Agilent Technologies 34401A manual Frequency and Period, Measurement Considerations

Chapter 8 Specifications

Frequency and Period Characteristics

Measuring Characteristics

Frequency and Period
Measurement Method:	Reciprocal-counting technique.
	AC-coupled input using the
	ac voltage measurement function.
Voltage Ranges:	100 mV rms full scale to 750 V rms.
	Auto or manual ranging.
Gate Time:	10 ms, 100 ms, or 1 sec

Settling Considerations

Errors will occur when attempting to measure the frequency or period of an input following a dc offset voltage change. The input blocking RC time constant must be allowed to fully settle ( up to 1 sec ) before the most accurate measurements are possible.

Measurement Considerations

All frequency counters are susceptible to error when measuring low-voltage, low-frequency signals. Shielding inputs from external noise pickup is critical for minimizing measurement errors.

Operating Characteristics [ 5 ]

Function	Digits	Reading/s
Frequency,	61⁄2	1
Period	51⁄2	9.8
	41⁄2	80
System Speeds [ 5 ]
Configuration Rates		14/sec
Autorange Time		<0.6 sec
ASCII readings to RS-232		55/sec
ASCII readings to GPIB		80/sec
Max. Internal Trigger Rate		80/sec
Max. External Trigger Rate to Memory		80/sec
Max. External Trigger Rate to GPIB/RS-232		80/sec

[ 1 ] Specifications are for 1-hour warm-up at 61⁄2 digits.

[ 2 ] Relative to calibration standards.

[ 3 ] 20% overrange on all ranges, except 750 Vac range.

[ 4 ] Input > 100 mV.

For 10 mV to 100 mV inputs, multiply % of reading error x10.

[ 5 ] Speeds are for 41⁄2 digits, Delay 0, Display OFF, and Fast AC filter.

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