Programming Guide

SIGLENT
SDL1000X Programming Guide 1
1. Programming Overview
This chapter introduces how to build communication between the instrument
and the PC. It also introduces how to configure a system for remote instrument
control. By using USB and LAN interfaces, in combination with NI-VISA and
programming languages, users can remotely control the instruments. Through
LAN interface, VXI-11, Sockets and Telnet protocols can be used to
communicate with the instruments.
1.1 Establishing Communications
1.1.1 Install NI-VISA
Before programming, you need to install the National Instruments NI-VISA
library, which you can download from the National Instruments web site.
Currently, NI-VISA is packaged in two versions: a full version and a Run-Time
Engine version. The full version includes the NI device drivers and a tool
named NI MAX which is a user interface to control and test remotely
connected devices. The Run-Time Engine is recommended, as it is a much
smaller download than the full version and includes the necessary tools for
basic communication to instruments.
For example, you can get the NI-VISA 5.4 full version from:
http://www.ni.com/download/ni-visa-5.4/4230/en/.
You also can download NI-VISA Run-Time Engine 5.4 to your PC and install it
as the default selection. Its installation process is similar with the full version.
After you downloaded the file, follow these steps to install NI-VISA (The full
version of NI-VISA 5.4 is used in this example. Newer versions are likely, and
should be compatible with SIGLENT instrumentation. Download the latest
version available for the operating system being used by the controlling
computer):
a. Double click the visa540_full.exe, dialog shown as below: