|
Post by turboxray on Dec 9, 2019 15:38:17 GMT
I just picked up a DS7102v 100mhz two channel scope (entry level, Owon). Now looking for an upper entry level logic analyzer. Any recommendations?
|
|
|
Post by dshadoff on Dec 10, 2019 1:45:11 GMT
Well, if you call a scope like that "entry level", I might not be qualified to give advice... I got a couple of truly entry-level ones: - ADALM 2000 - Analog Discovery 2 It really depends on your expectations and usage patterns whether you feel that these are good or not. One thing that both of these don't tell you is the size of their capture buffers - I easily overran the ADALM's by trying to capture the MB128's return data at what i expected to be 3 samples per cycle. The buffer is only 8000 samples, and it didn't give any indication that the buffer was overrun - so that made it even worse... just simply lost data. But I'm sure that if I had programmed a 'trigger' and captured only a small amount, it would have been fine. The Analog Discovery seems like a better device (as it should be, since it's more expensive), but I didn't take it to its limits because I had sort of given up on capturing in that way by that point. Again, speaking of expectations, it seems that a lot of FPGA development is being done these days, and people include some standard logic to add a logic analyzer which can tap pretty much any internal signal - very helpful, and also free ! But mostly only useful for internal signals. Do you have any specific projects that you would want to use a logic analyzer with ? If you are just looking for something which you can use at home on hobby projects, you might want to wait for the next version of the Bus Pirate (though that could be several months to a year from now...): dangerousprototypes.com/forum/index.php?topic=10316.0...And along the same lines, I would suggest getting a SPI driver - it's very specific-use, but it's quite handy for a lot of interfacing these days: www.adafruit.com/product/4268
|
|
|
Post by turboxray on Dec 10, 2019 3:17:02 GMT
The scope is just a $300 entry level. It's fairly nice though. I'm looking at this: www.linkinstruments.com/mso28.htm for a logic analyzer. That or the MSO-19. But a few extra dollars, the MSO-28 has two oscilloscope channels (a mixed mode scope is the dream!).
|
|
|
Post by dshadoff on Dec 10, 2019 3:25:20 GMT
2 megasample buffer sounds nice ! (This particular specification is always buried and you have to look for it.)
Actually, the overall package seems pretty good. I like the fact that the oscilloscope samples are displayed together with the digital samples too.
|
|
TailChao
Gun-headed
I Must Eat Muffin Gear.
Posts: 68
Fave PCE Game Overall: Bonk's Adventure
|
Post by TailChao on Dec 10, 2019 16:11:52 GMT
As David said, what you should purchase depends highly upon what you're use case is.
Any of Saleae's products were a staple in any shops I've worked in professionally - in particular the Logic Pro 16. Unless you're doing crazy high speed and bandwidth stuff it'll be enough. For I2C, SPI, or any others I've had good experiences with Total Phase's devices like the Beagle or Aardvark.
For reverse engineering at home I use an HP 1650A, it's about a thousand years old and weighs just as much. But it was very cheap and does what I need.
|
|
|
Post by dshadoff on Dec 27, 2019 22:43:10 GMT
The more I look into this, the more I see two categories:
1) good attempts at low-cost systems, which quickly become unavailable (or at least unobtainable in North America), or lose support 2) Saleae products
I've got a couple of those "looks good on paper" ones, but the specs I realized I really wanted are only available on Saleae (i.e. deep capture buffer together with USB 3.0 transfer). They're more money than I want to spend, but it seems they are the one to get.
...Not sure if the software would make me happy or miserable though.
|
|
|
Post by dshadoff on Jun 6, 2020 18:14:36 GMT
Following up because of a post in a different thread...
I got the Saleae Pro 16, but I honestly haven't had a chance to use it yet.
The key to the Saleae's usefulness is the software and the fact that it can transmit data at USB line speed...but I just recently heard that there are various Chinese logic capture boards which can also transfer at those speeds, and can also trick the Saleae software (which you can download for free) into inter-operating.
I'm looking to get a better oscilloscope too... and I understand from a Hackaday post today that the Rigol DS1054Z is a fair entry-level scope which has additional features which can be "unlocked"...
|
|