Using the Test Set as a Controller

Last Updated: August 29, 2007

The test set can be used to run your test programs and to control external equipment, therefore eliminating the need for you to have an external PC. The test set uses it's own internal LAN to do this.

The test set's GPIB, LAN and USB interfaces can be used to control external equipment (for example, wireless devices and power supplies).

If you are using the test set's GPIB interface to control additional test equipment it is strongly recommended that once the test set is set up as a controller you do not change this. For more information see Disabling GPIB Control Mode.

Setting the test set as a controller

  1. Firstly, develop and debug your control program on your external PC.

  2. The resource descriptors in your control program need to be updated.
    One needs to be updated to communicate with any additional equipment you are controlling and the other needs to be updated to communicate with the E6601A WCTS program. For example, the programming examples in this help normally show the GPIB interface being used between the test set and the PC. For example:

TestSet.IO = CType(ResManager.Open("GPIB0::14::INSTR"), IMessage)

To run the same program on the test set you must change this. You can change this to either be hard coded or generic as detailed below:

  1. Hard coded, means using the test set name, for example E6601A0147:

TestSet.IO = CType(ResManager.Open("TCPIP0::E6601A0147::inst0::INSTR"), IMessage)

  1. Generic, which has the benefit of making the program easier to transport to other test sets:

TestSet.IO = CType(ResManager.Open("TCPIP0::localhost::inst0::INSTR"), IMessage)

  1. If you are using the GPIB interface to control additional test equipment you must also disable the GPIB talk/listen mode. This is done using SYSTem:COMMunicate:GPIB:MODE[?].

  2. Rebuild your test program and copy it to your test set. The test program runs as it did before but now communication between your control program and the E6601A WCTS program takes place using the test set's internal LAN instead of the GPIB connection. The communication between the test program and any additional equipment takes place using whichever interface you selected, either GPIB, LAN or USB.

Disabling GPIB Control Mode

If you are using the test set's GPIB interface to control additional test equipment it is strongly recommended that once the test set is set up as a controller you do not change this. Rather than disabling and re-enabling the test set's GPIB interface controller mode it is recommended that if you want to externally control the test set you use the LAN or USB interfaces.

However, if you want to take the GPIB interface out of control mode:

  1. Close your control program.

  2. Set SYSTem:COMMunicate:GPIB:MODE[?] to TLISten. Note this command cannot be sent over the GPIB interface and must be sent over the LAN interface.

    One method of doing this last step quickly is to use the E6601 SCPI Discovery Tool. To do this open the SCPI Discovery Tool:

  1. On the Select SCPI tab set E6601 connection resource name to the test set's LAN address.

  2. Select the item from the toolbar to display the SCPI Command/Results/Error Message window. (Pressing the item toggles between displaying or hiding this window.)

  3. Build the SYSTem:COMMunicate:GPIB:MODE TLISten command from the SCPI tree.

  4. Select Drag SCPI to code and move the code to the SCPI Command field in the SCPI Command/Results/Error Message window.

  5. Right-click the command and select Send selected command(s).