A few hundred dollars: which function generator should I buy? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: king.oslo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 01:48:02 am
content: The subject describes the questionThanks.M

author: PeterG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 02:07:43 am
content: How much is a 'Few Hundred'?Have you thought about what your requirements are?Let us know and we will be able to help you....Regards

author: Lawsen
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 06:02:58 am
content: This is a very vague question. I am not going to do your homework about this topic. A signal or function generator can costs between $60.00 pocket three functions waveform generator to $3000.00 USD with a large display screen showing the wave form as an arbitrary waveform generator. What sort of wave form are you trying to model? What is your frequency range and what type of signals are you working in? I am happy with the $60.00 pocket three functions waveform generator to test amplifier circuits and other interests. You could make your own waveform function generator with TTL logic and oscillator, too. These are questions for you to answer for yourself. Atten has a nice signal generator, but it is still expensive. You need to study waveforms and decide for yourself.

author: king.oslo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 12:14:56 pm
content: Hey,I agree with you three.By the way Erik, jeg er fra OsloM

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 03:09:27 pm
content: Do you think that it's appropriate to post in another language than English on an international forum? Other people might also be interested in this thread, either now or in the future. Forums aren't just helpdesks to answer somebody's question. They also serve as a searchable collective knowledge base. What would the value of this forum be if most of the threads were in Chinese, French, Greek, German or Spanish, depending on the native language of the posters?

author: Jon Chandler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 03:34:08 pm
content: Geez guys, lighten up.If somebody makes a request that's too vague, don't answer it. Somebody else will, or the original poster can provide more info when nobody replies.Quote from: ErikTheNorwegian on September 25, 2011, 02:56:53 pmAnd as far as a quick reply to a countryman in their native tongue, use Google translate if you feel so threatened! It literally took 5 seconds to find out what the mesage said:Quote

author: king.oslo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 03:40:18 pm
content: Can I get generators making digital signals in the common standards that PICs use? What is this feature called?Thanks.M

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 03:47:33 pm
content: You could generate square waves with Vhigh = 3.3V or 5V and Vlow = 0V, if that's what you mean? Look for CMOS/TTL outputs, or at least a maximum amplitude of at least as high as your PIC's supply voltage.

author: king.oslo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 03:55:25 pm
content: I want to simulate communications between two PICs, using one PIC and a a generator. I want to output a digital signal, say SPI or RS232 that the PIC can use to change the angle of a servo.Thanks.M

author: DaveW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 03:57:55 pm
content: The buspirate will do what you want, or simply an RS-232 to ttl adapter and hyperterminal

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 03:59:17 pm
content: You could theoretically do RS232 with an AWG, within the limits of waveform sizes and sample rates, but it would be far cheaper and far, far easier to get a Bus Pirate and a PC with a terminal program.SPI requires at least two lines (data and clock) so you'd either need a dual-output AWG or two of them.

author: king.oslo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 04:29:36 pm
content: Yes the buspirate looks good!Can i get a similar unit that is standalone and doesnt require a PC?Thanks.M

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 05:52:12 pm
content: Quote from: Jon Chandler on September 25, 2011, 03:34:08 pmI don't see the issue, the replies asking for more information seemed polite and helpful to me. No replies could also indicate a lack of interest or that nobody knows the answer, and might prompt the poster to seek help somewhere else, where they will encounter the same issue until someone points it out to them.Quote from: king.oslo on September 25, 2011, 03:40:18 pmA digital pattern generator would be the generic name. Serial host adapters, like the Total Phase products, would be a more specialized variant. Technically any signal or pulse generator that can generate square waves or pulse trains can generate a digital signal, although most digital buses tend to be more complex than that.Quote from: king.oslo on September 25, 2011, 04:29:36 pmJust like with arbitrary waveform generators, you really need a PC to load/setup the relatively complex signal. Not much fun inputting all data points on a front panel. Arbitrary waveform generators may have a front panel, but nobody uses that to set up arbitrary waveforms, only to generate the standard signals or recall a previously saved waveform. I guess you could connect a bus pirate to a serial terminal and make it a stand-alone product, but I'm not aware of anyone who did this. You usually have a PC around when doing digital development/troubleshooting anyway for stuff like programming/debugging a micro or running a logic analyzer. Some specialized test gear with limited flexibility (eg. TV test signal generators) may have a stand-alone interface.Quote from: ErikTheNorwegian on September 25, 2011, 04:36:08 pmSorry, wrong millennium. That was about a thousand years ago.

author: king.oslo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 07:10:26 pm
content: Thanks!M

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 09:09:16 pm
content: Quote from: ErikTheNorwegian on September 25, 2011, 08:36:00 pmAlm I like to see your face after reading the above reply, please send me a picture of it LOL ... Oh my

author: westfw
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 09:10:45 pm
content: QuoteI don't think that this would normally be called a 'signal generator'...The "bus pirate" is a good suggestion; otherwise you start to look into specialized and expensive "SPI analyzer", "I2C analyzer", "serial protocol analyzer", "traffic generator", etc.Another idea is an Arduino, a PC, and a small amount of programming. Though that would give you two things to debug, when I expect that you wanted a "known good" traffic generator.

author: bilko
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 09:14:15 pm
content: Quote from: ErikTheNorwegian on September 25, 2011, 08:36:00 pmSo what's the big deal, about 12 houses then

author: king.oslo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 10:36:16 pm
content: Kanskje det er en idé å ikke snakke så mye om nasjonaliteten vår. Vi er stolte, men kanskje noen blir misunnelige eller sinteAnyway, eventually I bought a BusPirate v3.M

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 11:13:27 pm
content: Beyond the fun and the jokes among us, its true that some people have some difficulty to understand how hard it is for all the non native English speakers, to participate in forums with a mixture of English and American English language.The ones who does that, are smart - educated - and love to communicate.And imagine that we do not speak about vacations and simple terms, but about technology, that many best educated in English language will fail to handle the technical terms !!Either way Alm is an very educated person about technology, and I am greatly appreciate him.And by the way, forget the function generator and make more international friends.Also, after all this statements about Norway, if any Norwegian cry out again about the pricing of technical instrumentsin Norway, I will kick his ass .

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 11:45:30 pm
content: Quote from: king.oslo on September 25, 2011, 04:29:36 pmIf you only need to send a couple of different messages, you could connect a bunch of buttons to another PIC and program it to send a message for each button.

author: gregariz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2011, 11:51:47 pm
content: if you are wanting to just sniff or probe I2C/SPI words there are several usb modules out there that let you do it for $20 or $30. Sparkfun has one... there's another one being advertised in the mags... cant remember which one sorry.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 26, 2011, 12:14:15 am
content: I have nothing against Norway, and I wouldn't mind learning Norsk once our neo-viking overlords rule the world, it's just another Indo-European language after all. Until the time that most of the world population (or at least the EEs) have learned Norsk, however, I suggest that communicating in English is the most effective for an international audience. One common language is the most effective on a global forum like this, didn't we learn anything from Babel?On topic:Interfacing with a bus pirate, like joelby suggests, would be quite easy, since it's just an async serial (like RS-232) connection plus an FT-232 to convert it to USB. There wouldn't be much point, however, might as well implement whatever protocol you need directly. The Bus Pirate is a very versatile swiss-army knife of slow serial protocols. It's not particularly good at anything in particular, transfer speeds are limited, for example, but it's very useful for quick and dirty jobs. This versatility and design for interactive use basically requires a keyboard, in my opinion, and does not lend itself very well to a few dedicated buttons.Same for most SPI/I2C host devices, since they are designed to send and receive streams of data. Where are you going to put this data or get this data from in a piece of stand-alone equipment, unless it incorporates almost a complete PC?

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2011, 05:08:35 am
content: Quote from: joelby on September 25, 2011, 11:45:30 pmstill require a PC. btw, i dont see it helpful talking in other language other than standard english. i can talk my language, but i will talk to myself then, or other people from my country only.

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2011, 05:19:46 am
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on September 26, 2011, 05:08:35 amOnly the first time - after that it's a standalone piece of test equipment!I'm assuming that the person asking the question has a PC and a PIC programmer because they've mentioned using PICs and have posted here using a computer of some sort.

author: king.oslo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2011, 07:46:20 am
content: I am sorry, if anyone was offended by my use of Norwegian on this forum. At least on behalf of me, I would use English for anything other than irrelevant bullshit. So that those who don't understand what has been said, is probably not missing out on anything good.Thanks.Kind regards,Marius

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2011, 02:41:37 pm
content: You may want to check this thread which has a similar topic:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=4932.new#new