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Analog Discovery Kit — Parallax Forums

Analog Discovery Kit

Tracy AllenTracy Allen Posts: 6,664
edited 2013-03-05 21:23 in General Discussion
AnalogDiscovery.jpg

I just picked up one of these and am impressed so far. Newark/Element14 has it on sale thru at least March 16 at the student price of $99, free shipping on an order over $100 if you enter code ENGFF. Pretty good deal considering that the ADC inside it (AD9648) alone costs $73 in singles. Backed by Analog Devices, Xilinx, and Digilent.

The deal comprises a capable 2-channel 100MSPS 5MHzBW 14 bit(!?) USB oscilloscope, plus a capable 2-channel analog waveform generator, plus a 16-channel logic analyzer/pattern generator, plus "WaveForms" Windows GUI. You can download the GUI and run it in demo mode to see what it is capable of. The oscilloscope and waveform generator are tightly integrated to make quick of Bode, and Nyquist, and FFT plots, and the classroom tutorials (also free downloads) are focused on analog circuits and networks.

Description and starter projects.
Newark offer.
Classroom Tutorials.
WaveForms GUI.
AnalogDiscovery.jpg
344 x 312 - 50K

Comments

  • vanmunchvanmunch Posts: 568
    edited 2013-03-03 20:58
    Hey thanks! I've been wanting to pick one of these up for a couple of months, but ~$250 was a bit much for my curiosity :)
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2013-03-03 22:37
    With all the buzz on digital for several decades now, analog has been a neglected orphan in electronics.

    The simple fact is that one needs to learn both analog and digital to fully appreciate electronics. And I don't think that $250 will break the bank if you are getting a useful USB scope out of the package.

    Beside the student price is a low $99 plus all the other stuff if you qualify.
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2013-03-04 06:00
    Thanks, Tracy!

    Now you *AND* erco are helping me spend my money!! :smile: The non-student student pricing is a great offer!

    My analog(ue) skills are lacking, maybe this will help!
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-03-04 09:05
    Note to Forumistas:

    When Tracy Allen is impressed enough to post good comments about a product, take heed! This is much better than erco's typical deal of the day. I'm quite tempted by this, even though I already have a Parallax USB scope...
  • vanmunchvanmunch Posts: 568
    edited 2013-03-04 12:59
    It's a logic analyzer too.
  • Tracy AllenTracy Allen Posts: 6,664
    edited 2013-03-04 13:06
    Erco, For the record, thanks for the daily deals. Appreciated. Got my Grizzly catalog!

    This kit does stress the Analog, capital A, and the tutorials are university level. Good stuff if you want to go there. The method to their madness I think is that they want to get students hooked on Analog Devices products.

    You could easily go through those tutorials using a Prop Scope.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2013-03-05 18:11
    Loopy Byteloose wrote: »
    Beside the student price is a low $99 plus all the other stuff if you qualify.

    Order it from Newark, they make no mention that the deal is restricted to students.
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2013-03-05 18:26
    Even though I don't really need it, I bought one from Newark this morning. It was $99, the free shipping code didn't work, but the shipping was only $5 while the stupid Sales Tax was $8. They really need to find a better place to do business. I doubt I'll be ordering from there again unless it's a really good deal like this was.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2013-03-05 18:58
    RDL2004 wrote: »
    Even though I don't really need it, I bought one from Newark this morning. It was $99, the free shipping code didn't work...

    Your cart needs to total $101.00 or more for the code to work. I added four IR receivers to put it over the top.
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2013-03-05 19:00
    I added a couple of items also, I think it was about $106 before tax and shipping.
  • Tracy AllenTracy Allen Posts: 6,664
    edited 2013-03-05 19:09
    Sorry about the shipping code, Rick--Did I mention that you have to buy US$100 worth of stuff to get that (thru 3/16)?--$99 plus a new tip for your soldering iron.

    Newark was around long before upstarts like Digikey and Mouser and they are still trying to move into the 21st century. There are things they carry that are not available elsewhere, and they do come up with deals. Like all the mainline distribs, they often do better through inside sales than through the web site. I see though that unfortunately Farnell, their international partner, does not have deal on this discovery kit.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2013-03-05 19:17
    RDL2004 wrote: »
    I added a couple of items also, I think it was about $106 before tax and shipping.

    Hmm, I added something to bring my cart up to $100.36 and the code wouldn't take. Once I broke $101.00 it worked.
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2013-03-05 19:42
    I just checked: 
    Merchandise  $110.02
Freight        $5.15
Tax:           $8.06
Order Total: $123.23


...

    Maybe I just did something wrong.
    Five bucks is no big deal anyway when you've just spent a hundred on something you really don't need. :)
    The tax is what was really annoying.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-03-05 19:46
    Uh oh. All the smart guys are snapping these up...

    erco's feeling left out...

    Must resist ordering...
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2013-03-05 20:37
    Hey, I'm not a smart guy and I bought one. UPS should drop it at my door tomorrow!!!

    ...on the road to being smart!
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2013-03-05 20:55
    OK, So I'll consider myself one of the not so smart guys. I like spending money on things I really do not need but may use some day. ( I bought a metal lathe a couple years ago and so far have spun two axles with it!!!!) Can someone explain to me exactly what I could do with one of these?
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2013-03-05 21:23
    Oscilloscope
    Arbitrary Waveform Generator
    Logic Analyzer

    That's not all, but those three alone are a pretty amazing value for $99.

    Obviously, it's not going to have the same performance as expensive, stand alone pieces of lab equipment, but it seems well suited to basic student/hobbyist type work. If you're involved with electronics at all and don't already have some kind of oscilloscope, you might consider one of these as a start.
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