Next-best Logic Analyzer after the Saleae Logic Pro? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: David1234
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2017, 01:54:24 am
content: If you take all of the logic analyzers that are for sale today and filter them down to just the ones that:Can decode anything (because you can write a custom decoder for them) andHave a sample rate and bandwidth that are good enough for 99% of anything you would typically try to decode,what would you be left with?I know the Saleae Pro 8/16 would be at the top of that list for most people, but what is next on the list?I'm looking for something that has 90%+ of the specs of the Saleae Pro 8/16 but is around 60% or less in price.For example, what is your opinion of the DSLogic Pro Kit? It seems to have similar specs but is $100. Is it somehow only 1/5th as good as the Saleae?

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2017, 10:21:00 am
content: Go to the open source Sigrok site and look at what analysers are supported on Pulseview. Then read up further on the best ones there that meet your budget. You'll find that a lot of the ebay LA clones are supported too.

author: alm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2017, 10:32:16 am
content: One advantage of the Saleae software is that protocol decoding is quite fast, even for large sample depths. Protocol decoding in Pulseview (on which the DSLogic software is based) seems to take ages, in comparison. This is especially relevant if you do the 'press button X', 'watch response' kind of troubleshooting. Waiting a couple of minutes after every acquisition is not fun.I believe there are others like Usbee, Ikalogic and ZeroPlus. I believe all of them support custom protocol decoders, either for free or for a fee. I have not used any of them, so I couldn't tell you if they are better or worse than the Saleae or Sigrok/Pulseview. But they have all been discussed on this forum before.

author: pix3l
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2017, 10:32:37 am
content: I've heard mixed opinions on the DSLogic in terms of support and frequency of updates (some say the development is dead if you look at the forums on their website)

author: sequoia
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 17, 2017, 10:45:14 pm
content: Hard to beat Sigrok when it comes to "bang for buck" ratioGUI (PulseView) is nice, but I personally really like the CLI interface, nice that can easily script tests, etc...Btw, really nice intro to using Sigrok/PulseView (by OpenTechLab) here:

author: irakandjii
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2017, 11:37:55 pm
content: You could look at this one:http://store.digilentinc.com/digital-discovery-portable-logic-analyzer-and-digital-pattern-generator/It is also a generator .. for ~200$ US

author: andy1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2017, 08:57:45 am
content: I have the Ikalogic ScanaPlus and the software works fine, it is not as high sampling speed as the Salae pro 8 but it has been plenty enough for me.The differential receivers have also been useful couple of times (CAN and RS485 bug hunting).They provide free decoders for practically everything I need and the scripting to make your own does not look too difficult and is supported.

author: David1234
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2017, 04:28:18 am
content: I'm more asking about a spec vs spec comparison. I'm looking for as close a possible to the same specs as the Saleae Pro, but at a much lower price. I understand that the software is a big part of it but if the signal I'm trying to measure out-specs the logic analyzer then the software is suddenly irrelevant because the logic analyzer doesn't have the hardware to measure the signal correctly anyway.

author: aandrew
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2017, 06:46:55 am
content: I'm a huge fan of the $5 FX2LP devkit boards you can get anywhere. e.g.https://www.aliexpress.com/item/blah/976713163.htmlThese work great with sigrok, which, if you're looking for cheap and flexible, is about as good as you can get. They're so cheap and flexible that I tend to include one in any fixture I build up, rather than keep one and use it among multiple fixtures. With some work you can also run Saleae firmware on them, but honestly I prefer sigrok.

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2017, 07:43:53 am
content: This boards can also be used with many AD chips, since several AD development boards use this cypress baby