Pico Technology

Here is your monthly Test and Measurement update.

1.  New PicoScope 9211 PC Sampling Oscilloscope Released!

We hope that you already know about the PicoScope 9201 PC Sampling Oscilloscope, the compact 2-channel unit that gives you 12 GHz bandwidth, 5 TS/s equivalent-time sampling rate and a built-in selection of eye-pattern mask tests for standard serial protocols, all for only £5,995. Now the 9201 has a big brother, the 9211, which has the same specifications plus two important extra features:

• Clock recovery. The 9211 can recover a clock signal from the data stream when no separate clock is available. Clock recovery works for bit rates up to 2.7 Gbps, making it suitable for standards such as SONET/SDH (OC1/STMO, OC3/STM1, OC9/STM3, OC12/STM4, OC18/STM6, OC48/STM16, FEC2666), Ethernet (Gb and 2x Gb), and Infiniband (2.5 Gb).
• Ethernet interface. The Ethernet LAN interface allows you to operate the scope from a remote location on a network. This feature is built into the PicoScope 9000 software, so all you need to do is enter the network address of your scope.

The PicoScope 9211 will be available from 11th November. Come and see it at the Electronica show in Munich or check our website for details.

• PP473 PicoScope 9211 PC Sampling Oscilloscope (UK/EU) £6,995 / €9 095
• PP474 PicoScope 9211 PC Sampling Oscilloscope (US) $12,595

(EU and US prices correct at time of publication. Please check with Pico Technology or your local distributor for latest exchange rates.)

Download the PicoScope 9000 Series data sheet (840 kB PDF)

2.  PicoScope 6.2.0 Beta Release Ready!

We are preparing another major update for PicoScope, the advanced Windows software for Pico PC Oscilloscopes. Release 6.2.0 will have the following new features:

• Channel maths. Now you can invert, add, subtract, multiply and divide channels, or create your own functions with the equation wizard. Look out for the new “Sigma” button. You can have up to eight real or calculated channels in each scope view. If you run out of space, just open another scope view and add more!
• Low-pass filtering. On the 3000 and 5000 Series scopes, you can enable a digital low-pass filter with adjustable cut-off frequency. Click the Channel Options button and click “Activate filtering”.
• Improved persistence display. Colour persistence and analog intensity modes now have improved resolution, giving a more detailed and accurate display.

We haven’t fully released the software yet as there are still some details missing, such as documentation for the new features, but you can now download a beta version from Pico Labs. Check the release notes for information on the other improvements.

Download the PicoScope 6.2.0 beta version free of charge from Pico Labs

3.  New 200 MHz Differential Oscilloscope Probe

Following last month’s release of high-voltage active and 500 MHz passive probes, a further new active differential scope probe is now available.

The new TA045 differential probe has a high bandwidth and is ideal for low-noise measurements, especially on floating circuits. Power supplies are available separately.

• TA045 200 MHz 20 V Cat I 1:10 differential probe £600
  • TA047 4AA battery pack for TA045 £37
  • PS008 mains adaptor for TA045 £15
  • TA059 ProBus adaptor for TA045 £25

See full specifications for all our active differential oscilloscope probes

4.  Analyse Serial Data with WaveBPS for Pico Oscilloscopes

WaveBPS, from Intrepid Control Systems, Inc., is an advanced tool for capturing and analysing serial data analog waveforms like FlexRay, CAN Bus, UART (J1708, K-Line, SCI, GM CGI), J1850, SPI, I2C and LIN Bus. Besides general-purpose monitoring, WaveBPS can quickly capture infrequent or intermittent protocol violations. For example, you can track down CAN error frames and check for timing violations in software-based LIN implementations.

The trial version of the software is available for download and can be used for training and learning these protocols. The standard and professional versions of WaveBPS, including a PicoScope 5204 high-speed PC Oscilloscope, are available for purchase from the Intrepid website.

Features of the WaveBPS system

• PicoScope 5204 deep-memory 250 MHz PC Oscilloscope. WaveBPS directly captures up to 128 million samples of analog data directly from a 2-channel PicoScope 5000 Series PC Oscilloscope. For hardware triggering the scope offers a CAN error trigger, standard scope analog triggering, and optional CAN/LIN script-based triggering. Also, WaveBPS can load waveform files captured from the oscilloscope.
• Excellent usability. WaveBPS understands the waveforms you are looking at so you can quickly navigate and find events and errors. Powerful cursor measurements allow you to quickly determine time, voltage and bus utilisation.
• Exporting data. After determining the parts of the waveform of interest, you can export the waveform subset for other users to view.
• Serial data decoding. WaveBPS can decode FlexRay, CAN Bus, UART (J1708, K-Line, SCI, RS232, GM CGI), J1850, SPI, I2C and LIN Bus. The baud rate, thresholds and other settings for these protocols are completely configurable by the user in cases where special probes (like current or differential) modify the expected voltage ranges of the waveforms. WaveBPS also supports GMLAN 3110 high-speed mode switch for single-wire CAN.
• Test automation. WaveBPS has a TCP/IP software API allowing remote control and analysis from other applications or by using scripting.
• Powerful analysis. WaveBPS can also perform statistical node analysis where each automatic measurement is grouped by network node and exported to a spreadsheet file.

Visit the WaveBPS website to download a detailed product brochure and trial version of the software

5.  Using EnviroMon 5.20.0 with Older Loggers

The latest Pico software and reference CD contains version 5.20.0 of the EnviroMon software. If you have an older EL005 data logger, you need to update it to work with the new software. This is an easy procedure. All you have to do is run a small utility program called logload.exe, which is included on the CD and is automatically installed alongside your EnviroMon program. You can find full instructions on our website.

Download the EnviroMon Logload Instruction leaflet (316 kB PDF)

6.  Questions and Answers

Here is a selection of the questions that have cropped up recently on our support forum.

Q. I currently have a PicoScope 3424, and have written software using C# to control it, reading samples using fast streaming. I am now interested in using a 3425 instead. Is the programming model exactly the same? I understand the voltage ranges are different. Are there any other differences, from a programming point of view? Is ps3000SetAdvTriggerChannelConditions only available on the 3425? Or also on the 3424? Is there a different version of ps3000.dll used by the 3425?

A. The advanced triggering works with all of these PicoScope 3000 variants: 3425, 3423, 3424, 3224 and 3223. They all use the same API to interact with the PicoScope devices. Download a free copy of the Software Development Kit, or just the PicoScope 3000 Series User’s Guide, which includes a guide to the API.

Q. Do you have a software version for the EL005 Data Logger compatible with Windows Vista?

A. Yes. The latest version of EnviroMon is fully compatible with Vista. If you have an older version of EnviroMon, it will still work with Vista but the online help will not be available. You can always upgrade your software free of charge – just go to our download page and select “EnviroMon”. Also see the note “Using EnviroMon 5.20.0 with older loggers” above.

7.  Exhibitions

Full details of upcoming exhibitions and training dates can be found on the exhibitions page.

8.  Employment Opportunities

Due to our continuing growth, we have vacancies for the following positions:

• Development Engineer - Analogue Hardware
• Development Engineer - FPGA/VHDL Design
• Development Engineer - Hardware
• Marketing Assistant
• Marketing Copywriter

Find more details of these positions and complete an online application form

We look forward to hearing from you if you want to be part of a growing company at the leading edge of test equipment design.

9.  Software Releases

As soon as we release new software, it is made available for FREE download from our website. To check which version you are using, start the software (PicoScope, PicoLog or EnviroMon) and select HELP | ABOUT.

The current releases are:

• PicoScope 5: R5.20.1
• PicoScope 6: R6.1.0 (and R6.2.0 Beta)
• PicoLog: R5.20.1
• EnviroMon: R5.20.0

To download the latest software please visit the software downloads page

(Note: the above web page also contains a link to our ‘what’s new’ page which describes recent changes and additions to the software.)

10.  About this Newsletter

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11.  Contact Details

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