Instruction manual

Chapter 1 Before You Start...

Introduction

1-2 Programming Guide

Introduction

This programming guide contains programming information for the

Agilent Technologies 53150A, 53151A, and 53152A Microwave Frequency

Counters.

This guide assumes you are familiar with the front-panel operation of the

Counter. See the Agilent 53150A/151A/152A Operating Guide for

detailed information about front-panel operation. You should use this

programming guide together with the operating guide. Knowing how to

control the Counter from the front panel and understanding the

measurements you want to perform makes the programming task much

easier. The operating guide provides explanations and procedures for all

of the Counter’s measurement functions and contains the specifications

for the Counter.

By sending Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments (SCPI)

commands, you can remotely operate many of the Counter’s front-panel

functions via the General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) or the RS-232

serial interface. These programming commands conform to the Standard

Commands for Programmable Instruments (SCPI) Standard Version

1992.0. The SCPI standard does not completely redefine how to program

instruments over the GPIB or the RS-232 serial interface. However, it

does standardize the structure and content of an instrument’s command

set to reflect the best programming practices developed by people using

GPIB. It also establishes standard command mnemonics for similar

functions in all of the instruments that conform to the SCPI standard.

If you have programmed any Agilent instruments that have been released

over the last few years, you have probably seen a general trend toward the

techniques specified in the SCPI standard. For example, several

instruments are already using a hierarchy of commands that is similar to

the command structure defined by the SCPI standard.