The instrument is equipped with a GPIB bus interface according to standard IEC 625.1/IEEE 488.1. The connectors are located at the rear of the instrument and permit a connection to a controller for remote control.
This section assumes basic knowledge of GPIB bus programming and operation of the controller. A description of the interface commands can be found in the relevant manuals.
Not all of the commands supported by the instrument are taken from the SCPI standard (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments), however, their syntax follows SCPI rules. The SCPI standard is based on standard IEEE 488.2 and aims at the standardization of device-specific commands, error handling and the status registers (see section SCPI Introduction).
The requirements that the SCPI standard places on command syntax, error handling and configuration of the status registers are explained in detail in the following sections. Tables provide a fast overview of the bit assignment in the status registers. The tables are supplemented by a comprehensive description of the status registers.
Note:
In contrast to instruments with manual control, which are designed for
maximum possible operating convenience, the priority of remote control
is the "predictability" of the device status. This means that
when incompatible settings are attempted, the command is ignored and the
device status remains unchanged, i.e. other settings are not automatically
adapted. Therefore, GPIB bus control programs should always define an
initial device status (e.g. with the command *RST) and then implement
the required settings.