Search Results for 'api'

[Andrew]

GSingh,

You could use PyVISA to control the VSG60 software using SCPI commands. You can read about our SCPI commands and see some examples in the SDK.

If you are using the API directly to control the instrument, you will need to generate your own complex I/Q waveform to output to the device. For a multi-tone signal, you could sum your complex sines/tones into an I/Q buffer to transmit. Just ensure that you scale the final result so that the peak magnitude of any given sample doesn’t exceed 1.0, and ideally, select a final buffer size that allows all of your complex sines to phase wrap nicely.

Unfortunately we don’t have any Python sample code for doing this. There are probably RF/DSP libraries that make it easy to generate complex sine waves with a given frequency.

Let us know if you have follow up questions.

Andrew

Hello,

which Real-Time processing algorithm do you use in your API? there is a block diagram of RF part in the BB60c user manual but there is no block diagram or document about signal processing in the API.

Do you have any signal processing block diagram like the way you have for RF chain in the user manual? I appreciate if you could give me a reference to understand how the API works for signal processing parts. To be honest, I’m using BB60c API in MATLAB and I need to know what is happening in API for Real-Time and Sweep mode.

best regards.

[Andrew]

lsullivan,

What is the nature of your question? Do you have a specific application in mind, or is there an issue you are having with the I/Q data?

Our API accounts for all filter delays and scaling factors. The size of the filter will primarily only affect the filter transition bandwidth.

Andrew

[lsullivan]

Dear signal hound,
which filtering algorithm you use in your API in zero-span mode? (design method, response type, filter order, frequency specification, magnitude specification, …)
best regards.

• This topic was modified 4 years, 8 months ago by lsullivan.

dear signal hound,
In the API of BB60c, which kind of filter is used? IIR or FIR, please name the kind of filter you using.
best regards.

Dear signal hound,
which FFT algorithm you use in your API (BB60)?
best regards.

[Andrew]

Version 3.0.5 was released in 2015, and unfortunately we don’t maintain releases from that far back. Additionally, if you have newer BB60C hardware, version 3.0.5 may not support it. The API interface has not changed much since then. If you have the header file from the old project built against 3.0.5, compare it to the newer version found in the SDK.

Regards

dear signal hound,
I need the API version 3.0.5 to run my old MATLAB code.
how can I find that?
best regards.

[Andrew]

You will likely be able to make an RF connection to the antenna but none of our software supports it. You will need to use the provided software or API that is available on the product page to control the antenna.

Please note, we have not evaluated this antenna and cannot provide guidance in building a direction finding system using it.

Hi there!

Can we connect directly BB60C & IsoLOG 3D DF antenna aaronia without any API interface.
What is the uses of the BB60C in there.
Please advise me.

[Justin Crooks]

Michael,
I suppose if you had a 2-channel oscilloscope, and used the API, you could stream data out of both with embedded triggers, use the scope (programmatically using SCPI) to calculate the time delta, and then add or skip the appropriate number of samples on one channel. You’d want an external 10 MHz reference to tie them together as well.

It’d be a bit of a project… a 2-channel VSG or SDR would be a more straightforward answer.

[Andrew]

Michael,

There is not a direct one-to-one analogue to zero-span in the API. Zero-span is implemented in Spike with the I/Q streaming capabilities in the API. The I/Q data is then converted to all the plots (AM/FM/spectrum/waterfall/etc). There are examples of capturing I/Q data in the SDK. Conversion routines from I/Q to AM or spectrum are available online or made easy in environments like MATLAB.

Let us know if you have follow up questions.

Andrew

How do I setup the BB60 in zero-span mode through the API?
Do I set the span to “0” in bbConfigureCenterSpan?

Thanks
Michael

[Justin Crooks]

Mcline,
If you look in vsg_example_complex_freq_hopping, you’ll see vsgSubmitIQ(). You could output a trigger pulse by adding vsgSubmitTrigger(). The API sends them to the VSG in the order received. So if you Submit some I/Q data, then submit trigger and then more I/Q data, the trigger’s rising edge will match the first sample of second chunk of I/Q data.

[mcline]

Thanks Andrew. I checked the SDK(06_21_21):
\signal_hound_sdk\device_apis\vsg60_series\win\examples\cpp, and only found reference to basic_generation, complex_freq_hopping, and open_device. I did not find any examples for triggering.

[Andrew]

This is an area we will be improving soon. The next version of the VSG60 software will improve the usability of the external within the main application.

Right now though, there are 2 ways to take advantage of the external trigger.

1) Use the API. The API manual documents the trigger functionality and we provide an example of using the trigger in C++. This information can be found in the SDK download.
2) In the main application, certain modes, such as pulse, ramp sweep, all digital modulations, and ARB output will output an external trigger. When any of these modes are configured with “Single” triggering enabled, each press of the trigger button will output the RF waveform synchronized with an external trigger event.

In the next release of the VSG60 software, the external trigger will also work when those output modes are configured in “Continuous” trigger mode, outputting a trigger on every loop of the configured RF waveform.

If you have follow up questions, let us know.

Andrew

[Andrew]

The VSG60 does have SCPI support. It is through the VSG60 application. You would launch the app on the remote PC, then you would be able to use SCPI to control the app (socket interface, default port 5024). The app does have a generic ARB mode, it will load several types of custom I/Q waveform files such as binary, CSV, wav, and some others. The ARB mode can be fully controlled via SCPI, including loading files. With this approach, your waveforms would have to be stored in a file.

The API will only communicate with a locally connected device. To use this in the same fashion, you would have to build some sort of local application that controls the unit and awaits commands from your remote script. This might ultimately provide more flexibility at the cost of more upfront work.

You can find the VSG60 SCPI manual in our SDK, linked below.
https://signalhound.com/software/signal-hound-software-development-kit-sdk/

If you have additional questions let me know.

Andrew

[RSmith]

Hello,

Bit of background:
we are looking to replace our current automated test gear with signal hound equipment. These test systems are accessed over network and previously I have used the SCPI implementation with python to automate measurements remotely which has worked really well.

The question:
I need the VSG60A to stream IQ data for a custom waveform and the only way I can see so far of doing this is through the API. However I cant find if the API can connect remotely to the VSG60A pc over the network. Can the API do this?

Otherwise I will have to store code on each test system pc just to inject the IQ data. If I do this can I use the SCPI commands and the API at the same time? or will I need to rewrite the code to use the API only?

any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

• This topic was modified 5 years ago by RSmith.

[jjoonathan]

Disabling IF filter: If the only tradeoffs were gnarly rolloff and uncalibrated amplitude, sure, but antialiasing is a considerable foot-gun, especially for swept signals like mine. I would probably not opt to disable IF filters for my application. After all, I was able to obtain a stable trigger with the filter in place, it was just in an unexpected location. It might be useful for other purposes… but it’s definitely a foot-gun and not motivated by this particular application so I wouldn’t mind if you kept the option restricted to the API layer.

As for independently controlling FMT FFT size, I think that’s worth the effort to expose. In a perfect world, it would do its own FFTs for the purposes of the preview, but since FMT configuration already happens in a separate dialog, you could probably get away with hijacking the RBW setting while the dialog was open if that’s significantly easier. In any case, a slider akin to a multimeter “resolution / speed” tradeoff slider (but with frequency resolution / time resolution) would be an elegant way to expose this setting and intuitively communicate both the “50% overlap” architecture from the manual and the 512-16384/power-of-2 nuance that you’ve mentioned in this thread. Of course, once that tradeoff is communicated you’ll have people like me asking for time resolutions finer than 512/2 but every step forward is worthwhile even if they can’t all be made at once.

Cheers,
J

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[jjoonathan]

Thanks for the detailed answer! 512/2 sample trigger resolution is definitely better for this application than 1638/2 sample trigger resolution. I still want to toss in a vote for additional trigger capabilities that might drive that down towards 1 sample 🙂

You’re right that I’m inevitably going to need the API, but for one-off debugging and quick checks it’s nice to stay in the GUI.

Is there a way to control the FMT resolution independently of the spectrogram in Spike since it also uses Zero-Span>FFT Settings>RBW?