Measurement Process; Step 1. Setting Up The Instrument; Step 2. Calibrating The Test Setup - Agilent Technologies 8719ET Programmer's Manual

Measurement Process

This section explains how to organize instrument commands into a measurement
sequence. A typical measurement sequence consists of the following steps:
1. setting up the instrument
2. calibrating the test setup
3. connecting the device under test
4. taking the measurement data
5. post-processing the measurement data
6. transferring the measurement data

Step 1. Setting Up the Instrument

Define the measurement by setting all of the basic measurement parameters. These
include:
• the sweep type
• the frequency span
• the sweep time
• the number of points (in the data trace)
• the RF power level
• the type of measurement
• the IF averaging
• the IF bandwidth
You can quickly set up an entire instrument state, using the save/recall registers and the
learn string. The learn string is a summary of the instrument state compacted into a
string that the computer reads and retransmits to the analyzer. See
the Learn String" on page

Step 2. Calibrating the Test Setup

After you have defined an instrument state, you should perform a measurement
calibration. Although it is not required, a measurement calibration improves the accuracy
of your measurement data.
The following list describes several methods to calibrate the analyzer:
• Stop the program and perform a calibration from the analyzer's front panel.
• Use the computer to guide you through the calibration, as discussed in
Calibration Examples" on page
• Transfer the calibration data from a previous calibration back into the analyzer, as
discussed in "Example 5C: Saving and Restoring the Analyzer Instrument State" on
page 7-84.
Chapter 7
7-79.
7-23.
Programming Examples
Measurement Process
"Example 5A: Using
"Measurement
7-3