Series 3700 System Switch/Multimeter User's Manual
Section 4: Close-open overview
3700S-900-01 Rev. C / July 2008
4-17
Using sequential connecting to achieve deterministic settling
times
Relays of a specific switching module have a specified settling time, which is
also referred to as actuation time. You incur these settling times at each close or
open operation for both switch-only and switch with DMM operations. When
specifying multiple channels for a single close or open operation, the total
settling time depends on the relay drive scheme for the switching module -- how
each switching module budgets power to change the state of its relays.
The Series 3700 supports the following relay drive schemes:
Direct Drive: You can simultaneously update the state of all relays on a
switching module with a single close or open operation. The total settling
time for a close or open operation is the settling time for a single relay.
Matrix Drive: Executing a close or open operation on a list of channels can
result in multiple actions to update the state of all specified relays. Settling
time is not deterministic.
Hybrid Matrix Drive: For a single close or open operation, the state of all
relays can be updated in no more than two steps. The total settling time for
a close or open operation does not exceed twice the settling time for a
single relay.
For applications that require deterministic settling time for every close or open
operation, you can enable sequential connecting. Sequential connecting forces
the instrument to close all channels specified in the close or open operation in a
sequential manner. The total settling time will be a sum of the settling time for
each relay of the specified channel list.
By default, sequential connecting is off and the Series 3700 performs the close
or open operation as quickly as possible.
To enable sequential connecting through the front panel interface:
1. Press the
MENU
key.
2. Use the navigation wheel to scroll to the CHANNEL menu item.
3. Press the
ENTER
key (or the navigation wheel) to display the CONNECT
MENU.
4. From this menu, select the SEQUENTIAL menu item: Use this menu item to
to turn ON sequential connecting.
5. Use the
ENTER
key to apply the selection.
6. Use the
EXIT
key to leave the menu.
To enable using the remote command interface use the
channel.connectsequential
command. Refer to Instrument Control Library
(ICL) in the Reference Manual for details on the
channel.connectsequential
command.