HP 8596E Spectrum Analyzer: frequency acquisition

[sjl006]

Hi,

I'm currently trying to plot the graph from the HP 8596E Spectrum Analyzer onto a graph on my front panel. I downloaded the appropriate driver and used the "hp859x Read Wvfm to Array.vi" to get the waveform from the analyzer. I then placed the array into a spreadsheet and read it out again onto a waveform graph. However, I was only able to obtain a 1D array as an output and I only got the power readings (y-axis) and not the frequency readings (x-axis). I've been searching around all the VI's for this instrument and all I can find is a vi that configures the frequency on the spectrum analyzer. Should I just write to the instrument (asking for the frequency) everytime it samples and takes a reading for the "hp 859x read wvfm to array.vi"? If so, how would I be able to do it?

Also, is there a more efficient way of writing my data to a file? Maybe an excel file. And what are lvm files? ANd how do I read them?

Thanks!

Sammy

[DavidJCrawford]

Hi Sammy

Have you looked at hp859x Getting Started.vi included in the driver. This demonstrates how build a waveform data type and graph it?

There are number of ways to save your data. Take a look at the examples shipped with labview to see which one you like best.

If you want to view the data in excel then use the Write to Spreadsheet file function. Here you will need to generate your X-value array using X0 and dX.

You could also use Write to Measurement File which saves to lvm format.

David

[DFGray]

LVM is short for LabVIEW Measurement.  It is a text-based file format designed with portability and ease of parsing in mind.  It is essentially a save-to-spreadsheet file with a well defined header.  You can find the specifications for it here.  Read and writes to LVM files are handles with the Read From/Write To Measurment File VIs on the input and output Express palettes.