New Parallax USB Oscilloscope - Customer Input Requested!
Ken Gracey
Posts: 7,403
Dear Customers,
We're engaging in a new USB Oscilloscope design. You are probably already familiar with our current version, which has sold very well over the past couple of years. During this time we've received a lot of input and requests for features, probe style, sampling rate, open-source software, etc.
Today we are starting our next design, and we're interested in your input for features. You can post them by replying to this thread. Keep in mind that our tools should be reasonably priced at less than $200-250. Also know that the Propeller enables massive hardware reduction compared to our current model, and that our business niche is portability, price, capability, education·and support - we don't make benchtop T&M equipment with endless feature lists.
So, given the above, post your desires here and we will consider all of them! What you want in a portable scope matters to Parallax and we value your input regardless of your experience level.
Sincerely,
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc. ·
We're engaging in a new USB Oscilloscope design. You are probably already familiar with our current version, which has sold very well over the past couple of years. During this time we've received a lot of input and requests for features, probe style, sampling rate, open-source software, etc.
Today we are starting our next design, and we're interested in your input for features. You can post them by replying to this thread. Keep in mind that our tools should be reasonably priced at less than $200-250. Also know that the Propeller enables massive hardware reduction compared to our current model, and that our business niche is portability, price, capability, education·and support - we don't make benchtop T&M equipment with endless feature lists.
So, given the above, post your desires here and we will consider all of them! What you want in a portable scope matters to Parallax and we value your input regardless of your experience level.
Sincerely,
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc. ·
Comments
Mike
I like the probes on the current scope, but it would be nice to have the option of using a BNC scope probe too.
Everything else I'm cool with for a <$250 scope.
Bean.
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www.iElectronicDesigns.com
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separated ASCII text file format would be high on my list.
Second would be permitting the user to select the number of sample
points recorded.
This would permit the user to massage the data via external software
such as Matlab or Excel. Then one could perform digital filtering, FFT,
make period measurements, calculate instantaneous power, etc.
While some of this capability exists in the current USB Scope, being able
to massage the data in Matlab or Excel gives much more flexibility in
plot generation and annotation.
The current scope cannot measure AC unless modified by end-user.
Make the box smaller so it is easier to pack together with a notebook.
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www.fd.com.my
www.mercedes.com.my
Features that I would want to see:
I hope this helps.· Thank you for asking for our input!
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Timothy D. Swieter
tdswieter.com
One little spark of imagination is all it takes for an idea to explode
The ability to show the data in "X,Y Mode" would be nice.
Just purchased the current version the other day 'rev B', great product.
Can't wait to see the new one when it comes out.
Good luck guys.
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I don’t know if this is a bit “over the top” but I’m always at a loss for signal generation. Maybe a simple generator of the common wave types at a handful of useful frequencies.
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I also agree with all the recommendations listed above.
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Regards from darkest Africa
John Bond
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My system: 1.6 GHz AMD Turion64 X2, 4GB DDR2, 256MB ATI Radeon Graphics card, 15.4" Widescreen HD Screen
I have a duel boot of Ubuntu Linux and Windows Vista. Vista, because it came with the PC, Ubuntu because I like software that works.
"Failure is not an option -- it comes bundled with Windows."
Use The Best...
Linux for Servers
Mac for Graphics
Palm for Mobility
Windows for Solitaire
Better yet (and cheaper), add an SD card slot.
We've some scopes here that will output a CSV-type file. Basically, you'd have to freeze the current measurement then output it....on our 'fast' scopes this can take a while (depending on how many 'points' you've captured). It would be nice if this worked 'stand-alone' (so we didn't need to commit a PC to it while it was logging).
It would be nice to have some sort of debug port...or programming ability. Not that I'd want to change how the scope works, but it would be nice to have a serial line that I could connect the PINK or another stamp to....or just an older legacy PC. Then I could monitor some things remotely.
Hey, why not connect the thing and have it output it's peaks/mins/maxes to an LCD or serial printer.
One of our scopes comes with software that puts a toolbar in excel. You press the 'capture' button and it'll go out to the scope and grab the data....put it in to columns and also graph it....nice for emailing to tech support. To be honest, StampDaQ could work for this (so long as there's an option to output the captured data).
Just a few thoughts....
OH, and perhaps the ability (memory hog alert) to play solitaire on it..joking! Actually, if it could hold a reference trace to compare to a live reading...that 'might' be useful (of course, if the PC is connected one could just dredge up that trace to compare...)
Cheers
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<FONT>Steve
What's the best thing to do in a lightning storm? "take a one iron out the bag and hold it straight up above your head, even God cant hit a one iron!"
Lee Travino after the second time being hit by lightning!
Chris I.
- more bandwidth (10Mhz or thereabout)
- I really like the idea of the logic analyzer. Having the capability to analyze 8 or more simultaneous channels (similar to Viewport, see ref below) would be wonderful and an amazing differentiator for a cheap USB scope.
And *absolutely* the protocol must be open.
My next PC will not have Windows on it (will either be a Mac or Linux box) and if you don't have an open protocol you won't get my money.
For reference, here is the ViewPort homepage. I've used the first version (Viewport 1.0) and was greatly impressed with it.
mydancebot.com/viewport/features.php
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Jo
I also considered the P-Scope recently (well late last year) and was put off buy lack of sampling rate.
I would guess what most people looking in that type of budget and for debugging Parallax stuff - the types of signals usefull to be able to see would be:
-> Serial / rs232 / rs485 upto 115,200
-> i2c
-> SPI
Features:
-> USB2 and USB powered - def NOT Parallel!
-> at least 2 channels,
-> a trigger (rising / falling)
-> capture to disk or to on-board storage / capture on trigger
-> basic signal generation (easy with the prop!!)
-> External power supply for avoiding gnd loops / for people with old USB....
-> Probes with the diff connector options so you can touch a pin or connect a wire to a junction.
-> Logic analyser function would seem to be easy - just a different window on the PC app to show when the trace is above 2.5v and below 2v or whatever.
It would be good to have examples of what it can capture (i.e. rs232 11,500, i2c 400kps etc) in the product data-sheet. Its difficult for beginners to work this out - all very well saying its 10mhz etc.
Just my 5 pence worth - cheers!
James
Post Edited (Javalin) : 1/30/2008 9:29:27 AM GMT
I'd like one that addressed the new scope specifically.
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
-serial connection that connects to prop plug. This means we could easily use it in embedded apps and still be easy to use with a computer
-make the prop plug optional for those who already have one
-around 10MHz + bandwidth
-document the serial link so that I can use it on my mac
-logic analyser that runs even faster
-built in TV or VGA output would be great
could this be the next propeller dev board?
why don't you just take a propeller proto board and add a nice case and front end for the scope?
Steven
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PLEASE CONSIDER the following:
Do you want a quickly operational black box solution or the knowledge included therein?······
1) Open, well-documented protocol
2) Related to the open protocol, use a serial/USB interface (preferably FTDI-based) between the scope and PC. I assume it would use this anyway, but it's much easier to interface to as a serial device rather than a USB-specific device. Having the option to do RS-232 (or TTL-level) serial without USB is nice, too (without hacking the hardware).
3) Open software or at least a Linux version. I always have plans to write my own version of software (based on protocols), but I don't usually find time to actually do it.
4) Some (8 maybe) digital inputs (logica analyzer) in addition to analog traces.
5) Increased bandwidth doesn't hurt
6) Software that can run on low-resolution displays. I've got two 1600x1200 monitors on my desk, but nothing that large on my workbench. The ability to run on a small monitor (800x600) would be nice. In addition, I'd really like to be able to run it on my Asus EEE PC which has an 800x480 display (nice little laptop running Linux - very portable for "in the field" work).
to get better time resolution of events that were far from the trigger.
phil
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Open interface protocol
Trigger control
TTL logic analysis (8ch would be fine)
BNC analog probe connectors
Larger voltage input capability
A serial interpreter (SPI, I2C, etc)
And of course, MacOS client software
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This is not a sig. This is a duck. Quack.
As much bandwidth I could get of course and still keep the price at a hobby level.
The ability to capture data so single events and events across multiple channels could be analyzed in relation to each other.
The ability to gang them up to get more than 2 channels... 4-8 channels would be fantastic for use in automotive systems, again for looking at multiple signals in relation to each other.
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Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer
Parallax, Inc.