PS2205 AWG questions

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bmckenney
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PS2205 AWG questions

Post by bmckenney »

I have a few small (I hope) questions about driving the PS2205 AWG. (I'll
be using VB6 if that makes any difference.)

1) In the description of ps2000_set_sig_gen_arbitrary "sweeps" parameter,
there is reference to a "trigger". Is there anything I need to do after
calling this function, or does the AWG just start immediately?

2) Is there a "forever" value for the "sweeps" parameter?

3) What is the state of the SIGNAL OUT connector when the AWG is inactive
(never started or "sweeps" setting exhausted)? Is it floating, or is it
pulled up/down?

bmckenney
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Post by bmckenney »

One more: I tripped over this discussion:

http://www.picotech.com/support/viewtop ... ator+range

Which seems to suggest that (for the PS3205) one cannot simultaneously use
the AWG and an external trigger. Assuming I understood correctly: Does
this apply to the PS2205 as well?

gruntman
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Post by gruntman »

bmckenney,

1) The AWG will start outputting the signal immediately after the function has been called.

2) A null value (0) entered into the sweeps parameter will make the AWG output the signal continuously when the start and stop frequencies are different.

3) The signal out connector after the AWG has been turned off will return to a 0V state.

4) This is correct, the AWG and external trigger function independently of each other the the 220x series signal generator. If you require an AWG and external trigger you will have to look at the PS5000 series.

Regards,

Richard Boyd
Crag Technologies, Inc
http://www.pc-oscilloscopes.com

bmckenney
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Post by bmckenney »

Thanks for the response. I can't give up my DAQ trigger, and it's unlikely
we'll switch to the PS5000.

I'm still a bit unclear on the terminology, though: If the trigger and AWG
logic are independent, how do they interfere with one another?

gruntman
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Post by gruntman »

bmckenney,

The trigger and the AWG logic are independent of each other. However only one or the other may be used at the same time. This is due to them both using the same connector. If you are outputting a signal with the AWG on there is no way to input a signal back into this port to use it as an external trigger. Otherwise the logic that the external triggering is using to detect a signal at for example .5V will see the AWG signal going over .5V and the trigger would be useless. Hence the AWG and external trigger can not be used at the same time. The PS5000 has functions available to trigger while the AWG is active but this is only to trigger when the AWG should stop/start outputting a signal. Unfortunately, as the PS2000 scopes are low cost they do not support this feature. Hope this clears up the confusion.

Regards,

Richard Boyd
Crag Technologies, Inc
http://www.pc-oscilloscopes.com

bmckenney
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Post by bmckenney »

Sorry, I'm feeling a bit dense here (:-)).
This is due to them both using the same connector.
My DAQ signal comes in on channel A. My DAQ trigger comes in on
channel B. My SIGNAL OUT connector is unoccupied. Am I missing
something?

gruntman
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Post by gruntman »

bmckenney,

First off my apologizes, I seemed to have been mistaken/forgotten. The PS220x series AWG and External Trigger do function separately due to the fact that the the PS220x series there is in fact no external trigger. The signal out connector is strictly a signal out. I do apologize on this fact. Therefore you may use channel A & B and trigger off of each of these channels and run/not run the AWG but there will be no external trigger possibilities on this unit. But for £295.00 the PS2205 is still several hundred dollars cheaper compared to even the closest product that have less features.

Regards,

Richard Boyd
Crag Technologies, Inc
http://www.pc-oscilloscopes.com

bmckenney
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Post by bmckenney »

OK, I think I see now: I was doing (what I think of as) "external triggering",
but that's not what "External Trigger"ing (capitalized) really means.

So it sounds as though I can do what I had in mind.

Thanks for your help.

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