PicoScope 7 Software
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Using the Arbitrary Signal Generator with Long Signals
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Stefano Tronci
- Newbie
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2020 3:19 pm
Using the Arbitrary Signal Generator with Long Signals
Hi!
I would like to use the arbitrary signal generator of a PicoScope 5442D to emit long pseudorandom signals, such a very long MLS sequence or something like it. I am writing a program with the Python SDK to do so. However, I am not sure what the best way to do so would be given the fact that the synthesis is achieved through DDS.
My evil plan was have a huge array with all the samples and call ps5000aSetSigGenArbitrary making it point to the first 8192 samples, wait for them to be streamed to ouptut, and then call ps5000aSetSigGenArbitrary again after advancing the pointer to the next batch of 8192 samples and so on and so forth. However, this appears to be prone to failure, as it seems I do not have a way to guarantee that I advance the pointer exactly after the previous batch of samples has been streamed. In short, I am afraid that by doing so I will either:
I would like to use the arbitrary signal generator of a PicoScope 5442D to emit long pseudorandom signals, such a very long MLS sequence or something like it. I am writing a program with the Python SDK to do so. However, I am not sure what the best way to do so would be given the fact that the synthesis is achieved through DDS.
My evil plan was have a huge array with all the samples and call ps5000aSetSigGenArbitrary making it point to the first 8192 samples, wait for them to be streamed to ouptut, and then call ps5000aSetSigGenArbitrary again after advancing the pointer to the next batch of 8192 samples and so on and so forth. However, this appears to be prone to failure, as it seems I do not have a way to guarantee that I advance the pointer exactly after the previous batch of samples has been streamed. In short, I am afraid that by doing so I will either:
- Start streaming the next batch before the previous one was fully streamed.
- Start streaming the next batch too late after the previous one was fully streamed, resulting in a time of silence between the chunks.
Re: Using the Arbitrary Signal Generator with Long Signals
Hi Stefano,
Apologies for the delay in answering. Coronavirus has had its toll on our ability to respond to posts on the forum.
Just so that you are aware, you can't change the waveform for the SIgnal Generator (whether it is one of the standard waveforms or Arbitrary) while the SIg Gen is running. So, you would have 32ks, in which to define your complete pseudo random sequence, and then you would need to just run the AWG.
Regards,
Gerry
Apologies for the delay in answering. Coronavirus has had its toll on our ability to respond to posts on the forum.
Just so that you are aware, you can't change the waveform for the SIgnal Generator (whether it is one of the standard waveforms or Arbitrary) while the SIg Gen is running. So, you would have 32ks, in which to define your complete pseudo random sequence, and then you would need to just run the AWG.
Regards,
Gerry
Gerry
Technical Specialist
Technical Specialist
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Stefano Tronci
- Newbie
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2020 3:19 pm
Re: Using the Arbitrary Signal Generator with Long Signals
Hi Gary,
Thank you for your reply, which is very useful. Looks like I cannot quite do what I intended, but I should be able to squeeze an MLS period in those 32ks.
Thank you again!
Stefano
Thank you for your reply, which is very useful. Looks like I cannot quite do what I intended, but I should be able to squeeze an MLS period in those 32ks.
Thank you again!
Stefano