[TriEmbed] Logic Analyzer Recommendatio

Glen Smith mrglenasmith at gmail.com
Mon Jan 19 14:53:43 CST 2015


I don't have any personal experience to add, but with all the talk I went
looking for info on the Bus Pirate 3 & 4.

>From the Seed Studio web site:
"Seeed Studio is the official manufacturer and supporter of the Bus Pirate
project. Version 4 is the next generation Bus Pirate hardware, but it's not
as stable as Bus Pirate v3
<http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/bus-pirate-v3-assembled-p-609.html?cPath=174>.
If you're just starting out with the Bus Pirate we still recommend v3 -
it's cheaper, more reliable, and has all the same major features. See a Bus
Pirate v4 vs v3 comparison
<http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Bus_Pirate_v4_vs_v3_comparison>.
*Protocols* 1-Wire, I2C, SPI, JTAG, asynchronous serial (UART), MIDI, PC
keyboard, HD44780 LCDs, and generic 2- and 3-wire libraries for custom
protocols."

It sounds like if you want to get some work done using the thing, V3 is the
way to go, if you want another project, V4 apparently needs help getting
firmed up.

Glen


On Mon, Jan 19, 2015 at 3:41 PM, Jon Wolfe <jonjwolfe at anibit.com> wrote:

> I should have mentioned that about the bus pirate.  The 3.x version has
> been the recommended version for a long time. It seems like as Pete said,
> that the 4.x has been in beta forever. I have never used a 4.x but I've
> almost bought one just for comparison several times.
>
> I also have the open logic sniffer,  and I still give an edge the the
> sallae logic in the usability, especially in client tools. The ols is
> technically faster and has more data lines, but at high speeds the on board
> buffer fills in no time. There is a differential/rle mode I think, but it
> was wonky for me when I tried. If your smaple rate is low enough,  the
> sallea streams over usb so you essentially have an unlimited buffer.  I
> don't think the ols can do that. The ols does have more sophisticated
> triggers iirc though.
>
> Ther short answer Chip, is that you should just go out amd buy yourself
> one of each ;)
>
> --Jon
>
>
>
>
>
> -------- Original message --------
> From: Pete Soper
> Date:01/19/2015 3:27 PM (GMT-05:00)
> To: triembed at triembed.org
> Subject: Re: [TriEmbed] Logic Analyzer Recommendatio
>
> Sorry to be late to the party.
>
> Two things with the bus pirate:
>     1) Be super-careful to avoid the "latest" hardware version if the
> software for that never got completed. I don't know if this situation was
> ever corrected, but the last time I checked after (the worthless) Bus
> Pirate for Splatspace wasn't cooperating the firmware author appeared to
> have publicly backed away from completing the work (but that was at least
> 18 months ago).
>    2) The Bus Pirate is so slow and that even it's maker warns against
> considering it equivalent to a logic analyzer for high speed data.
>
> I've been using the Dangerous Prototypes "Open Bench Logic Sniffer" for a
> long time and it's gotten the job done. It isn't particularly fast (200msps
> as I recall) but that's been fast enough for every situation I've been in,
> and should certainly be adequate for SPI.
> The problematic aspect with this hardware is that even the best client
> software (OLS <http://www.lxtreme.nl/ols/>) is a bit brittle with respect
> to the USB interface, occasionally requiring a restart.
>
> -Pete
>
> On 01/18/2015 11:54 AM, Chip McClelland wrote:
>
> To all,  thanks for the responses thus far. I have one other question
> before I pull the trigger on this.  Does the Saleae doe enough extra to
> justify the extra price over the Bus Pirate?   My main focus today is
> listening to the I2C bus but am open to getting a more capable tool if it
> may be helpful in the future.
>
>  Thanks,
> Chip
>
> O
>
>
>
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