4
-
8
Making Measurements
Measurement instructions give quick results
The easiest way to measure wavelength, frequency, or
power is to use the MEASure command. The MEASure
command is one of four measurement instructions:
MEASure, READ, FETCh, and CONFigure. The syntax
for measurement instructions
is
documented in
surement Instructions” on page 5-11
.
Each measurement instruction has an argument that
controls the measurement update rate. This is equiva-
lent to using the
NORMAL
and
FAST
softkeys.
:MEASure command
MEASure configures the Agilent 86121A, captures new
data, and queries the data all in one step. For example,
to measure the longest wavelength, send the following
command:
:MEASure:SCALar:POWer:WAVelength? MAX
Specifying SCALar places the display in the single
wavelength format and returns a single value to the
computer. Specifying ARRay places the display in the
List by Power
or
List by WL
modes; an array of data is
returned to the computer.
A common programming error is to send the :MEASure
command when the instrument is in the continuous
measurement acquisition mode. Because :MEASure
contains an :INIT:IMM command, which expects the
single measurement acquisition mode, an error is gen-
erated, and the INIT command is ignored.
Table 4-2. The Different Forms of MEASure
Desired
Measurement Data
Use this
MEASure Query
Display Format
Power (dBm)
:MEASure:SCALar:POWer?
single wavelength mode
Frequency (Hz)
:MEASure:ARRay:POWer:FREQuency?
List by WL
(frequency)
Wavelength (m)
:MEASure:ARRay:POWer:WAVelength?
List by WL
Summary of Contents for 86121A
Page 2: ...User s Guide Agilent 86121A WDM Channel Analyzer ...
Page 7: ......
Page 10: ...Chapter 1 Getting Started ...
Page 21: ......
Page 24: ...Agilent 86121A Front and Rear Panels 2 3 Agilent 86121A Front and Rear Panels ...
Page 25: ...2 4 Agilent 86121A Front and Rear Panels ...
Page 27: ...2 6 WDM Channel Analyzer Display The S N with Averaging display ...
Page 32: ...The Softkeys 2 11 The Setup menu ...
Page 33: ...2 12 The Softkeys The Disk menu The Printer menu ...
Page 35: ...2 14 Changing the Printer Paper Changing the Printer Paper ...
Page 37: ......
Page 191: ......
Page 205: ...7 14 Regulatory Information Declaration of Conformity ...
Page 239: ......