Digilent Analog Discovery good for Arduino Projects? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: polishdude20
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2014, 03:53:16 am
content: So the Digilent Analog Discovery has a bandwidth of 5mhz (I know it's not so great). But it seems like a good first scope to learn electronics with and to test small breadboard circuits.After summer I will definitely not have much time to continue my electronics hobby until I graduate. That's why a $350 DS1052E is not really worth it for me right now. If I wanted to, I could buy it when I graduate and get a full time job and have the time and yadayada.So my question is, how far can I go with a 5mhz Digilent analog discovery scope (+it's a logic analyzer+function generator)? I know Dave has been saying USB scopes are toys but I can't justify a $350 purchase just for the summer. In other words, I can wait.Will I find that 5mhz bandwidth is not enough when dealing with beginner circuits? I'm planning on following Dave's power supply videos and making something like his while learning along the way. Would 5mhz be enough?I know that some of you will say bandwidth isn't everything so what is? Should I be looking at other specs that will have a negative impact on my experience?

author: QuantumPhys
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2014, 05:35:35 am
content: I got an analog discovery at the educational price a while ago thinking that I could use it for testing, but it turned out to be not that useful. The oscilloscope is actually quite well designed, with a proper front-end for 5MHz, and can go up to even 15MHz for the 3dB point. However, it still does not beat a bench instrument, especially when you can get a good Tektronix scope for under USD60. A logic analyzer is really not that useful with Arduinos, so that is not very important.However, if you really have no bench space, the USD99 education pricing analog discovery will still help you out a bit with its Arb gen, PSU, FFT and other features.

author: polishdude20
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2014, 05:55:01 am
content: It's not about space it's more about the price. A DS1052E will come to like $390 total with shipping and it will only be used during the summer when I have time.Maybe I should wait until next year when I graduate, get a job, have some after work free time. I think I can survive with just a multimeter for now.

author: QuantumPhys
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2014, 06:31:11 am
content: If it is just about the price, why don't you consider second hand scopes? Tek 2445/2465 are very good, and you can buy them for under USD100 if you watch auctions on EBay (ignore the ones above 100, they are just fooling people). If you really need digital storage capabilities, an old Agilent/HP would only cost you below 200 too.

author: mtdoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2014, 06:45:26 am
content: As stated above, the DSO bandwidth is under-stated and in reality the traditional -3dB bandwidth point is closer to 20 MHz. I don't quite get Digilent's rational for marketing it as a 5MHz scope, but here it is as stated on page 16 of theirtechnical reference manual:QuoteI already have several vintage Tek scopes and a Rigol DS2072 but when I had the opportunity to get one of these for the $99 student price (when taking an online Edx course), I jumped at it. I use it when I'm breadboarding projects at my desk and don't feel like heading down into my basement lab. The other included instruments and power supply are very useful as wellFor the student price of $99 it's a no brainer to buy one of these IMO.This revieweragrees.If you do I highly recommend the $20 BNC breakout board and a cheap set of eBay probes.

author: sportq
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2014, 09:04:09 am
content: The Discovery was the first "real" piece of test gear I got (after a DMM) and I still use it frequently even though I now have a Rigol DS1074Z. In fact for AWG it's all I have (need?). I got the BNC board and some proper probes after a few months, I'd also consider these essential.I mostly do uC stuff with Arduino and TI MSP430/ARM boards and it's plenty good enough for me. The Digilent Analog Parts Kit is also good value and the sensors in it can easily be interfaced to Arduinos with libraries available on the net.Pete

author: alexwhittemore
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2014, 09:36:13 pm
content: I got the Analog Discovery a couple years ago just before graduating, so I paid $100. It's not the tool I use most frequently, but I definitely find it extremely useful for lots of things. I've found that I use the arbitrary pattern and waveform generators the most. I'd say it's well worth the price to have hanging around.The thing is, the scope isn't particularly full-featured compared to a good bench scope (analog or more modern digital), but I actually use it pretty frequently. I find it most useful for working with audio frequency systems. One thing it's good for is characterizing filter response: you can feed in either a frequency sweep or a (white/pink) noise signal, then measure the output with an FFT on the scope side. If you're going to be working with the software for waveform generation, it's very convenient to use the built-in scope as well and have everything on the same screen.I designed a measurement system a while back to read a pressure transducer and I used a programmable filter on the front end. Those can have a number of pitfalls and traps, so I wanted to characterize the system before I actually used it in the field in case anything needed to be adjusted or changed to get good data. The analog discovery worked great for that, since you can use it like a poor man's low frequency VNA.I don't know about relying on it heavily for any particular one of its features, but in my experience it's definitely worth the price. And you can always get one, only to decide later that you have real need for a big kid scope as well, since it's not really on the same price tier.EDIT: looking at the pricing now, which is 280/160/100 USD normal/academic/student, I'd say it's a no-brainer if you're a student and have $100, put it on the textbook budget. If you're academic but not a student, it's a great deal, but that probably makes you a professor with much more fun equipment. At $280, it's quite a bit, but I'd still entertain the idea.

author: polishdude20
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2014, 11:39:29 pm
content: yeah Im planning on getting the BNC adapter with extra probes. Including shipping its gonna be at about $170 for me (99 student discount).

author: phil
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2014, 06:10:33 am
content: I can confirm the >20MHz scope bandwidth. However, my unit has problems triggering on signals >14MHz.The scope is useful but nothing special. It will be enough for low speed µC and audio use though. It suffers from a low waveforms/seconds ratio (i'd say about 25 wf/s, similar to the OWON SDS scopes), so it may not be too useful if you want to catch quick glitches. Then again, you probably won't be doing that anyway and digital scopes that can do this cost at least 600$. The software is well made, that sets the analog discovery apart from other cheap USB scopes.The function generator is pretty good too, but make sure to get the BNC board for 50ohms outputs and AC coupling for the scope.It will surely be enough to get you started. But you might want to consider adding a higher bandwidht analog/digital scope in the future in case you want to do high speed/RF stuff. Keep in mind that no scope (especially a low BW one) will show you the real signal. High frequency oscillations get attenuated to the point you don't even see them and you will also run into aliasing problems if you don't pay attention to the sample rate.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2014, 01:49:26 pm
content: You just can't beat the Analog Discovery for the $99 price. It covers all the basics and is plenty good enough to get started in electronics. The only real drawback is that it's a PC based device. If you already have a computer at your bench or carry around a laptop then that's not an issue.