Link This |
Email this |
Blog This |
Comments (3)
Product Tryout: Rigol Technologies mixed-signal oscilloscope (Part 3 of 3)
September 21, 2007
Return to part 1
Return to Part 2
PC software
Rigol’s Ultrascope software lets you move captured data and images from the oscilloscope to your PC and back. You can also use the PC to store setups and download them to the oscilloscope. You can operate the instrument remotely using the virtual front panel and menus, then store the setup for later use.
When you run the software from the CD, a window will appear with selections for installing the Ultrascope software and a driver. I installed the Ultrascope software first but I wondered if I needed to install the driver for USB operation, but not for RS-232. The software manual of the CD (PDF format) talks about RS-232 only. I tried the serial cable first, figuring it didn’t need the driver. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the right cable, which is often the biggest problem with getting RS-232 to work.
I installed the driver, which turns out to provide USB communications, but I had no way of knowing that beforehand. Upon connection of the USB cable, the system found new hardware. To communicate with the oscilloscope, you must click on the “Connect to oscilloscope” button or use menus.
The software provides you with two fields. One is a file-manager-looking tree called DSO Controller that lets you set up the instrument through dialog boxes or though a virtual front panel. The DSO controller is easy to use and you can find settings quickly through its tree structure.
The Ultrascope software also has a “Data Browser” area that lets you save data from the instrument. You can store and recall data in files called data sheets. For example, you can add waveforms from the oscilloscope and save them within a data sheet. Each data sheet can hold the measurements for a particular set of tests. You need to use the right mouse button to use the save and add waveform features. When you click on “Add a waveform” you get a virtual front panel that lets you adjust settings and then capture the instrument screen and its data.
To capture data from the MSO to your PC with Ultrascope, you can right-click on the words “Data Sheet” in the Data Browser window. There, you can select, for example, to add a waveform from the MSO or from your PC. (If you can’t connect your PC to the oscilloscope, you can store waveforms on the USB drive and open them with Ultrascope.) I wanted to capture the MSO screen when it contained both analog and digital data. When I selected “Add new waveform,” I was surprised to see that I couldn’t select the logic channels, just the analog channels. I had to go into the “DSO Controller” field and manually turn on the logic channels that I wanted. The software, once connected to the MSO, should detect that the logic analyzer features is turned on and make those channels available for upload. It’s frustrating and time consuming to manually enable the logic channels. Once you upload data from the MSO, you can store the data in comma-separated variable (CSV) format or you can store the screen in bitmap (BMP) format.
The Ultrascope software is generally easy to use but frustrating if you want to capture the logic channels. I like that it goes you complete remote control of the oscilloscope and that it lets you store measurements as data and as images.
Posted by Martin Rowe on September 21, 2007 | Comments (3)
