Scope with Data Logging Questions - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: MrAl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2018, 11:13:52 pm
content: Hello there,I was looking at some scopes again, and noticed that one has a data logging feature. It's a cheap thing though.So was wondering, do the higher end scopes have data logging too?Here's what i need...1. A scope, like say 100MHz.2. It should do data logging as outlined below.Data logging:Monitor the power line for at least 24 hours. That's 50 or 60 Hz and say sampling period of 1kHz, or maybe just 600Hz for the 60Hz power line. So that would be 10 samples per cycle of the 60Hz line.The question is, do the standard scopes handle this data logging too, like say the 300 dollar Siglent or Hantek or whatever?If not, do ANY of them handle this, and if so, which ones?Thanks for any ideas/suggestions.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2018, 11:36:05 pm
content: This kind of data logging is usually done by triggering on 'bad' waveforms. GW Instek has this feature and it can save a timestamped file (screenshot, waveform data, etc) to USB or a NAS.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2018, 03:11:13 am
content: Yep, look here:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/open-source-lxi-tools-and-liblxi-v1-0-released-for-gnulinux/

author: MrAl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2018, 11:08:47 am
content: Quote from: tautech on March 20, 2018, 03:11:13 amHello there,Thanks for the link.I guess i should have mentioned it would have to work on the Windows platform.

author: lundmar
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2018, 04:47:17 pm
content: Quote from: MrAl on March 20, 2018, 11:08:47 amAs suggested you can try install lxi-tools to do remote data logging to your pc. It can be installed in a VirtualBox/Ubuntu VM in Windows. It's fairly easy to do.lxi-tools comes with a built-in data recorder feature which records to memory and it can be saved to .csv format file for import in spreadsheets for later analysis etc. as demonstrated in this video:The new Siglent oscilloscopes are some of the fastest around but your wish for a 1kHz sampling rate is a bit on the high side when sampling remotely via LXI. You can find a benchmark for remote LXI/SCPI requests here:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/open-source-lxi-tools-and-liblxi-v1-0-released-for-gnulinux/msg1394796/#msg1394796I expect you can do 100Hz or higher sampling rate this way on a non congested network.

author: MrAl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2018, 07:46:32 pm
content: Quote from: lundmar on March 20, 2018, 04:47:17 pmHello,Thanks for the info there I have a feeling that isnt for me though because i really need to be able to store sub cycle info so i can study the wave itself over long time periods. 100Hz is nust about 1 or 2 samples per cycle, which really isnt good enough i dont think.To tell the truth, i thought that i could run out and buy a maybe 200 dollar USD scope and get it to log data. I dont see what is so hard about doing that when the scopes are like 100MHz these days easy. What a shame. Maybe there is one out there we just dont know about?I also found some "Data loggers" but geeze i'd have to read though pages and pages just to find out the sampling rate. It's almost like i would be better off just grabbing a PIC chip and making one myself. Maybe i should, i wonder how much use this would be for other people too as i often see questions about data loggers around the web now and then.Well thanks again and i'll have to look into that more too.

author: SWR
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2018, 09:10:00 pm
content: Many of the GW Instek scope models have this data logging feature. You can download Apps to the scope and one of them happens to be a data logging app that can log up to 1000h. You can store data in 40M sample memory that can be split into 29K segments with a search feature to flip through them, or on a USB stick.When triggering you can coose to stop acquisition or store waveform or screen shot. You can also choose to continue acquisition while counting the number of triggers and captured data. They also have more advanced go/nogo trigger configurations to capture more complicated or rare exceptions to a signal, or if you are decoding serial busses you can trigger on the decoded data content in bin, hex or ASCII including wild cards.Scrolling through many thousand captured events can be very time consuming, so the search function can be a real time saver. The search also supports bin, hex or ASCII serial decoding including wild cards.PC software and a LabVIEW driver is also available but I haven't looked into that yet, so I don't know if they support any data logging features?I've recently bought an MDO-2204EX that have these features, but there are other models with the same data logging capabilities. As each scope brand have their own approach you'll propably have to read the manual of the particular scope you're interested in to find out if it covers your needs.

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2018, 12:25:37 am
content: Are you are trying to find a cheap way to detect single phase AC line problems? KHz sampling may not do much for you. You may want to consider that the problems you are hunting for may also do in your test equipment. They do make tools for this. I've used products made by HIOKI and really like them but they come with a fairly high price tag. The one I use now is about $10K USD. Worth every penny.Quote from: MrAl on March 19, 2018, 11:13:52 pm

author: MrAl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2018, 02:40:57 pm
content: Quote from: SWR on March 20, 2018, 09:10:00 pmHello there,GW Instek, sounds good. I'll have to check them out. As long as it can do continuous runs that would be good, like say a 12 hours run non stop, saved to memory in text format or is convertible.Thanks much.

author: MrAl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2018, 02:41:59 pm
content: Quote from: joeqsmith on March 22, 2018, 12:25:37 amHi,Ok i'll borrow yours then :-)I cant spend nearly that much (10k).

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2018, 03:51:46 pm
content: Dranetz has been a big player in the Power Disturbance Analyzer business for more than 40 years. Used gear shows up on eBay.http://www.dranetz.com/power-quality-analyzers/They were pretty common in the computer mainframe installation business. No matter what went wrong with the mainframe, it was always a power glitch. Just ask the service tech, he'll tell you!

author: SWR
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 25, 2018, 07:37:11 am
content: Quote from: MrAl on March 24, 2018, 02:40:57 pmThere are several save options. Here's the manual:http://www.gwinstek.com/en-us/Download/DownloadFile/DownloadFile/download%23_%2301_Oscilloscope%23_%23GDS-2000E%23_%23Manual%23_%23GDS-2000E_UserManual(TC).pdfData logging is on page 201.

author: MrAl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2018, 04:21:43 pm
content: Hello again,Thanks for the ideas.I forgot all about Dranetz, i actually worked for them for a very short period of time long time ago. They had some good stuff as i saw it working first hand.I'll look up the manual and see what i can find out.I did find a scope but it's n off brand, ever hear of "Instrustar"?