Operation
General
This section is a general introduction to the operation of the generator, intended to be read before
using the instrument for the first time.
Switching On
The power switch is located at the bottom left of the front panel.
At power up the generator displays the installed software revision for 2 seconds before reverting
to the main menu; the RF OUT output is off but all the other settings are the same as when the
instrument was last powered down. Should an error with the battery-backed RAM be encountered
at power up a message will be displayed, see the Error Messages section.
The basic generator parameters can all be set from this main menu as described in the following
sections. The output is switched on with the RF OUT key; the ON lamp will light to show that the
output is on.
Keyboard Principles
The keys can be considered in the following groups:
•
The numeric/unit keys permit direct entry of a value for the parameter currently selected
(indicated by the
cursor beside the parameter). Thus, with frequency selected,
123.456 MHz is set by keying 1, 2, 3, • , 4, 5, 6 MHz. The parameter actually changes only
when the units key (dB, MHz, etc.) is pressed.
FREQUENCY can be entered in kHz or MHz but will always be displayed in MHz. LEVEL can
be entered in dBm, mV or µV; mV values below 1.00mV will be displayed in µV and µV values
above 1000µV will be displayed in mV. With the
cursor set to LEVEL the value displayed
can be switched from dBm to µV/mV and vice-versa by pressing the appropriate key.
To enter negative numbers (for dB) the ± key can be used at any time during the number
entry.
ESCAPE aborts the entry and leaves the parameter at its previous setting.
•
To the left of the numeric keys are the 5 parameter keys which select the parameter to be
changed; the
cursor moves to the selected parameter and that parameter can then be
changed as described above.
Next to the MODULATION SELECT key is the MODULATION ON/OFF key which turns
modulation on and off with alternate presses; the MODULATION lamp lights when modulation
is on.
•
The FIELD keys provide an alternative means of moving the
cursor between parameters on
a menu. The rotary control and the
keys below it provide alternative means of
incrementing/decrementing the value of the currently selected parameter (for FREQUENCY
and LEVEL) or stepping through the parameter settings (for ADDRESS, etc.). When
incrementing/decrementing frequency and level the parameter value changes in steps set up
on the STEP SIZE menu, see Step Size section. During numeric entries the
key also acts
as a backspace/delete.
•
The UTILITIES key selects the Utilities menu which gives access to the stored set-ups and
remote control parameters. The LOCAL key returns the instrument to local (keyboard) control
from remote control.
•
The EXECUTE key is used to confirm operations other than numeric parameter entries,
e.g. during store and recall of set-ups.
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