[TriEmbed] Logic Analyzer Recommendatio

[pete@soper.us]

When they say the older bp has the same major features they leave out "and unlike with the new rev the features are all in the firmware as well as the marketing literature". Seriously, this is one of those rare cases where the implicit vs explicit contracts of open source sometimes fall short. If you want the new bp i'm sure Splatspace will make a deal. :-)

----- Reply message -----
From: "Glen Smith" <mrglenasmith at gmail.com>
To: "TriEmbed Discussion" <triembed at triembed.org>
Subject: [TriEmbed] Logic Analyzer Recommendatio
Date: Mon, Jan 19, 2015 3:53 PM

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.
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. 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) 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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