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What is SCPI?
SCPI (Standard Commands for
P
rogrammable Instruments) is a standard
-
ized set of commands used to remotely
control programmable test and measure
-
ment instruments. The CNT-8X firmware
contains the SCPI. It defines the syntax
and semantics that the controller must use
to communicate with the instrument.
This chapter is an overview of SCPI and
shows how SCPI is used in Fluke Fre
-
quency Counters and Timer/Counters.
SCPI is based on IEEE-488.2 to which it
owes much of its structure and syntax.
SCPI can, however, be used with any of
the standard interfaces, such as GPIB
(=IEC625/IEEE-488), VXI and RS-232.
Reason for SCPI
For each instrument function, SCPI de-
fines a specific command set. The advan-
tage of SCPI is that programming an
instrument is only function dependent
and no longer instrument dependent. Sev-
eral different types of instruments, for ex
-
ample an oscilloscope, a counter and a
multimeter, can carry out the same func
-
tion, such as frequency measurement. If
these instruments are SCPI compatible,
you can use the same commands to mea
-
sure the frequency on all three instru
-
ments, although there may be differences
in accuracy, resolution, speed, etc.
Compatibility
SCPI provides two types of compatibil
-
ity: Vertical and horizontal.
3-2 What is SCPI?
Introduction to SCPI
AC
AC
:INPut:COUPling AC
Figure 3-1 Vertical
This means that all instruments of the
same type have i´dentical controls. For
eample, oscilloscopes will have the
same controls for timebase, triggers and
voltage settings
10E3
10.1234567890E3
10.1E3
:MEASure:FREQuency?
Figure 3-2 Hoizontal
This means that instruments of different
types that performs the same functions
have the same commands. For exam
-
ple, a DMM, an oscilloscope, and a
counter can all measure frequency with
the same commands