README.TXT
AG 8612x Multi-Wavelength Meter
Universal Instrument Driver (UID)
Driver Revision A.02.03
March 12, 2002
Revision History
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A.02.03 March 12, 2002 Defect fixes, example programs and consistent version info
Add major defect fixes to install package
Fix minor defect with Power offset limit
Make version info with version info published on web site
Example programs now work for Visual Basic and Labview
Works with Agilent VISA
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A.00.00 September 17, 2001 Initial Release.
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Contents:
1 Introduction
2 VTL/VISA Specific Information
2.1 Instrument Addresses
2.2 Language Specific Features
3 Using the AG 8612x UID in Application Development Environments
3.1 Microsoft Visual C/C++
3.2 Microsoft Visual Basic
3.3 LabWindows/CVI
4.0 Known Defects
4.1 ag8612x_signalToNoiseAverage_Q Problem
5.0 Online Information
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1. Introduction
The help file included with the AG 8612x Universal Instrument Driver contains
instrument and programming information. This readme file contains additional
information concerning the driver.
The AG 8612x Windows 95 and Windows NT drivers are actually a single 32-bit
driver. All of directory paths which follow assume Windows 95. For Windows
NT, change references from win95 to winnt.
This AG 8612x driver conforms to all portions of the VXIplug&play driver
standard which are applicable to conventional GPIB and RS-232. Two
elements of the standard do not apply to the AG 8612x since it is not a
VXI instrument. First, there is no soft front panel, as the AG 8612x
can be controlled from it's hardware front panel. Second, there is no
knowledge base file, which is primarily a description of a VXI board.
This driver features:
1. Conformance with the VXIplug&play standard. The only exceptions are that
it does not have a soft front panel or a knowledge base file.
2. It is built on top of, and uses the services provided by VISA. VISA
supports GPIB and VXI protocols. The driver can be used with any
GPIB card for which the manufacturer has provided a VISA DLL.
3. It includes a "Function Panel" (.fp) file which allows it to be used
with visual programming environments such as Agilent VEE, LabWindows, and
LabVIEW.
4. It includes a comprehensive on-line help file which complements the
instrument manual. The help file presents application programming
examples, a cross-reference between instrument commands and driver
functions, and detailed documentation of each function, with examples.
5. Source is included so that the driver can be modified if desired. The
source conforms to VXI Plug & Play standards. Modifications should only
be done by people who are familiar with the VXIplug&play standard.
6. It includes a Visual Basic include file (.bas) which contains the function
calls in Visual Basic syntax, so that driver functions can be called from
Visual Basic. If you use Visual Basic with this driver, you should be
familiar with C/C++ function declarations. In particular, care must be
taken when working with C/C++ pointers.
7. The AG 8612x driver supports legacy drivers HP 86120B and HP 86120C.
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2. VISA Specific Information
The following topics refer to instances when the driver is used with
different versions of VISA.
2.1 Instrument Addresses
When using Agilent Technologies VXIplug&play instrument drivers, instrument
addresses must be all uppercase letters. Implementation of the addressing
scheme is vendor specific and some vendors support mixed cases. However,
for maximum portability, the instrument address should use uppercase
characters only.
For example: use "GPIB0::20" instead of "gpib0::20"
2.2 Language Specific Features
Language Specific features are not supported with this driver.
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3. Application Development Environments
For general instructions on using the driver with Agilent VEE,
Microsoft Visual C++, Borland C++, Microsoft Visual Basic,
LabVIEW, and LabWindows/CVI, see the online help file.
Additional notes:
3.1 Microsoft Visual C++ 4.0 (& higher) and Borland C++ 4.5 (& higher)
A.) The driver uses Pascal calling conventions.
B.) Do not build the driver in the directory in which it was installed.
3.2 Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 (& higher)
Refer to the Microsoft Visual BASIC manual for additional
information on calling DLLs.
3.3 LabWindows CVI/(R) 4.0 (& higher)
The AG 8612x driver is supplied as both a source code file and as a
dynamic link library file (dll). There are several advantages to
using the dll form of the driver. These include:
1. Transportability across different computer platforms
2. A higher level of support from Agilent Technologies for the
compiled driver
3. Faster load time for your project
Labwindows/CVI (R) by default will attempt to load the source version
of the instrument driver. To load the dll you must include the file
ag8612x.fp in your project. This file can be found in vxipnpwin95ag8612x
Do not include ag8612x.c in your project. You must also provide an
include path for ag8612x.h. This is done by adding vxipnpwin95include
to the include paths (CVI Project Option menu).
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4.0 Known Defects
4.1 ag8612x_signalToNoiseAverage_Q Problem
There is a problem with the function ag8612x_signalToNoiseAverage_Q().
When using this function the programmer must first call the function
ag8612x_startSignalToNoiseAverage() to start the averaging. When the
number of sweeps has been acquired, then the user calls
ag8612x_signalToNoiseAverage_Q() to read the data.
The following criteria must be observed for the function to work:
+ Call the function ag8612x_startSignalToNoiseAverage().
+ Wait for all the data to accumulate. In your code assume the sweeps
occur at 1 second per sweep. Create a delay of (numberMeasurement + 2)
seconds before calling ag8612x_signalToNoiseAverage_Q() to assure
that all the sweeps occur before the SNR averaging data is read.
The call to the function ag8612x_signalToNoiseAverage_Q() must not occur
until all the sweeps specified in ag8612x_startSignalToNoiseAverage()
have been made.
+ No writes or reads via GPIB to the instrument or calls to any other
functions in the driver are allowed while data is being accumulated
for the average.
+ Call the function ag8612x_signalToNoiseAverage_Q() to read the data.
+ After the data is read using ag8612x_signalToNoiseAverage_Q() the SNR
averaging is turned off, therefore, the SNR average data can only
be read once. To read another SNR average call the function
ag8612x_startSignalToNoiseAverage and restart the process.
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5.0 Online Information
The latest version of this driver and other AG drivers are available
on the Internet at
http://www.agilent.com/find/inst_drivers
The AG 8612x driver is located in a self-extracting archive file called
8612x.exe.
If you do not have Internet access, the drivers can be obtained by contacting
your country support organization. In the U.S., the phone number is 800-452-4844.
A list of contact information for other countries is available on the
Agilent Technologies website at
http://www.agilent.com/find/contacts00
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LabWindows/CVI is a registered trademark of National Instruments.