FAQs: Migration to New RF & Universal Frequency Counters

Transitioning from the 53131A, 53132A or 53181A to the 53200 Series RF & Universal Frequency Counter / Timers

I see a difference in the display update rate between the 53181A and the new 53200 Series. When the 52300 is under remote control, it measures while data is coming via GPIB, but the display shows “- - - - - -“. The 53181A did not show “---------“.

When under remote control, the 531xxA display continues to show the measurement from a MEASure? or READ? command until a new measurement completes. The 531xxA prioritizes display over measurement rate, and it will not start a new measurement until after it formats and displays the just-completed measurement, which slows down reading rates.

The 532xxA family clears previous measurements when it receives a new MEASure?, READ? or configuration command, and therefore shows “-----“ until the new measurement completes. Because the 532xxA prioritizes measurement rate over display in remote mode, it does not take time to format and display every reading; instead, the front panel periodically checks if a reading is available and displays it. If the remote computer is continuously sending commands, it is likely that no measurement is available (having been cleared), and therefore it may display “----“ continuously.

Note that if the remote computer pauses between measurements, the 532xxA will have time to display measurements.

The 53200 Series does not have the LED on the input connector like the 531xxA counters.

This functionality has shifted to the LCD display. The trigger level menu will show you the voltage max/min of the input signal, which makes it easy to determine whether the input signal is coming or not.

When I change from remote status to local on my 53230A, it can no longer find the input signal. Does the trigger setup change when changing from remote to local status?

The input level (trigger) setup does not change between local and remote. If the input signal is the same in local as it was on the last measurement in remote, there should be no issue switching between remote and local.

However, if the input signal changed, then several possibilities exist:

If auto-leveling is turned off while the unit is in remote, then it remains off when the unit is put back in local. You can re-enable auto-leveling by pressing the “Preset” button on the front panel, or by pressing the appropriate channel button and selecting the “Level Setup” softkey followed by the “Auto Level” softkey.
A second possibility is that the auto-level cutoff frequency was changed in remote. If the new input signal’s frequency is lower than the selected cutoff frequency (50 Hz or 10 kHz), then the 532xxA will not be able to reliably set the threshold level. The cutoff frequency can be set by pressing the Utility button, and selecting “Instrument Settings” followed by “Time Out Settings”.
A third possibility is that the measurement timeout was set to infinite with no signal present on the measurement channel(s). Switching to local will NOT abort an in-progress measurement. Pressing the “Preset” button or any configuration-changing softkey will abort and restart measurements.

The measurement speed looks fast when 53230A is in the 53132A compatibility mode.

Because the fundamental resolution of the 532xxA is better than the 53132A, it can produce the same resolution in less time than the 53132A.

Also, the 53132A defaults to “Digits” arming, which can take an indefinite amount of time to complete depending on the quality (noise and stability) of the input signal. Basically, the 53132A will keep the gate open until it statistically determines that the number of significant digits exist in the resultant measurement. For poor quality input signals, this can take a long time, or it may never complete if the signal is very bad.

The 532xxA does not have “Digits” arming; it only supports timed or externally gated arming. In compatibility mode, if you select, for example, 10 digits, the 532xxA selects a fixed gate time that will produce 10 digits on a good-quality signal and uses that to make the measurements regardless of input signal quality. On a poor quality signal, you may not get a full 10 significant digits.

What is faster, the USB or GPIB interface?

In the block reading the memory transfer is faster with USB per the datasheet. In single measurement readings, GPIB is slightly faster.

Here is what you should expect:

Single measurement throughput: readings/s
(time to take single measurement and transfer from volatile reading memory over I/O bus)
Typical (Avg. using READ?):
       53210 53220 53230
USB 200    200    200
GPIB 210    220    220

Optimized (Avg. using *TRG;DATA:REM? 1, WAIT):
       53210 53220 53230
USB 320    350    350
GPIB 360    420    420

Block reading throughput: readings/s (using 50,000 rdgs)
(time to take blocks of measurements and transfer from volatile reading memory over I/O bus)
Typical (Avg. using READ?):
       53210 53220 53230
USB 300    990    9800
GPIB 300    990    4600

Optimized (Avg. using *TRG;DATA:REM? 1, WAIT):
       53210 53220 53230
USB 300    990    56500
GPIB 300    990    16300

I use RS-232 on my 53131A, 53132A, and 53181A counters to print to a dot matrix printer. How do I do this on a 53200 counter?

The 53131A, 53132A and 53181A supported printing directly through RS-232 because their reading storage capacity was limited to one reading only. With this limitation, the only option to obtain a record of multiple readings was to send each reading a printer as it was taken.

The 53200A series counters do not offer direct output to peripheral devices (i.e. RS-232). The 53200A series, on the other hand, stores up to 1M readings internally or more to a USB drive if saved periodically. Once saved, or transferred to a USB drive, the drive can be inserted into a PC and the data can be manipulated from there.

The 53200A's have vent holes on the sides. Can these counters be rack mounted beside the 34401A DMM using the dual lock link kit?

Yes. You can mount the new 53200A counters exactly the same way as the 53131A, 53132A and 53181A counters with all the same kits.

For additional details visit the RF & Universal Counter Migration Web page:
www.agilent.com/find/countermigration