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Workbench Wednesday 18: Digilent Analog Discovery Review

 

 

The Analog Discovery 2 combines all the equipment found on a typical electronics workbench into one small package. It packs an oscilloscope, logic analyzer, power supplies, spectrum analyzer, and so much more. As impressive as the hardware is, the Analog Discovery 2’s software, called Waveforms, is fantastic as well. You can configure it for any measurement situation, and it has extensive scripting capability. See if you should be considering adding the Analog Discovery 2 to your electronics workbench. If you there are measurement tools you want to know more about, follow the link to the full series on Workbench Wednesday’s Instrument Basics.

 

The Analog Discovery 2 combines all the equipment found on a typical electronics workbench into one small package. It packs an oscilloscope, logic analyzer, power supplies, spectrum analyzer, and so much more. As impressive as the hardware is, the Analog Discovery 2’s software, called Waveforms, is fantastic as well! You can configure it for any measurement situation, and it has extensive scripting capability. If you there are measurement tools you want to know more about, check out the links below from the full series on Workbench Wednesday’s Instrument Basics.

 

Supplemental Content:

 

 

Bill of Material:

 

Product NameManufacturerQuantityBuy KitBuy Kit
[Base] Analog Discovery 2 USB Oscilloscope, 2 Analogue, 30 MHz, 100 MSPSDigilent1Buy NowBuy Now
[Bundle] Development Kit, Analog Discovery 2 Pro Bundle, 30MHz Oscilloscope, 12MHz Waveform GeneratorDigilent1Buy NowBuy Now
Add-On Board, Impedance Analyzer For Analog Discovery, 2-Wire InterfaceDigilent1Buy NowBuy Now
ADAPTOR BOARD, BNC, ANALOG DISCOVERYDigilent1Buy NowBuy Now
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  • In the video it is said that it is for 3.3v CMOS but is 5v tolerant. I mostly work on older electronics which are 5v TTL or 5v CMOS. (For example old video game console or pinball PCBs.) Is this logic analyser still a good choice? Are there any problems when using it on 5v devices? My ancient HP Agilent Keysight died, and I want to get something light, new and modern.

  • in reply to scottsto

    Hi , interesting question. As my main electronics hobby, I also repair old consoles and computers. That said, I haven't used my Analog Discovery 2 yet for those repairs. However, I am working on a ZX81-related problem and just designed some PCBs to act as interposers to the Z80 and ULA, so I could connect a Logic Analyzer. (I was thinking of the digital channels on my oscilloscope at the time, but now I'm thinking about AD2 because I really do like the Waveforms software.)

     

    That said, the documentation for the AD2 says it is compatible with 1.8-3.3 LVCMOS and 5V tolerant. Which means, the logic level is probably set around 1.17 volts, which is the lowest level for 1.8V logic. 1.17 is well below TTL's 2.0 volt level and well above the 0.4 volt for input-low. For reference, here is a chart from this TI application note on Logic Families.

     

    In reality, I have rarely run into digital systems that were so marginal that they relied on the limits of the logic families. So I think the AD2 should be fine in logic mode. The nice thing about such a device is that if you suspect a digtial line is giving you problems, it is a quick re-connection to see the analog behavior.

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  • in reply to scottsto

    Hi , interesting question. As my main electronics hobby, I also repair old consoles and computers. That said, I haven't used my Analog Discovery 2 yet for those repairs. However, I am working on a ZX81-related problem and just designed some PCBs to act as interposers to the Z80 and ULA, so I could connect a Logic Analyzer. (I was thinking of the digital channels on my oscilloscope at the time, but now I'm thinking about AD2 because I really do like the Waveforms software.)

     

    That said, the documentation for the AD2 says it is compatible with 1.8-3.3 LVCMOS and 5V tolerant. Which means, the logic level is probably set around 1.17 volts, which is the lowest level for 1.8V logic. 1.17 is well below TTL's 2.0 volt level and well above the 0.4 volt for input-low. For reference, here is a chart from this TI application note on Logic Families.

     

    In reality, I have rarely run into digital systems that were so marginal that they relied on the limits of the logic families. So I think the AD2 should be fine in logic mode. The nice thing about such a device is that if you suspect a digtial line is giving you problems, it is a quick re-connection to see the analog behavior.

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