Model 835-3 User’s Manual Fast-Switching Low-Noise Signal Generator Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation 1 Tel 415-453-9955 info@berkeleynucleonics.com Fax 415-453-9956 www.berkeleynucleonics.
Contents 1. Introduction to the 835-3 .......................................................................................... 4 General Features and Functions ................................................................................ 4 Options ................................................................................................................. 4 Front Panel Overview (non-HC version) ..................................................................... 5 Rear Panel Connections ..........
6. 7. 8. 9. 3 LAN Configuration Submenu................................................................................... 34 Display Settings Submenu ..................................................................................... 35 Programming the 835-3...........................................................................................35 Using Sockets LAN ................................................................................................ 36 Using and Configuring VXI-11........
1. Introduction to the 835-3 Your Model 835-3 Series Signal generator kit contains the following items: • 835-3 mainframe • Universal power adaptor (AC 100 – 240V) with UK, US, EU plugs • Ethernet Cable • 835-3 software CD • 835-3 Get Started Manual It is strongly recommended to use the original power adaptor (as supplied with the device) to guarantee save and reliable operation of the 835-3.
Front Panel Overview (non-HC version) The front panel contains a status display, a RF output female N-type connector, and a RF on/off key (Figure 1). The LCD screen shows information on the current function. Information includes status indicators, frequency and amplitude settings, current connectivity status, and error messages. Figure 1 8 3 5 - 3 Front Panel View RF On/Off button The ON/OFF key toggles between RF output on and RF output off.
Amplitude - The current value for output power. Units: dBm Range: -70.0 to +25.0 dBm (option PE/PE2: -150.0 to + 25 dBm) Resolution 0.1 dB Phase lock – External reference disabled, not locked or locked to integer multiple of 1 MHz Range: 1 to 100 MHz LAN – The current IP address of the instrument Rear Panel Connections Figure 2 835-3 Rear Panel View 1 Power switch The power switch disconnects the signal generator from the DC input completely, including the internal high-stability reference.
6 TRIG IN connector Female BNC connector, accepts a TTL signal from an external trigger source. The input impedance is 1Mohm. 7 PULSE MOD IN connector This BNC input connector accepts TTL signal for pulse modulation. The damage level is 3 Vrms. 8 REF OUT connector Female BNC connector is for an output of the internal 100 MHz reference frequency, which has a nominal output level greater than 8 dBm, and an output impedance of 50 ohm.
Applying Power 1. Place the 835-3 on the intended workbench and connect the appropriate DC power supply to the receptacle on the rear of the unit. Make sure you use the included DC power supply. The 835-3 requires 6 V DC at 3 A maximum. Using other supplies may lead to malfunction and damage of the Model 835-3. 2. Press the Line on/off switch on the rear panel. The front panel display will illuminate.
Troubleshooting the LAN Interconnection Software does not install properly • Make sure your installation CD is not damaged. • When Microsoft® .NET™ Framework is not installed make sure that your PC is to the internet connected during installation of the Software. If no internet connection is available, use the .NET™ Framework that is available on the installation CD. Software cannot detect any 835-3: • Make sure you have connected both PC and 835-3 to a common network.
Figure 3 CONTROL tab Controlling Multiple Signal Generators from one PC You can easily control multiple 835-3 from a single computer over the LAN connection, but you need to start a separate GUI for every instrument. Network Configuration The Network Configuration button allows configuring the LAN settings as shown in Figure 4. Using a DHCP server can be enabled or a static IP can be entered by user. The device name can be modified as desired.
Figure 4 Network Configuration Submenu Perform Firmware Upgrade A firmware upgrade of the 835-3 can be done directly via the GUI. Make sure you are connected to the right device and have the correct binary ready. Then go to Controller Update Firmware and select the appropriate binary that you have received from BNC or downloaded from the BNC website. The update will take a few seconds, and after completion the device will reboot. Reconnect to the device and continue using the device.
Figure 5 Memory Settings Submenu (*) In option HC instruments all settings are individually controlled, the RF on/off button does not provide this function. Using Toolbars In this Software Version there are two Toolbars available.
Rescan devices Connect / Disconnect Network Configuration device selection Basic CW Operation The 835-3 is a laboratory instrument designed to generate a synthesized CW signal with good spectral purity and variable amplitude. To set a desired frequency, relative phase and amplitude, click to the CW tab (Figure 6). The desired frequency, phase, and power can be set by clicking on the up and down arrows above and below each digit. The frequency is settable in steps of 0.
Sweeps Besides the basic CW operation, the 835-3 supports several frequency and power sweeping modes. Sweep parameters can be set in the SWEEP tab (Figure 7). Select frequency, power or list sweep by clicking on the FREQ. SWEEP, POWER SWEEP, or LIST SWEEP tab, respectively. Frequency Sweep (Figure 7) To start a frequency sweep, a) enter start and stop frequency in Hz unit, b) enter the number of points (or points per decade), c) enter the dwell time in milliseconds (min.
Frequency Linear Sweep Sweeps linearly from start to stop frequency in constant steps. Frequency step size is (f_stop-f_start)/number_of_points. If start
Figure 7 FREQENCY SWEEP tab List Sweeps (Figure 9) List sweeps allow to set frequency, output power, dwell time, and off time for each entry individually. To start a list sweep, the following steps are required: a) select sweep parameter b) select indexing c) upload list file from computer (CSV-file) d) select number of repetition e) select the ALC mode: on, hold or off. Generally, ALC on is used. If very short dwell times (1-2 ms) are needed, the ALC can be set to “hold”.
Figure 8 POWER SWEEP tab You can select if you want frequency, output power, or both to be swept. If only one of the two parameters is selected, the second parameter is held constant during the sweep. The value is set to the value in line 1 of the CSV file. You can choose the indexing of the list to go up, down, or be random. If you select random indexing, the index is randomly chosen for N times where N is the number of list points.
1.0 ms. Transient times depend on the frequency steps and are typically less than 10 µs for a 100 MHz step. The number of repetitions determines how many times the lists will be executed.
3rd: dwell time in µs, 4th: off time in µs).Values must be separated by semicolon! Modulation Control The 835-3 provides various modulation capabilities that can be accessed by the MODULATION tab (Figure 11). On the left, the internal pulse modulation can be preset and started with the ON/OFF button. Enter pulse width and modulation period in milliseconds as required. Note that pulse width accuracy is approx. ±0.1 µs. When external pulse modulation is used, the ext. Pulse Enable must be checked.
Figure 12 MODULATION tab for frequency and phase modulation Reference The 835-3 can be locked to an external frequency reference by connecting to the external reference input in the rear panel. To enable the external reference, go to the REFERENCE tab (Figure 13). Click Use ext. reference and enter the reference frequency. The reference frequency must be an integer multiple of 1 MHz. The maximum frequency is 100 MHz. Enter the reference frequency as appropriate.
Figure 13 REFERENCE frequency setting Using the Trigger options (Figure 14) The 835-3 supports internal and external triggering for frequency, power, and list sweeps. To set the trigger options, go to the TRIGGER tab as shown in Figure 14. Various trigger sources are available: a) the “trigger key” which is the RF on/off button, b) LAN (SCPI) c) external input at the rear panel (currently shared with the pulse modulation input). The external TRIGGER input should be a TTL logic signal.
As soon as a sweep is programmed, the output is disabled while the trigger is expected. Upon arrival of the trigger the sweep is executed (after given trigger delay). Any trigger signal arriving during execution of the sweep will be ignored. If single sweep has been selected, the sweep will be executed only once as soon as first trigger signal arrives. As soon as the sweep is completed, the frequency will return to the preset CW frequency.
LF OUT Control The 835-3 rear panel output FUNCT OUT can be programmed using the LF OUT tab (Figure 15). The FUNCT OUT output can be used as • Video output of the internal pulse modulation signal • Trigger output • Output of the low frequency generator In the GUI, select which output to be used and enable it by pressing the ON/OFF button. The low frequency generator can output sine wave, triangle, or a square wave. The frequency can be set from 1 Hz to 5 MHz.
Combined Modulation The table below shows what modulation types can be active simultaneously. The LF output can be used independently of all modulation types. Table 1: Possible combinations of internal and external modulation, and the internal LF generator output. LF output Ext. FM/PM Int. AM Int. Pulse Mod. Ext. Puls Mod. Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes(1) Ext. FM/PM Int. AM Int. Pulse Mod. No Ext. Puls Mod. Notes: (1) Always enable internal AM before the external Pulse Modulator 4.
Rotary knob Varies the value at a cursor position (maked by the “_” symbol). Moves the entry cursor within the various submenus. Menu Key This is a multifunction key. The key is used to enter and leave all the submenus displayed on the screen. ↓ ↑ → ← Keys These keys are used to move cursor within the screen menus. LAN LED illuminates as soon a remote connection via LAN is active. Power LED illuminates when system is powered up.
Main Menu Display The Main Menu Display is invoked my pressing the menu key. The main menu contains eleven submenus as shown below. Figure 17 Overview of the submenus available on the display. Use the up and down arrow keys (↓ ↑ ) or the rotary knob on the front panel to scroll the main menu. The arrow on the left displays the selected position. To enter a submenu, move the arrow (displayed at the left of the menu points) to the desired menu position and press the menu key.
Frequency Sweep Submenu After accessing the Frequency Sweep menu, first of three displays allows to enter the start and stop frequency by using the → ← keys to select the digits and using the rotary knob to increase and decrease their values. Use the ↓ ↑ arrow to move between the several displays that contain settable sweep parameters. On the second display, the number of points, and the on and off time can be entered. On the third screen, select the sweep mode between LINear, LOGarithmic, and RANDom.
Power Sweep Submenu After accessing the Power Sweep menu, the first of total three displays allow to enter start and stop power by using the → ← keys to select the digits and using the rotary knob to increase and decrease their values. Use the ↓ ↑ arrow to move between the several displays that contain settable sweep parameters. On the second display, the number of points, and the on and off time can be entered. On the third display, select the repetition mode between INFinite, and 1 (single repetition).
List Sweep Submenu After accessing the List Sweep submenu , the first of total two displays allow to enter start and stop power by using the → ← keys to select the digits and using the rotary knob to increase and decrease their values. Use the ↓ ↑ arrow to move between the several displays that contain settable sweep parameters. On the first display the number of repetitions of the list can be entered, and the ALC can be set on or off.
Important note: All sweeps must be started with the RF on/off button on (green light illuminated), otherwise no signal will be output during the sweep. Modulation Submenu After accessing the Modulation menu, use the ↓ ↑ arrow keys to select the desired submenu entry. Press the menu key to enter the selected submenu. Choose EXIT to return to the main menu. Pulse Modulation Amplitude Modulation Frequency Modulation Figure 21 Modulation submenu.
If internal modulation (INT) is selected, go to line 2 to change pulse width to desired value, and go to line 3 to change pulse modulation frequency. Enable modulation by pressing the RF On/Off button. Exit the submenu by pressing the menu key. Figure 22 Pulse Modulation submenu Amplitude Mod Submenu In the Amplitude Mod submenu the internal amplitude modulation can be accessed. Use the rotary knob to set the modulation rate between 1 Hz and 10 kHz. Enable modulation by pressing the RF On/Off button.
Figure 24 Frequency Modulation submenu Reference Submenu After accessing the Reference menu, use the ↓ ↑ arrow keys to move the cursor between the ON/OFF entry and the reference frequency entry. Use the rotary knob to toggle between ON and OFF, or to change reference frequency to the desired value, respectively. The display shows up as follows Reference ON/OFF Ref. Frequency Figure 25 Reference submenu. Confirm the setting by exiting the menu (pressing the menu key).
Continues Figure 26 Trigger submenu. Trigger Slope Retrigger (on/off/immediate) Trigger delay Select SOURce: IMMediate, EXTernal, BUS (SCPI command), KEY (RF on/off button) Select SLOPe: POSitive, NEGative Select CONTinuous: ON, OFF (ON means that the trigger is re-armed after each trigger occurance) Select RETRigger: OFF, ON, IMMediate (OFF means that any trigger event during execution of list is ignored) Enter DELAY: trigger delay in microseconds. Press the RF On/Off button to arm the trigger.
Figure 27 Displays shown in the LF OUTPUT submenu LAN Configuration Submenu After accessing the LAN Configuration menu, use the ↓ ↑ arrow keys to move cursor between IP address and submask address. Use the rotary knob to change selected digit. The display shows up as follows. Figure 28 LAN configuration submenu (display 1). Once you have done changes as required, press the menu key to continue the configuration to the second display.
Figure 29 LAN configuration submenu (display 2). Use the rotary knob either enable (x) or disable ( ) DHCP. Finally, press the RF key to save the configuration (don’t if you want to discard your changes). Press the menu key to exit the LAN submenu. Display Settings Submenu After accessing the Display Configuration menu, use the rotary knob to change the display contrast as required. Press the menu key to save and exit the Display Settings submenu. Figure 30 Display settings submenu. 6.
3) Telephone Network (TELNET): TELNET is used for interactive, one command at a time instrument control For LAN operation, the signal generator must be connected to the LAN, and an IP address must be assigned to the signal generator either manually or by using DHCP client service. Your system administrator can tell you which method to use. (Most current LAN networks use DHCP.
client. Once the computer is configured for a LAN client, you can use the VXI- 11 protocol and the VISA library to send SCPI commands to the signal generator over the LAN interface. Example programs are available on request. VISA is an IO library used to develop IO applications and instrument drivers that comply with industry standards. It is recommended that the VISA library be used for programming the signal generator.
7. Battery Operation (B3 Option) If your 835-3 is equipped with an internal rechargeable battery (B3 option) it can be operated without the external power supply. Fully charged, the battery is good for up to three hours of operation at full RF output power. The same external power adaptor (6 V @ 3 A) is used for the battery version as for the standard 835-3 for both normal operation and charging of the battery.
During operation, the approximate remaining battery capacity is indicated by the battery symbol visible in the upper right corner of the display. Figure 31 CW Display with Battery Symbol Hints for maximizing the battery running time: 1. Fully charge the unit before use. For this, toggle the power switch to ON and then OFF again while the 835-3 is powered by the external power adaptor. This will initiate a new charge cycle. 2. Charging time of a completely discharged battery can be up to 6 hours.
3. Fully charge the 835-3 after running it from the battery for an extended period of time. 4. If an 835-3 with internal battery will be stored for a long period of time, fully charge it before storage, then remove the power adaptor and make sure that the power switch is in the OFF position. After storage, first charge the unit for 4-6 hours. To replace the battery at the end of its lifetime, please contact BNC or one of its distributors.
Safety FCC notice This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
• Full description of the failure condition. Note: Model and serial number can be found on the rear of the 835-3 unit, next to the power plug. You will get a Return Mechandise Authorization (RMA) number from BNC, please put it on the outside of the package. Instruments that are eligible for in-warranty repair will be returned prepaid to the customer. For all other situations the customer is responsible for all shipping charges.
