Discover Your Next USB Oscilloscope: The Analog Discovery 3

Digilent announces an updated version of its popular Analog Discovery USB Oscilloscope: the Analog Discovery 3.

Whitney Knitter
10 months agoProductivity / HW101 / Debugging / Sensors

Digilent has announced a new addition to its Discovery line-up of USB oscilloscopes. The Analog Discovery 3 (AD3) is a handy all-in-one type of digital test equipment encompassing the functionality of a mixed-signal oscilloscope, arbitrary waveform generator (AWG), logic analyzer, and pattern generator. It also has settings that allows it to be used as a spectrum analyzer, network analyzer, impedance analyzer, protocol analyzer, limited power supply, data logger, and more!

Those familiar with its predecessors, the Analog Discovery and Analog Discovery 2, will recognize the similar Pi-sized form factor. Between its size and universal host PC support in WaveForms, the AD3 is a great book/computer bag companion for lab-to-field and back debugging.

WaveForms is the user interface software Digilent has developed for its USB portable oscilloscope, logic analyzer, and function generator products, such as the Analog Discovery 3. WaveForms offers full support for Linux (on most devices), Mac OS, and Windows. It is also completely free!

One of the great things about WaveForms is that it allows you to have each desired the test equipment functionality open in a different tab in the same window. Triggers can be set in each tab and run concurrently to enable users to capture exactly what they need to. For example, while debugging a SPI bus, I had a logic analyzer tab open to verify the physical SPI interface and a protocol checker tab to simultaneously capture the data bytes transferred to verify they were also correct.

Each window with desired test equipment function tabs can be saved as a workspace so all measurement settings can be preserved for future use and/or transfer to a lab partner.

The AD3 connects to a host PC with via USB C and is powered via the 5V USB bus from the host PC for most applications. In some instances where current draw may exceed what the host PC USB can provide, the AD3 can also be powered by an auxiliary barrel jack power wall adapter (5V/2.5A - 12.5W maximum).

Included in the box is a USB C cable, the breakout probe cable, pinout diagram, sticker flags for the probe leads, and even some male header pins to use with a bread board (this gets bonus points in my book since my headers for connecting probes to my breadboards seem to disappear faster than my hair elastic ties).

Taking a look at the finer specs of the AD3, the 14-bit resolution oscilloscope can sample up to 125MS/s per channel with a +/- 25V input range and 30MHz+ bandwidth with a BNC adapter. The AWG is capable of producing all standard waveforms (sine, square, saw, etc.) up to 25MHz with an amplitude of +/-5V, amplitude and frequency modulated signals, direct playback from analog inputs, and custom waveforms. The logic analyzer and pattern generator functionalities are comprised of 16 digital I/O channels at up to 125 MS/s per channel with protocol decoders for SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, JTAG, ROM logic, and custom protocols.

These specs are more than enough for non-RF applications and are even more impressive when looking at the tiny package Digilent has managed to squeeze them into. The Analog Discovery 3 is worthwhile investment for engineers and makers to have on hand.

Whitney Knitter
All thoughts/opinions are my own and do not reflect those of any company/entity I currently/previously associate with.
Latest articles
Sponsored articles
Related articles
Latest articles
Read more
Related articles