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Arduino Oscilloscope with Processing.

e14 Contributor

Hi, I think this would be a highly useful build for those viewers on a budget. Not all of us have the ability to buy a oscilloscope so I think this would be replicated by a lot of people. It would run a processing sketch that would display a few different channels in different colors like red, green, or blue. And it wouldn't be big, it would be somewhat a compact package with an arduino and anything else that would make it work.

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  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    Okay so I read a few reviews and quite a few people were saying the xprotolab was very accurate. Upon looking more into it I also learned a few more things about it. As previously mentioned I thought it to be a DIY kit, however it seems to be ready right out of the box. I think I mistook it for being DIY because Ben made a custom case and whatnot for it in his episode making it simply customizable rather than DIY. However you can plug this little scope directly into a breadboard or integrate it directly into a project making it very handy since its a DIP package. It also seems to be more than just a scope, its an ATXMEGA32A4U Development Board, Logic Analyzer, Mixed Signal Oscilloscope, and an Arbitrary Waveform Generator all in one tiny little package complete with its Micro USB and OLED display (Which can be changed to be black on white or white on black display). One person also mentioned that there was a dual voltmeter function as well.

     

    Here are some specifications I found:

    Dimensions: 1.615" x 1.01"

    Features:

    • ATXMEGA32A4U Development Board
      • ATXMEGA32A4U 36KB Flash, 4KB SRAM, 1KB EEPROM
      • Graphic OLED display 0.96", 128x64 pixels
      • PDI interface
      • 4 tactile switches
      • USB connectivity
    • Logic Analyzer
      • 8 Digital Inputs, 3.3V level
      • Maximum sampling rate: 2MSPS
      • Frequency counter: 12Mhz
      • Protocol Sniffer: UART, I2C, SPI
      • Internal pull up or pull down.
      • Buffer size: 256
    • Mixed Signal Oscilloscope
      • 2 Analog Inputs
      • Maximum Sampling rate: 2MSPS
      • Analog Bandwidth: 200kHz
      • Resolution: 8bits
      • Input Impedance: 1MΩ
      • Buffer size per channel: 256
      • Input Voltage Range: -14V to +20V
    • Arbitrary Waveform Generator
      • 1 Analog Output
      • Maximum conversion rate: 1MSPS
      • Analog Bandwidth: 44.1kHz
      • Resolution: 8bits
      • Output current > +/- 7mA
      • Buffer size: 256
      • Output Voltage: +/- 2V

     

     

    The reviews I read make this one seem pretty useful especially for its size and considering the functionality it has to offer.

    Here are a couple of sites I looked at:

    https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11643

    http://tronixstuff.com/2011/02/13/the-worlds-smallest-oscilloscope/

     

    I think I may end up picking one up myself after looking into this a little further, especially since I found it cheaper than I first saw it at.

  • in reply to toxxn

    You might want to compare it with this:

     

    Digilent Inc. - Digital Design Engineer's Source

     

    The Digilent Analog Discovery is dead cheap to students ($99) and offers much better performance but perhaps not quite as accessible for hacking (and needs a PC to work).

     

    MK

  • in reply to michaelkellett

    With the DAD not being portable and the price tag being $279, I don't see it being a  viable option, at least not for me.

    It looks to be a nice piece of equipment however and I do think it would be well worth the price IF I were a student, however I graduated some time ago.

  • in reply to toxxn

    The more I look at the xprotolab scope, the more I see it used by audio technicians and what not.  It's low-frequency capability, signal generation, and volt meter usage would be idea for someone designing/troubleshooting audio setups (home or car).  Either way, the OP's idea is a good one, and would love to find a DIY way to make it. More room for customization for whatever suits your needs.  Regardless, I'm going to follow this thread for sure and hopefully we can come up with something!

  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    You are right, there are many applications in audio that this xprotolab could be used in, however with it being a dip package, it's meant to be able to be used in any project easily or even incorporate it directly into a project. Although I was just sharing a little on a few cheaper Oscilloscopes that I know of, I agree, OP's idea is a good one, especially with the option of customization which is definitely a plus one in my book.

  • in reply to toxxn

    Oh I agree about the DIP package implementation. There's so many possibilities for projects with that scope (more than just audio) and would love to use it myself.  I had an idea to use it on a cell phone case for an integrated "geek's pocket AIO toolkit", but I don't have the printing/cutting devices to make the case.  Regardless, I found a few devices with my google-fu that would possibly work up to the 50-100MHz range, but nothing that can handle processing the data in any kind of reasonable resolution.  Even worse, the components are upwards of $300 USD a piece.  Ugh.

  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    A geeks pocket AIO toolkit would be a pretty awesome project. If you had to, there is the option of finding a third party service that would print/cut what you need according to your specifications. As much as I would love to get my hands on a laser cutter, I could not simply just go out and get one right now especially with the holidays about. My wife would make darn sure of that. Although, I have been looking around for a 3D Printer for personal use with prototyping since they have been popping up at reasonable prices.