Agilent DSO-X series scope, segmented memory query.

[psmorris]

Hi All,

I'm using an agilent DSO-X 3000 series oscilloscope for waveform acquisition in an ultrasonic measurement system. To improve the speed of a specific application of our system, I was just having a look at using the segmented memory option for this scope. I can programatically configure the segmented memory to, for example, acquire a sequence of 200 individual segments, but then I want to transfer that whole block of data to the PC for analysis and sorting (in parallel to the system them acquiring the next sequence.

The problem is, so far I have only been able to transfer the data back to the PC 1 segment at a time using the :WAV:DAT? command interleaved with a :ACQ:SEGM:IND "n" to load the next segment onto the display of the scope. Ultimately, rolling through this takes about as long as acquiring and transfering each waveform in sequence without using the segmented memory option at all! 

Has anyone ever done something like this before? Surely there's a sensible way of dumping all the data over to a PC (you'd think the header info would then contain the number of segments and the number of bites per segment)?

Thanks in advance!

Paul

[nyc_(is_out_of_here)]

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psmorris wrote:Surely there's a sensible way of dumping all the data over to a PC (you'd think the header info would then contain the number of segments and the number of bites per segment)?

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What does the Programmer's Manual say about this?

What you think is "sensible" is irrelevant.

[psmorris]

Thanks for your help.

The programming manual does not give a method for doing what I want as described above. However, in my experience that does not mean that it is not possible.

Paul

[nyc_(is_out_of_here)]

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@psmorris wrote:

Thanks for your help.

The programming manual does not give a method for doing what I want as described above. However, in my experience that does not mean that it is not possible.

Paul

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Well, there you go. Your experience will be useful to you then.

[psmorris]

nyc: I'm sure you're smiling smugly to yourself over your extremely clever (although actually remarkably unhelpful) responses to my initial question. My intention for posting here was simply to see whether any other labview users here have used the segmented memory feature of the agilent DSO -X series oscilloscopes (programatically, from within labview or even using other software) and been able to download all of the segments in one hit, or tried to and found that there is no way to do it (officially supported in the menu or work-around). I have tried the usual things - reading the manual (yes, all of it!), trying it out by trial and error but I'm only one person, so who knows whether I've tried all possible methods. Someone else on here may have and may be able to offer some help or advice, that's the point of an online community afterall right?

So, if you have nothing helpful to say, please, go away and we'll see if anyone else does. If not, I have also asked Agilent about it and am waiting for their response to. Perhaps, in the name of being helpful, I'll even post it back here when they get back to me, so that other people in the future may be able to find an answer quickly and easily,

Thanks

Paul

[nyc_(is_out_of_here)]

I found your response smug as well. in my experience that does not mean that it is not possible.

Call it even.

There is an Agilent forum which in addition to contacting the excellent Agilent technical support would have been more appropriate place for your question than this one.

Yours is not even an NI issue.

[psmorris · Accepted solution]

Got a response from Agilent today:

Unfortunately, there is no way to acquire all segments without doing the looping method.  Even if we give them the option to do it, we would have to loop through the segments internally anyways (displaying them one at a time) in order to create one file that has them all.  I am not sure it would be much faster than doing it programmatically like they are doing.  I don’t think we have a better solution for them.

Ho hum, have to get hold of a digitser instead...

Paul