Application Notes & How‑Tos
Every measurement explained from setup to trusted result — step-by-step guides with copy-ready code, the exact readings you should see at each step, and everything needed to reproduce the test on your own bench.
List connected VISA instruments with Python & PyVISA
The two-line health check for any automated test setup: enumerate every USB and LAN instrument your PC can see, and read back their identification strings.
Open-socket LAN control with Python (port 5025)
No drivers, no libraries — control your instrument with nothing but Python's built-in socket module and raw SCPI over TCP port 5025.
VXI-11 (LXI) LAN control with Python — no sockets required
Some instruments have LAN but no raw socket. VXI-11 is the LXI-standard answer — a tiny Python library controls them on Windows, Linux and Raspberry Pi.
Verify an instrument LAN connection with Telnet
The fastest possible sanity check: ping the instrument, open a Telnet session to the SCPI port, and type *IDN? by hand.
Test SCPI socket communications with PuTTY
PuTTY as an interactive SCPI console: configure a Raw connection to port 5025, fix the line-ending settings, and drive your instrument by keyboard.
Verify a remote connection with NI-MAX
Using LabVIEW or NI-VISA? NI Measurement & Automation Explorer is the graphical way to register your instrument and prove the link with a test-panel *IDN? query.
Measuring power-supply control-loop response with Bode Plot II
Phase margin and gain margin without a frequency-response analyzer: the scope's Bode Plot II function, a Siglent generator and an injection transformer measure loop stability directly.
Bode plot of a filter with an oscilloscope and generator
Characterize a 30 MHz low-pass filter automatically: the scope drives the generator over USB, sweeps the band, and draws magnitude and phase in one pass.
Double-pulse testing of SiC, GaN, MOSFET & IGBT devices
The standard dynamic test for power semiconductors: what double-pulse testing measures, why wide-bandgap devices make it hard, and the Siglent solution stack that automates it.
Measuring AM modulation index with an FFT
One cursor measurement, one formula: read the carrier-to-sideband delta in dB from any FFT and convert it straight into AM modulation depth.
Multi-port S-parameter measurements with a VNA and switch matrix
Expand a 2- or 4-port SNA5000A into a 24-port test system with the SSM5000A switch matrix — configuration, all-N-port ECal calibration and production-line throughput in one guide.
Extract waveform data from Siglent oscilloscope binary files
Binary .bin captures are the fastest way to move deep-memory waveforms off a scope — here is how the format works and how to convert the raw codes back into volts and seconds with Python.
Testing intrinsic-safety barriers with an electronic load & DMM
Verify that IS fusing and protection circuitry stays below its temperature limits: sink the maximum rated power with an SDL1000X in Constant Power mode and log temperatures on up to 12 thermocouples.
Which Siglent RF signal generator do you need? IQ & modulation compared
Analog-only, external-IQ or full vector? The practical differences between the SSG series in one guide — so you buy the modulation capability you actually need.
Load-step testing a power supply with an electronic load
How well does your supply survive a sudden load change? Use the SDL1000X transient mode to slam the current between two levels and read droop and recovery on the scope.
This library is growing — 70+ more notes covering spectrum analysis, VNA measurements, power supplies and EMC are on the way. Missing a topic? Tell us.