"user manual"
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1. Also you can directly program the oscilloscope using commands specific to each model oscilloscope All Tektronix open Windows oscilloscopes come with documentation describing commands specific to that model Frequently this documentation comes in MS Windows online help and electronic PDF format Figure 2 on page 12 shows the relationship between these different programming interfaces Users can write programs in a variety of languages and use one of the programming interfaces All the other interfaces are built on top of the Tek VISA API which provides the foundation for connectivity to the instrument The TekVISA API sends device specific commands over USB GPIB or LAN Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 11 Writing OpenChoice Software Application Development Environments ADE C C Visual Basic LabVIEW and Program Program LabWindows VXIplug amp IVI COM play TVC TekVISA Input Output Library API ASRL LAN RS232 COM1 VXI 11 Eo COM2 Protocol GPIB GPIB0 GPIB3 Virtual GPIB GPIB8 D on I Lr o m o 00 C000 O vo oO 500 O wo O ond 9 ooo 00000 EJ Test and Measurement Instruments Figure 2 The relationship between programming interfaces Figure 3 on page 13 shows some of the tradeoffs between these interfaces The vertical represents por2. for Finding the Software Instructions for Installing the Software on a PC The product software CD fora current In your Windows computer select Start gt Run Windows oscilloscope browse the CD to the TekVISA folder and run setup exe The TDSPCS1 OpenChoice PC Follow the instructions in the CD s installation wizard Communications Software CD The OpenChoice Solutions Software Click on the Developers Kit CD s browser button for Developers Kit CD Software Drivers and then for TekVISA The current TekVISA installation Unzip the downloaded file in a temporary directory of download from the Tektronix Web site your choice and run setup exe The Tektronix OpenChoice installer normally loads the TekW files in m For Windows NT Windows 2000 or Windows XP systems C VXIPnP WinNT Tek VISA WordToolbar directory Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 37 Installing OpenChoice Solutions The installation will also place a Toolbar Start Preferences button on your desktop as shown in the following figure Tektr E Toolbar Start Preferences Click Toolbar Start Preferences the Tektronix Toolbar Startup Preferences window will appear Fs Tektronix Toolbar Startup Preferences Version 2 01 Build 5 TekW Toolbar Launch when Word is started Just add to Templates and Add ins list TekXL Toolbar Launch when Excel is started Just add to Add Ins list coat Figure 9 Tektronix Toolbar St
3. from a Windows based computer Other OpenChoice resources support industry standard programming interfaces including the TekVISA API VXIplug amp play drivers Tek VISA Control TVC ActiveX and Interchangeable Virtual Instruments IVT drivers allowing you to build custom solutions with commercially available development tools and environments Later sections of this article provide more information about programming interfaces and tools Different OpenChoice resources are available for current TDS1000 TDS2000 TDS2000B TDS3000B DPO4000 TDS5000 TDS6000 TDS CSA7000 DPO7000 DPQ DSA70000 and TDS PSA CSA8000 serieb oscilloscopes Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 1 What are OpenChoice Solutiosn and Why Use Them Table 1 highlights specific TDS oscilloscope series specific OpenChoice components mentioned in this article that they work with and the mode of delivery Table 1 OpenChoice Components and Compatible TDS Oscilloscopes Compatible with TDS1000 Compatible with TDS2000 TDS5000 6000 Downloadable from TDS2000B TDS CSA7000 www tek com TDS3000 DPO7000 DPOIDSA keyword openchoice Component DP04000 70000 SDK IVI Drivers IVI C drivers IVI COM drivers IVC drivers can be down loaded from www ni com Keywords are tktds1k2k tktds3k tkdpo4k TekVISA 7 Software a a is Developer s Kit SDK National a a Instruments LabVIEW MathWorks MATLAB Microsoft Visual Val
4. of synchronization to use in retrieving data Use synchroniza tion to ensure that the acquisition process is completed before your program proceeds to the next task Synchronization helps assure your program acquires the data you want it to acquire Three common forms of synchronization methods are the OPC SRO and BUSY methods OPC and BUSY use polling that require the program to loop through repeated queries of the oscilloscope state The SRQ method directs the scope to interrupt the application program rather than rely on repetitive polling While the SRQ method is more difficult to program it typically provides the most effective approach for programming multiple instrument systems Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 23 Writing OpenChoice Software 24 OPC great for single oscilloscope applications SRQ great for multiple instrument networks OPC tends to take up too much time in a multiple instrument setup BUSY easy to program but inefficient Refer to the specific oscilloscope programming guide for more details on each synchronization method Error Handling When done retrieving the data check for errors so that you can tell if the acquisition worked Typical error handling involves testing the status registers To do this have the programs send the oscilloscope an esr query If the programs return a nonzero value this indicates that an event of some sort occurred Now decide how your program should handl
5. oscilloscope software application What tips and tricks might help you to make it work run fast and transfer data from the oscilloscope to the PC as quickly as possible Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 19 Writing OpenChoice Software If you are using the functions provided in IVI or VXIplug amp play drivers described in the previous section you will not have to use the device specific commands described in this chapter You can still apply some of the same general principles and use equivalent functions provided in these drivers Of course you still use these device specific commands when you program using the TekVISA API To ensure that your oscilloscope software application will run correctly follow these steps m Set up the oscilloscope m Retrieve the data m Analyze the data Set up the oscilloscope Initialize the scope settings The instrument needs to begin activities from a known state The factory initialized settings serve well for this task Find the factory default settings listed in the programmer on line guide or the user manual for an oscilloscope The defaults set up the instrument by defining the vertical volts division horizontal time base seconds division acquisition mode and trigger settings A simple way to do this is to send the autoset execute command to the oscilloscope or to press the Autoset front panel button The oscilloscope will attempt to figure out the best settings for the signa
6. s Virtual GPIB provides a software bridge to and from the embedded oscilloscope software permitting direct internal access to the oscilloscope for much faster acquisitions than conventional GPIB ports Using physical GPIB controller hardware Using asynchronous serial connections for non Windows based oscillo scopes Using Local Area Network LAN with VXI 11 protocol VXI 11 is an industry standard protocol that can connect instruments over a LAN A VXI 11 server runs on the instrument and the VXI 11 client is installed on the remote PC controlling the instrument The Tek VISA API provides an implementation of the VXI 11 server and client If you want to connect UNIX based systembltb your Wifidows based dscilloscopes you Will heed VXI 11 client software from another vendor such as National Instruments or to create your own Although Windows based instruments have a direct Ethernet connection some non Windows based oscilloscopes may require a GPIB to LAN adapter Using USB with instruments such as DPO4000 that supports the USB Test and Measurement Class USBTMC specifications Figure 4 on page 15 shows some different connection scenarios such as programs running on the oscilloscope controlling the instrument and remote PCs running Windows or UNIX Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Writing OpenChoice Software Remote UNIX based Controller User Application Windows based Oscilloscope Windows sid
7. 548 TCPIP conlab 7k INSTR Version 2 18 33 Figure 8 TekXL Connection To see the model number for an instrument click its entry once and then click the Identify button to the right The model number will appear at the bottom pane of the Connection box as shown in the following figure 2024 Either double click the entry for the instrument that you wish to connect to or click the entry once and then click the OK button A successful connection is indicated by the grayed out non functional toolbar buttons becoming functional as shown in the following figure Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Installing OpenChoice Solutions You can find further information on operating the toolbar in the online help Installing the Tektronix Toolbar for Word TekW The Tektronix Toolbar for Word an add in to Microsoft Word lets you capture and graph oscilloscope data in Microsoft Word documents The toolbar consists of a list of buttons as shown in the following figure These let you connect to an instrument transfer settings between the instrument and the computer capture waveform screenshots capture waveform numerical data and capture measurements TekWToolbar A Ay v Installing the TekW To find the appropriate software and install it on your Windows based computer Toolbar follow the instructions described in Table 9 Table 9 Installing TekVISA TekXL and TekW Software on a PC Alternative Locations
8. Basic Visual C al al al 2 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions nE Choosing OpenChoice Tools OpenChoice tools provide you with a multitude of choices and options To help you navigate through the alternatives and features this article introduces some of the key features and facilities provided OpenChoice tools support both off the shelf software applications which you can run as is and custom software applications which you design and code yourself Using Off the Shelf Software Programs Off the shelf software programs can solve your needs with only limited programming or training required As such they often can provide a lower cost solution than can software you write yourself Tektronix provides several off the shelf software programs based on the Microsoft Office suite These include the Tektronix Excel Toolbar which copies your oscilloscope data into an MS Excel spreadsheet and the Tektronix Word Toolbar which copies your data into an MS Word document Still another off the shelf software package is the OpenChoice Desktop which lets you capture oscilloscope screen images waveform data and instrument settings Availability of off the shelf software continues to expand as Tektronix and third party developers add products to the OpenChoice collection Microsoft Office Solutions Using the Tektronix Toolbar for Excel a Microsoft Excel plug in you can dynamically import data into a spreadsheet as your Tektronix
9. Basic Concepts Tektronix Getting Started with OpenChoice Solutions 071 1304 01 www tektronix com Copyright Tektronix All rights reserved Licensed software products are owned by Tektronix or its subsidiaries or suppliers and are protected by national copyright laws and international treaty provisions Tektronix products are covered by U S and foreign patents issued and pending Information in this publication supercedes that in all previously published material Specifications and price change privileges reserved TEKTRONIX and TEK are registered trademarks of Tektronix Inc Mathcad is a registered trademark of MathSoft Inc MATLAB is a registered trademark of The MathWorks Inc ActiveX Visual Basic Visual C and Visual Studio are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and or other countries LabVIEW and LabWindows CVI are trademarks of National Instruments Corporation Tektronix Tek Tek VISA and OpenChoice are registered trademarks of Tektronix Inc VEKTREX is a trademark of VEKTREX Electronic Systems Inc NOTE Software on the CD is provided AS IS with no warranties of any kind specifically excluding WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE Tektronix Inc assumes no liability of any kind for your use of this software Contacting Tektronix Tektronix Inc 14200 SW Karl Braun Drive P O Box 500 Beaverton OR 97077 USA F
10. For MS WinNT PCs includes XP C VXIPNP WinNT TekVISA WordToolbar 28 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Installing OpenChoice Solutions Installing the TekVISA Resource and other OpenChoice Utilities The TekVISA Instrument Manager helps you communicate with instruments such as oscilloscopes over an Ethernet LAN GPIB USB or serial connections You can use this utility to find identify and communicate with instruments Once you add an instrument to the Tek VISA configuration this installation lets your computer to communicate with the instrument It also provides a user interface to optimize your instrument search criteria for GPIB Serial VXI Remote LAN Local LAN and USB NOTE If you are connecting to a network just to print screen hardcopy data you do not need to install or configure TekVISA software You need to install and configure the Tek VISA API on each PC that communi cates with Tektronix instruments using the VISA standard NOTE If you have already installed the TekVISA API from an earlier version of the Tektronix Software Solutions CD or Wavestar you should uninstall that version first and then reinstall the TekVISA API from the most recent CD Installing the TekVISA To find the appropriate software and install it on your Windows based computer Instrument Manager Call follow the instructions described in Table 7 Monitor and Talker Listener Table 7 Installing TekVISA TekXL and Tek
11. W Software on a PC Alternative Locations for Finding the Software Instructions for Installing the Software on a PC The product software CD for a current In your Windows computer select Start gt Run Windows oscilloscope browse the CD to the TekVISA folder and run setup exe The TDSPCS1 OpenChoice PC Communications Software CD Follow the instructions in the CD s installation wizard Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 29 Installing OpenChoice Solutions Table 7 Cont Installing TekVISA TekXL and TekW Software on a PC Alternative Locations for Finding the Software The OpenChoice Solutions Software Developers Kit CD The current TekVISA installation download from the Tektronix Web site Instructions for Installing the Software on a PC Click on the Developers Kit CD s browser button for Software Drivers and then for TekVISA Unzip the downloaded file in a temporary directory of your choice and run setup exe Running the TekVISA The Tek VISA Instrument Manager lets you to search manage and communicate Instrument Manager with instruments Launching the TekVISA To launch Instrument Manager click Tek VISA Resource Manager utility icon in Instrument Manager the system tray as shown in the following figure Y ect 3 4 12 44PM Alternatively you can select Start gt All Programs gt Tek VISA gt OpenChoice Instrument Manager Either method will open the Instrument Manager wind
12. Waveforms CH1 CH2 CH3 2 21 09 PM 2 21 12 PM 2 21 15 PM 2 21 20 PM s Volts Volts Volts Volts 0 000002498 0 014 0 32 2 0 000002496 0 008 0 24 2 0 000002494 0 012 0 08 i 0 000002492 0 012 0 16 2 0 00000245 0 012 0 08 2 0 000002488 0 016 0 16 2 0 000002486 0 014 0 08 0 000002484 0 012 0 08 0 000002482 0 014 0 08 2 gt nN Sheets Sheet X Sheets 7 I 2 8 24 Ready B amp Frequency Ch1 Period Ch1 1004300 0 0 0000009957661 1006200 0 0 0000009938571 1005800 0 0 0000009942522 1005700 0 0 0000009943182 1007100 0 0 0000009929412 1006400 0 0 0000009936029 1004200 0 0 0000009958289 1011300 0 0 0000009888235 1007000 0 0 0000009930682 1004700 0 0 0000009952941 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Choosing OpenChoice Tools The Tektronix Toolbar for Word TekW The Tektronix Toolbar for Word an add in to Microsoft Word lets you capture and g raph oscilloscope datafiln Microsoft Word 2000 2002 4nd 2003 documents Table 3 The Tektronix Toolbar for Word The Tektronix Toolbar for Word as shown to the right appears inside your Microsoft word document To operate click on the appropriate toolbar button Use the resulting dialog box to make selections for the type of waveform and measurement data that you want to capture and automatically paste into Word A Clicking the connection button displays all available instruments including remote instruments that have been conne
13. alue of 125 The YMULT should be 4 0e 2 or 40mV per digitizing level If you do not use an offset and you do apply the scaling algorithm the results will be 5 volts 125 0 0 04 Final Tips for Getting Accurate Measurements To ensure the oscilloscope provides as accurate as possible a representation of the signal for your analysis refer to the following procedure If you encounter difficulties you should refer to the oscilloscope online help or user manual 1 Allow the oscilloscope to warm up to proper operating temperature usually no more than 20 minutes 2 Perform a signal path compensation SPC to minimize DC inaccuracies caused by temperature variations or long term drift Most Tektronix oscilloscopes provide an automated SPC routine that you start by clicking a pull down menu or by pushing a couple of buttons Disconnect all probes from all channels when performing SPC 3 Connect the probe s to the channels they are going to use and check that the probe attenuation is what you want for your application Some probes use a switch to change attenuation Make sure your probes can handle the frequency of the signal you are interested in measuring Also check to be sure the attenuation on the oscilloscope for a particular channel is set to the same attenuation as that of the probe connected to that channel Some Tektronix oscilloscopes have an automated method of verifying that the attenuation of the probe and the oscilloscope
14. anages resources including support for opening closing and finding resources setting and retrieving resource attributes generating events on resources and so on The VISA Resource Manager provides access to all resources registered with it The Default Resource Manager which is available after initialization is used when you open resources find available resources or perform other operations on device resources Unique address strings called VISA descriptors identify VISA resources These descriptors are also used by IVI and VXIplug amp play drivers Here are some examples of these strings GPIBO 8 INSTR refers to the GPIB device on board 0 at primary address 8 TCPIP 555 555 555 55 INSTR refers to a networked instrument with IP address 555 555 555 55 GPIB8 1 INSTR is used to identify the virtual GPIB connection which is used when engineers run the program on the Tektronix open Windows oscilloscope USBO0 16894 1025 Q10033 0 INSTR is used to identify the USB connection which refers to a USBTMC device with manufacturer ID 16894 model code 1025 and serial number Q10033 and 0 is the interface number of the device Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Writing OpenChoice Software The TekVISA installation includes a Instrument Manager which lets you find instruments and a Talker Listener to communicate with the instrument You can also access a Call Monitor which monitors all VISA calls This can be a very us
15. ansform a Tektronix oscilloscope into a specialized analysis tool able to perform advanced jitter and timing analysis 10 100 1000BaseT validation microprocessor memory system verification communications standards testing disk drive measurements video measure ments and power measurements While these programs are widely used for oscilloscope solutions sometimes an off the shelf program will not meet your needs It may not meet engineering needs for unique problem requirement situations or strategic needs to maintain control of the software implementation For many problems a program you write yourself may be the best choice This toolbar an add in to Microsoft Excel lets you capture and graph oscillo scope data iln MicrosoftTExcel 2000 2002 and 2003 preadsheetf Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Choosing OpenChoice Tools Table 2 The Tektronix Toolbar for Excel The Tektronix Toolbar for Excel as shown to the right appears inside your Microsoft Excel spreadsheet To operate click on the appropriate toolbar button Use the resulting dialog box to make selections for the type of waveform and measurement data that you want to capture and automatically paste into Excel A Clicking the connection button displays all available instruments including remote instruments that have been connected ee Clicking the settings button displays and transfers settings between the oscilloscope and your comput
16. artup Preferences You can use this window to control the operation of the toolbars Click on Launch when Word is started to have the TekW Toolbar appear whenever you start MS Word Click on Just add to Templates and Add Ins List if you do not wish the TekW Toolbar to appear whenever you start MS Word This will leave the TekWStar tUp entry selected and the TekWToolbar entry deselected on the Word gt Tools gt Templates and Add Ins list When you start up Word you may notice a Microsoft Word macros warning box as shown in the following figure This box may appear whether you selected Launch when Word is started or Just add to Templates and Add Ins List 38 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Installing OpenChoice Solutions Microsoft Word C Program Files Microsoft Office Office 10 STARTUP TekWStartup Dot contains macros Macros may contain viruses Itis always safe to disable macros but if the macros are legitimate you might lose some functionality Disable Macros EnableMacos More Info One way to eliminate the macros warning box from appearing for either setting is to change your security settings to low by clicking on Tools gt Macro gt Security gt Low Alternatively you can eliminate the macros warning box from appearing in the situation where you do not wish the TekW Toolbar to appear at all by renaming or deleting the dot file mentioned in the box at the location listed In the example ab
17. channel attenuation settings are Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 25 Writing OpenChoice Software 26 the same If they are not the same the measurements results will not be meaningful Check the compensation of each probe If you move a probe to another channel check the compensation for the new channel To check probes for testing purposes you can connect them to the probe compensation signals on the front panels of most oscilloscopes Again some Tektronix oscilloscopes have a probe check feature that guides you through probe compensation activities and verifies that the probe is performing acceptably Remember to then connect the probe s to the device under test DUT Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions EEE EEE eee Installing OpenChoice Solutions Installing OpenChoice solutions is straightforward Your open Windows oscilloscope typically comes from the factory with the various drivers and off the shelf solutions preinstalled If needed you can install OpenChoice drivers and off the shelf solutions on your Windows based computer by downloading files from the www tektronix com or running install scripts from the attached OpenChoice Solutions SDK CD You can install development environments for custom software development using CDs provided by the appropriate vendor Table 5 lists various OpenChoice components and where to find them Table 5 Where to find OpenChoice components Install and uninstall on a
18. cide which programming environment to use you need to decide which programming interface to use A programming interface is the software layer between the code that programmers write in the programming environment and the actual hardware Tektronix provides several programming interfaces Tektronix programming interfaces include m TekVISA API a C library DLL which allows you to send and receive ASCII commands using C function calls m VXIplug amp play drivers a C library DLL m IVI drivers a COM based interface which uses the IVI standard m TekVISA ActiveX Control TVC Howto Choose an You may choose an interface because you find it much easier to use in specific Interface programming environments than others For example you may find it relatively easy to use Tek VISA ActiveX Controls TVC with Visual Basic You may choose some interfaces based on your level of comfort with the oscilloscope specific command set For example when you program the instrument using the Tek VISA API library you will send the ASCII commands 10 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Writing OpenChoice Software used in an oscilloscope specific environment Thus it will help if you are already familiar with this command set Other interfaces do not require you to understand the details of this command set All Tektronix open Windows oscilloscopes come with these programming interfaces and associated documentation on the oscilloscope
19. commands scripts to create and save scripts Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 31 Installing OpenChoice Solutions Launching Talker Listener 32 OpenChoice Call Monitor Launching Call Monitor There are two ways to launch Talker Listener m Start gt All Programs gt Tek VISA gt OpenChoice Talker Listener m From the Instrument Manager dialog box select Applications and Utili ties gt OpenChoice Talker Listener and click Start application or Utility For more information refer to the online help The OpenChoice Call Monitor captures and displays all VISA communications between the PC and any instrument that it is in communication with The communication includes TekVISA ActiveX Control TVC There are three ways to launch Call Monitor m Start gt All Programs gt Tek VISA gt OpenChoice Call Monitor m From the Instrument Manager dialog box select Applications and Utilities gt OpenChoice Call Monitor and click Start Application or Utility m Click Visa Resource Manager icon in the system tray and select Call Monitor For more information refer to the online help Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Installing OpenChoice Solutions Deployment Considerations To realize the full benefits of LAN based oscilloscope access keep in mind the following considerations Network Performance Actual oscilloscope data transfer performance across a LAN will depend on your network s ph
20. cribes native commands for the 8000 Oscilloscopes series Other Manuals IVI Programmer V2 2 Describes IVI command set TekVISA Programmer Describes the command set of the 071 1101 05 Tektronix implementation of VISA TekVISA Reference Provides a quick reference to the TekVISA 071 1104 01 command set Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions M For More Information Table 10 Contents of the OpenChoice Software Developers Kit CD Cont Articles TDS200 TDS1000 Compares and contrasts the command TDS2000 TDS3000 sets for the TDS200 TDS1000 TDS2000 Command Comparison and TDS3000 oscilloscopes 001 1371 00 TDS5000 TDS6000 Contrasts the command sets for the TDS7000 Command TDS5000 TDS6000 and TDS7000 Comparison oscilloscopes 001 1372 00 TDS5000 TDS6000 Describes the data format for waveforms TS7000 Reference File acquired with TDS5000 TDS6000 Format 001 1378 03 TDS7000 oscilloscopes IVI Class Interfaces Overview of using IVI drivers includes 001 1304 00 example code IVI and VBA Overview of using IVI drivers with Visual 001 1377 00 Basic for Applications Includes example code IVI and Net Overview of using IVI drivers with C net 001 1374 00 Includes example code IVI and LabVIEW Overview of using IVI drivers with 001 1376 01 LabVIEW Includes example code IVI and LabWindows CVI Overview of using IVI drivers with 001 1375 00 LabWindows CVI Includes example code Programming wi
21. cted TekW Connection Select Instrument ASRLININSTR Mfg test SW QA TDS2024 Eng TDS 30548 TCPIP conlab 7k INSTR Serwice RemoteScope Service TDS2024 Cancel Refresh Identify Version 2 1 1 2 The Tektronix OpenChoice Desktop OCD Clicking the settings button displays and transfers settings between the oscilloscope and your computer TekW Settings Service TDS2024 Get Settings From File Send Settings to Scope File Descriptor HEADER 0 VERBOSE 1 DATA ENCDG RIBINARY DESTINATION REFA SOURCE CH4 START 1 STOP 2500 WIDTH 1 LOCK NONE DISPLAY FORMAT YT STYLE VECTORS PERSISTENCE 0 CONTRAST 45 INVERT OFF The Tektronix OpenChoice Desktop lets you select the instrument and capture oscilloscope screen images waveform data and settings from a windows based computer Screen Capture allows you to capture the current screen display from the selected instrument and graph it on the application Waveform Data Capture allows you to acquire the selected waveform or waveforms in numerical forms and as graphs Get and Send Settings allows you to capture and get display settings from the selected instrument It also allows you to send the current instrument settings to the selected instrument or to multiple instruments Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Choosing OpenChoice Tools im a Screen Waveform Get amp Send ky Capture Bs Data Capture Settin
22. e of Instrument VXI 11 Client User Application TekLink Remote Local Windows based Controller Windows based Controller User User Application Application VISA Library VISA Library VXI 11 Client GPIB LAN Adapter LAN w VXI 11 Ethernet LAN USB Hardware Embedded Software side of Instrument GPIB Hardware RS 232 Hardware VXI 11 Client VISA Library 5065a5 5 nann U o0888 5 software 2 29228 GPIB 80080 connection Boooo 0000 Non Windows based Instruments Figure 4 Different connection scenarios The TekVISA API software comes standard in Tektronix open Windows based oscilloscopes You can use a variety of programming environments including MATLAB Visual Basic LabVIEW and Visual C to program the instrument using the TekVISA API Other sections of the OpenChoice SDK documentation provide more examples using these environments The TekVISA Programmer Manual includes a lookup reference section and a tutorial section with programming examples You can find a copy either in the OpenChoice Software Developers Kit with your MS Windows TDS Oscillo scope product disk or online at www tektronix com Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 15 Writi
23. e measurements are computed only when needed Many Tektronix oscilloscopes use the device specific MEAS MEAS and MEAS IMMEDiate commands for retrieving measurements MEAS MEAS displays measurements on the oscilloscope front panel screen MEAS IMMEDi ate does not display the measurements on the screen Considerations for retrieving data There are two waveform query types If you use IVI and VXIplug amp play drivers you do not have to deal with the device specific commands described below because these drivers provide higher level functions for getting the data The first type of query returns a preamble followed by a binary block The preamble contains data that users need to properly scale the data back into volts and seconds 22 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Writing OpenChoice Software The second query type also returns a binary block This type query returns only the binary block It does not return a preamble This makes it a little faster than the first type with the preamble and is typically used after the preamble values have been obtained one time The preamble values will remain the same until the programs change the settings of the oscilloscopes For many oscilloscope models the data comes in a 2 byte format The data will be in 1 byte or 2 byte per sample point format depending on the setting of the DATA WIDTH parame ter When averaging or hi resolution acquisition modes have been selected the increased resol
24. e the event A simple to implement way is to display a message that says an error occurred Perhaps it can also refer the user to an appropriate specific oscilloscope programmer manual for more information on the error code A more involved but more helpful message would tell the user exactly what message occurred To do this you can mask the error code through register templates to decode the specific event that occurred You could then display the name of this specific event in a message to the user Data Encoding One way to speed up the transfer of data from oscilloscopes to PCs is to choose the best format for the data In choosing a format you should consider that although oscilloscopes can format the data your program typically runs faster when you convert the data in the PC rather than in the oscilloscope In other words you should use binary formats for speedier operation You can format the data in several ways such as in ASCII RP binary or RI binary format You can obtain better transfer times by using a binary format such as the RI one which is the default on many oscilloscope models However to use the data in many applications you must process this data back to an ASCII format after it arrives in the PC Speaking of binary formats for many oscilloscope models the difference between RP Binary and RI Binary is that RP Binary goes from 0 to 255 and RI Binary goes from 127 to 128 For more information on supported data f
25. eful debugging tool For more information refer to the Tek VISA Programmer Manual 071 1101 XX on the Reference section of the SDK or available for download at www tektronix com TekVISA Control TVC The TekVISA Control TVC is an ActiveX control that provides a wrapper around VISA It provides some high level functions like GetWaveform which make it easy to transfer data from the oscilloscope in a Visual Basic or Visual C program Unlike IVI or VXIplug amp play drivers it does not provide functions to access all of the oscilloscope s capability and it relies on low level commands like ReadString and WriteString to send commands to the oscillo scope You can also use the TVC to develop programs in Visual Basic for Applications VBA which comes with Microsoft Excel and Word applications The Tektronix Excel Toolbar was developed in VBA and uses the TVC For more information about the TVC ActiveX control refer to the ActiveX Control Online Help available on the OpenChoice Software Developers Kit CD VXiplug amp play Instrument VXIplug amp play drivers are C DLLs that provide a functional C interface to Drivers instruments Because these DLLs expose the functionality of the oscilloscope with a collection of C functions you do not have to deal with the intricacies of the oscilloscope specific command sets Some functions for example SetTriggerLevel which sets the trigger level of a scope are small wrappers around
26. er TekXL Connection TekXL Settings TCPIP conlab5k INSTR m Get Settings from 7 ACQUIRE STOPAFTER RUNSTOP AR o STATE 1 Mfg test MODE SAMPLE Service TDS 1012 NUMENV 10 Service TDS30548 NUMAVG 16 SW QA TDS2024 REPET 0 FASTACQ STATE 0 Eng TDS 30548 5 e TCPIP conlab 7k INSTR APPLICATION GPKNOB 1 ACTIVE 0 APPLICATION GPKNOB2 ACTIVE 0 APPLICATION WINDOW HEIGHT 236 WIDTH 640 APPLICATION SCOPEAPP STATE RUNNING Version 2 18 33 WINDOW FULLSCREEN APPLICATION EXTAPP STATE NOTRUNNIN AUXOUT SOURCE ATRIGGER in Clicking the waveform button displays data and graphs the waveform as shown below AENT Apr 09 03 12 21 53 PM 00001992 00001984 00001976 00001968 0000196 00001952 00001944 00001936 00001928 CUO Oa 0000192 o A 00001912 so AU 00001904 o L A 00001898 so HOUT 46 00001888 0000188 18 00001872 544 0000172 0000144 0000116 0000088 000006 0000032 0000004 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 5 Choosing OpenChoice Tools Table 2 The Tektronix Toolbar for Excel Cont sza Clicking on the measurements button captures and displays single and repeated timed measurements PENAI A1 v Amplitude Ch1 Ki Microsoft Excel i File Edit Dad gt G t u aa glo AeA Ke A B C Book1 View Insert Format Tools Data Window Help Arial B Z
27. es the typical approach is to show as much resolution as practical Many Tektronix oscilloscopes use the device specific HORizontal RECOrdlength to change the record length or HORizontal MAIn SAMPLERate to change the rate at which samples are digitized Set the trigger values Set the trigger type and level Use the appropriate TRIGger command to get the job done the way you want it Using this command the trigger can be set to occur on a rising or falling edge on a level on a logic pattern on a pulse width and so on You should also select video triggering and then choose between fields lines or a specific line number Many Tektronix oscilloscopes use a variation on the device specific TRIGger command to set the trigger values Set the acquisition mode Oscilloscopes come with different acquisition modes such as sample peak to peak and high resolution In choosing the mode to select in your programs consider the trade off between effective resolution of your waveform data and the time it takes to transfer that data from your oscilloscope to your remote computer Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 21 Writing OpenChoice Software For example your oscilloscope s sample mode may store each point of data in a single byte and thus your program may relatively quickly transfer data but with the limitation that your program receives relatively few levels of resolution to analyze In contrast the high resolution mode may st
28. gs Preferences Select Instrument 3 DPO4032 Get Screen Sony Ca DOaS DPO4032 2 35 31 PM 12 20 2006 Modify Note Tektronix Figure 1 Tektronix OpenChoice Desktop 8 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions a ee Writing OpenChoice Software Designing and implementing your own software program using the OpenChoice tools allows you to tackle problems that off the shelf software does not address Tektronix oscilloscopes support a variety of industry standard OpenChoice compatible programming environments and programmatic interfaces to help you write your own software program Choosing a Development Environment Examples of development environments in which to design and implement custom software programs include National Instruments LabVIEW The MathWorks MATLAB Microsoft Visual C Visual Basic and VisualStu dio NET LabVIEW and Visual Basic are examples of visual software development environments that permit relatively rapid development of the applications MATLAB and C C are examples of software development environments that provide powerful problem solving features You should choose your development environments for each application with care Consider not only the intrinsic strengths of each environment but also your existing knowledge and access to each tool The next section of this article describes some of the alternatives and trade offs that might influence your choices of development environments f
29. ls sensed by the probe Depending on the oscilloscope model the channel used for autoset might be the lowest channel number that is on or the channel with the lowest frequency signal If no channels are on the autoset command may turn on the first channel it encounters that has a signal The default for autoset is to select channel 1 Usually you will have some idea of the signal you are going to analyze with the oscilloscope and you know which parts of the signal are of most interest to you Autoset may not provide the appropriate representation of the signal of interest In those cases and when autoset simply fails to display a signal users will need to set the parameters differently than autoset did during its experiments In other words autoset may get the signal on the screen but users should be prepared to set vertical horizontal triggering and acquisition values that fit their current real world need Many Tektronix open Windows oscilloscopes use the device specific FACTory command to set activities to the factory initialized known state Set the vertical values In setting the vertical scale per div value of the specified channel consider the dynamic range of the oscilloscope As you use more of this range you can take advantage of more accuracy Thus use logical volts division settings For example let s consider the case where you are using the 5 volt square wave probe compensation signal There are 8 vertical divisions
30. n It also provides a specific part which provides access to all the extended capabilities provided by the instrument 18 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Writing OpenChoice Software The following figure illustrates some of the COM interfaces provided by the oscilloscope portion of the driver TekScope Acquisition Channels Cursor Display Histogram Horizontal InstrumentlO lviScope Mask Maths Measurements References Trigger Waveform Transfer Zoom LLLLLLLLLLLLLLIL Figure 5 Some IVI COM interfaces Some of these interfaces such as WaveformTransfer provide high level functions that make it very easy to acquire a waveform save that waveform to a file or copy it to the Windows clipboard Other interfaces such as Acquisition and Horizontal provide fine grained control over different oscilloscope attributes IVI COM drivers require several shared components which are provided by the IVI Foundation These shared components are installed in all Tektronix open Windows oscilloscopes IVI COM drivers integrate seamlessly with Microsoft environments like Visual Basic and Visual C You can also use the LabVIEW and MATLAB capability to call COM interfaces For more information go to www ivifoundation org Designing Oscilloscope Programs If you decide to design your own oscilloscope application program this section is for you You know what you want your program to do Now how do you actually write an
31. n Install and uninstall on an Component open Windows oscilloscope MS Windows computer Interchangeable Virtual Installed from factory on TDS Download from Web or SDK Instrument IVI drivers disk drive cD VXIplug amp play drivers OpenChoice Instrument Manager Talker Listener Call Monitor and TekVISA TekVISA Controls TVC ActiveX Tektronix Toolbar for Excel TekXL Tektronix Toolbar for Word TekW National Instruments Purchase a copy from National LabVIEW Instruments MathWorks MATLAB Purchase a copy from Math Works Download from Web Single download for TekVISA TekVI SA Controls TekXL and TekW Toolbars Microsoft Visual Basic and Purchase a copy from Microsoft Visual C C Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 27 Installing OpenChoice Solutions Table 6 shows the default locations where various OpenChoice Solutions components are installed on the host hard disk Table 6 Hard disk locations for OpenChoice components Component Location Interchangeable Virtual Instrument IVI C program files IVI drivers VXIplug amp play drivers For MS WinNT PCs includes XP C VXIPNP WinNT TKTDS5k C VXIPNP WinNT TKTDS6k C VXIPNP WinNT TKTDS7k C VXIPNP WinNT TKTDS8k TekVISA Controls TVC Activex For MS WinNT PCs includes XP C VXIPNP WinNT TekVISA Bin Tektronix Toolbar for Excel TekXL For MS WinNT PCs includes XP C VXIPNP WinNT TekVISA ExcelToolbar Tektronix Toolbar for Word TekW
32. ng OpenChoice Software 16 The actual commands sent by the Tek VISA API are the same as those docu mented in the programmer manual for each oscilloscope This means that a client software program written using VISA is portable across different oscilloscope models if the underlying oscilloscope specific command set is the same For example since the TDS5000 TDS6000 DPO7000 and TDS7000 series use similar commands and the TDS8000 uses different commands it is much easier to extend a TDS5000 program to work with the TDS6000 and TDS7000 series models than with the TDS8000 series models Two different implementations of VISA exist in the industry VISA C and VISA COM Tektronix offers a C based VISA but not a COM based VISA VISA defines an architecture consisting of many resources that make up the instrument functionality Applications that use VISA access device resources by opening sessions to them A session is a communication path between a software element and a resource Every session in VISA is unique and has its own life cycle VISA defines a locking mechanism to restrict access to resources for special circumstances After establishing a session an application can communi cate with a resource by invoking operations associated with the resource or by updating characteristics of resources called attributes A VISA system also allows information exchange through events VISA Resource Manager is the name given to the part of VISA that m
33. on the 20 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Writing OpenChoice Software screen If you set the vertical scale to 1 volt division then the wave will nicely use most of the screen It will fill 5 of the 8 vertical divisions You could use a smaller volts per division scale However then fewer pixels of display information would show for each waveform The typical approach is to show as much resolution as is practical Many Tektronix open Windows oscilloscopes use the device specific CH lt x gt SCAle command to set the vertical scale per div value of the specified channel Set the horizontal values For horizontal values set the record length This determines how many points you can store in a single acquisition There is a limit Once the oscilloscope reaches the limit then it cannot store new points without dropping off old ones Also the oscilloscope acquires the data on all selected channels synchronously Again consider the case where you are using the probe compensation signal It has a 1 kHz square wave signal There are 10 horizontal divisions on the screen If two complete waveform cycles show that would be 2 milliseconds of data Since there are 10 divisions across the screen each division should have 2 milliseconds 10 divisions 200 microseconds division You could use a smaller time per division scale however then fewer pixels of display information would show for each waveform As with the vertical valu
34. or product information sales service and technical support In North America call 1 800 833 9200 m Worldwide visit www tektronix com to find contacts in your area he DS What are OpenChoice Solutions and Why Use Them Analyze Network OpenChoice Solutions are software resources that provide enhanced data analysis and networking abilities for your Tektronix instruments These resources include software libraries utilities samples and industry standard protocols They are included with your Tektronix oscilloscope OpenChoice Solutions enable you to run directly on your Tektronix oscillo scope both off the shelf and custom written software They enable you to communicate with your Tektronix oscilloscope over a network using numerous connectivity protocols and physical interfaces such as GPIB USB Ethernet RS 232 and shared memory OpenChoice resources provide you with a high degree of flexibility to automate data acquisition measurement and analysis Examples of OpenChoice software include m The Tektronix Toolbar for Microsoft Excel TekXL which allows you to capture and graph oscilloscope data in MS Excel spreadsheets m The Tektronix Toolbar for Microsoft Word TekW which allows you to capture and graph oscilloscope data in MS Word documents m The Tektronix OpenChoice Desktop OCD is an oscilloscope to PC communication tool which allows you to capture oscilloscope screen images waveform data and settings
35. ore each point of data with multiple bytes Thus your program may transfer data relatively slower but with more levels of resolution to analyze For example a program controlling many Tektronix oscilloscopes might use high resolution sampling that acquires data with more detail 14 bits but fewer data points in the same time period compared to a program controlling an oscilloscope using a sample mode with less detail 8 bits Not all oscilloscopes use the same number of bits per point The TDS CSA8000 for example uses 14 bits in its sample mode Understand the difference between equivalent time and real time acquisition Equivalent time waveforms are the sum of many triggers Real time is the result of a single trigger Many Tektronix oscilloscopes use the ACQuire commands to get the acquisition required for an application Retrieve the data You can get two things out of your oscilloscopes You can get measurement data and waveform data What the oscilloscope sees is the same whether the program was written in C Visual Basic or another language Considerations for retrieving measurements There are two measurement types immediate and not immediate Use non immediate to display measurements on the oscilloscope front panel screen Use immediate if you do not want the measurements displayed on the screen You can drive the waveform update rate faster if you use immediate measure ments rather than displayed measurements because immediat
36. ormats refer to the data encdg command in your instrument programmer guides Remember to match the decoding portion of your programs to the coding portion In other words if you change data encoding formats then remember to change the decoding portion of the program as well Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Writing OpenChoice Software Analyze the data Once you have collected a waveform in binary format and transferred it to your PC you should convert the waveform data into volts If you are using VXI plug amp play or IVI drivers these calculations are done for you automatically To convert the waveform data into volts use the waveform preamble from the appropriate waveform query WAVFRM for many Tektronix oscilloscopes In many Tektronix oscilloscopes sample mode data contains 256 digitizing levels Programs typically convert this to volts with the YOFF YPOS and YMULT values YOFF defines the position of the waveform trace on the display YPOS represents the DC offset For example to convert RPBinary data format to voltage the algorithm is Voltage Digitizing Level YOFF YMULT In these Tektronix oscilloscopes each digitizing level represents one part in 256 if the data width is set to 1 The screen shows only 8 divisions of a total of 10 24 divisions This results in 25 digitizing levels per division Referring back to our example of measuring the 5 volt probe compensation signal with the represented by a v
37. oscilloscope acquires it The analysis capabilities of MS Excel can solve many oscilloscope data analysis requirements Excel sits on the line between being a true off the shelf solution and being a programming environment It provides many opportunities to program However compared to most pure programming languages Excel is easier to learn to use you may even be familiar with it already As the concept of the spreadsheet is relatively easy to grasp you can concentrate more on your problems and less on developing software Advantages of Excel include m Widespread availability m Relatively low cost m Good basic graphing Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 3 Choosing OpenChoice Tools Wavestar Software Tektronix Application Software Options The Tektronix Toolbar for Excel TekXL m Widespread format compatibility m Relatively easy what if analyses where you can tweak the assumptions or output Table 2 on page 5 provides more details on this toolbar Using the Tektronix Toolbar for Word a Microsoft Word plug in you can dynamically import data into a Word document as the data is produced by a Tektronix oscilloscope Table 3 on page 7 provides more details on this toolbar Other off the shelf oscilloscope software programs from Tektronix include This Microsoft Windows 2000 NT XP application brihgs Tektronix oscilloscope measurement information to your PC desktop Application modules allow you to tr
38. ove the file name and location is C Program Files Microsoft Office Office 10 STARTUP TekWStartup Dot Connecting the TekW Next to connect to Tek VISA enabled oscilloscopes Toolbar to a TekVISA enabled Oscilloscope In the TekW toolbar click the Connection button to specify the instrument with which you want to connect To select an instrument Click on the Connection button to display the Connection window This window displays all available instruments including remote ones The toolbar controls one instrument at a time To select an instrument Click the Connection button It is the functional non grayed out button on the left side of the toolbar The Connection window should appear and display all available instruments including remote instruments that have been connected The toolbar controls one instrument at a time Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 39 Installing OpenChoice Solutions The following figure shows the Connection window TekW Connection Select Instrument ASRL1 INSTR Mfg test Service RemoteScope Service TDS2024 SW OA TDS2024 Eng TDS30546 TCPIP conlab7k IMSTR Figure 10 TekW Connection To see the model number for an instrument click its entry once and then click the Identify button to the right The model number will appear at the bottom pane of the Connection box as shown in the following figure i 2024 Either double click the entry for the instrument that yo
39. ow similar to the one shown in the following figure OpenChoice Instrument Manager DE x Instruments Applications and Utilities 2 158 INSTR OpenChoice Call Monitor 2 172 INSTR OpenChoice Talker Listener E 02 176 INSTR LEAN TCPIP 128 181 102 205 INSTR Last Updated 2 15 2005 1 24 PM Instrument List Instrument Update Identify 2 Search Criteria Properties Start App Utility A i Tektronix Figure 6 Instrument Manager 30 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Installing OpenChoice Solutions Finding Resources To search for new instruments click Update The TekVISA Instrument Manager automatically detects Serial GPIB USB and LAN devices operating on the local network Making a Search For new search criteria click Select Criteria The Search Criteria dialog box displays as shown in the following figure The options vary depending on your computer and the available network Select the communication type you want to include in the search criteria Ey Search Criteria I Local LAI A On M Search Local LAN LAN Discovery Wait Time Address secs E l Total secs LAN Search Wait Time Adress secs Default Settings Figure 7 Search Criteria For more details refer to the online help OpenChoice You can use OpenChoice Talker Listener to observe the detailed communication Talker Listener between the PC and the instruments to send individual commands to the instruments to run
40. puter capture waveform screenshots capture waveform numerical data and capture measurements To find the appropriate software and install it on your Windows based computer follow the instructions described in Table 8 Table 8 Installing TekVISA TekXL and TekW Software on a PC Alternative Locations for Finding the Software Instructions for Installing the Software on a PC The product software CD fora current In your Windows computer select Start gt Run Windows oscilloscope browse the CD to the TekVISA folder and run setup exe The TDSPCS1 OpenChoice PC Follow the instructions in the CD s installation wizard Communications Software CD The OpenChoice Solutions Software Click on the Developers Kit CD s browser button for Developers Kit CD Software Drivers and then for TekVISA The current TekVISA installation Unzip the downloaded file in a temporary directory of download from the Tektronix Web site your choice and run setup exe The Tektronix OpenChoice installer normally loads the TekXL files in the following location m For Windows NT Windows 2000 or Windows XP systems C VXTPnP WinNT TekVISA ExcelToolbar directory Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Installing OpenChoice Solutions The installation will also place a Toolbar Start Preferences button on your desktop as shown in the following figure Toolbar Start Preferences If you click on the button the Tektronix Toolbar S
41. rom the large set of those available with OpenChoice Table 4 lists some benefits of each of these development environment Table 4 Benefits of Different Development Environments Development tool Benefits LabVIEW Graphical widgets and icons Comprehensive libraries for data collection presentation and storage m Relatively easy to learn MATLAB Mathematical analysis and simulation capabilities m Toolboxes for real time control signal processing and Statistics m C style programming Multiple platform multiple OS support Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 9 Writing OpenChoice Software Table 4 Benefits of Different Development Environments Cont Development tool Benefits Visual Basic Custom user interfaces read write files and plot results that are easier to develop than in many other languages m A quicker learning curve than many other languages m A relatively low cost in materials and training to begin using Visual C C m Faster runtime execution speed than other languages especially C m Ability to implement complex algorithms m Availability of numerous specialized code libraries m Availability of numerous engineers who know how to program C Object orientation in C which can permit faster development especially with complex application interactions Support on multiple platforms and operating systems Windows Macintosh UNIX Choosing a Programming Interface After you de
42. rovided by the IVI Foundation and a specific part which provides access to extended capabilities provided by a specific instrument These provide the developers with the ability to take advantage of specific unique capabilities of each vendor s instrument An example is a special triggering mode of an oscilloscope IVI drivers can provide increased features and better quality than earlier drivers They include the ability to simulate instruments automatically check ranges and multithread safety features Multithread features allow the program to call a driver more than once potentially increasing the speed of the program Simula tion features let the program work without having access to the actual hardware This helps you create and debug your software even if the hardware is not available You can also achieve better interchangeability of instruments from different vendors by programming only to the class specification IVI drivers can be implemented using C or COM technologies IVI C drivers expose a C language IVI COM drivers have an API based on Microsoft COM technology Tektronix has worked with National Instruments to provide IVI C drivers for the TDS1000 TDS2000 TDS3000 and DPO4000 series oscillo scopes Tektronix provides a single IVI COM driver for TDS5000 TDS6000 DPO7000 and TDS7000 series oscilloscopes This driver implements the class compliant part which conforms to the VIScope specification provided by the foundatio
43. s A C library DLL which allows you to send and receive ASCII commands using C function calls Software modules to implement the VXI Systems Alliance specs The Web page for OpenChoice Solutions www tektronix com OpenChoice The Web page of the IVI Foundation a consortium for promoting specifications for programming test instruments in a way that simplifies interchangeability improves performance and reduces the cost of program development and maintenance www ivifoundation org The Web page for the maker of MATLAB an environment for data analysis and visualization www mathworks com The Web page for the Microsoft Develop er Network www msdn com The Web page for National Instruments the makers of LabVIEW a graphical environment for rapidly creating test measurement control and automation applications www ni com The Web page for the VXIplug amp play Alliance an organization that endorses and implements common standards and practices in both hardware and software http www ivifoundation org Com bined 200rganizations VXIPlugN Play htm 43 For More Information 44 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions
44. tability of a program across different Tektronix oscillo scope models and the horizontal axis represents the abstraction or level of commands provided by the interface 12 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Writing OpenChoice Software More Portability TekVisa IVI z TVC Portability across e different oscilloscope models VXIPlug amp Play Less Portability od Lower Level of Commands Higher for example for example ReadString GetWaveform Figure 3 Trade offs between programming interfaces For example the VXIplug amp play driver is fairly low in the vertical axis portability because there is a different interface for each oscilloscope model and a client program would have to change if you used a different oscilloscope model The VXIplug amp play driver is high on the horizontal axis command level because it provides some higher level functions like GetWaveform which can send multiple oscilloscope model specific commands to the oscilloscope and will return waveform data to the controller The TekVISA API is highly portable because a client program might not have to change when developers use a different oscilloscope model The Tek VISA API is fairly low on the X axis as it does not provide any higher level functions It just allows you to use common ASCII GPIB programming commands on multiple models of oscilloscopes that are compatible with the Tek VISA API The IVI interface provides the best of both
45. tartup Preferences window will appear as shown in the following figure Fs Tektronix Toolbar Startup Preferences Version 2 01 Build 5 TekW Toolbar f Launch when Word is started Just add to Templates and Add Ins list TekXL Toolbar f Launch when Excel is started Just add to Add Ins list You can use this window to control the operation of the toolbars Click on Launch when Excel is started to have the TekXL Toolbar appear whenever you start MS Excel Click on Just add to Add Ins List if you do not wish the TekXL Toolbar to appear whenever you start MS Excel This will leave the Tekxltoolbar entry deselected on the Excel gt Tools gt Add Ins list Connecting the TekXL Next to connect to Tek VISA enabled oscilloscopes Toolbar to a TekVISA enabled Oscilloscope In theTekXL toolbar click the Connection button to specify the instrument with which you want to connect To select an instrument Click the Connection button It is the functional non grayed out button on the left of the toolbar Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 35 Installing OpenChoice Solutions 36 The Connection window should appear and display all available instruments including remote instruments that have been connected The toolbar controls one instrument at a time The following figure shows the Connection window TekXL Connection Select Instrument Service TDS 1012 Service TDS305458 SW QA TDS20 24 Eng TDS30
46. th LabVIEW An introduction to programming Open 001 1367 01 Choice oscilloscopes with LabVIEW Includes an example Programming with C Describes different ways to program 001 1369 00 OpenChoice oscilloscopes with C Includes example code Programming with MATLAB Describes how to program OpenChoice 001 1370 01 oscilloscopes with MATLAB Includes example code Programming with Visual Describes different ways to program Basic OpenChoice oscilloscopes with Visual 001 1368 00 Basic Includes example code Programming AWG with Describes different ways to program an Visual C and TekVISA AWG with Visual Basic and TekVISA 001 1420 00 Programming USBTMC Describes different ways to program Instruments with VC USBTMC instruments 001 1421 00 42 Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions For More Information Table 10 Contents of the OpenChoice Software Developers Kit CD Cont Category Primers ABC s of Probes XYZ s of Oscilloscopes IVI Drivers TekVISA API VXlplug amp play Drivers Tektronix OpenChoice Solu tions Software Links Interchangeable Virtual Instruments MathWorks MATLAB Microsoft Developers Network LabVIEW VX plug amp play Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions Description A primer on oscilloscope probes in general A primer on oscilloscopes in general Software modules to implement the interchangeable Virtual Instruments Foundation spec
47. the corresponding oscilloscope specific command Other functions like GetWaveform provide a higher level of functionality and can send several oscilloscope specific commands to the instrument VXIplug amp play drivers conform to the specifications of the VXIplug amp play alliance Get the detailed specifications at www vxipnp org Since these are C DLLs use these drivers from a wide range of software development environ ments including LabVIEW LabWindows CVI and Visual C Tektronix has worked with National Instruments to provide customized LabVIEW wrappers for these drivers which make them easy to use in LabVIEW Each Tektronix oscilloscope model has a different VXIplug amp play driver Unlike IVI drivers discussed later these drivers do not standardize on different classes of instruments For example the interface to a different vendor s oscilloscope may be very different from the interface to a Tektronix oscilloscope Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 17 Writing OpenChoice Software IVI Drivers TVI drivers are a new generation of drivers They conform to specifications Interchangeable Virtual produced by the IVI Foundation www ivifoundation org Unlike VXI Instruments plug amp play drivers they provide a standard interface to different classes of instruments including oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers There are two parts to an IVI driver a class compliant part which conforms to the class specification p
48. u wish to connect to or click the entry once and then click the OK button A successful connection is indicated by the grayed out non functional toolbar buttons becoming functional as shown in the following figure 40 You can find further information on operating the toolbar in the online help Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions a For More Information The information listed in table 10 is available in the Tektronix OpenChoice Solutions Software Developers Kit You can download this information from www tektronix com Table 10 Contents of the OpenChoice Software Developers Kit CD Overview Getting Started Describes what OpenChoice components are why to use them and how to install them Oscilloscope Manu TDS200 TDS1000 Describes native commands for the als TDS2000 TDS1000B TDS200 TDS1000 TDS2000 TDS2000B TSP2000 TDS1000B TDS2000B Programmer 071 1075 04 TDS3000 3000B Program Describes native commands for the mer 071 0381 02 TDS3000 3000B DPO4000 Programmer Describes native commands for the 071 1845 00 DPO4000 TDS5000B Programmer Describes native commands for the PHP023 V2 00 TDS5000B TDS6000 Programmer Describes native commands for the PHP0197 V4 00 TDS6000 TDS CSA7000 Programmer Describes native commands for the PHP0140 V7 00 TDS CSA7000 DPO7000 DPO DSA70000 Describes native commands for the 071 0010 01 DPO7000 DPO DSA70000 8000 Series Digital Sampling Des
49. ution is conveyed in the 2 byte data In other acquisition modes there will be no significance in the use of 2 byte data The binary block structure consists of xyyynnnn LF where the x value represents the number of y bytes The y bytes represent the record length The n values are the digitizing levels for each sample and a linefeed character terminates the block With a 5 000 point record length this means a 10 000 byte chunk of data For example if a user had a 10 000 point record length then the block would be 5 10000nnnnnnn LF Not all oscilloscopes work exactly this way The TDS8000 and CSA8000 for example supports a four byte 32 bit data format Many Tektronix OpenChoice oscilloscopes use the device specific WAVFM query to return the preamble followed by the binary block They use the CURVE query to return the binary block without a preamble Decide on the data path to use in retrieving data How do you want the data to flow from your oscilloscope to your custom application With Tektronix open Windows oscilloscopes such as the TDS5000 TDS6000 TDS7000 and TDS8000 you can run your applications on the computers built into your oscilloscopes to take advantage of the fast internal PCI bus Alternatively you can run your application on a separate computer connected to your oscilloscope by GPIB RS 232 or Ethernet to take advantage of special processing or storage abilities of the remote machine Decide on the type
50. worlds high level functions and results in a program that is portable across all TDS5000 TDS6000 TDS7000 and DPO7000 Tektronix OpenChoice real time oscilloscopes TekVISA API Tektronix Test and measurement applications require some kind of I O library to communi Virtual Instrument cate with test instrumentation As a step toward industry wide software Software Architecture compatibility the VXIplug amp play Systems Alliance www vxipnp org developed a common I O library called the Virtual Instrument Software Architecture VISA VISA provides a common standard for software developers so that software from multiple vendors such as instrument drivers can run on the same platform The Tek VISA API is the Tektronix implementation of the Virtual Instrument Software Architecture VISA Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 13 Writing OpenChoice Software 14 The TekVISA API implements a subset of Version 3 0 of the VISA specification for controlling GPIB and serial RS 232 instrument interfaces locally or remotely via an Ethernet LAN connection or USB The Tek VISA layer provides the functionality needed to control and access the embedded software of Tektronix test and measurement equipment in the following ways Using virtual GPIB software running locally on Windows based instrumen tation such as TDS7000 DPO7000 and TDS8000 series oscilloscopes and the CSA7000 and CSA8000 series communications analyzers The Tek VISA API
51. ysical type and composition of hubs switches and routers It may be necessary to upgrade network components in order to achieve optimal LAN access speeds Network Security As with any other computing resource attached to a network take security precautions as appropriate to protect your LAN enabled oscilloscope against unauthorized use CAUTION If your organization s LAN is connected to external networks such as A N the Internet use of a properly configured network firewall is strongly recom mended The VXI 11 protocol and VXI 11 LAN Server do not include any security mechanisms The vast majority of businesses and other organizations with Internet access already have network firewalls established However you may want to contact network security personnel to verify that your firewall blocks external access to the RPC port mapper service TCP IP port 111 VXI 11 clients use this network software service to connect to the VXI 11 LAN Server Getting Started in OpenChoice Solutions 33 Installing OpenChoice Solutions Installing the Tektronix Toolbar for Excel TekXL Installing the TekXL Toolbar 34 The Tektronix Toolbar for Excel an add in to Microsoft Excel lets you capture and graph oscilloscope data in Microsoft Excel 2000 and 2002 spreadsheets The toolbar consists of a list of buttons as shown in the following figure These let you connect to an instrument transfer settings between the instrument and the com
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