PicoScope 3000 Series Help
Contents
1. dual_slope if repeat is TRUE this specifies what to do at the stop_frequency TRUE will sweep back towards the start_frequency FALSE will restart the sweep from start_frequency This agument has no effect if used with the PicoScope 3204 variant Returns The actual frequency in Hz or start frequency in Hz that is generated Zero if one of the parameters are not in range Remarks The PicoScope 3204 oscilloscope model has a simple 1kHz square wave signal generator for scope probe calibration Therefore only two arguments of this function have any effect To switch the square wave on use a valid handle and set start_frequency to a non zero value To switch the square wave off use a valid handle and set start_frequency to 0 5 2 8 ps3000_set_ets long ps3000_set_ets short handle short mode short ets_cycles short ets_interleave This function is used to enable or disable ETS and to set the ETS parameters Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved 21 PicoScope 3000 Series Help Arguments handle the handle to the required device mode PS3000_ETS_OFF 0 disables ETS PS3000_ETS_FAST 1 enable ETS and provides ets_cycles of data which may contain data from previously returned cycles PS3000_ETS_SLOW 2 enable ETS and provide fresh data every ets_cycles cycles PS3000_ETS_SLOW takes longer to provide each data set b2. PicoScope 3000 series User guide Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PicoScope 3000 Series Help Table of Contents Part Introduction 3 1 Overview ias 3 2 installation INSTEUCHONS annann Nnnna NANANA 3 AN MD a 4 A sane sees cee e tars see e e E e ae a a eE aee aE Ae E ae 5 BH elote iii di 6 6 CEMO ICS ici A ii iii 6 E COMPany detalls cia inn etennesced coutessscueisocecevtecenetersnepcectccte 7 Part Il Product information 8 1 SPecifiCatiONS acid 8 2 Minimum system requirements cccceceeceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesneeseeenneeseeesneeseseneeesesesneesesesneeseseseeseeesees 9 Part Ill Advanced features 10 ISA teSdeuchucesstuateteacs TE 10 2 More on block MOC ocio eve ceentenece cece vetect audescn ddeeceusecnececccusesedt unecocusesexeuncueveeceeuuesects 10 3 More on streaming mode cmccccnnncnnnnancnnnnnnc nn 10 A MA 2 C 1 eae ee eS Re oe eo PP 11 5 ETS Equivalent Time Sampling cccescccsseeeeseeeeeeeeeeseeseseeeeneeeeeeeeeeseaeseseeeeeseeeseesesneeenseeeeeees 11 6 Voltage rangas eis scne cit sone cest cee cnet teceente iia di cl ln dia 11 e ee AAA 11 8 OVEFSAMPIINO i cccoi caconicnioric rana ri A ie 11 9 Scaling ica io aa aa 11 10 Signal generator iii do ia ca 12 11 Combining OSCIlOSCOPES ocommcccnnnnnninnccnncrccrrrc rc 12 Part IV Using different modes 13 1 introducha econ ici 13 2 Usmo Dlock Mod as 13 3 Using streaming Mode
3. ccccscecccesseeeeeeeseeeeeenseeeeensneeeeenseeeeeenseeeeeensneeeeensuaeeeenseeeeeenseaeeeenseaeeeenens 13 A Using ETS MOde iia ii its 13 Part V Technical reference 15 Fee G1 eg A en np SE O 15 2 FUNCIONS aus ill Rakes ele eee iolanicd 15 AAPP sede qasteatcass cee tuedeccucasseetedvetscees 25 A Cl LT a O NN 27 Part VI Troubleshooting 30 Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Contents II A E o nn 30 2 Error CodeS iii da daa id dada 30 Index 32 Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PicoScope 3000 Series Help 1 2 Introduction Overview The PicoScope 3000 series is a range of high speed PC oscilloscopes fully USB 2 0 capable and backwards compatible with USB 1 1 There is no need for an additional power supply as power input is from the USB port these oscilloscopes are highly portable With the PicoScope software oscilloscopes from the PicoScope 3000 series can be used as PC oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers with the PicoLog software oscilloscopes from the PicoScope 3000 series can be used as data loggers Alternatively you might want to use some of the API functions to develop your own programs to collect and analyze data from the oscilloscope A typical PicoScope 3000 oscilloscope is supplied with the following items e USB cable for use with both types of USB port e Software CD e Installation guide Installation instruc
4. USB hub Will not work on a passive hub Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Advanced features 10 3 2 3 3 Advanced features Sampling modes PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscopes run in various sampling modes At high sampling rates the PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscope will collect data much faster than a PC can read it To compensate for this the oscilloscope stores a block of data in an internal memory buffer delaying transfer to the PC until the required number of data points have been sampled This is called block mode At very low sampling rates you may want to switch to streaming mode This allows data to be transferred back to the PC as it is collected More on block mode In block mode the computer prompts an oscilloscope from the PicoScope 3000 series to collect a block of data into its internal memory When the PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscope has collected the whole block it will signal it is ready and transfer the whole block into computer memory via the USB port The maximum number of values depends upon the size of the oscilloscope s memory A PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscope can sample at a number of different rates These rates correspond to the maximum clock frequency multiplied by 0 5 0 25 0 125 and so on There are 14 sampling rates There is a separate memory buffer for each channel When a channel is unused its memory can be utilised by the enabled chan
5. If a trigger is set it is the amount of time the ADC takes in ms to collect a block of data after a trigger event calculated as sample interval x number of points required Note The actual time may differ from computer to computer depending on how fast the computer can respond to lO requests Returns O if one of the parameters are out of range otherwise 1 5 2 11 ps3000_run_streaming short ps3000_run_streaming short handle short time_interval_ms long max_samples short windowed This function tells the oscilloscope to start collecting data in streaming mode If this function is called when a trigger has been enabled the trigger settings will be ignored Arguments handle the handle to the required device time_interval_ms the time interval in ms between data points This can be no shorter than ims max_samples the maximum number of samples that the driver is to store This can be no greater than 60000 It is the caller s responsibility to retrieve data before the oldest values are overwritten windowed if this is 0 only the values taken since the last call to get values are returned If this is 1 the number of values requested by get_values are returned even if they have already been read by ps get values Returns 1 if streaming has been enabled correctly otherwise 0 if a problem occurred or a value was out of range Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights res
6. Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Advanced features 12 3 10 3 11 Signal generator PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscopes have a built in signal generator which is set using ps3000 set siggen It produces a selection of accurate frequencies from 1Hz to 1MHz The waveform can be set to sine square or triangle and can be swept back and forth in frequency These are selected under software control The signal generator output is physically the same as the external trigger input so these two functions cannot be used at the same time It is possible however to use the output from the signal generator as a trigger Note The signal generator function is not available on all PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscopes Combining oscilloscopes With PicoLog or your own program it is possible to collect data using up to four oscilloscopes from the PicoScope 3000 series at the same time Each oscilloscope must be connected to a separate USB port If a USB hub is used it must be a powered hub The ps3000 open unit function returns a handle to an oscilloscope All of the other functions require this handle for oscilloscope identification For example to collect data from two oscilloscopes at the same time handlel handle2 ps3000_open ps3000_open ps3000_set_channel handlel set up unit 1 ps3000_run handlel ps3000_set_channel handle2 set up unit 2 ps3000_run handle2 ready FALSE wh
7. installed in Windows It is loaded using an inf file picopp inf Once you have installed the PicoScope and PicoLog software and the PicoScope 3000 oscilloscope is plugged in for the first time Windows will automatically install the driver Functions ps3000_open_unit short ps3000_open_unit void This function opens an oscilloscope from the PicoScope 3000 series The API driver can support up to four oscilloscopes Arguments None Returns 1 if the oscilloscope fails to open 0 if no oscilloscope is found or a positive gt 0 handle to the device opened ps3000_get_unit_info short ps3000_get_unit_info short handle char string short string_length short info This function writes oscilloscope information to a character string If the oscilloscope fails to open only infos O and 6 are available to explain why the last open unit call failed Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Technical reference 16 Arguments handle the handle to the device from which info is required If an invalid handle is passed the error code from the last unit that failed to open is returned from line 2 string a pointer to the character string buffer in the calling function where the unit information string selected with line will be stored If a null pointer is passed no information will be written string_length the length of the character string buffer If the str
8. reference 24 Arguments handle the handle to the required device buffer_a this is a pointer to the buffer to which data from A will go It is unused if the oscilloscope is collecting only from channel B If the pointer is NULL nothing will be written here buf fer_b this is a pointer to the buffer to which data from B will go It is unused if the oscilloscope is collecting only from channel A If the pointer is NULL nothing will be written here buffer_c for future use set to NULL buf fer_d for future use set to NULL overflow a bit pattern indicating whether an overflow has occurred on a channel bit 0 overflow on channel A bit 1 is an overflow on channel B bit 2 is an overflow on channel C and bit 3 is an overflow on channel D Where bit0 is the LSB no_of_values The number of data points to return In streaming mode this is the maximum no of values to return Returns The actual number of data values per channel returned which may be less than the no_of_values if streaming FALSE is returned if one of the parameters are out of range 5 2 15 ps3000_get_times_and_values long ps3000_get_times_and_values short handle long times short buffer_a short butter D short buffer_c short butter 0 short overflow short time_units long no_of_values This function is used to get values and times This function will not return any valid times if the oscilloscope is in streaming mod
9. 10 Repeat steps 6 to 9 11 Stop the oscilloscope using ps3000 stop Using streaming mode This is the general procedure for reading and displaying data in streaming mode Open the oscilloscope using ps3000_ open unit Select channel ranges and AC DC switches using ps3000 set channel Start the oscilloscope running using ps3000 run streaming Transfer the block of data from the oscilloscope using ps3000 get values Display the data Repeat steps 3 to 5 as necessary Stop the oscilloscope using ps3000_ stop Using ETS mode This is the general procedure for reading and displaying data in ETS mode Open the oscilloscope using ps3000 open unit Select channel ranges and AC DC switches using ps3000 set channel Using ps3000 set trigger set the trigger if required Set ETS mode using ps3000 set ets Start the oscilloscope running using ps3000 run block Wait until the oscilloscope says it is ready using ps3000 ready Transfer the block of data from the oscilloscope using ps3000 get times and values Display the data ONDOOABRWN Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Using different modes 9 Repeat steps 5 to 8 as necessary 10 Stop the oscilloscope using ps3000 stop 14 Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved 15 PicoScope 3000 Series Help 5 2 5 2 1 5 2 2 Technical reference Driver The Windows 98SE ME 2K XP 2003 32 bit driver picopp sys is
10. 4 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Index 32 Index A AC coupling 11 AC DC switch 10 13 17 ADC 10 11 Aliasing 11 API 3 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 API functions 3 B Block mode 10 11 13 22 BNC connector 3 Buffer 10 11 C 13 C programming 25 Calibration 5 Channel 10 11 13 17 18 21 23 Clock frequency 10 Contact details 7 D Datalogger 3 DC coupling 11 Delphi programming 26 Device Manager 30 Driver 10 11 13 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 30 su Error code 1 30 Errorcode2 30 Error code 3 30 Errorcode4 30 Errorcode5 30 Errorcode6 30 Errorcode7 30 ETS 11 13 18 20 23 24 ETS mode 13 Excel macros 26 External trigger 3 11 12 21 ha FAQ 30 Functions 23 24 10 11 12 13 15 17 18 19 20 21 22 High speed 3 10 HP Vee 27 Macros inExcel 26 Maximum input range 5 Memory buffer 10 11 Multi unit operation 12 N Normal mode 10 0 One shot signal 11 Oscilloscope probe 3 Oversampling 11 P PC oscilloscopes 3 6 Pico Technical Support 30 PicoLog software 3 15 30 picopp inf 15 picopp sys 15 PicoScope 3000 series 3 5 6 9 10 11 12 13 15 17 19 21 22 23 26 30 Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved 33 PicoScope 3000 Series Help PicoScope software 3 15 30 Pre trigger 11 V Programming inC 13 25 Programming in Dephi 26 Pro
11. D on the front of the oscilloscope three times and returns within one second Arguments handle the handle of the PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscope Returns 1 if a valid handle is passed 0 if not ps3000_close_unit short ps3000_close_unit short handle Shuts down a PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscope Arguments handle the handle returned by ps3000 open unit of the oscilloscope being closed Returns 1 if a valid handle is passed 0 if not ps3000_set_channel short ps3000_set_channel short handle short channel short enabled short de short range Specifies if a is to be enabled the position of the ACIDC switch and the input range Arguments handle the handle to the required device channel an enumerated type use PS3000_CHANNEL_A 0 PS3000_CHANNEL_B 1 PS3000_CHANNEL_C 2 or PS3000_CHANNEL_D 3 Channels C and D are not available on all models enabled specify if the channel is active TRUE active FALSE inactive dc specifies the position of the AC DC switch TRUE DC FALSE AC range a code between 0 and 12 see the table below Returns 0 if unsuccessful or if one or more of the arguments are out of range 1 if successful Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Technical reference 18 Code Enumeration Range 0 PS3000_10MV 10mV Not available on all
12. are application will cause a restart of the data stream The driver can buffer up to 32K samples of data per channel but the user must ensure that the ps3000 get values function is called frequently enough to avoid buffer overrun Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved 11 PicoScope 3000 Series Help 3 4 3 5 3 6 3 7 3 8 3 9 The ps3000 get times and values function will always return FALSE 0 in streaming mode Triggering The PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscope can either start collecting data immediately or it can be programmed to wait for a trigger event to occur In either case you need to use the ps3000 set trigger function A trigger event can occur when the channel A or B input crosses a threshold voltage or when an external trigger input crosses a threshold voltage The trigger event can be either a rising or a falling edge The external trigger input uses the same physical connection as the signal generator output so these two functions cannot be used at the same time It is possible however to use the output from the signal generator as a trigger Triggering is available in block mode only Any calls to the ps3000 set trigger function has no effect in streaming mode ETS Equivalent Time Sampling ETS is a way of increasing the effective sample rate when working with repetitive signals It is not possible to use ETS with one shot signals ETS is control
13. be used to compensate x10 scope probes when set to output a square wave Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Introduction 4 Connector diagram 1 USB port connector 2 LED When lit indicates the PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscope is sampling data 3 External trigger Signal generator 1 3 Safety symbols Symbol 1 Warning Triangle Warning T riangle This symbol indicates that a safety hazard exists on the indicated connections if correct precautions are not taken Ensure that all safety documentation associated with the product is read in detail before a product is used Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PicoScope 3000 Series Help 1 4 Symbol 2 Equipotential Equipotential This symbol indicates that the outer shell of the indicated BNC connectors are all at the same potential i e are shorted together The user must therefore take necessary precautions to avoid a potential being applied across the return connections of the indicated BNC terminals as this may result in a large current flow causing damage to the product and or connected equipment Safety warning We strongly recommend that you read the general safety information below before using your oscilloscope for the first time Safety protection built in to equipment may cease to function if the equipment is used incorrectly This could cause damage to your computer or lead t
14. choose PS3000_SINE 0 PS3000_SQUARE 1 or PS3000_TRIANGLE 2 This argument has no effect if used with the PicoScope 3204 variant start_frequency the required frequency in the range 0 lt freq lt 1MHz to start the sweep or the frequency generated in a non sweep mode 0 switches the signal generator off stop_frequency the required stop frequency of the sweep in the range 0 lt freq lt 1MHz but not necessarily greater than start_frequency If the start and stop frequencies are the same the signal generator will be run with a constant frequency This agument has no effect if used with the PicoScope 3204 variant increment The size of the steps to increment or decrement the frequency by ina sweep mode This must always be positive the start and stop frequencies will determine whether to increment or decrement This must be a frequency in the range 0 1Hz lt increment lt stop_frequency start_frequencyl This is not used in a non sweep mode This agument has no effect if used with the PicoScope 3204 variant dwel1_time This is the time in ms to wait before increasing the frequency by increment in a sweep mode This is unused in a non sweep mode This agument has no effect if used with the PicoScope 3204 variant repeat TRUE restarts the sweep when the stop_frequency is reached FALSE continues indefinitely at st op_frequency when it is reached This agument has no effect if used with the PicoScope 3204 variant
15. e This function is essential for ETS operation Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved 25 PicoScope 3000 Series Help 5 3 5 3 1 Arguments handle the handle to the required device times this is a pointer to the buffer for the times Each time is the interval between the trigger event and the corresponding sample Times before the trigger event are negative and times after the trigger event are positive buffer_a this is a pointer to the buffer to put data from channel A into It is unused if the oscilloscope is collecting only from channel B If the pointer is NULL nothing will be written here buffer_b this is a pointer to the buffer to put data from channel B into It is unused if the oscilloscope is collecting only from channel A If the pointer is NULL nothing will be written here buffer_c for future use set to NULL buffer_d for future use set to NULL overflow a bit pattern indicating whether an overflow has occurred on a channel bit O overflow on channel A bit 1 is an overflow on channel B bit 2 is an overflow on channel C and bit 3 is an overflow on channel D Where bitO is the LSB time_units which can be one of PS3000_FS 0 PS3000_PS 1 PS3000_NS 2 PS3000_US 3 PS3000_Ms 4 or PS3000_S 5 which are femto seconds pico seconds nano seconds default micro seconds milli seconds and seconds respectively no_of_values The number of data points
16. entage of the requested number of data points between the trigger event and the start of the block It should be in the range 100 to 100 Thus 0 means that the first data value in the block and 50 means that the trigger event is in the middle of the block auto_trigger_ms the delay in ms after which the oscilloscope will collect samples if no trigger event occurs If this is set to zero the oscilloscope will wait for a trigger indefinitely Returns O if one of the parameters are out of range otherwise 1 Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Technical reference 22 5 2 10 ps3000_run_block short ps3000_run_block short handle long no_of_samples short timebase short oversample long time_indisposed_ms This function tells the oscilloscope to start collecting data in block mode Arguments handle the handle to the required device number of samples the number of samples to return timebase a code between 0 and 14 Timebase 0 is the fastest timebase timebase 1 is twice the time per sample as timebase 0 timebase 2 is four times and so on For the maximum sampling rate see the specifications Note This parameter is ignored during operation in ETS mode oversample the oversample factor a number between 1 and 256 time_indisposed_ms a pointer to the time_indisposed_ms This is the approximate time in ms over which the ADC will collect data
17. erved 23 PicoScope 3000 Series Help 5 2 12 ps3000_ ready short ps3000_ready short handle This function checks to see if the oscilloscope has finished the last data collection operation This function does nothing if the oscilloscope is in streaming mode Arguments handle the handle to the required device Returns 1 meaning ready is returned when the oscilloscope has collected a complete block of data or the auto trigger timeout has been reached If an invalid handle is passed or if the oscilloscope is in streaming mode it returns 0 meaning not ready 1 meaning device not attached is returned if the endpoint transfer fails indicating that the unit may well have been unplugged 5 2 13 ps3000_stop void ps3000_stop short handle Call this function to stop the oscilloscope from sampling data If this function is called before a trigger event occurs the oscilloscope may not contain valid data Arguments handle the handle to the required device Returns 0 if an invalid handle is passed otherwise 1 5 2 14 ps3000_get_values long ps3000_get_values short handle short buffer_a short buffer_b short buffer_c short buffer_d short overflow long no_of_values This function is used to get values This function does nothing if ETS triggering is enabled Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Technical
18. gramming in Visual Basic 26 R W Windowed mode 10 Visual Basic programming 26 Repair 5 Resolution 11 S Safety warning 6 Sample rate 11 Samples 11 Sampling 11 Sampling clock 11 Scope probe 3 Signal generator 3 11 12 13 19 Software control 12 Spectrum analyzer 3 Square wave 3 Streaming mode 10 13 Sweep 12 System requirements 9 Ta Technical Support 30 Testequipment 5 Threshold voltage 11 Time interval 11 Time interval 11 Timebase 18 22 Trigger 11 Trigger event 11 Triggering 11 Us USB 3 USB 9 USB1 1 3 9 USB2 0 3 9 USB hub 12 USB port 30 Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Pico Technology Ltd The Mill House Cambridge Street St Neots PE19 1QB United Kingdom Tel 44 0 1480 396 395 Fax 44 0 1480 396 296 Web www picotech com
19. ile not ready ready ps3000_ready handlel ready amp ps3000_ready handle2 ps3000_get_values handlel ps3000_get_values handle2 Note It is not possible to synchronise the collection of data between oscilloscopes when you are using them in combination Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PicoScope 3000 Series Help 13 4 4 1 4 2 4 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 4 3 4 2 3 4 5 6 7 4 4 Using different modes Introduction The previous section on advanced features aimed to supply the programmer with extended information on PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscopes The C sample program ps3000con c demonstrates how to use the functions of the driver software and includes examples showing how to use each of the modes available Using block mode This is the general procedure for reading and displaying data in block mode Open the oscilloscope using ps3000_ open unit Select channel ranges and AC DC switches using ps3000 set channel Using ps3000 set trigger set the trigger if required Using ps3000 get timebase select timebases until the required ns per sample is located If required set the signal generator frequency using ps3000 set siggen Start the oscilloscope running using ps3000_run_block Wait until the oscilloscope says it is ready using ps3000 ready Transfer the block of data from the oscilloscope using ps3000 get values or ps3000 get times and values 9 Display the data
20. iles ps3000con c and ps3000bc lib Borland 32 bit applications or ps3000 lib Microsoft Visual C 32 bit applications The following files must be in the compilation directory ps3000 h and the following file must be in the same directory as the executable ps3000 d11 Visual Basic The Win32 sub directory contains the following files ps3000 vbp project file ps3000 bas procedure prototypes ps3000 frm form and program Note The functions which return a TRUE FALSE value return O for FALSE and 1 for TRUE whereas Visual basic expects 65535 for TRUE Check for gt O rather than TRUE Delphi The program ps3000 dpr demonstrates how to operate oscilloscopes from the PicoScope 3000 series The file ps3000 inc contains procedure prototypes that you can include in your own programs Other required files include ps300fm res ps300fm dfmand ps3000fm pas This has been tested with Delphi versions 3 Excel 1 Load the spreadsheet ps3000 x1s 2 Select Tools Macro 3 Select GetData 4 Select Run Note The Excel Macro language is similar to Visual Basic The functions which return a TRUE FALSE value return O for FALSE and 1 for TRUE whereas Visual Basic expects 65535 for TRUE Check for gt O rather than TRUE Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved 27 PicoScope 3000 Series Help 5 3 5 5 4 HP Vee The example function ps3000 vee is in the drivers sub directory It u
21. ing is not long enough to accept all of the information only the first st ring_length characters are returned info is an enumerated type specifying what information is required from the driver Returns The length of the string written to the character string buffer string by the function If one of the parameters are out of range or a null pointer is passed for string zero will be returned info Description Example PS3000_DRIVER_VERSION 0 Returns the version number of the 1 0 0 2 DLL used by the oscilloscope driver PS3000_USB_VERSION 1 Returns the type of USB connection 1 1 or 2 0 that is being used to connect the oscilloscope to the computer PS3000_HARDWARE_VERSIONReturns information about what is 1 2 the hardware version of the attached oscilloscope PS3000_VARIANT_INFO 3 Returns information about what 3206 model of PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscope is attached to the computer 4 PS3000 BATCH AND SERIAL Returns the batch and serial number CMY66 052 of the oscilloscope PS3000_CAL_DATE 5 Returns the calibration date of the 210ct03 oscilloscope PS3000_ERROR_CODE 6 Returns one of the Error codes 4 Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved 17 PicoScope 3000 Series Help 5 2 3 5 2 4 5 2 5 ps3000_flash_led short ps3000_flash_led short handle Flashes the LE
22. ion that controls a piece of hardware The driver for the PicoScope 3000 series of oscilloscopes is supplied in the form of a 32 bit Windows DLL This is used by the PicoScope and PicoLog software and also by custom programs to control oscilloscopes from the PicoScope 3000 series ETS ETS stands for Equivalent Time Sampling ETS constructs a picture of a repetitive signal by accumulating information over many wave cycles This means the oscilloscope can capture fast repeating signals that have a higher frequency than the maximum sampling rate Note ETS should not be used for one shot or non repetitive signals Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Technical reference 28 External trigger This is the BNC socket marked Ext on a PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscope This connection point is shared with the signal generator output It can be used to start a data collection run but cannot be used to record data The external trigger input is physically the same as the signal generator output so these two functions cannot be used at the same time It is possible however to use the output from the signal generator as a trigger Maximum sampling rate A figure indicating the maximum number of samples the oscilloscope is capable of acquiring per second Maximum sample rates are usually given in MS s mega samples per second or GS s giga samples per second The higher the sampling capability of the oscillosc
23. led via use of the ps3000 set trigger and ps3000 set ets functions ETS is available in block mode only Calls to the ps3000 set trigger function have no effect in streaming mode As ETS will return random time intervals the ps3000 get times and values function must be used The ps3000 get values function will return FALSE 0 Voltage ranges It is possible to set the gain for each channel with the ps3000 set channel function This will give an input voltage range of between 100mV and 20V The external trigger has a fixed input range of 20V AC DC operation Using the ps3000 set channel function each channel can be set to either AC or DC coupling When AC coupling is used any DC component of the signal is filtered out Oversampling When the oscilloscope is operating in block mode at speeds that are less than maximum it is possible to oversample Oversampling is taking more than one measurement during a time interval and returning an average This reduces the effects of noise and increases the resolution of the oscilloscope Scaling Oscilloscopes from the PicoScope 3000 series are 8 bit To take advantage of noise reduction due to oversampling if enabled the oscilloscope driver returns 16 bit readings The following table shows the relationship between the reading from the driver and the voltage of the signal Reading Voltage 32767 Minimum 0 Zero volts 32767 Maximum Copyright 2004
24. llowing standard has been applied BS EN 61010 1 2001 IEC 61010 1 2001 safety requirements for electrical equipment control and laboratory use Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PicoScope 3000 Series Help 1 7 Company details Address Pico Technology Limited The Mill House Cambridge Street St Neots Cambridgeshire PE19 1QB United Kingdom Phone 44 0 1480 396395 Fax 44 0 1480 396296 Email Technical Support support picotech com Sales sales picotech com Web site www picotech com Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Product information 8 2 2 1 Product information Specifications PicoScope 3204 PicoScope 3205 PicoScope 3206 VERTICAL RESOLUTION 8 bit 8 bit 8 bit ANALOG BANDWIDTH 50 MHz 100 MHz 200 MHz MAXIMUM SAMPLING RATE Single channel 50 MS s 100 MS s 200 MS s Dual channel 50 MS s 100 MS s 100 MS s Repetitive signals 2 5 GS s 5 GS s 10 GS s TRIGGER BANDWIDTH 50 MHz 100 MHz 150 MHz BUFFER SIZE Single channel 256 k 512k 1M Dual channel 128 k 256 k 512k INPUTS 2 channels via BNC 1 MQ impedance AC DC coupling 20 pF input capacitance OUTPUTS Signal generator 1 BNC shared with external trigger Fixed frequency 1 kHz 5 V square wave 600 output impedance 1 BNC shared with external trigger Variable frequency 1 Hz to 1 MHz 5 V square wave 1 V sine wave and tria
25. may cause undesired operation This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions may cause harmful interference to radio communications However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna e Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected Consult the dealer or an experienced radio TV technician for help For safety and maintenance information see the safety warning 1 6 CE notice The PicoScope 3000 series of PC oscilloscopes meets the intent of the EMC directive 89 336 EEC and the following standard has been applied EN61326 1 1997 Class A Emissions and Immunity Products from the PicoScope 3000 range also meet the intent of the Low Voltage Directive and the fo
26. models 1 PS3000_20MV 20mV Not available on all models 2 PS3000_50MV 50mV Not available on all models 3 PS3000_100MV 100mV 4 PS3000_200MV 200mV 5 PS3000_500MV 500mV 6 PS3000_1V 1V 7 PS3000_2V 2V 8 PS3000_5V 5V 9 PS3000_10V 10V 10 PS3000_20V 20V 11 PS3000_50V 50V Not available on all units 5 2 6 ps3000 get_timebase short ps3000_get_timebase short handle short timebase long no_of_samples long time_interval_ns short time_units short oversample long max_samples This function discovers which timebases are available on the oscilloscope This function should be called after channel and ETS options have been set Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved 19 PicoScope 3000 Series Help Arguments handle the handle to the required device timebase a code between 0 and the maximum timebase variant dependant Timebase 0 is the fastest timebase timebase 1 is twice the time per sample as timebase 0 timebase 2 is four times etc no_of_samples the number of samples required This value is used to calculate the most suitable time unit to use time_interval_ns a pointer to the time interval in ns between readings at the selected timebase If a null pointer is passed nothing will be written here time_units a pointer to the most suitable time units to return data in when calling ps3000 get times and values If a null pointer is passed
27. nels On the faster models one input can be routed to two circuits in the oscilloscope thus doubling the effective sampling rate of a single channel The driver for a PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscope normally performs a number of setup operations before collecting each block of data This can take up to 50 milliseconds If it is necessary to collect data with the minimum time interval between blocks avoid calling setup functions between calls to ps3000 run _block ps3000 ready ps3000_stop and ps3000 get values More on streaming mode In streaming mode the computer prompts the PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscope to start collecting data The data is then transferred back to the PC without being stored in oscilloscope memory Data can be sampled with a period of between 1 ms and 60 s Data can be transferred by the oscilloscope s driver to a computer program either in normal or windowed mode In normal mode any data collected since the last data transfer operation is returned in its entirety In windowed mode a fixed number n of samples is returned where the oldest samples may have already been returned before Normal mode is useful if the computer program requires fresh data on every transfer Windowed mode is useful when the program requires a constant time frame of data Once the oscilloscope is collecting data in streaming mode any setup changes for example changing a channel range or AC DC setting in the PicoScope softw
28. ngle functions Repeat sweep function Dual slope function 600 output impedance External trigger 1 BNC output shared with signal generator Variable trigger threshold 20 V rising falling 12 2 mV resolution 1 MQ impedance VOLTAGE RANGES 100 mV to 20 V ranges in 1 2 5 steps ACCURACY 3 voltage 100 ppm time OPERATING ENVIRONMENT Temperature range Humidity 0 C to 70 C 25 C for quoted accuracy 25 to 75 RH OVERLOAD PROTECTION Channels 50 V External trigger 30 V PC CONNECTION USB 2 0 Compatible with USB 1 1 POWER SUPPLY From USB port 4 6 to 5 25 V 500 mA External power supply is not required DIMENSIONS 140 mm x 190 mm x 45 mm COMPLIANCE CE standard FCC standard Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PicoScope 3000 Series Help 2 2 Minimum system requirements For oscilloscopes from the PicoScope 3000 series to operate a computer with the minimum system requirements to run Windows or the following whichever is the higher specification is required Processor Pentium class processor or equivalent minimum Memory 32 MB minimum Disk space 10 MB minimum Operating system Microsoft Windows 98 SE ME Microsoft Windows 2000 XP or later Ports USB 1 1 compliant port minimum USB 2 0 compliant port recommended Must be connected direct to the port or a powered
29. nothing will be written here oversample the amount of oversample required An oversample of 4 would quadruple the time interval and quarter the maximum samples but would increase the effective resolution by one bit the increase in resolution given by oversampling can be calculated from the equation below Increase in resolution bits log oversample 2log 2 max_samples A pointer to the maximum samples available The maximum samples may vary depending on the number of channels enabled the timebase chosen and the oversample selected If this pointer is null nothing would be written here Returns 1 if all parameters are in range otherwise 0 5 2 7 ps3000_ set_siggen long ps3000_set_siggen hor MOE s handle S wave_type long start_frequency long stop_frequency short increment short dwell_time short repeat short dual_slope This function is used to enable or disable the signal generator and sweep functions Sweep functions are not available if the oscilloscope is in streaming mode The signal generator is not available on the PicoScope 3204 oscilloscope model A 1kHz square wave output is made available and can be set with this function See remarks and specifications for more information Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Technical reference 20 Arguments handle the handle to the required device type the type of wave
30. o injury to yourself and others Maximum input range Oscilloscopes from the PicoScope 3000 range are designed to measure voltages in the range 20V to 20V Any voltages in excess of 100V may cause physical damage Mains voltages Pico Technology products are not designed for use with mains voltages To measure mains use a differential isolating probe specifically designed for a high source voltage Safety grounding PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscopes connect direct to the ground of a computer via the interconnecting cable provided This method minimises interference As with most oscilloscopes avoid connecting the ground input to any source other than ground If in doubt use a meter to check that there is no significant AC or DC voltage Failure to check may cause damage to your computer or lead to injury to yourself and others You should assume that the product does not have a protective safety earth Repairs The oscilloscope contains no serviceable parts repair or calibration of the oscilloscope requires specialised test equipment and must be performed by Pico Technology Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Introduction 6 1 5 FCC notice This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules Operation is subject to the following two conditions 1 This device may not cause harmful interference 2 This device must accept any interference received including interference that
31. oltages into digital values Calculation techniques can improve the effective resolution Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Troubleshooting 30 6 2 Troubleshooting FAQ Consult this section if your are a PicoScope or PicoLog user If you are writing your own program refer to the error codes section PicoLog reports error code 1 This error is reported when more than 4 oscilloscopes are opened on one machine It is not possible to use more than 4 oscilloscopes with PicoLog PicoScope or PicoLog reports error code 2 This error is reported when the driver cannot allocate enough of the computer s memory to operate the oscilloscope Consult the system requirements section for more information PicoScope or PicoLog reports error code 3 This error indicates that an oscilloscope from the PicoScope 3000 series could not be found on your machine Make sure the software is installed before the oscilloscope is plugged into the USB socket and restart your computer Ensure that mention of the oscilloscope can be found in Device Manager under the USB section of this facility If the oscilloscope is not mentioned here consult Pico Technical Support for further advice PicoScope or PicoLog reports error code 4 5 or 6 This error is reported when there is problem with the oscilloscope itself these problems could arise from configuration settings being corrupted or a firmware or hardware error Unpl
32. ope the more accurate the representation of the fine details in a fast signal PC oscilloscope A generic term used to describe a PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscope and the PicoScope software application PicoLog software This is a software product that accompanies all our oscilloscopes It turns your PC into a data logger and chart recorder PicoScope 3000 series An oscilloscope range comprising the PicoScope 3204 PicoScope 3205 and PicoScope 3206 oscilloscopes PicoScope software This is a software product that accompanies all our oscilloscopes It turns your PC into an oscilloscope spectrum analyzer and meter display Range This allows you to specify an input voltage range Signal generator This is a feature on an oscilloscope which allows a signal to be generated without an external input device being present The signal generator output is the BNC socket marked Ext on the oscilloscope If you connect a BNC cable between this and one of the channel inputs you can send a signal down one of the channels On some units the signal generator can generate a simple TTL square wave on others it can generate a sine square or triangle wave that can be swept back and forth Consult the specifications for further details Note The signal generator output is physically the same as the external trigger input so these two functions cannot be used at the same time It is possible however to use the output from the signal generato
33. r as a trigger Streaming mode Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved 29 PicoScope 3000 Series Help A sampling mode in which the oscilloscope samples data and returns it to the computer in an unbroken stream This mode of operation is effective when the input signal being sampled is low frequency Timebase The timebase controls the time interval across the scope display If you select Timebase is time per division in the preferences dialog box this works like a traditional bench top scope There are ten divisions across the screen so the total time interval is ten times the timebase Trigger bandwidth The maximum frequency at which the trigger circuit will reliably generate a trigger event USB 1 1 USB is the abbreviation for Universal Serial Bus This is a standard port that enables you to connect external devices to PCs A typical USB 1 1 port supports a data transfer rate of 12 Mbps 12 mega bits per second and is much faster than a serial port USB 2 0 USB is the abbreviation for Universal Serial Bus This is a standard port that enables you to connect external devices to PCs A typical USB 2 0 port supports a data transfer rate that is 40 times faster than that supported by USB 1 1 An additional feature of USB 2 0 is that it is backwards compatible with USB 1 1 Vertical resolution A value in bits indicating the degree of precision with which the oscilloscope can turn input v
34. ses procedures that are defined in ps3000 vh lt was tested using HP Vee version 5 Glossary AC DC switch To switch from alternating current to direct current or vice versa select AC or DC from the control on the oscilloscope toolbar of the PicoScope software application The setting should be adjusted to suit the characteristics of the input signal Analog bandwidth The input frequency at which the signal amplitude has fallen by 3 dB from its nominal value Block mode A sampling mode in which the computer prompts the oscilloscope to collect a block of data into its internal memory before stopping the oscilloscope and transferring the whole block into computer memory This mode of operation is effective when the input signal being sampled is high frequency Note To avoid aliasing effects the maximum input frequency must be less than half the sampling rate Buffer size The size of the oscilloscope buffer memory The buffer memory is used by the oscilloscope to temporarily store data This helps to compensate for the differences in data transfer rate from one device to another Device Manager Device Manager is a Windows applet that displays the current hardware configuration of your computer On Windows 98 or Windows ME right click on My Computer and choose the Device Manager tab On Windows 2000 or Windows XP right click on My Computer choose the Hardware tab and select Device Manager Driver A software applicat
35. tions Warning Do not connect an oscilloscope from the PicoScope 3000 series to the PC until the software has been installed Install the software by following the steps in the installation guide supplied with your oscilloscope Your oscilloscope is connected to the PC with the USB cable supplied There is no need for an additional power supply as power is drawn from the USB port Checking the installation Once the software has been installed ensure that the oscilloscope is connected to the PC and start up the PicoScope or PicoLog software The software should now display the voltage that you have connected If you are using a scope probe and PicoScope you should see a small 50Hz or 60Hz mains signal in the oscilloscope window when you touch the scope probe tip with your finger Standard oscilloscope connectors PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscopes have standard oscilloscope connectors The input impedance is also standard so the x10 function on scope probes works correctly The BNC connector labelled 3 on the diagram below E on the oscilloscope has two functions In normal use it is the external trigger input with an adjustable threshold Alternatively on some oscilloscopes this connector can also be used to output sine square and triangle waveforms which can be swept back and forth at a user defined frequency The integrated signal generator can be controlled via the PicoScope software or by API calls The signal generator can also
36. to return In streaming mode this is the maximum no of values to return Returns The actual number of data values per channel returned which may be less than the no_of_values if streaming 0 is returned if one or more of the parameters are out of range or if the times will overflow with the time_units requested Use ps3000 get timebase in order to acquire the most suitable t ime_units Programming C There are two C example programs one is a simple GUI application and the other is a more comprehensive console mode program that demonstrates all of the facilities of the driver The GUI example program is a generic Windows application ie it does not use Borland AppExpert or Microsoft AppWizard To compile the program create a new project for an Application containing the following files ps3000 c ps3000 rc and ps3000bc lib Borland 32 bit applications or ps3000 11b Microsoft Visual C 32 bit applications Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Technical reference 26 5 3 2 5 3 3 5 3 4 The following files must be in the compilation directory ps3000 rch ps3000 h and the following file must be in the same directory as the executable ps3000 d11 The console example program is a generic windows application ie it does not use Borland AppExpert or Microsoft AppWizard To compile the program create a new project for an Application containing the following f
37. ug the oscilloscope wait a few seconds and reconnect it to the USB port If the error is still reported consult Pico Technical Support for further advice PicoScope or PicoLog reports error code 7 This error is reported if the operating system is not recent enough to support the PicoScope 3000 series oscilloscope Consult the system requirements section for more information Error codes This section is aimed at those people who intend to write their own programs for use with the driver A description of the driver error codes is given below If the PicoScope or PicoLog software reports an error refer to the FAQ Copyright 2004 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved 31 PicoScope 3000 Series Help Code Enumeration Description 0 PS3000_OK The oscilloscope is functioning correctly 1 PS3000_MAX_UNITS_OPENED Attempts have been made to open more than PS3000_MAX_UNITS PS3000_MEM_FAIL Not enough memory could be allocated on the host machine PS3000_NOT_FOUND An oscilloscope could not be found PS3000_FW_FAIL Unable to download firmware PS3000_NOT_RESPONDING The oscilloscope is not responding to commands from the PC PS3000_CONFIG_FAIL The configuration information in the oscilloscope has become corrupt or is missing PS3000_OS_NOT_SUPPORTED Need to use Windows 98 or later or Windows 2000 or later Copyright 200
38. ut the data sets are more stable and unique ets_cycles Specifies the number of cycles to store the computer can then select ets_interleave cycles to give the most uniform spread of samples ets_cycles should be between two and five times the value of ets_interleave ets_interleave Specifies the number of ETS interleaves to use If the sample time is 20ns and the interleave 10 the approximate time per sample will be 2 ns Returns If ETS is enabled the effective sample time will be returned Zero if ETS is disabled or one of the parameters is out of range 5 2 9 ps3000_set_trigger short ps3000_set_trigger short handle short source short threshold short direction short delay short auto_trigger_ms This function is used to enable or disable triggering and its parameters Triggering is not available in streaming mode Arguments handle the handle to the required device source specifies which to look for a trigger on use PS3000_CHANNEL_A 0 PS3000_CHANNEL_B 1 PS3000_CHANNEL_C 2 PS3000_CHANNEL_D 3 PS3000_EXTERNAL 4 or PS3000_NONE 5 Channels C and D are not available on all models threshold the threshold that the trigger event is to take place This is scaled in 16bit ADC counts at the currently selected range If an external trigger is enabled the range is fixed at 20V direction use PS3000_RISING 0 or PS3000_FALLING 1 delay This specifies the delay as a perc
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