Section 2: Getting started
Model 6517B Electrometer Reference Manual
2-30
6517B-901-01 Rev. C / August 2015
DISPLAY
This menu item is used to select the exponent mode (engineering units or scientific notation) for
display readings, and lets you specify displayed decimal points as either periods or commas:
NUMERIC-FORMAT:
This item is used to select the exponent mode:
ENGR:
Use this option to display readings using engineering units (for example, 1.00000 µA)
SCIENTIFIC:
Use this option to display readings using scientific notation (for example, 1.00000e-
06 A); the two following options are available for the scientific notation exponent mode:
FLOATING:
With this selection, the exponent value changes automatically to provide optimum
reading resolution.
FIXED:
With this selection, the exponent value remains fixed. Only the mantissa part of the reading
changes. After selecting
FIXED
, the currently selected exponent value is displayed. If you change the
exponent value, be sure to press
ENTER
.
DECIMAL-CHAR:
This item is used to select between periods and commas to signify decimal points
on the front panel display:
PERIOD:
This option selects the period (.) as the decimal point for readings.
COMMA:
This option selects the comma (,) as the decimal point for readings.
TEMP-UNITS:
Use this menu item to select the units (°C, K, or °F) for internal or external
temperature measurements.
CLOCK
The Model 6517B has a real-time clock that is used for time-stamping bus and buffer readings (real-
time time stamp), and as a control source for the arm layer (Arm Layer 1). This
GENERAL
menu
selection is used to set the time date and format (12-hour or 24-hour) for the real time clock.
TIME:
This item is used to set the time for the clock. If the 12-hour format is selected, "AM" or "PM" is
displayed. The absence of "AM" or "PM" denotes the 24-hour format. The format for time can be
changed with the
FORMAT
menu item. Use the cursor keys
and the
RANGE
keys to set the time
(hours:minutes:seconds). Press AUTO to set seconds to zero.
DATE:
This item is used to set the date for the clock. Use the cursor keys
( and ) and the
RANGE
keys to set the date. Note that the day of the week (such as Sun or Mon) is automatically calculated
and displayed for the date.
FORMAT:
This item is used to select the time format for the clock:
12-HOUR:
With this selection, real-time time stamps for buffer readings are provided in the 12-
hour format (AM or PM). Also, the real-time clock control source for the arm layer must be set
using the 12-hour format.
24-HOUR
: With this selection, real-time time stamps for buffer readings are provided in the 24-
hour format. Also, the real-time clock control source for the arm layer must be set using the 24-
hour format.
Note that real-time time stamps for bus readings are always provided in the 24-hour format,
regardless of the
FORMAT
selection.
