Specifications

Getting Started
1-24
TDS3000, TDS3000B, and TDS3000C Series Programmer Manual
Tr ansferring Binary Data. When using the RS-232 port to transfer binary data to
the oscilloscope, note the following points:
H Using RTS/CTS (hard) flagging guarantees no data loss.
H All eight bits of binary data contain meaningful information. To make sure
that all eight bits are received or transmitted, configure the RS-232 device
that is connected to the oscilloscope to receive and transmit eight-bit
characters (set the RS-232 word length to eight bits).
Processing Break Signals. When the oscilloscope senses a break signal on the
RS-232 port, it returns DCL followed by the end of line terminator. Internally,
the oscilloscope acts as if it received a GPIB <DCL> command, causing the
oscilloscope to flush input and output buffers and then wait for a new command.
Break signals do not change oscilloscope settings or stored data and do not
interrupt front-panel operation or nonprogrammable functions.
If a break signal is sent in the middle of a character stream, several characters
immediately preceding or following the break may be lost. The controller should
wait until it receives the DCL and the end of line terminator string before
sending more characters.
Reporting RS-232 I/O Errors. Errors are reported when there is a problem with
framing, or input buffer overruns. To report errors, the oscilloscope posts an
event code (refer to Section 3, Status and Events on page 3--1). When an error
occurs, the oscilloscope discards all input and output and waits for a new
command. A count of these errors since last power on is included in RS-232 I/O
Debug status.
Push UTILITY screen button, select I/O, select RS-232, then Debug menu to
enable the debug window to see the RS-232 status, errors data transmitted, and
data received.
Use the following statements to help you interpret the status reported in the error
log:
H If hard flagging is on and CTS is Low, the oscilloscope will not transmit any
data.
H If hard flagging is off, you should ignore the value of CTS since the
oscilloscope ignores it.
The RS232 Errors line of the error log lists the number of framing and overrun
errors since the last power on.
Checking Command Status. If you want to check the status of each command
sent, you can append a *STB? query after every command and read the response
string.