Read Waveform from Tektronix TDS 1002 Scope Using SCPI Commands

Connect to the Scope

Connect a Tektronix TDS 1002 scope to your computer. On the scope, press the Utility button, then select Options followed by RS232 Setup. Set the following configuration:

Connect to the scope using the serialport function. Specify the port that your scope is connected to on your computer. In this example, the port is "COM1". Set the BaudRate to 9600 to match what you set on the scope.

s = serialport("COM1",9600)

s = 
  Serialport with properties:

                 Port: "COM1"
             BaudRate: 9600
    NumBytesAvailable: 0

  Show all properties, all methods

Configure the Terminator

Set the Terminator property for the serialport object using configureTerminator. The Terminator property matches the EOL string of the scope.

configureTerminator(s,"CR/LF")
terminator = s.Terminator

terminator = 1×1 string
"CR/LF"

Query the scope with the new Terminator value using the SCPI Command "*IDN?" in writeread. If your scope is connected and Terminator is configured properly, then this returns a string that uniquely identifies the scope.

scopeID = writeread(s,"*IDN?")

scopeID = 1×1 string
"TEKTRONIX,TDS 1002,0,CF:91.1CT FV:v2.12 TDS2CM:CMV:v1.04"

Configure the Channel

Configure Channel 1 of the scope using writeline. Write the SCPI commands as ASCII terminated string data to the serialport object. Then, confirm that Channel 1 is set as the source using writeread.

writeline(s,"HEADER OFF")
writeline(s,"DATA:SOURCE CH1")
scopeSource = writeread(s,"DATA:SOURCE?")

scopeSource = 1×1 string
"CH1"

Set the waveform data encoding method to Most Significant Bit (MSB) transferred first, using writeline. Confirm the encoding method using writeread.

writeline(s,"DATA:ENCDG RIBINARY");
scopeEncodingMethod = writeread(s,"DATA:ENCDG?")

scopeEncodingMethod = 1×1 string
"RIB"

Get Waveform Information

Get the waveform transmission and formatting settings.

scopeWaveformPreamble = writeread(s,"WFMpre?")

scopeWaveformPreamble = 1×1 string
"1;8;BIN;RI;MSB;2500;"Ch1, DC coupling, 2.0E0 V/div, 5.0E-4 s/div, 2500 points, Sample mode";Y;2.0E-6;0;-2.5E-3;"s";8.0E-2;0.0E0;0.0E0;"Volts""

Get the number of points in the waveform.

scopeNumPoints = writeread(s,"WFMpre:NR_Pt?")

scopeNumPoints = 1×1 string
"2500"

Read and Plot the Waveform

Get the waveform data from the scope to MATLAB® using the "CURVE?" command and read the waveform back into MATLAB using readbinblock.

writeline(s,"CURVE?")
scopeWaveform = readbinblock(s,"int16");

Plot the waveform.

plot(scopeWaveform)

Clear the Connection

When you are finished working with the scope, clear the serialport object.

clear s