User Guide

Remote Control User Guide for the MX / MBX / TLX1 / TLX2 Series Chapter 2: Supported Commands
Page 4 TTN116413-D04
Chapter 2 Supported Commands
This section describes the commands supported by firmware version V1.9.4 and later. The commands are
modeled on the IEEE 488.2 standard commands for programmable instruments (SCPI) specification.
Following this convention, many commands in the “Syntax” columns of the following tables include both
uppercase and lowercase letters. Uppercase letters identify the shortest acceptable form of the commands. If
including additional characters, all command characters must be included. (For example, VOA:SET? and
VOA:SETPOINT? are the only acceptable variations of the VOA:SETpoint? command.)
Each SCPI command string sent to the instrument must be terminated with either <new line> (<NL>) character
(ASCII decimal 10), <CR><NL> (ASCII decimal 13 10), <CR> (ASCII decimal 13), or <NL><CR> (ASCII decimal
10 13). IEEE 488 specifies that the standard termination is the <NL> character. For every SCPI message that is
sent to the instrument that warrants a response, the instrument terminates the returned response with a <NL>
character.
The commands described below have been developed as a custom set, as no device in the SCPI standard is an
exact analogue.
Please note that not every command described in the following sections applies to every MX / MBX / TLX1 / TLX2
Item #. In order for a command to apply to a specific instrument, the instrument must have the related built-in
component. For example, the Laser Control Commands do not apply to instruments that do not include an internal
tunable laser. The following table lists the commands supported by each instrument.
Item #
Section 2.2 Section 2.3 Section 2.4 Section 2.5 Section 2.6
RF
Amplifier
Commands
Laser
Control
Commands
Mach-Zehnder
Modular Bias
Control
Commands
System
Commands
Variable Optical
Attenuator Commands
MBX - -
MX10A,
MX40A
-
MX10B,
MX40B
MX10C,
MX40C
-
MX35D,
MX35E,
MX65E
MX40G,
MX70G
-
TLX1,
TLX2
-
-
Figure 6 The Available Command Set for Each Instrument Corresponds to its Built-In Functionality
Valid commands will return a value of 1 on receipt. Valid queries return a value/string as noted in the query
descriptions in Sections 0 through 2.6. The following table lists possible return values for exception handling.