Troubleshooting Data Acquisition


If a problem occurs with data acquisition, check the following items.


If data is improperly acquired when connecting to the instrument.


• Is the message terminator (delimiter) set properly?

→ Refer to the Terminators and separators.
→ Refer to Setup Procedure.

• Is Error Response enabled?

→ When Error Response is enabled, the instrument returns ?Q, ?C, or ?E. Disable this function if you don't need these responses.

• Is the instrument in standby?

→ Control of the instrument by external commands is not possible when it is in standby. Press the Standby key to resume normal operation.

• Is the instrument measuring with the real-time function?

→ When measuring with the real-time function, commands other than ":START", ":STOP" and ":ABORT" are ignored. When measuring with the real-time function, the response of the instrument will be very slow. In this case, the controller device (typically a PC) may have time-out.
→ There is the time lag between actual measument operation and command operation, ":START". Therefore, if the timeout of the GP-IB is short, bus-timeout may be occured.

If only one response is received after multiple queries have been sent.


• Has an error occurred?

→ Send the "*ESR?" query to check the Standard Event Status Register for anomalies.
→ The response should be read immediately after each query.
→ To read multiple responses in one operation, the corresponding queries must be combined into a single line using message separators.

If the instrument does not execute a command after it has been sent.


• Has an error occurred?

→ Send the "*ESR?" query to check the Standard Event Status Register for anomalies.
→ Not all commands can execute during measurement operation. However, the ":ABORT" command is executed as soon as it is received.
→ An error has occurred while executing a command.
→ When measuring with the real-time function, commands other than followings are ignored.
     :STOP, :ABORT, *WAI, *STB?, *SRE?, *OPC?, *OPC, *ESR?, *ESE?, *CLS, :ESR0?, :ESE0?

If after sending a command to change a setting, the change is not displayed on the instrument.


• Is the screen updating mode set to FALSE (disabled)?

→ Send the :DISPlay:UPDAte? command to check the state of the screen updating mode.
→ Send the :DISPlay:UPDAte TRUE command to enable screen updating.