Faulty signal generator on 5244B

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Gustav
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Faulty signal generator on 5244B

Post by Gustav »

Hi

The signal generator on 5244B has a problem. Sometimes it is making periodic "flat pauses" when it is supposed to generate a continues sine.

I have used a second scope to investigate the problem (I did not believe it in the beginning). The second scope was trigging only on these flat pauses. The flat pauses always seem to have a duration of 55ms. They can come in seemingly random intervals of down to 10 sec apart, but at other times the signal generator can work for up to 15 minutes without a glitch and then produce 3-4 pulses in the next couple of minutes.

For the documentation of these serious claims, please see the attachments. The pauses seems to occur regardless of waveform (square, ramp, etc) and frequency.

This defect has caused me much time, because I trusted my pico scope, and thought it was the DUT that was the problem.
Attachments
screen dump showing one of the pauses
screen dump showing one of the pauses
20140613-0003.psdata
(45.19 KiB) Downloaded 483 times
Last edited by Gustav on Fri Jun 13, 2014 7:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Martyn
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Re: Signal generator on 5244B faulty

Post by Martyn »

Which version of the software and drivers are you using ? Help->About will give all the information.
Martyn
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Gustav
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Re: Signal generator on 5244B faulty

Post by Gustav »

PicoScope® 6 - PC Oscilloscope software version: 6.8.11.20
Copyright © 1995-2014, Pico Technology Ltd

Model: PicoScope 5244B
Serial Number: CS241/119
USB Version: 2,0
Calibration Date: 11 September 2013
Hardware Version: 1
Driver Version: 1.1.0.134
Firmware Version: 1.3.3.0 / 1.0.19.0

Martyn
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Re: Signal generator on 5244B faulty

Post by Martyn »

If you contact support@picotech.com we can provide you with a driver to fix this issue.
Martyn
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Gustav
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Re: Signal generator on 5244B faulty

Post by Gustav »

OK, I have send an email to support.

Martyn
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Re: Faulty signal generator on 5244B

Post by Martyn »

You should have received an updated driver, if not let me know.
Martyn
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Gustav
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Re: Faulty signal generator on 5244B

Post by Gustav »

Hi

Yes, I received the driver yesterday.

This morning I started a test, and now more than 5 hours later, there has not been a single glitch.

I am confident that the new driver solved the problem. :D

Best regards,

Alan C
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Re: Faulty signal generator on 5244B

Post by Alan C »

Hi Guys, This sounds very much like a problem I had with a 2206 AWG last year. The (squarewave) output would go and sit on the rail for the region of 43ms whenever any scope setting changed and sometimes apparently at random for no reason.
I would be very interested if this was fixed now for the 2206 or the 2206A. Is this true?

Martyn
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Re: Faulty signal generator on 5244B

Post by Martyn »

Yes the issue was present in the 2206 device. It is fixed in PS2000A.dll 1.1.0.149 or later.
Martyn
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Alan C
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Re: Faulty signal generator on 5244B

Post by Alan C »

That is really good news! You've no idea how much hassle this has caused - mostly with problems sourcing a replacement USB controlled sig-gen. Current driver is 1.1.0.143 - please remind me how to upgrade to the latest version, I seem to have lost the ability to do this... Must try this ASAP ! Thanks

Martyn
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Re: Faulty signal generator on 5244B

Post by Martyn »

I can't check at present, and am not sure which version is in the beta software but you can download it from http://labs.picotech.com
Martyn
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Alan C
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Re: Faulty signal generator on 5244B

Post by Alan C »

Downloaded the Beta software - it seems to be 100MB smaller than the current 6.8.11.20 ???
It can't see my 2206 scope and will only run in demo mode.
Tried it with a 2204A and it does run that, but the 2204A AWG is only 100kHz and we need 1MHz.
I sent you a message on support@picotech.com - Please could you send me the appropriate driver? Thanks

Alan C
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Re: Faulty signal generator on 5244B

Post by Alan C »

I have the system running with the v 1.1.1.4 driver now. All the 43ms drop-outs in the AWG output have disappeared !!!

Unfortunately... when the AWG is the signal source for a RF resonant circuit with 400kVAr in the reactive components, whenever the AWG frequency is changed (to track resonance) there is a horrific 'TINK' noise from the power circuit. This tells me the output is not phase continuous (like most DDS sig-gens). So following a small frequency adjustment, the resonant circuit is driven at a random new phase, instead of very close to the natural commutation point.

So, still not suitable for my application, but I readily concede - a massive improvement for the majority of users.

Maybe next hardware revision?

Martyn
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Re: Faulty signal generator on 5244B

Post by Martyn »

This is not feasible with our current or planned products, however the development department are aware of the request.
Martyn
Technical Support Manager

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