Output State; Filters; Programming The 3155 - Racal Instruments 3155 User Manual

Output State

Filters

Programming The
3155
1-14 Overview
The main output can be turned on or off. The internal circuit is dis-
connected from the output connector by a mechanical switch (relay).
This feature is useful for connecting the main output to an analog
bus. For safety reasons, when power is first applied to the chassis,
the main output is always off.
Two filters are built into the 3155. These filters are available for use
in various applications such as the creation of high frequency sine
waves and removing the staircase effect from waveforms that are
generated with high frequency clock rates. The filters are also used
for reconstructing the standard sine waveform.
The 3155 does not have front panel control capability. Also, wave-
form data and sequence tables must be loaded to the 3155 from a
host computer before it can be output arbitrary or sequenced wave-
forms. There are a number of ways to "talk" to the instrument. They
all require that an appropriate software driver be installed in the host
computer. The rest is a matter of practice and knowledge of the lan-
guage in use. These topics are discussed in later chapters.
Low level programming of the 3155 is accomplished using SCPI
(Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments) language.
Programming aspects are covered in Chapter 4.
Supplied with the 3155 is a PC software package called WaveCAD.
This software provides a user interface that allows interaction with
and control of the 3155 directly. Details of how to use WaveCAD are
given in the following pages.
Also supplied with the 3155 are drivers for LabVIEW, LabWin-
dows/CVI, Visual C++, and Visual Basic for easy integration into an
automated test environment.
User Manual 3155