AnsweredAssumed Answered

Can I Remotely Obtain Data using SCPI

Question asked by hiddenfire88 on Jul 27, 2009
Latest reply on Aug 5, 2009 by odanzy

Like • Show 0 Likes0
Comment • 7

I've got an N9060A and am interested in controlling it from an external Java application, for the purpose of obtaining measurements and saving them to a data archive. I know how to open a Telnet connection to the SA, and how to use SCPI to obtain measurements that reside on the SA. I do not see though how to get data over to my calling machine through SCPI, and don't see any way to ftp data from the Spectrum Analyzer over to my calling machine.

Will I be able to get data back using SCPI, without having to invest time and money into using Vee? How can I, for example, take a snapshot and obtain some file containg relevant x,y pair values in it onto the hard drive of my calling machine?

No one else has this question

Outcomes

odanzy

Aug 1, 2009 4:13 PM

You should be able to use the MXA's socket port (5025 by default) through Java to send SCPI commands to and receive information from the MXA. There are example processes of the command sequences that you will need to send at the Spectrum Analyzer Programming Website.

Actions

hiddenfire88 Aug 5, 2009 8:10 AM

I'm able to open the Socket connection over port 5025 ... however while I'm able to send commands through it, it seems to be unable to get anything back over the port. This code is hanging for me ... is there any type of machine configuration parameter that would explain it not sending any data out to me?

Socket saSocket = new Socket(<ip address., 5025);
saOut = new PrintWriter(saSocket.getOutputStream());
saOut.println(":SYST:TIME?");
saOut.flush(); // works okay, can send various commands through
saIn = new dataInputStream(saSocket.getInputStream());
byte[] ba = new byte[20000];
saIn.read(ba); // hangs here
.....

Actions

odanzy

Aug 5, 2009 8:16 AM

Make sure that you set the read termination character to '\n'. This is typically what causes reads to not return when using sockets. I tend to use the readline() function from the BufferedReader class for most reads since it will automatically stop when i sees either a '\n' (newline) or '\r' (carriage return).

Actions

hiddenfire88 Aug 5, 2009 10:18 AM

I tried that, and tried using BufferedReader ... still nothing. If I read on port 5023 I can see a "Welcome to <unit name>" message, and can see any lines that I send in to that port get echoed. But on port 5025, nothing, just endless hang.

Actions

hiddenfire88 Aug 5, 2009 10:44 AM

I'm convinced that the machine is not sending anything back on port 5025.

Actions

hiddenfire88 Aug 5, 2009 10:54 AM

Ah, I see my problem. I was not sending a newline character at the end of each command. Hence the program was hanging waiting for input from a command that hadn't actually executed yet. I am now able to send commands through SCPI over port 5025, and get the response data back over port 5025.

Thanks for your help on this.

Actions

odanzy

Aug 5, 2009 2:07 PM

Attached are a couple Java examples that just read the trace data back in both ASCII and binary modes.

Attachments

MXA Java Examples.zip29.8 KB

Actions

7 Replies

odanzy Aug 1, 2009 4:13 PM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
You should be able to use the MXA's socket port (5025 by default) through Java to send SCPI commands to and receive information from the MXA. There are example processes of the command sequences that you will need to send at the Spectrum Analyzer Programming Website.
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions
hiddenfire88 Aug 5, 2009 8:10 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
I'm able to open the Socket connection over port 5025 ... however while I'm able to send commands through it, it seems to be unable to get anything back over the port. This code is hanging for me ... is there any type of machine configuration parameter that would explain it not sending any data out to me?

Socket saSocket = new Socket(<ip address., 5025);
saOut = new PrintWriter(saSocket.getOutputStream());
saOut.println(":SYST:TIME?");
saOut.flush(); // works okay, can send various commands through
saIn = new dataInputStream(saSocket.getInputStream());
byte[] ba = new byte[20000];
saIn.read(ba); // hangs here
.....
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions
odanzy Aug 5, 2009 8:16 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
Make sure that you set the read termination character to '\n'. This is typically what causes reads to not return when using sockets. I tend to use the readline() function from the BufferedReader class for most reads since it will automatically stop when i sees either a '\n' (newline) or '\r' (carriage return).
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions
hiddenfire88 Aug 5, 2009 10:18 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
I tried that, and tried using BufferedReader ... still nothing. If I read on port 5023 I can see a "Welcome to <unit name>" message, and can see any lines that I send in to that port get echoed. But on port 5025, nothing, just endless hang.
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions
hiddenfire88 Aug 5, 2009 10:44 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
I'm convinced that the machine is not sending anything back on port 5025.
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions
hiddenfire88 Aug 5, 2009 10:54 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
Ah, I see my problem. I was not sending a newline character at the end of each command. Hence the program was hanging waiting for input from a command that hadn't actually executed yet. I am now able to send commands through SCPI over port 5025, and get the response data back over port 5025.

Thanks for your help on this.
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions
odanzy Aug 5, 2009 2:07 PM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
Attached are a couple Java examples that just read the trace data back in both ASCII and binary modes.
Attachments
- MXA Java Examples.zip29.8 KB
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions

Can I Remotely Obtain Data using SCPI

Outcomes

Attachments

Related Content

Recommended Content