On the front panel of my Rigol DS1052E oscilloscope, on the "TRIGGER" column of controls, the word "Local" is written alongside the bottom button, labelled "FORCE" . What is the significance of this word, please?
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4\$\begingroup\$ On Keysight/Agilent/HP equipment, controlling the instrument by GPIB would lock out the front panel and that button would be used to take back front panel control. \$\endgroup\$– The PhotonJan 5, 2015 at 19:56
1 Answer
I found answer in datasheet for an oscilloscope I use. It says that when the scope is being remotely controlled, the front buttons are disabled. Pressing the force (local) key will reenable the front buttons. The force key forces the scope to capture even if the auto trigger conditions haven't been met, the local is a secondary button effect only for when in remote control.
Edit - To answer below question I have an Agilent 3000 series. The part I found is on page 77 of the following datasheet: http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/D3000-97018.pdf
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\$\begingroup\$ Both The Photon and I Wolfe have explained that the "LOCAL" refers to when the 'scope is controlled by software in a PC, using a serial link. A virtual front panel appears on the PC, and can be used to control the scope just as the real front panel does. In this case the actual controls on the 'scope are inhibited. By pressing the "LOCAL" button the situation is reversed: the actual 'scope controls work, and the virtual ones are inhibited. Further presses toggle this action. This applies to all the 'scopes mentioned: there are strong rumours that they all use Rigol's design and firmware. \$\endgroup\$ Jan 7, 2015 at 16:30