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The $10 Logic Analyser

I've always used Saleae logic analysers since I strated workinf on embedded systems and I have never considered alternatives.

I decided to evaluate a $10 solution with FX2LP CY7C68013A Mini Board as hardware and Sigrok PulseView as software.
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Hardware

The hardware is a $10 board called FX2LP CY7C68013A Mini Board based on the Cypress CY7C68013A.

The Cypress CY7C68013A is a high-speed USB peripheral controller.
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Software

The software is Sigrok PulseView, an open-source project that supports a very long list of measuring equipments.

The driver for the FX2LP CY7C68013A Mini Board is fx2lafw.

PulseView then lists 16 channels:
  • Chanels D0 to D7 from port B on the board PB0..PB7; and
  • Chanels D8 to D15 from port D on the board PD0..PD7.

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Different parameters can be set:
  • active channels;
  • number of samples;
  • speed; and
  • trigger.
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PulseView offers a very long list of decoders for protocols. I tested the SPI protocol.


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The decoder can display the data of the SPI in hexadecimal on a separate pane.
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Basic measurements can be performed, like time and frequency, here SPI at 8 MHz.

However, the major limitation is the speed: with a 24 MHz crystal on the FX2LP CY7C68013A Mini Board, the maximum speed I could reach was 8 MHz, with frequent crashes starting at 12 MHz.

This is not fast enough for tracing a SPI bus running at 16 MHz.
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Conclusion

Albeit its limitations, this affordable harware and software solution allows to explore logic analysers, use them on basic circuits and decode popular protocols like I²C and SPI.

For serious work, there is no secret: a professional logic analyser like the Saleae is a must.
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Links

  • Cypress CY7C68013A
  • Sigrok PulseView

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