the status registers are explained in detail in the following sec-
tions. Tables provide a fast overview of the bit assignment in the status registers. The
tables are supplemented by a comprehensive description of the status registers.
VISA
VISA is a standardized software interface library providing input and output functions to
communicate with instruments. The I/O channel (LAN or USB) is selected at initializa-
tion time by means of a channel-specific resource string. For more information about
VISA refer to its user documentation.
The programming examples for remote control, are all written in Microsoft® VISUAL
BASIC®. Access to the VISA functions require the declaration of the functions and
constants before their use in the project. This can be accomplished either by adding
the modules VISA32.BAS and VPPTYPE.BAS or a reference to the VISA32.DLL to the
project.
Interfaces and Protocols