DDS, hacking DDS300 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2013, 06:38:00 pm
content: hi guysgoogling for "signal generator" i have foundthisDDS300 board, it is a function generator module with two output signals , one is for PWM signal , the other is for the DDS signal. The module is TTL and has a 232 port, we can connect it to arduino (or to host computer) in order to choose a variety of waveform output , respectively {sine wave, square wave , triangle wave, heart} waveThe unit is cheap, you can also found it on ebay for ~$30/$40, unfortunately i can't find any documentation about the protocol, i recently got an .exe program which should handle the unit from an host computer running Windows XP.anyone has already hacked it ? anyone has "sniffed" its serial protocol or knows something about ? let me know, it seems to be the coolest fish of the day in every hobbits electronic lab (probably the cheapest tool you can't miss) =P

author: bingo600
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2013, 07:00:05 pm
content: Are you kiddingAt first glance i thought ATmega328 ,since 6pwm etc. fits , then i thought ... wohaa $37100Khz hmmm ...Get a real AD9850/51 it's even cheaper./Bingo

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2013, 07:17:54 pm
content: QuoteFor $30+, I would hope that you don't have to sniff anything to use your "signal generator", if that thing can be called a "signal generator" at all.

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2013, 08:33:14 pm
content: Quote from: bingo600 on November 24, 2013, 07:00:05 pmAD9850 generatesonlysine wave, DDS300 generates a variety of waveform output , respectively {sine wave, square wave , triangle wave, heart} wave

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2013, 08:34:35 pm
content: Quote from: dannyf on November 24, 2013, 07:17:54 pmthe program which handles this board is for Windows only and you don't need to sniff anything,you connect the serial cable between the PC and the DDS300 and you are ready to use the unit!You need to sniff the protocol, or to get the protocol documentation, if you want to use linux, or if you want to connect the DDS300 to an embedded board, such as a linux-embedded board, or to Arduino.

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2013, 08:35:20 pm
content: anyone has bought this unit or knows something about the protocol ? if not i will buy and reverse by myself.

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2013, 12:22:18 am
content: @bingo600you mean something likethis(AVR DDS signal generator) ?edit:more reading about AVR DDS signal generator can be foundhere(see notes)AVR DDS signal generator has been inspired bythisminiDDS project with Jesper’s DDS algorithm (enjoy it in avr asm)Quote

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2013, 01:09:54 am
content: i hope sniffing is much faster than building a proper one from scratch. and i hope you have spare money to buy more proper one when you are done with this dds3000. and i hope you will enjoy the journey and i hope you good luck my "dear"

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2013, 01:35:31 am
content: wellsniffing may be faster than building a proper one from scratch if building something means designing the pcb, realizing the pcb, soldering components on pcb, testing the whole, fixing the jam, fighting with the fw, fixing it, finalizing the whole … etcin short, sniffing a working object may be faster than obtaining a working objectbtw, i am also learning a bit about DDS, especially if combined with CPLD or FPGA approach to provide "arbitrary wave" generator features.very very interesting reading, so i have also bought a cheap book called "Digital Frequency Synthesis Demystified" by Goldberg

author: Harvs
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2013, 02:48:30 am
content: While I know nothing about this module in question, or it's competitors, let's be realistic about how long it would take to discover the basic workings of the protocol.You'll plug it into a PC (windoze or loonix), fire up any of the many free serial port sniffers out there, send it some commands from the given application software, and I'd bet within 20min you'll have a good understanding of how to control it.It's taken me longer than that to decipher some Chinese datasheets in the past.

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2013, 09:10:31 am
content: exactly!

author: Crazy Ape
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2013, 12:04:56 pm
content: Would this not be a better buy?Sine, Square, Triangle Waves and 0 - 12.5MHzhttp://www.aliexpress.com/item/AD9833-DDS-Signal-Generator-Sine-Square-Triangle-Wave-0-12-5MHz-Signal-Source-free-shipping/1295664251.html

author: dannyf
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2013, 12:06:49 pm
content: QuoteIt doesn't offer an as convoluted solution, however.