Remote control
R&S
®
ZNB/ZNBT
805
User Manual 1173.9163.02 ─ 62
1st generation (1311.6010Kxx)
2nd generation (1334.3330Kxx)
R&S
ZNBT26
0x01F3
-
R&S
ZNBT40
0x01F4
-
Hence a possible resource string for the R&S
ZNBT20 is
USB1::0x0AAD::
0x01A7::100067::INSTR
.
6.1.2
Starting a remote control session
A remote control program must open a connection to the analyzer (using VISA func-
tionality), before it can send commands to the analyzer and receive device responses
(e.g. measurement data). The programming details depend on the library version used
and on the programming language. For this reason, the examples in chapters "Com-
mand Reference" and "Programming Examples" are reduced to the mere SCPI syntax.
Example controller programs can be obtained from the Rohde & Schwarz support cen-
ters. However, it can be preferable to integrate the controller program into post-pro-
cessing tools (e.g. Microsoft Excel) to list, draw, or manipulate the measured values
retrieved from the analyzer.
The following tools can make remote control more comfortable and faster:
●
Various software tools provide an easy-to-use graphical user interface for remote
control. An example is the "GPIB Explorer" (also termed "IECWIN32") which is pre-
installed on the analyzer. See
Chapter 6.1.3, "GPIB Explorer"
●
Instrument drivers provide an improved interface between the test software and the
test instruments. They perform the actual control of the instrument using higher-
level functions for operations such as configuring, reading from, writing to, and trig-
gering the instrument. Hence, drivers can reduce development time, eliminating the
need to learn the specific command set for each instrument. In general, program
development is further simplified by a graphical program environment.
Rohde & Schwarz offers various R&S
ZNB/ZNBT driver types (LabView, LabWind-
ows/CVI, IVI, VXIplug&play...) for different programming languages. The drivers are
available free of charge on the product pages in the R&S internet, along with instal-
lation information.
6.1.3
GPIB Explorer
The GPIB Explorer is a software tool that allows you to connect to the analyzer, and to
obtain an overview of all implemented remote control commands. You can use it to
compile and run test scripts. The program can be opened from the Windows
®
start
menu: "Programs – R&S
ZNB/ZNBT Vector Network Analyzer – GPIB Explorer" or via
System – [Applic] "External Tools " > "GPIB Explorer". You can also start the executa-
ble file
iecwin32.exe
in the program directory of the network analyzer (e.g.
C:\Program Files\Rohde-Schwarz\Vector Network Analyzer\ZNB\Bin
).
After the GPIB Explorer is started, the interface and protocol for the connection to the
instrument can be selected in a dialog:
Introduction to remote control