PC based Logic analyzer

diy logic analyzer

Hi,
Did anyone use 34 CHANNEL LA1034 LOGICPORT LOGIC ANALYZER(from Intronix https://www.pctestinstruments.com/)? Could you describe yours impression?
Did you work with other types of such tools: PC based Logic analyzer and oscilloscope?
Thank you

logic analyzer diy

Hi there,

I've used a number of high-end Logic Analysers (LAs) over the last 20 years.
Mainly Hewlett Packard ones, as I worked at their Labs in Bristol UK.

I bought a Logicport a couple of years ago for home/car project design/debug.

Having checked out the specs on other similar projects I felt the high sample rate
(up to 500Mhz) alongside advanced triggering options suited my needs better
than a slower one with deeper memory. The Logicport also does sample
compression, so only stores transitions and the delay between them, so the
memory depth varies depending on how busy your data is.

Another key thing which many buyers of PC-based test instruments seem to
overlook is the GUI interface. I was intending to design my own USB LA based
on an FPGA, as I design with them at work. The thing that put me off doing a DIY
was the amount of projects with interesting hardware, let down by a poor user
interface.

I have to say that the Logicport has a powerful and easy-to-use GUI, that can also
just be used as a waveform viewer for other people without a Logicport.

I also got my current company to buy one for work, as the ease of use and
portability was ideally suited to a portable demo we had to prepare, and we used
the Logicport as the display to show the internal activity of the fpga, rather than
just saying "and that LED means that its worked!"

Its also down to the performance and ease-of-use that the high-end LA from HP
sits idle at work, while the Logicport gets used in preference as its so much faster
to setup.

Also I found the guy who runs the company (Harrison) to be very helpful when
I had some queries about the availability of a trigger-out signal, or whether the
FPGA could be tweaked to give a trigger-out.

He said that he'd updated the PCB to have a trigger-out connector, and that if
I opened the case I could cut a little slot and solder in a 2-pin right-angled
header. There is a fixed cycle delay on the trigger-out (as the trigger logic is
heavily pipelined to sustain the 500Mhz sample rate) but I just wanted it to
trigger a DSO near the area of interest, it worked very well for me.

I hope this info helps. I'm not affiliated in any way with PcTestInstruments,
I'm just a customer who did a lot of research on what was available, and I'm
still convinced I got the best kit for the price.

Download the software and give it a try in demo mode.

Sorry to go on. :wink:

Tim.

pc based logic analyzer

stanislavb said:

Did you work with other types of such tools: PC based Logic analyzer and oscilloscope?

Click to expand...

I have read very good reviews of Saleae Logic introduced last year https://www.saleae.com
8-bit, but only USD 149 and various protocol analyzers like SPI, serial, I²C, and 1-Wire and more to come in the future, first on the list will be CAN, followed by others.
Runs on Windows but they are woking on Linux and MAC OS X ports at the moment.
All software updates will be rolled out for free to everyone.
Sample depth is only limited by the PC RAM size.
They also offer a SDK to allow interfacing with your own applications.

Inputs
•8 Inputs
•Voltage Range: -0.5 to 5.25V
•Input Low Voltage: -0.5 to 0.8V
•Input High Voltage: 2 to 5.25V
•ESD and over-voltage protection
•Logic threshold not adjustable

Sample Rate & Depth
•24MHz Maximum Sample Rate (?)
•200M+ samples, absolute limit depends on system ram

Are you going to offer any other protocol analyzers in the future?
Yes. First on the list will be CAN, followed by others. Right now we support SPI, serial, I²C, and 1-Wire.

Click to expand...