Measurement Operations & Settings Signal Conditioning
166 Agilent 8163A/B, 8164A/B & 8166A/B Mainframes, Fifth Edition
TIP: You can use INPut commands without a slot number if the
81560A/1A/6A/7A module is hosted by Slot 1. An INPut com mand is
applied to Slot 1 by default.
Command Semantic
All the INPut and OUTPut commands applicable to the 8156A attenuator
are also supported by the 81560A/1A/6A/7A modular a ttenuator family.
In addition, the 81560A/1A/6A/7A modular attenuat or family supports
new commands to access its new features. To support these new features,
and improve the usability of the instrument, the meaning (the semantic) of
some existing commands has chang ed. This section lists all commands
already available to the 8156A attenuator, notes whether the sem antic of
the command has changed, and where applicable, suggests how to handle
the change.
Table 7C omparison of command semantics beween 8156A attenu ator and 8156xA modular attenuator family.
Command Comment
INPut:ATTenuation No change.
INPut:ATTenuation? No change.
INPut:LCMod e No longer supported. Use the wavelength dependent offset command.
INPut:LCMod e? No longer supported. Use the wavelength dependent offset command.
INPut:OFFSet No change.
INPut:OFFSet ? No change.
INPut:OFFSet :DISPlay No change.
INPut:WAVelength No change.
OUTPut:APMode Th e 8156A uses this command to c alculate a base power level wh ile the instru-
ment switches to another mode. This be havior is replaced by a mechanism that
is easier to use.
To calculate a power level at the device und er test, formerly known as through
power, the 81560A and 81561A attenuator modules use a reference power. This
reference power can be modified either via the user interface or by using the
SCPI command OUTPut:POWer:REFerence. The power is calculated from the at-
tenuation and the reference power using this formula:
P set (dBm) = P ref (dBm) -
α
(dB)
The 81566A and 81567A attenuator modules do not need a base pow er level be-
cause they are able to measure the output power directly.
Despite these new features, the 8 156x modular attenuator family su pports this
command, but only to address compa tibility issues. The command on ly sets an
internal flag, which can be read u sing OUTput:APMode? You are free to choose
between adjusting the o utput power or adju sting the attenuatio n factor.