Investigate a problem

This entry point helps assign a problem to the correct layer before narrowing it down reproducibly.

1. Establish a safe state

If the RF level is unexpected, amplifier protection is missing, or RF-off cannot be reached, stop the measurement in a controlled manner. Investigate the cause only after switching RF off, and do not disable a protection feature for diagnosis.

2. Classify the symptom

The troubleshooting guide directly covers:

• missing DOT, INI, and DAT files;

• invalid conditions and ambiguous signal paths;

• VISA, GPIB, and Prologix problems;

• measurements that appear to block;

• autosave and resume;

• Qt and Sphinx failures in CI.

3. Check configuration or code

Use configuration validation when the failure occurs before an actual measurement value is acquired. The testing guide helps with failures in algorithms, instrument contracts, virtual workflows, safety, resume, or UI threads.

4. Describe the failure reproducibly

Record versions, operating system, VISA backend, script, conf.py, last log lines, and the affected measurement range. Also state whether the corresponding virtual run succeeds. Do not disclose credentials or confidential instrument addresses.

Exceptions and public methods are listed in the API reference.