Re: [music-dsp] advice regarding USB oscilloscope

[Paul Stoffregen]

If you're planning to use a scope for general electronics 
troubleshooting, as opposed to merely capturing predictable waveforms, 
you would be doing yourself a huge favor to look at the waveform 
capture+render rate.


Many cheaper oscilloscopes (and pretty much all USB-only devices) don't 
specify this speed at all.  If it's not mentioned, you can assume the 
hardware captures very few times per second, perhaps not even as fast as 
your screen refresh rate.  If you only ever capture single-shot 
recordings of waveforms, just to get data into a PC, that's probably fine.


But if you're using the scope as a troubleshooting tool, you're probably 
going to be poking around looking for anomalies, for the rare occasion 
something different happens.  A rapid capturing scope will collect many 
thousands of captures per second and render them onto the screen with 
varying intensity.  Suppose your entire horizontal sweep is 10 
microseconds.  Ideally, you'd want your scope to capture 100,000 times 
per second and render all of those.  If something different happens just 
once per second, you'd occasionally see a faint trace that different 
from the bright trace from the other 99,999 times it did the normal 
behavior.


No oscilloscope is that good.  All of them are blind some of the time, 
even if your trigger condition occurs again immediately after the sweep 
you're viewing.  A really good scope might capture 80,000 times per 
second with a 10 us sweep, giving you an 80% chance that some 
once-per-second errant behavior will be caught and rendered on the 
screen.  A slow USB scope capturing 10 times per second gives you 
virtually zero chance to see such infrequent high speed anomalous events.


Of course, if you only wish to capture a known good waveform, or you 
know exactly when the event you wish to capture happens, you can just 
set USB scope to trigger on a signal and capture the waveform you knew 
you wanted.


The very best scopes have capture rates between 500,000 to 1,000,000 
waveforms per second.  Obviously 1 million can only apply when the 
entire horizontal sweep is 1 microsecond or less, which are signals much 
higher bandwidth than audio.  So such an incredible scope is probably 
tremendous overkill if you only look at audio signals.  Amazingly, some 
of the very affordable Rigol scopes have capture rates in the 30,000 
waveforms/sec range.  Many others don't spec the capture rate at all, 
because it's just a few Hz, and of course they don't grayscale render 
waveforms at all since each screen redraw is just a single waveform.


If you're shopping for a scope and if you'll be using it for general 
troubleshooting rather than just capturing known waveforms, look for the 
waveform capture & render speed.  When you have some tough intermittent 
problem, you'll be glad you did.





On 03/08/2017 11:14 PM, Ethan Duni wrote:

These PicoScopes look pretty cool :]

As it happens I am just now trying to free up some garage space to get 
an electronics bench together. But it's coming up on 20 years since I 
last soldered and it's a whole different world with scopes now. So 
thanks for this thread!


Also if anybody knows good resources for refurbishing old receivers 
and speakers please point me in that direction.


E

On Wed, Mar 8, 2017 at 8:21 PM, Andrew Simper > wrote:


Hi Remy,

I use the signal generator all the time to calibrate the pot on the
probes when in x10 mode using the square wave output. Note that the
scope runs off USB power so you can't generate very hot signals, it's
+- 2V (USB is 5V), you'll need to make your own external booster
circuit for general use. The 5000 has a proper analog signal generator
from what I can tell, and the 5000B adds a 14-bit sample based
arbitrary waveform generator that runs at 200MHz, so absolutely fine
for any audio applications, but for us audio guys we have soundcards
to play back waveforms, so it's not that much use.

I wish they made this scope when I bought my first one, I bought the
12bit 4226 model, which still works great, but I would love this new
one!

Cheers,

Andy

On 9 March 2017 at 07:19, Remy Muller > wrote:
> hi,
>
> AudioPrecision looks nice but it's way over my budget
considering that it
> won't be used on a daily basis.
>
> Looking at the specs, the QuantAsylum audio card only seems to
have AC
> coupling (down to 1.6Hz) and their oscillosccope page is a bit
short on
> details.
>
> Hacking a soundcard as an oscilloscope could be very convenient
since it
> benefits from all the standard audio softwares and can easily
get beyong the
> 2/4 channels, but it's limited to AC coupling, unless there are
soundcards
> that have DC coupled inputs? AFAIK most only provide DC outputs.
> Furthermore having to do 

Re: [music-dsp] advice regarding USB oscilloscope

[Ethan Duni]

These PicoScopes look pretty cool :]

As it happens I am just now trying to free up some garage space to get an
electronics bench together. But it's coming up on 20 years since I last
soldered and it's a whole different world with scopes now. So thanks for
this thread!

Also if anybody knows good resources for refurbishing old receivers and
speakers please point me in that direction.

E

On Wed, Mar 8, 2017 at 8:21 PM, Andrew Simper  wrote:

> Hi Remy,
>
> I use the signal generator all the time to calibrate the pot on the
> probes when in x10 mode using the square wave output. Note that the
> scope runs off USB power so you can't generate very hot signals, it's
> +- 2V (USB is 5V), you'll need to make your own external booster
> circuit for general use. The 5000 has a proper analog signal generator
> from what I can tell, and the 5000B adds a 14-bit sample based
> arbitrary waveform generator that runs at 200MHz, so absolutely fine
> for any audio applications, but for us audio guys we have soundcards
> to play back waveforms, so it's not that much use.
>
> I wish they made this scope when I bought my first one, I bought the
> 12bit 4226 model, which still works great, but I would love this new
> one!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Andy
>
> On 9 March 2017 at 07:19, Remy Muller  wrote:
> > hi,
> >
> > AudioPrecision looks nice but it's way over my budget considering that it
> > won't be used on a daily basis.
> >
> > Looking at the specs, the QuantAsylum audio card only seems to have AC
> > coupling (down to 1.6Hz) and their oscillosccope page is a bit short on
> > details.
> >
> > Hacking a soundcard as an oscilloscope could be very convenient since it
> > benefits from all the standard audio softwares and can easily get beyong
> the
> > 2/4 channels, but it's limited to AC coupling, unless there are
> soundcards
> > that have DC coupled inputs? AFAIK most only provide DC outputs.
> > Furthermore having to do homemade matched probes and attenuators is not
> very
> > 'plug and play'.
> >
> > Since bitscope seems to only provide 8-bit ADC, Picoscope is thus very
> high
> > on my list, in particular the 5000 series. I'm wondering whether their
> > Arbitrary Waveform Generator option is really worth it though.
> >
> > @Andrew I just found a python wrapper based on ctypes
> > https://github.com/colinoflynn/pico-python
> >
> > Thanks for all the feedback!
> >
> >
> > On 08/03/17 12:16, Roshan Wijetunge wrote:
> >
> > Depending on how cheap and improvised you want to go, and how handy you
> are
> > with basic electronics, you can easily adapt your soundcard to work as an
> > oscilloscope. There are a number of guides on the internet on how to do
> > this, such as:
> >
> > http://makezine.com/projects/sound-card-oscilloscope/
> >
> > I have used the following variation with good results:
> >
> > - Probe via resistor to mic input of mixer
> > - Mixer line out to line of USB soundcard
> > - Schwa Schope plugin running in any DAW host (e.g. Reaper)
> >
> > I used this setup as it utilised components I already had available, and
> it
> > has proved very useful for debugging audio hardware, being able to trace
> > signals through a circuit as well as biasing amplifier stages in
> pre-amps.
> > Using the mixer gave me control over input signal range though clearly
> you
> > have to be careful with gain staging so as not to introduce distortion to
> > the signal.
> >
> > I also improvised a signal generator using a Electro Harmonix Tube Zipper
> > guitar effects pedal. It's an auto-wah type pedal, but you can set the
> > resonance to maximum, sensitivity to zero and it generates a nice clean
> > stable sine wave.
> >
> > Best Regards
> > Roshan
> >
> >
> >
> > On 8 March 2017 at 09:57, Andrew Simper  wrote:
> >>
> >> Picoscope make the cheapest 16-bit scopes around (USD 1000), the
> >> 16-bit stuff from Tektronix is a lot more expensive (USD 31000 -
> >> that's right I didn't accidentally add an extra zero, it's x30 the
> >> price). I would recommend using the Picoscope and use Python's easy c
> >> bindings to call the Picoscope library functions to do what you want.
> >>
> >> Cheers,
> >>
> >> Andy
> >>
> >> On 7 March 2017 at 22:59, Remy Muller  wrote:
> >> > Hi,
> >> >
> >> > I'd like to invest into an USB oscilloscope.
> >> >
> >> > The main purpose is in analog data acquisition and instrumentation.
> >> > Since
> >> > the main purpose is audio, bandwidth is not really an issue, most
> models
> >> > seem to provide 20MHz or much more and I'm mostly interested in analog
> >> > inputs, not logical ones.
> >> >
> >> > Ideally I'd like to have
> >> >
> >> >  - Mac, Windows and Linux support
> >> >
> >> > - 4 channels or more
> >> >
> >> > - 16-bit ADC
> >> >
> >> > - up to 20V
> >> >
> >> > - general purpose output generator*
> >> >
> >> > - a scripting API (python preferred)
> >> >
> >> > * I have been told that most oscilloscopes have either no or 

Re: [music-dsp] advice regarding USB oscilloscope

[Andrew Simper]

Hi Remy,

I use the signal generator all the time to calibrate the pot on the
probes when in x10 mode using the square wave output. Note that the
scope runs off USB power so you can't generate very hot signals, it's
+- 2V (USB is 5V), you'll need to make your own external booster
circuit for general use. The 5000 has a proper analog signal generator
from what I can tell, and the 5000B adds a 14-bit sample based
arbitrary waveform generator that runs at 200MHz, so absolutely fine
for any audio applications, but for us audio guys we have soundcards
to play back waveforms, so it's not that much use.

I wish they made this scope when I bought my first one, I bought the
12bit 4226 model, which still works great, but I would love this new
one!

Cheers,

Andy

On 9 March 2017 at 07:19, Remy Muller  wrote:
> hi,
>
> AudioPrecision looks nice but it's way over my budget considering that it
> won't be used on a daily basis.
>
> Looking at the specs, the QuantAsylum audio card only seems to have AC
> coupling (down to 1.6Hz) and their oscillosccope page is a bit short on
> details.
>
> Hacking a soundcard as an oscilloscope could be very convenient since it
> benefits from all the standard audio softwares and can easily get beyong the
> 2/4 channels, but it's limited to AC coupling, unless there are soundcards
> that have DC coupled inputs? AFAIK most only provide DC outputs.
> Furthermore having to do homemade matched probes and attenuators is not very
> 'plug and play'.
>
> Since bitscope seems to only provide 8-bit ADC, Picoscope is thus very high
> on my list, in particular the 5000 series. I'm wondering whether their
> Arbitrary Waveform Generator option is really worth it though.
>
> @Andrew I just found a python wrapper based on ctypes
> https://github.com/colinoflynn/pico-python
>
> Thanks for all the feedback!
>
>
> On 08/03/17 12:16, Roshan Wijetunge wrote:
>
> Depending on how cheap and improvised you want to go, and how handy you are
> with basic electronics, you can easily adapt your soundcard to work as an
> oscilloscope. There are a number of guides on the internet on how to do
> this, such as:
>
> http://makezine.com/projects/sound-card-oscilloscope/
>
> I have used the following variation with good results:
>
> - Probe via resistor to mic input of mixer
> - Mixer line out to line of USB soundcard
> - Schwa Schope plugin running in any DAW host (e.g. Reaper)
>
> I used this setup as it utilised components I already had available, and it
> has proved very useful for debugging audio hardware, being able to trace
> signals through a circuit as well as biasing amplifier stages in pre-amps.
> Using the mixer gave me control over input signal range though clearly you
> have to be careful with gain staging so as not to introduce distortion to
> the signal.
>
> I also improvised a signal generator using a Electro Harmonix Tube Zipper
> guitar effects pedal. It's an auto-wah type pedal, but you can set the
> resonance to maximum, sensitivity to zero and it generates a nice clean
> stable sine wave.
>
> Best Regards
> Roshan
>
>
>
> On 8 March 2017 at 09:57, Andrew Simper  wrote:
>>
>> Picoscope make the cheapest 16-bit scopes around (USD 1000), the
>> 16-bit stuff from Tektronix is a lot more expensive (USD 31000 -
>> that's right I didn't accidentally add an extra zero, it's x30 the
>> price). I would recommend using the Picoscope and use Python's easy c
>> bindings to call the Picoscope library functions to do what you want.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Andy
>>
>> On 7 March 2017 at 22:59, Remy Muller  wrote:
>> > Hi,
>> >
>> > I'd like to invest into an USB oscilloscope.
>> >
>> > The main purpose is in analog data acquisition and instrumentation.
>> > Since
>> > the main purpose is audio, bandwidth is not really an issue, most models
>> > seem to provide 20MHz or much more and I'm mostly interested in analog
>> > inputs, not logical ones.
>> >
>> > Ideally I'd like to have
>> >
>> >  - Mac, Windows and Linux support
>> >
>> > - 4 channels or more
>> >
>> > - 16-bit ADC
>> >
>> > - up to 20V
>> >
>> > - general purpose output generator*
>> >
>> > - a scripting API (python preferred)
>> >
>> > * I have been told that most oscilloscopes have either no or limited
>> > output,
>> > and that I'd rather use a soundcard for generating dedicated test audio
>> > signals, synchronizing the oscilloscope acquisition using the
>> > soundcard's
>> > word-clock. However not having to deal with multiple drivers and clock
>> > synchronization would be more than welcome.
>> >
>> > A friend of mine recommended using Picoscope which seems well supported,
>> > has
>> > a strong user community but no official support for python AFAIK.
>> >
>> >
>> > https://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope/5000/flexible-resolution-oscilloscope
>> >
>> > I also found about bitscope http://www.bitscope.com which looks more
>> > oriented toward the casual hacker/maker, seems more open-ended and 

Re: [music-dsp] advice regarding USB oscilloscope

[Remy Muller]

hi,

AudioPrecision looks nice but it's way over my budget considering that 
it won't be used on a daily basis.


Looking at the specs, the QuantAsylum audio card only seems to have AC 
coupling (down to 1.6Hz) and their oscillosccope page is a bit short on 
details.


Hacking a soundcard as an oscilloscope could be very convenient since it 
benefits from all the standard audio softwares and can easily get beyong 
the 2/4 channels, but it's limited to AC coupling, unless there are 
soundcards that have DC coupled inputs? AFAIK most only provide DC outputs.
Furthermore having to do homemade matched probes and attenuators is not 
very 'plug and play'.


Since bitscope seems to only provide 8-bit ADC, Picoscope is thus very 
high on my list, in particular the 5000 series. I'm wondering whether 
their Arbitrary Waveform Generator option is really worth it though.


@Andrew I just found a python wrapper based on ctypes
https://github.com/colinoflynn/pico-python

Thanks for all the feedback!

On 08/03/17 12:16, Roshan Wijetunge wrote:
Depending on how cheap and improvised you want to go, and how handy 
you are with basic electronics, you can easily adapt your soundcard to 
work as an oscilloscope. There are a number of guides on the internet 
on how to do this, such as:


http://makezine.com/projects/sound-card-oscilloscope/

I have used the following variation with good results:

- Probe via resistor to mic input of mixer
- Mixer line out to line of USB soundcard
- Schwa Schope  plugin 
running in any DAW host (e.g. Reaper)


I used this setup as it utilised components I already had available, 
and it has proved very useful for debugging audio hardware, being able 
to trace signals through a circuit as well as biasing amplifier stages 
in pre-amps. Using the mixer gave me control over input signal range 
though clearly you have to be careful with gain staging so as not to 
introduce distortion to the signal.


I also improvised a signal generator using a Electro Harmonix Tube 
Zipper guitar effects pedal. It's an auto-wah type pedal, but you can 
set the resonance to maximum, sensitivity to zero and it generates a 
nice clean stable sine wave.


Best Regards
Roshan



On 8 March 2017 at 09:57, Andrew Simper > wrote:


Picoscope make the cheapest 16-bit scopes around (USD 1000), the
16-bit stuff from Tektronix is a lot more expensive (USD 31000 -
that's right I didn't accidentally add an extra zero, it's x30 the
price). I would recommend using the Picoscope and use Python's easy c
bindings to call the Picoscope library functions to do what you want.

Cheers,

Andy

On 7 March 2017 at 22:59, Remy Muller > wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'd like to invest into an USB oscilloscope.
>
> The main purpose is in analog data acquisition and
instrumentation. Since
> the main purpose is audio, bandwidth is not really an issue,
most models
> seem to provide 20MHz or much more and I'm mostly interested in
analog
> inputs, not logical ones.
>
> Ideally I'd like to have
>
>  - Mac, Windows and Linux support
>
> - 4 channels or more
>
> - 16-bit ADC
>
> - up to 20V
>
> - general purpose output generator*
>
> - a scripting API (python preferred)
>
> * I have been told that most oscilloscopes have either no or
limited output,
> and that I'd rather use a soundcard for generating dedicated
test audio
> signals, synchronizing the oscilloscope acquisition using the
soundcard's
> word-clock. However not having to deal with multiple drivers and
clock
> synchronization would be more than welcome.
>
> A friend of mine recommended using Picoscope which seems well
supported, has
> a strong user community but no official support for python AFAIK.
>
>
https://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope/5000/flexible-resolution-oscilloscope


>
> I also found about bitscope http://www.bitscope.com which looks more
> oriented toward the casual hacker/maker, seems more open-ended
and has
> python support, much cheaper too.
>
> What about the traditional oscilloscope companies like
Tektronix, Rigol ?
>
> Has anyone experience with any of those? or any other reference to
> recommend?
>
>
> ___
> dupswapdrop: music-dsp mailing list
> music-dsp@music.columbia.edu 
> https://lists.columbia.edu/mailman/listinfo/music-dsp

>
___
dupswapdrop: music-dsp mailing list
music-dsp@music.columbia.edu 

Re: [music-dsp] advice regarding USB oscilloscope

[Roshan Wijetunge]

Depending on how cheap and improvised you want to go, and how handy you are
with basic electronics, you can easily adapt your soundcard to work as an
oscilloscope. There are a number of guides on the internet on how to do
this, such as:

http://makezine.com/projects/sound-card-oscilloscope/

I have used the following variation with good results:

- Probe via resistor to mic input of mixer
- Mixer line out to line of USB soundcard
- Schwa Schope  plugin
running in any DAW host (e.g. Reaper)

I used this setup as it utilised components I already had available, and it
has proved very useful for debugging audio hardware, being able to trace
signals through a circuit as well as biasing amplifier stages in pre-amps.
Using the mixer gave me control over input signal range though clearly you
have to be careful with gain staging so as not to introduce distortion to
the signal.

I also improvised a signal generator using a Electro Harmonix Tube Zipper
guitar effects pedal. It's an auto-wah type pedal, but you can set the
resonance to maximum, sensitivity to zero and it generates a nice clean
stable sine wave.

Best Regards
Roshan



On 8 March 2017 at 09:57, Andrew Simper  wrote:

> Picoscope make the cheapest 16-bit scopes around (USD 1000), the
> 16-bit stuff from Tektronix is a lot more expensive (USD 31000 -
> that's right I didn't accidentally add an extra zero, it's x30 the
> price). I would recommend using the Picoscope and use Python's easy c
> bindings to call the Picoscope library functions to do what you want.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Andy
>
> On 7 March 2017 at 22:59, Remy Muller  wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I'd like to invest into an USB oscilloscope.
> >
> > The main purpose is in analog data acquisition and instrumentation. Since
> > the main purpose is audio, bandwidth is not really an issue, most models
> > seem to provide 20MHz or much more and I'm mostly interested in analog
> > inputs, not logical ones.
> >
> > Ideally I'd like to have
> >
> >  - Mac, Windows and Linux support
> >
> > - 4 channels or more
> >
> > - 16-bit ADC
> >
> > - up to 20V
> >
> > - general purpose output generator*
> >
> > - a scripting API (python preferred)
> >
> > * I have been told that most oscilloscopes have either no or limited
> output,
> > and that I'd rather use a soundcard for generating dedicated test audio
> > signals, synchronizing the oscilloscope acquisition using the soundcard's
> > word-clock. However not having to deal with multiple drivers and clock
> > synchronization would be more than welcome.
> >
> > A friend of mine recommended using Picoscope which seems well supported,
> has
> > a strong user community but no official support for python AFAIK.
> >
> > https://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope/5000/flexible-
> resolution-oscilloscope
> >
> > I also found about bitscope http://www.bitscope.com which looks more
> > oriented toward the casual hacker/maker, seems more open-ended and has
> > python support, much cheaper too.
> >
> > What about the traditional oscilloscope companies like Tektronix, Rigol ?
> >
> > Has anyone experience with any of those? or any other reference to
> > recommend?
> >
> >
> > ___
> > dupswapdrop: music-dsp mailing list
> > music-dsp@music.columbia.edu
> > https://lists.columbia.edu/mailman/listinfo/music-dsp
> >
> ___
> dupswapdrop: music-dsp mailing list
> music-dsp@music.columbia.edu
> https://lists.columbia.edu/mailman/listinfo/music-dsp
>
>
___
dupswapdrop: music-dsp mailing list
music-dsp@music.columbia.edu
https://lists.columbia.edu/mailman/listinfo/music-dsp

Re: [music-dsp] advice regarding USB oscilloscope

[Andrew Simper]

Picoscope make the cheapest 16-bit scopes around (USD 1000), the
16-bit stuff from Tektronix is a lot more expensive (USD 31000 -
that's right I didn't accidentally add an extra zero, it's x30 the
price). I would recommend using the Picoscope and use Python's easy c
bindings to call the Picoscope library functions to do what you want.

Cheers,

Andy

On 7 March 2017 at 22:59, Remy Muller  wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'd like to invest into an USB oscilloscope.
>
> The main purpose is in analog data acquisition and instrumentation. Since
> the main purpose is audio, bandwidth is not really an issue, most models
> seem to provide 20MHz or much more and I'm mostly interested in analog
> inputs, not logical ones.
>
> Ideally I'd like to have
>
>  - Mac, Windows and Linux support
>
> - 4 channels or more
>
> - 16-bit ADC
>
> - up to 20V
>
> - general purpose output generator*
>
> - a scripting API (python preferred)
>
> * I have been told that most oscilloscopes have either no or limited output,
> and that I'd rather use a soundcard for generating dedicated test audio
> signals, synchronizing the oscilloscope acquisition using the soundcard's
> word-clock. However not having to deal with multiple drivers and clock
> synchronization would be more than welcome.
>
> A friend of mine recommended using Picoscope which seems well supported, has
> a strong user community but no official support for python AFAIK.
>
> https://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope/5000/flexible-resolution-oscilloscope
>
> I also found about bitscope http://www.bitscope.com which looks more
> oriented toward the casual hacker/maker, seems more open-ended and has
> python support, much cheaper too.
>
> What about the traditional oscilloscope companies like Tektronix, Rigol ?
>
> Has anyone experience with any of those? or any other reference to
> recommend?
>
>
> ___
> dupswapdrop: music-dsp mailing list
> music-dsp@music.columbia.edu
> https://lists.columbia.edu/mailman/listinfo/music-dsp
>
___
dupswapdrop: music-dsp mailing list
music-dsp@music.columbia.edu
https://lists.columbia.edu/mailman/listinfo/music-dsp

Re: [music-dsp] advice regarding USB oscilloscope

[Ben Bradley]

I've used the $400-or-so Rigol model (I forget the number), the
interface is a bit clunky as one might expect with all the menus and
features, but it works well. The "traditional" scopes only go to 8
bits, or maybe 12 bits at the most. As always, look carefully at the
specs.

A lower cost alternative to AP (you can get older models used, but
they're still expensive) is QuantAsylum, which makes several
connect-to-PC-through-USB boxes, notably for high-quality (16 bit or
greater) audio is the QA401:
https://quantasylum.com/
I suggest reading this whole thread, which started about when the
company did, before buying:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/equipment-tools/231401-quantasylum-qa400-qa401.html


On Tue, Mar 7, 2017 at 2:08 PM, Govinda Ram Pingali  wrote:
> This may be a bit overkill for what you are looking for but since you
> mentioned you'd like "invest", I'm putting this forward:
>
> Audio Precision (https://www.ap.com/)
>
> They make analog data acquisition hardware and a companion software
> application, specifically meant for testing audio devices. Many speaker,
> headphone and other audio product manufacturers use Audio Precision for
> testing during R and on the assembly line in the factory. The hardware is
> just a very quality A-D and D-A converter, but the software is very
> powerful. They come with all sorts of test signals and analysis algorithms.
> You can also write custom scripts on top of the existing algorithms, but I'm
> not sure if Python is supported.
>
> They do cost quite a bit, starting from USD 5000 and upwards. Probably more.
> Note: it only works on Windows.
>
> On Mar 7, 2017, at 6:59 AM, Remy Muller  wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I'd like to invest into an USB oscilloscope.
>
> The main purpose is in analog data acquisition and instrumentation. Since
> the main purpose is audio, bandwidth is not really an issue, most models
> seem to provide 20MHz or much more and I'm mostly interested in analog
> inputs, not logical ones.
>
> Ideally I'd like to have
>
> - Mac, Windows and Linux support
>
> - 4 channels or more
>
> - 16-bit ADC
>
> - up to 20V
>
> - general purpose output generator*
>
> - a scripting API (python preferred)
>
> * I have been told that most oscilloscopes have either no or limited output,
> and that I'd rather use a soundcard for generating dedicated test audio
> signals, synchronizing the oscilloscope acquisition using the soundcard's
> word-clock. However not having to deal with multiple drivers and clock
> synchronization would be more than welcome.
>
> A friend of mine recommended using Picoscope which seems well supported, has
> a strong user community but no official support for python AFAIK.
>
> https://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope/5000/flexible-resolution-oscilloscope
>
> I also found about bitscope http://www.bitscope.com which looks more
> oriented toward the casual hacker/maker, seems more open-ended and has
> python support, much cheaper too.
>
> What about the traditional oscilloscope companies like Tektronix, Rigol ?
>
> Has anyone experience with any of those? or any other reference to
> recommend?
>
>
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>
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Re: [music-dsp] advice regarding USB oscilloscope

[Govinda Ram Pingali]

This may be a bit overkill for what you are looking for but since you mentioned 
you'd like "invest", I'm putting this forward:

Audio Precision (https://www.ap.com/)

They make analog data acquisition hardware and a companion software 
application, specifically meant for testing audio devices. Many speaker, 
headphone and other audio product manufacturers use Audio Precision for testing 
during R and on the assembly line in the factory. The hardware is just a very 
quality A-D and D-A converter, but the software is very powerful. They come 
with all sorts of test signals and analysis algorithms. You can also write 
custom scripts on top of the existing algorithms, but I'm not sure if Python is 
supported.

They do cost quite a bit, starting from USD 5000 and upwards. Probably more.
Note: it only works on Windows.

> On Mar 7, 2017, at 6:59 AM, Remy Muller  wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I'd like to invest into an USB oscilloscope.
> 
> The main purpose is in analog data acquisition and instrumentation. Since the 
> main purpose is audio, bandwidth is not really an issue, most models seem to 
> provide 20MHz or much more and I'm mostly interested in analog inputs, not 
> logical ones.
> 
> Ideally I'd like to have
> 
> - Mac, Windows and Linux support
> 
> - 4 channels or more
> 
> - 16-bit ADC
> 
> - up to 20V
> 
> - general purpose output generator*
> 
> - a scripting API (python preferred)
> 
> * I have been told that most oscilloscopes have either no or limited output, 
> and that I'd rather use a soundcard for generating dedicated test audio 
> signals, synchronizing the oscilloscope acquisition using the soundcard's 
> word-clock. However not having to deal with multiple drivers and clock 
> synchronization would be more than welcome.
> 
> A friend of mine recommended using Picoscope which seems well supported, has 
> a strong user community but no official support for python AFAIK.
> 
> https://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope/5000/flexible-resolution-oscilloscope
> 
> I also found about bitscope http://www.bitscope.com which looks more oriented 
> toward the casual hacker/maker, seems more open-ended and has python support, 
> much cheaper too.
> 
> What about the traditional oscilloscope companies like Tektronix, Rigol ?
> 
> Has anyone experience with any of those? or any other reference to recommend?
> 
> 
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Re: [music-dsp] advice regarding USB oscilloscope

[Giulio Moro]

Perhaps only tangentially related, but Bela - of which I am one of the 
developers - comes with a browser-based oscilloscope as part of its IDE. This 
allows you to generate both analog inputs and internally, digitally-generated 
signals, e.g.:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9kLZ--js1k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoP7rPAMpvk
it also has FFT mode (not shown in the videos above).
It is fully programmable in C++, PureData, SuperCollider and Pyo (that is 
Python!)
16 bit inputs and outputs:
* 2 I/O are AC-coupled, sigma-delta (audio), at 44.1kHz* DC-coupled SAR ADCs. 
Input voltage: 0-4.096V. You can have either 8 at 22.05kHz or 4 at 44.1kHz or 2 
at 88.2kHz.* DC-coupled string DACs. Output voltage: 0-5V. You can have either 
8 at 22.05kHz or 4 at 44.1kHz or 2 at 88.2kHz.
Again, may not be the most suitable for your application, but it is fully 
programmable. Scaling of 20V down t 4.096V can be done either through a passive 
resistor voltage divider or active circuitry (which would require an external 
power supply).
Best,Giulio
Giulio MoroPhD researcherCentre For Digital Music (C4DM)
Queen Mary, University of London



  From: Remy Muller <muller.r...@gmail.com>
 To: music-dsp@music.columbia.edu 
 Sent: Tuesday, 7 March 2017, 14:59
 Subject: [music-dsp] advice regarding USB oscilloscope
   
Hi,

I'd like to invest into an USB oscilloscope.

The main purpose is in analog data acquisition and instrumentation. 
Since the main purpose is audio, bandwidth is not really an issue, most 
models seem to provide 20MHz or much more and I'm mostly interested in 
analog inputs, not logical ones.

Ideally I'd like to have

  - Mac, Windows and Linux support

- 4 channels or more

- 16-bit ADC

- up to 20V

- general purpose output generator*

- a scripting API (python preferred)

* I have been told that most oscilloscopes have either no or limited 
output, and that I'd rather use a soundcard for generating dedicated 
test audio signals, synchronizing the oscilloscope acquisition using the 
soundcard's word-clock. However not having to deal with multiple drivers 
and clock synchronization would be more than welcome.

A friend of mine recommended using Picoscope which seems well supported, 
has a strong user community but no official support for python AFAIK.

https://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope/5000/flexible-resolution-oscilloscope

I also found about bitscope http://www.bitscope.com which looks more 
oriented toward the casual hacker/maker, seems more open-ended and has 
python support, much cheaper too.

What about the traditional oscilloscope companies like Tektronix, Rigol ?

Has anyone experience with any of those? or any other reference to 
recommend?


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[music-dsp] advice regarding USB oscilloscope

[Remy Muller]

Hi,

I'd like to invest into an USB oscilloscope.

The main purpose is in analog data acquisition and instrumentation. 
Since the main purpose is audio, bandwidth is not really an issue, most 
models seem to provide 20MHz or much more and I'm mostly interested in 
analog inputs, not logical ones.


Ideally I'd like to have

 - Mac, Windows and Linux support

- 4 channels or more

- 16-bit ADC

- up to 20V

- general purpose output generator*

- a scripting API (python preferred)

* I have been told that most oscilloscopes have either no or limited 
output, and that I'd rather use a soundcard for generating dedicated 
test audio signals, synchronizing the oscilloscope acquisition using the 
soundcard's word-clock. However not having to deal with multiple drivers 
and clock synchronization would be more than welcome.


A friend of mine recommended using Picoscope which seems well supported, 
has a strong user community but no official support for python AFAIK.


https://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope/5000/flexible-resolution-oscilloscope

I also found about bitscope http://www.bitscope.com which looks more 
oriented toward the casual hacker/maker, seems more open-ended and has 
python support, much cheaper too.


What about the traditional oscilloscope companies like Tektronix, Rigol ?

Has anyone experience with any of those? or any other reference to 
recommend?



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