Parallax PropScope User Manual

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PropScope v1.0

December 2009

PropScope

USB Oscilloscope

PropScope Manual

by Hanno Sander

Table of Contents

ForeWord .............................................................................................

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4Part I Welcome

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6Part II Getting Started

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Installation 2.1

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Connect Your PropScope 2.2

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9Views 2.3

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10Hybrid Views 2.4

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11Tips 2.5

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DAC/LSA/Trigger Expansion Card 2.6

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13Part III Using the PropScope

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14Take Analog Measurements 3.1

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Take Digital Measurements 3.2

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Generate Signals 3.3

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17Part IV Reference

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Oscilloscope 4.1

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Logic Analyzer 4.2

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20Analog 4.3

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21DSO LSA 4.4

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22Part V Problem Solving

Part

Welcome

PropScope

1.1 Welcome

PropScope Help

USB Oscilloscope, Function Generator,

Logic Analyzer and Spectrum Analyzer

Built on Propeller technology, this device provides everything you need for electronic projects: a high speed Oscilloscope, Logic Analyzer, Spectrum Analyzer and Function Generator. The hardware connects to your PC for data and power and supports 2 channels of analog input-through professional BNC connectors. A 10 pin connector provides 8 channels of digital IO and a channel of arbitrary waveform output. The full-featured software integrates all the classic features in an easy to use, graphical environment.

Advanced Features include:

 25 Ms/s Maximum Sample Rate with One Channel  20 Vpp Maximum Input with 1x Probe  Combination Oscilloscope/Logic Analyzer/Function Generator  Professional BNC Connections  Variable Trigger Voltage and Variable Horizontal Trigger Positions  Logic Analyzer includes Bit, Edge and Pattern Triggers with sample rate up to 25MSPS  Skinnable Views allow and Plugin Architecture for complete customization  Export to Matlab, CSV, TXT, FTP server or other Programs

Links:

PropScope Home: http://www.parallax.com/go/propscope Developer: http://hannoware.com

Part I: Welcome

Part

Getting Started

PropScope

2.1 Installation

Requirements:

PC host system:

>500MHz CPU with 5MB HDD Space, 500MB RAM, Mouse

Windows 95,98,2k,XP,Vista,Windows7

USB 2.0 Port

Installation:

Download PropScope and follow the installation wizard to install it.

Uninstall:

To uninstall, select the uninstall item from the Windows Start menu.

Part II: Getting Started

2.2 Connect Your PropScope

PropScope 8

2.3 Views

PropScope uses Views to Analyze Signals

Explore the views by clicking on the tabs. Here's a brief summary of the most commonly used views.

Oscilloscope

Graphs the analog measurement of up to 2 channels versus time. You can control the horizontal and vertical scale and position of the graphed traces. The Trigger let's you stabilize the signal. Cursors help you manually measure your signal. Some measurements are continually calculated and displayed. If your DAC/LSA card is plugged in, you can control the Function Generator.

Logic Analyzer

When your DAC/LSA card is plugged in, you can use this view to graph logic measurements taken from 4 channels. You can control the timescale and use triggers to stabilize the graph.

Part II: Getting Started

2.4 Hybrid Views

These hybrid views combine multiple graph elements in one view. Typically, you'll start by setting the configuration (time scale, triggers, resolution) in the pure views and then switch to an advanced view to analyze your data all in one view. All changes you make in a view will carry across to other views.

ANALOG

Graphs data on an oscilloscope, in an xy graph, and in a spectrum analyzer. The Oscilloscope continues to show two channels of analog values graphed versus time. The XY graph shows the relationship of the two signals, by graphing the measurements from both channels as a function of each other. The Spectrum Analyzer is used to analyze the frequencies that make up a signal. It computes the discrete fourier transform to display the magnitude of different frequencies.

DSO LSA

Graphs analog data on an oscilloscope and logic data on a logic analyzer. This let's you understand how analog and digital signals relate.

PropScope 10

2.5 Tips

Select the right timescale

Digital oscilloscopes sample the input signal at configurable rates. (The PropScope samples up to 25 Million times/second) Sampling a signal too slowly will yield artifactsso always look at a new signal with a faster timescale first.

Use a trigger

Click the Trigger tab to configure a trigger to stabile the signal. You can adjust the horizontal slider on top of the graph to show data before or after the trigger fired

Use AC/DC mode

If you¶re not interested in the DC offset of your signal, switch to AC coupling.

Make sure the probe¶s 1X/10X switch is correct

Your PropScope comes with two 1X/10X probes. Switch the probe to 10X and select 10X in the ³Tools/Probe´ dialog of the PropScope software to measure larger signals.

Several Features depend on the DAC/LSA Card

To use the Function Generator, Logic Analyzer, and External Trigger you need to plug the DAC/LSA Card into the PropScope before you start the PropScope software. You can only use one of these features at a time: Channel 2 Input, Logic Analyzer, Function Generator. The PropScope software will manage this for you based on your selections. Ie, when you turn on the Function Generator, Channel 2 will be turned off, and vice versa.

Get Help when you¶re stuck

Choose from the ³Help´ menu in the PropScope software if you need assistance .

Part II: Getting Started

2.6 DAC/LSA/Trigger Expansion Card

DAC/LSA/Trigger Expansion Card Details:

Use the Expansion card to:

output arbitrary waveforms at up to 25Msps in the range of 0..5V or ±1.5..1.5V.- monitor an external trigger that fires between ±10..10V- analyze 4 logic inputs at up to 25Msps with horizontal trigger that let¶s you see- data up to 2 screens before the trigger fired

*The card must be plugged in before you start the PropScope software. While using the card, CH2 will be disabled.

PropScope 12

Part

III

Using the

PropScope

3.1 Take Analog Measurements

Make sure your PropScope Hardware and Software is properly installed. To measure analog signals you'll use the BNC probes that came with the PropScope. Make sure they're properly connected to your scope. Once you start the PropScope software you should see the Oscilloscope view with 2 traces- the blue representing the analog measurements from the Ch1 probe, the red from the Ch2 probe. Now you're ready to start measuring signals.

Here's an image of a 1V peak to peak sine wave cycling at 10kHz. Notice that I turned the timescale knob to 20us/div. At 10kHz, the sine wave has a period of 100us, so it repeats itself every 5 horizontal divisions. I've set the vertical resolution to .2V/div which gives me 5 vertical divisions for the signal. I've dragged the trace left/right and up/down to move it to the current position. I clicked on the left part of the graph to set a trigger to stabilize the signal- notice the yellow marker. Since the PropScope takes samples before and after the trigger, I can look at any part of the signal surrounding the trigger condition using the top scroller. I've manually positioned both horizontal and vertical cursors to let me verify the automatic measurements taken by PropScope.

PropScope 14

3.2 Take Digital Measurements

To take digital measurements you'll need to connect the DAC/LSA card to the PropScope. The 5 pin header furthest away from the PropScope is used to measure digital signals. Connect your signals and start the PropScope software. Click on the "Logic Analyzer" tab and then turn the timescale knob to a timescale that suits your signal. You can choose two different trigger modes to stabilize your signal. Click on "Bit" to trigger on the rising or falling edge of a single bit. In this mode, clicking to the left of a bit's label will select between "rise, fall, none" trigger conditions for that bit. To set up more complex trigger conditions (like in the graph below), switch to "Pattern" mode. Here, you can select between "rise, fall, 1, 0, none" trigger conditions for every bit. The PropScope can measure before and after the trigger condition, so use the top scroller or drag the traces left/right to view the part of the signal you're interested in.

Part III: Using the PropScope

3.3 Generate Signals

It's easy to generate waveforms with the PropScope. Make sure the DAC/LSA card is plugged in. By connecting Ch1 to the DAC output (the BNC terminal closer to the PropScope) you'll be able to measure the signals as you generate them. You can generate standard signals like square, sine, and sawtooth patterns at variable frequencies, offsets and amplitudes. Amplitude is measured in peak to peak volts, so a signal with offset 2.5v and amplitude 5v will go from 0 to 5v. The PropScope is capable of generating signals either in the -1.5 to 1.5v range or 0 to 5v range. If your offset and amplitude values are outside of that range you'll receive a warning. Besides generating standard waveforms, you can also generated any waveform that fits into 600 eight-bit samples. Click on the "edit" button after sliding the slider to the "custom" position to draw your own waveform or load values from files. Shown below is the "Hi Mom" waveform...

PropScope 16

Part

Reference

PropScope

4.1 Oscilloscope

Trigger Tab

The Trigger Tab let's you configure the trigger to stabilize your signal. When the Trigger is "Off", the PropScope will periodically take samples and display them. This typically results in a signal that appears to move left/right- depending on when the sample istaken. Turn the "Trigger Mode" to "Continuous" to continually trigger on an event. In "Step" mode, you can step one trigger event at a time.

The Trigger Event is defined by it's edge, level, and source. PropScope can look for either "rising" or "falling" edges- where the signal is either increasing or decreasing through a set level. In "normal" level mode, you need to adjust the "level" by dragging the yellow trigger up/down in the graph- it's at the very left of the graph. In "auto" mode, the trigger level is set to the average of the signal's measured value. You can choose to trigger on either ch1, ch2 or the external channel which you can set between -10 and 10v using the "Tools-Configure External Trigger" menu.

Cursor Tab

The Cursor Tab let's you manage the pair of horizontal and vertical cursors. You can choose to show vertical, horizontal, or both set of cursors. When they're shown, you can drag to position them. You can also click the "Position" button and then click on the graph to set the cursor's position. The slider on the right let's you "pan" all cursors, or select a region to "zoom" into. The "reset" button will reset the zoom.

Measure Tab

The Measure Tab displays the auto measurements continually taken for both channels. From top to bottom they represent: maximum voltage, minimum voltage, peak to peak voltage, average voltage and in the second column: period between peaks, frequency of cycle between peaks, and rms.

PropScope 18

4.2 Logic Analyzer

Part IV: Reference

4.3 Analog

PropScope 20

4.4 DSO LSA

Part IV: Reference

Part

Problem Solving

PropScope

5.1 Problem Solving

Setup.exe doesn't run:

Make sure you have sufficient priviledges to install a new application. Also insure that your Antivirus software is not blocking new installs.

Setup tells me to install the Microsoft .Net Framework:

This is normal. PropScope was built on .Net Framework. It should detect if you need to install this, and will then help you download and install it from Microsoft.

The PropScope Application starts but doesn't Connect.

Check to make sure your PropScope is connected to the PC with a short, quality USB cable.

If you have other problems try our forums:

http://forums.hannoware.com

Part V: Problem Solving

KEYWORD INDEX

- d -

dso 9

- i -

install 7 issues 22

- l -

lsa 9

- p -

pc application 6 problems 22

- v -

- w -

welcome 4

Parallax PropScope User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual