HP (Agilent) 8510C Trace Read Timing/Busy Query

[Tochip]

Hi all - I've been wondering for some time if anyone knows if the HP8510C

1. has a command that can query the instrument to see whether it is done with a trace
or
2. has a command that will let a programmer know when the instrument is done with a trace.

My problem is that I often have to read in subsequent trace data of the different S-parameters, and I don't know how to do it efficiently (one after the other, i.e. S11 then S21) and dynamically.  Right now I use a timer to wait a few seconds before moving onto the next trace, and that's definitely not dynamic.

Any suggestions by anybody would be greatly appreciated!

Euell

[bpmcc]

Hi,

Most modern network analysers use SCPI commands for GPIB control, I'd imagine the HP8510C does the same (check the Programmer's Manual if you have one). There's a common query (not instrument-specific) in this called "*OPC?" which flags if a pending operation has completed. I use it to control triggered frequency sweeps in Labview, where a trigger to start a new sweep is only sent when the previous sweep completes. Hope this helps.