SDK issues with 5444D

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jpark37
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Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2018 8:44 pm

SDK issues with 5444D

Post by jpark37 »

Hello,

I've run into a number of issues trying to get the SDK working with my 5444D in a C++ application for Windows. My current project is realtime RGBS decoding for SNES.

- The downloads page does not list the SDK for 5444D. I had to download it from the 5444A list.
- The SDK does not make it clear which header/library to use for my oscilloscope. I only knew which to choose because the PicoScope application loads PS5000A.dll.
- The SDK DLLs do not seem to work; ps5000aOpenUnit fails. My guess is that the SDK DLLs are out-of-date for the current driver. I can use the 32-bit DLL that comes with PicoScope, but I'd like to build my application as 64-bit.
- I'm trying to push my oscilloscope to the limit, but ps5000aRunStreaming is mostly a black box when it comes to figuring out what the legal values are. I'm currently using a sample interval of 32 ns with a sample count of 312500. 16 ns was valid, but the scope didn't seem to be pushing data fast enough, and things would irreversibly desync around 7 seconds or so. I think it was scope-limited because I commented out expensive parts of my callback without success, but I didn't dig too deeply. I'm pretty sure I'm plugged into USB3 as well.
- It would be nice if PicoScope could show what API calls it was making. People could tweak settings in PicoScope to get the signal looking nice, and then easily translate those into API calls for their applications. Also, features like "resolution enhancement" don't seem to exist in the API, so an API list would be useful for implementation. Maybe there is logging for this already somewhere?

All that said, I do have things working in 32-bit, but I'd really like a usable 64-bit DLL.

Thanks,
James

Hitesh

Re: SDK issues with 5444D

Post by Hitesh »

Hi James,

Thank you for your feedback.

We are in the process of determining how best to deploy the libraries which is why we have not released a new PicoSDK installer following the launch of the PicoScope 5000D Series.

We can provide an interim PicoSDK installer if you e-mail support@picotech.com including a 64-bit version.

To determine which header file and library to use, please refer to the Programmer's Guide for your device which you can obtain from it's Users and Manuals list on our Downloads page.

With regards to maximum streaming rates, it will depend on factors such as the resolution selected, the USB connection and PC resources. The specifications provide information on streaming rates and the driver should indicate if an invalid sampling interval is being used when the ps5000aRunStreaming() function call is used.

I can feedback about providing a list of calls, but the best way to see how to call functions is to refer to our Programmer's Guide and the examples on GitHub. The resolution enhancement feature is a post-capture operation as is not part of the driver API calls.

I hope this helps.

jpark37
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Posts: 0
Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2018 8:44 pm

Re: SDK issues with 5444D

Post by jpark37 »

Thanks, i will send a support e-mail for the interim SDK.

The specification says I should be able to get 125 MS/s at 8-bit, but 8 ns is PICO_INVALID_SAMPLE_INTERVAL, and 16 ns doesn't seem to feed samples quickly enough.

However, the Programmer's guide says I should only be able to get "7.8125 MS/s (128 ns per sample) when three or four channels are active," but I'm capturing 4 channels at 32 ns without an issue.

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