Instrument Control (GPIB, Serial, VISA, IVI)

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Phase noise measurement with Agilent E4440A

Hello,

 

I used labview to control Agilent Spectrum Analyzer E4440A to complete phase noise measurement, there is no result displayed in front panel but an error(see attachment"ERROR(PN)"). But the result displayed in the instrument screen(see attachment"RESULT(no table)"), and it should displayed like the picture "RESULT(table)", because I have opened the "Decade table" in the program.

 

So there are two problems for me, the one is that I can not get out result in the front panel, the other one is the result displayed in instrument screen is not completely, there is no decade table displayed.

 

The attached file is my program, and the program I used is "Agilent ESA PSA Phase Noise Log Plot Measurement.vi".

 

 

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Message 1 of 22
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Do you understand what commands are being sent by the VI you are using?

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Message 2 of 22
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Hi nyc,

 

I can understand most of the commands. The program in the attachment is the driver downloaded from the web of instrument driver, I only changed little. I have checked the commands again, but I could not find the problem.

Maybe I have made some mistakes caused by the poor knowledge about the instrument control. Wishing you can help me!

Thank you very much!

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Message 3 of 22
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I would try the original VI and see if that works.

 

Yes, with sophisticated equipment it isn't just a matter of using a VI. It is important to understand what the commands being sent by the VI are meant to be doing. The latter means reading the manual.

 

 

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Message 4 of 22
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Hi nyc,

Thank you for your reply!

Yeah, I have read the manual many times, but I could not find any problem, the commands are ok in my view. As I have said last time, maybe I have made some mistakes about the setup caused by my poor knowledge for the instrument control. I need help for details. Could you provide me the detail information for this VI? Much appreciation for your support!

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Message 5 of 22
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I don't have the instrument so I can't help you debug the VI.

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Message 6 of 22
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Thank you all the same!

 

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Message 7 of 22
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My rule:

If you are unable to use the instrument's front panel buttons to make the measurements that you want, then it is pointless to try to automate it with LabVIEW.

 

I find that many LabVIEW users, download instrument drivers and try to use them without really understanding how the instrument works.

This is fine for something like a power supply, but hardly adequate for the E4440A spectrum analyzer.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

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Message 8 of 22
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I can use the instrument's front panel to make the measurement, it's the basic.

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Message 9 of 22
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Do the commands being sent in the VI match the buttons that you are pressing on the front panel?

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Message 10 of 22
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