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  • Q
    Direct waveform transfer from a DS1000Z scope to a DG4000 generator
    A
    Direct Waveform Transfer from Scope to Generator 

    The advent of digital storage oscilloscopes and arbitrary waveform generators has significantly improved troubleshooting electrical designs and systems.  

    A troublesome signal can be captured by the digital oscilloscope and then replayed an arbitrary waveform generator. This can allow you to create and reuse “real world” signals in a repeatable way. 

    The brief idea is as follows: 

    1.    Use a digital scope to capture a waveform of interest  
    2.    Transfer the waveform file to an arbitrary waveform generator 
    3.    Use the arbitrary waveform generator to source the captured waveform  
     

    This technique allows you to then use the arbitrary waveform generator to adjust the output waveform parameters like amplitude or frequency, and deliver the new waveform to the device-under-test (DUT).  
    Traditionally, the waveform data would be saved as a CSV formatted file, saved to a USB memory stick, formatted and edited to fit the arbitrary waveform generator file requirements, and then transferred to the arbitrary waveform generator for direct use on the DUT.  

    The Rigol DS1000Z series of oscilloscopes and the DG4000 series of Arbitrary Waveform Generators can perform this task even more quickly using a simple direct connection using a USB cable. With a few simple steps, you can transfer the waveform directly to the DG4000.. and even perform some edits on the waveform.  

    Requirements: 

    •    Rigol DS1000Z Series Oscilloscope (firmware revision 00.04.03SP1 or later) 
    •    Rigol DG4000 Series Oscilloscope (firmware revision 00.01.12 or later) 
    •       Rigol USB cable with RF chokes (shown below) 
     

    NOTE: You can request the latest firmware revision by contacting your local Rigol office or checking the regional Rigol website (www.rigolna.com for North America) 

    Setup: 

    1.    Power on both instruments 
     
    2.    Insert the large flat end of the USB cable into the front panel USB input of the arbitrary waveform generator and insert the other end of the cable into the rear panel USB input (labelled USB Device) of the oscilloscope as shown below:  

       
    Figure 1: USB connection to DG4000 series generator 
      

    Figure 2: USB connection to DS1000Z series scope 
     
    3.    Configure the oscilloscope to capture the signal of interest  
     
    NOTE: You can use the RUN/STOP button or SINGLE trigger mode to isolate a single waveform and prevent additional waveforms from triggering the scope.  
     
    4.    Press the ARB button on the DG4000 to activate the arbitrary waveform function 
     
    5.    Press the Down Arrow to access page 2 of the ARB menu 
      
          
    6.    Press SELECT WFORM 
     
      
    7.    Press STORED WFORMS 
     
     
    8.    The DS1000Z should appear as an option under DISK 
          
    9.    Set BROWSER to DIR and navigate to the DS1000Z using the scroll wheel. The active channels on the scope should appear as ON in the File Name 
     
     
    10.    Set BROWSER to FILE and navigate to the scope channel you want to copy 
     
          
    11.    Press READ to transfer the waveform from the scope to the generator 
     
     
    12.    The display of the generator should now show the captured waveform. You can use the arbitrary waveform settings to adjust the parameters (FREQ, AMPL) of the waveform. 
     
          
    13.    You can use the oscilloscope to confirm that the output is correct for your application. Connect the output of the DG4000 to the input of the scope and enable the output channel. 
     
     Figure 3: The DG4000 waveform (yellow) vs. the original waveform (white) 
      
    Save the waveform to nonvolatile memory: 
     
    The active arbitrary waveform being used by the DG4000 is actually located in the volatile buffer, and is only temporarily stored in the instrument. You can transfer the arbitrary waveform to one of the nonvolatile locations in the DG4000 internal memory for use later or you can save it to an external USB drive for later use. 
     
    1.    Press STORE > Set FILE TYPE to ARB FILE 
     
     
    2.    Select an ARB location and press SAVE 
     
     
    3.    Name the file and save by using the scroll wheel to highlight the character of interest and then press SELECT to enter the character 
     
      
    4.    When you are finished naming the file, press SAVE to store the file to nonvolatile memory 


    73
  • Q
    Why does my DS2000 turn on automatically?
    A
    DS2000 Hardware Version 1.0, Firmware 00.03.01 SP1 - Power status always open..

    instrument will boot up once the mains power has returned with no user input required. This is a bug. It shouldn't start up automatically when Power Status is in the Default state.   


    DS2000 Hardware Version 2.0, Firmware 00.03.00 SP1 -

    Power Status works as expected. If set to default, the instrument will not boot until the front panel power button is depressed.          


    9
  • Q
    How to find the hardware revision of the DS1000B scope series?
    A

    To find the expanded Hardware Revision of the DS1000B series, follow these easy steps:

    1. Press Utility
    2. Press the Down Arrow to reach Menu 3/3
    3. Press System Info
    4. Press CH1 twice > CH2 twice > MATH once
    5. You should now see the information       

    8
  • Q
    DS1000B LabVIEW 2011 Simple Data Transfer
    A

    This VI allows you to select the channel for data transfer and save off data as a CSV file format. Written in LabVIEW 2011. 

    Download the VI for LabVIEW in a zip package here.

    7
  • Q
    How do I save an inverted image of the display on a DS1000Z scope (to save on ink)?
    A
             The DS1000Z series of oscilloscopes feature a Quick Print key that enables single-touch storage of the displayed image to a USB memory stick. 
      

    If you plan on printing the image, the normal black background may consume too much ink. 
    In this FAQ, we are going to show you how to configure the scope to save an inverted black-and-white image.  

    1.    Insert a USB memory stick into the front USB slot on the instrument.  The drive should be formatted as FAT32.  
     
    2.    Press UTILITY (Page 1/3) > DOWN ARROW (Page 2/3) > and select PRINT SET 
     
     
    3.    Set PALETTE to Gray Scale 



    4.    Press the Down Arrow (Page 2/2) > Set INVERT to ON 
     
     
         


    7
  • Q
    DS2000 Trial Options Description
    A

    The DS2000 Oscilloscope comes with 2000+ minutes of trial options.

    This allows customers that are new to the product to try the features and see if they are helpful for their test needs.

    Here is a list of the trial options:

    Trigger options (Part Number AT-DS2):
    Runt
    Nth Edge
    HDTV
    Delay
    Timeout
    Dur
    USB

    Decode (Part Number SD-DS2):
    RS232
    SPI
    I2C

    Memory Depth (Part Number MEM-DS2):

    56M/28M points

    To check the remaining time available Press Utility > Down Arrow > Options > Installed

    For pricing, go to: http://www.rigolna.com/products/digital-oscilloscopes/ds2000/

    Select the ACCESSORIES tab.       

    6
  • Q
    How do I check the trigger rate of a DS6 or DS4 series of oscilloscope?
    A
    Trigger rate verification

     The following steps will allow you to set up the DG4 and DG6000 series of Oscilloscopes to check the trigger rate. 
    1.    Configure the scope to capture the signal of interest.
    2.    Connect a BNC terminated 50 ohm coaxial cable from the TrigOut/Calibration connector on the back of the scope to an unused channel on the front of the scope.


     
     
    3.    Enable the counter feature on the channel selected in step 2 •    Press Measure > Counter > Select channel 
     
    NOTE: Counter is shown in upper right side of screen. Color indicates the      counter channel shown. Highlighted in light blue above.

    4.    Configure the Auxiliary Output on the back of the unit (TrigOut/Calibration) to be a trigger output
        •    Press Utility > Down Arrow > Select AuxOutput > TrigOut
         

    6
  • Q
    LabVIEW 2011 General Example VI for DS Oscillscopes
    A
    DS4000/DS6000 LabVIEW Demo VI Instructions


    Download the files for this example here.

     We created DS4_DS6000_Demo.VI to allow users  to remotely program Rigol DS4000 and DS6000 Oscilloscopes. It is built using LabVIEW 2011 and utilizes National Instruments VISA for communication over USB.
    The program allows users to configure the Rigol scope and collect data. User's ca select a VISA resource, channel, timebase, and vertical scale. This information is then downloaded to the scope and the data can be retrieved, graphed, and stored.
    Steps:
    1.    Connect power cord to instrument
    2.    Connect USB cord to instrument and PC. The PC should recognize the DMM and notify you that a new Test and Measurement Device (IVI) has been connected
    3.    Connect the scope to the circuit or device of interest 
    4.    Run the VI by pressing the LabVIEW Run arrow in the upper menu bar. 
    5.    Select the instrument of interest from the VISA Resource Name Drop down
     
    6.    Select the channel of interest, timebase, and vertical scale appropriate for your signal:
     
    7.    Download the configuration to the instrument. Alternately, you can use the AUTOSET to automatically configure the scope for the incoming signal of interest. 
    8.    When you are ready to collect data, press Push To Run. 
     
    This will continually collect data from the scope until it is pressed again. 
    9.    Once you have captured the data of interest, press Push To Pause and then Export Data to save the data to a TXT file on the clipboard. 
     
    If you have Excel, the program will also save a copy of the data to Excel.        


    5
  • Q
    Why does my DS1000E seem to miss the first trigger points on slow time scales?
    A

    Why does my DS1000E seem to miss the first trigger points on slow time scales?

    When the horizontal time base is set to 50ms or slower ,the scope will go into the slow scan mode. In this mode, the scope acquires sufficient data for the left side of the trigger point, then wait for trigger, when trigger occurs, it continues to draw the rest of the wave from the trigger point to the end of the right side. So when we measure low frequency signals, we usually choose slow scan mode to check the whole signal.

    In slow scan mode there will be less delay between the trigger and the display if the trigger is all the way to the right. Then all of your data will be pre-trigger.       

    5
  • Q
    How do I format the data returned from a DS1000E/D series scope?
    A
    DS1000E/D Waveform Data Formatting Guide


     The DS1052E/D series of Oscillscopes are capable of returning a number of different sizes of data sets.
    • Displayed data is 600 points
    • In Stop mode, Normal Acquisition you can return 8k, 16k, 512k, or 1M points depending on how the scope is configured.

    In this document, we are going to describe how to format the returned data for each case.

    The returned data is formatted as unsigned decimal bytes. In order to interpret the data, we put together the following guide to make it easy to covert the unsigned bytes to ASCII characters. After the conversion, you can then view and manipulate the data in the more traditional format of Volts vs. Time format.

    Command Strings are enclosed in quotes “” and comments are denoted by '/'.

    For 600 points: While the scope is in run mode, which is indicated by a green LED lighting the Stop/Run button, the scope will only return 610 data points that represent the displayed data on the scope LCD.

    NOTE: The first iteration of a data query, or request, performed in stop mode, indicated by a red Run/Stop button will also return 610 data points. 

    Step 1: Retrieve scope settings Some setup information is used in the data conversion later. Therefore, we must query the scope to get the proper parameters.
    • “:TIM:SCAL?” /Return current time/division setting = <Time_Div>
    • “:CHAN1:SCAL?” /Return Channel 1 scale = <Volts_Div>
                                   /Alternately, you can replace CHAN1 with CHAN2, if that is the channel of interest.

    • “:CHAN1:OFFS?” /Return Channel vertical offset = <Vert_Offset>
                                  /Alternately, you can replace CHAN1 with CHAN2, if /that is the channel of interest.

    • “:TIM:OFFS?” /Return current trigger offset = <Time_Offset>

    Step 2: Retrieve data and convert

    • “:WAV:DATA? CHAN1” /Return data. You will need to read the data /string into your program.
    • Convert the string to a byte array
    • Remove the first 10 data points from the raw data. These contain unused header information. There should be 600 points remaining.

    NOTE: When read as unsigned decimals, each byte should have a value of between 15 and 240. The top of the LCD display of the scope represents byte value 25 and the bottom is 225. 

    Step 3: Convert Amplitude (Volts) : For each point in the byte array, we will need to perform a mathematical manipulation. To do so, you will need the following variables:
    • <Volts_Div>  : Returned time/div value from scope
    • <Raw_Byte>: Raw byte from array
    • <Vert_Offset>  : Returned Vertical offset value from scope

    For each point, to get the amplitude (A) of the waveform in volts (V):

    A(V) = [(240 -<Raw_Byte> ) * (<Volts_Div> / 25) - [(<Vert_Offset> + <Volts_Div> * 4.6)]] 

    Step 4: Convert Time (s) : For each point in the byte array, we will need to perform a mathematical manipulation. To do so, you will need the following variables:
    • <Time_Offset>: Returned Time offset value from scope
    • <Time_Div>:: Returned time/div value from scope
    • <PT_Num>: The index of the byte array value of interest. There should be 600 points after removing the 10 point header.

    To get time in seconds, for each point:

    T(s) = (<PT_Num> - 1) * ( <Time_Div> / 50) - [(<Time_Div> * 6) - <Time_Offset> ]

    Finally, you can then store or graph the converted data.


    For data sets >600 points:

    When the scope is in stop mode, which is indicated by a red LED lighting the Stop/Run button, the scope will return 610 data points the first query. Subsequent queries will return data sets of 8k, 16k, 512k, or 1M points depending on the configuration.

    NOTE: The first iteration of a data query, or request, performed in stop mode, indicated by a red Run/Stop button, will also return 610 data points. You can simply write these values to an unused storage location or delete them. 

    Step 1: Retrieve scope settings
    Some setup information is used in the data conversion later. Therefore, we must query the scope to get the proper parameters.

    • “:CHAN1:SCAL?” /Return Channel 1 scale = <Volts_Div>
                     /Alternately, you can replace CHAN1 with CHAN2, if /that is the channel of interest.

    • “:CHAN1:OFFS?” /Return Channel vertical offset = <Vert_Offset>
                    /Alternately, you can replace CHAN1 with CHAN2, if /that is the channel of interest.

    • “:TIM:OFFS?” /Return current trigger offset = <Time_Offset>

    • “:ACQ:SAMP?” /Return acquisition sample rate = <Samp_Rate>


    Step 2: Retrieve data and convert
    • “:WAV:DATA? CHAN1” /Return data. You will need to read the data /string into your program.

    • Convert the string to a byte array
    • Remove the first 10 data points from the raw data. These contain unused header information.

    NOTE: When read as unsigned decimals, each byte should have a value of between 15 and 240. The top of the LCD display of the scope represents byte value 25 and the bottom is 225.

    Step 3: Convert Amplitude (Volts) :
    For each point in the byte array, we will need to perform a mathematical manipulation. To do so, you will need the following variables:
    • <Volts_Div>  : Returned time/div value from scope 
    • <Raw_Byte>: Raw byte from array 
    • <Vert_Offset>  : Returned Vertical offset value from scope 

    For each point, to get the amplitude (A) of the waveform in volts (V):

    A(V) = [(240 -<Raw_Byte> ) * (<Volts_Div> / 25) - [(<Vert_Offset> + <Volts_Div> * 4.6)]] 


    Step 4: Convert Time (s) :
    For each point in the byte array, we will need to perform a mathematical manipulation. To do so, you will need the following variables:
    •<Time_Offset>  : Returned Time offset value from scope
    •<Samp_Rate>  : Returned sample rate value from scope
    •<Points>  : The total number of data points returned from the data query.

    To get time in seconds, for each point:
    T(s) = <Time_Offset> -[ ( <Points>  - 10) / (1 / (2*<Samp_Rate> )]

    Finally, you can then store or graph the converted data.


    4

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