Appendix A API Command Reference
NetScan User’s Manual A-47
• Stop Scan Pointer: This field represents the location in the current read block that the stop event
occurred. This pointer will always be relative to the trigger point with the trigger point always oriented at
location 0. Since the stop event must always occur after the trigger event this pointer will always be
greater than 0. If the stop event has not yet occurred at the time of the U6 query, this field will have
the value of -0999999.
• Stop Time Stamp: This field represents the Time/Date that the stop event occurred for the current
read block. This field takes on the same format as other time/ date stamp fields described elsewhere in
this manual. If the stop event has not yet occurred at the time of t he U6 query, t hen this field will have
the value 00:00:00.00,00/00/00.
• End Scan Pointer: This field represents the location in the current read block that the end scan
occurred. This pointer will always be relative to the trigger point with the trigger point always oriented at
location 0. Since the end scan must always occur after the trigger event this pointer will always be
greater than 0. If the end scan has not yet occurred at the time of the U6 query, this field will have the
value of -0999999. This field will always be the same as the Stop Scan Pointer unless a post-stop
count is specified (Y command) in which case the End Scan Pointer will be greater than the Stop Event
Pointer by the value of the post-stop count.
• Block Status: This field represents the status of the current read block. If the c urrent read block is not
yet completely written then the value of this field will be 00. If the current read block has been
completely written and has terminated normally the value will be 01. If, however, the current read
block has prematurely terminated (because of user intervention) the value will be 02.
Note: Trigger blocks are not assigned a trigger block number per se. The trigger block numbers referred to
in the U6 examples (in Appendix D are relative to the read and write blocks, respectively.
U7: Returns the input channel to digital output channel assignments in the form A? Achan,output for each
channel that is currently assigned to a digital output.
U8: Reads the current configuration settings for each channel configured in the unit. Thi s command returns the
same information in as the C? command except that it returns it f or al l c hannels which are configured.
U9: Read the Digital Inputs. This command will read the current state of the digital inputs. This function is
performed by reading each of the eight digital inputs, converting each input to a binary (high is 1 and l ow is 0)
and converting that aggregate binary 8-bit number into a decimal number. The decimal num ber is then returned
as the response nnn where it has the following form: 000 ≤ nnn ≤ 255.
U10: Queries the installed memory option. This command will return the amount of memory installed (in
Kbytes). The possible responses are:
00256 - 256 Kbyte option
04096 - 4 Meg option
01024 - 1 Meg option
08192 - 8 Meg option
U11: Queries all channels having programmed valid alarm setpoints. The response is
CCC,A,CCC,A,CCC,A…where: CCC is a channel number in 3-didgit format, and A is the alarm state with 0
indicating “not in alarm state,” and 1 indicating “in an alarm state.” An example of a res ponse in which channel 1
is the only channel in an alarm state is as follows:
001,1,002,0,003,0 …
U12: Reads the last calibration time/date stamp. The response is t he # (num ber sign, to distinguish it from
other time/date stamps) appended with the time/date of the last cali brat i on. For example:
#12:31:01.20,04/24/93
U13: Queries the last scan read.
U14: Queries the card type. Returns card ID for each card slot. Valid card IDs for use with NetScan are:
-1 - Card not installed
16 - TC/Volts card
17 - High volts card
Note: This command can only be issued when all channels are in an unconfigured state. If any c hannel is
configured, the system will issue a command conflict error in response to the U14 comm and. Also
see QC? And C commands.
U15: Queries the product information. The response to this command is t he current product information
including revision levels.
U16: This command queries the measuring mode parameters defined by the Set Meas uri ng Mode (M#), S e t
Burst Mode Frequency (F#), and Set Averaging Weight (W#) commands. The response has t he f ollowing form:
M#modeF#freqW#wt