Trace Coupling Tab

Trace coupling allows you to synchronize some settings between two or more overlaid traces. Changes to coupled settings that you make to one trace are automatically applied to all other coupled traces.

Disabled - no coupling will be performed on this trace.

Automatic - the coupling settings will be automatically configured (the check boxes will reflect the current coupling settings for the trace).

Manual - the coupling will be done according to the check box settings.

To enable Trace Coupling:

Overlay at least two traces (put them in the same tab group and enable Overlay)
Click Trace > Coupling to display the Coupling tab
Click the Trace drop-down arrow and select a trace:
- To add a new trace to the tab group, click the icon.
- To remove a trace from the tab group, click the icon.
- To hide a trace, or display a trace that's currently hidden, check or uncheck the Visible checkbox.
If Overlay is not turned on for the trace you selected in the previous step, check the Overlay checkbox.
Select the Automatic or Manual radio button, depending on your preference
If Manual, select the settings you want coupled (Y-axis, X-axis, Trace Format)
Repeat steps 3-6 for all other traces that you want to couple

When Trace Coupling is on, traces in a group remain in sync. When one trace’s coupled settings change, the other traces in that group change to match. For example, if X-axis coupling is enabled for both Trace A and Trace B, changing X-axis settings in Trace A also changes X-axis settings in Trace B if the settings between the traces are compatible (for example, x-axis units are time units for both traces).

Coupling synchronizes most trace settings on the Trace > Format, X Scale, and Y Scale tabs. Coupling does not synchronize the Phase Offset, Delay Aperture, and Unwrap Reference found on the Trace Format tab. Furthermore, the trace format of the coupled traces must be compatible (i.e. Y-axis cannot be coupled between IQ and Log Mag formats).

To quickly set up coupling between multiple traces, click the Copy To... button to copy settings from one trace to another trace, or to all traces in the same tab group that have Overlay on. For example, if you want to couple Y-axis units between all overlaid traces in the same tab group, select one of the traces, check the Y-axis checkbox, then click Copy To... and select Overlaid Traces in Same Group. All the overlaid traces now have Y-Axis units coupled.

When two traces are overlaid that have compatible X-axes, and X-axis coupling is enabled, and they have different Start and Stop times, selecting X Full Scale for a trace sets the x-axis Left/Right limits to the Start/Stop times for that trace, but then disables X Full Scale.

Autocouple

The Automatic radio button, or Autocouple, is enabled for all traces by default.

The Autocouple algorithm applies the best Trace Coupling settings for the current set of traces. Only x-axis and y-axis coupling are affected by Autocouple.

Autocoupling is performed for any of the following actions:

Overlay is enabled for a trace currently in a tab group
A trace with Overlay enabled is dragged into a tab group
A trace with Overlay enabled has its trace data changed
Your display layout changes (like when changing to Stack 2 or Grid 2x2)

If you are not getting the results you expect from Autocouple, change one of the traces from Automatic to Manual, manually configure the desired couplings, click Copy To... and select Overlaid Traces in Same Group.