Series 3700A System Switch/Multimeter Reference Manual
Section 5: Switching and scanning
3700AS-901-01 Rev. D/June 2018
5-21
When naming the channel pattern, be aware:
•
The first character of the name must be alphabetic (upper or lower case)
•
Names are case sensitive
•
Pattern names must be different than channel labels
Performing close and open operations on channel patterns
Careless channel pattern operation could create an electric shock hazard that could result in
severe injury or death. Improper operation can also cause damage to the switching cards and
external circuitry. The control of multiple channels using channel patterns should be
restricted to experienced test engineers who recognize the dangers associated with multiple
channel closures.
You can close and open channel patterns the same way you do for individual channels.
When you request a close or open operation, the Series 3700A verifies that the channels exist for a
pattern, but does not verify that the switch path connection is correct. You must ensure the requested
operation is safe for a channel pattern and that a good connection will result for your application with
the channel pattern.
Channel pattern storage
Channel patterns are:
▪
Part of saved setup data and restored when a setup is recalled.
▪
Deleted when the instrument is reset or has a pole setting change.
▪
Deleted when a channel associated with the pattern is reset.
▪
Allocated 32KB of memory in the Series 3700A instrument for all channel patterns.
The number of channel patterns you can store varies with the number of characters of the channel
pattern name, the number of characters used in listing the switching channels, and the number of
characters in the name of the DMM configuration. 32KB of memory is equivalent to 32,000
characters. If each channel pattern name is five characters long, and each pattern is comprised of
five channels, and the channel list is comma delimited (for example, "2003,4003,2005,4005,2915"),
then you can store 642 channel patterns. You can store additional channel patterns by decreasing the
number of characters in each channel pattern name or the number of channels in the channel pattern
image. Conversely, you store fewer than 642 channel patterns by increasing the number of
characters in the channel pattern name or number of channels in the channel pattern image.
To see how much of the channel pattern memory is available or used, send the command:
print(memory.available())
or
print(memory.used())
Refer to
memory.available()
(on page 11-293) or
memory.used()
(on page 11-294).
