AVR-Chat

Hi Larry,

I own a CleverScope. I should also add that I sell them so I will try 
to keep the bias to a minimum... ;-)

On 29 Apr 2006 at 7:52, Larry Barello wrote:

> Anyone on the list own a PC scope, in particular the Cleverscope?  I am
> willing to spend $4k usd on a used HP MSO, but if I can get essentially the
> same for $1k I am tempted to take the risk.  I need this tool for protocol &
> logic debugging on my AVR boards.
> 
> My concerns:
> 1. The analog performance isn't really what is specified.  I have compared
> cheap with quality for "equivalent" hardware in other test equipment and in
> general one gets what one pays for.

The analogue performance is actually quite good though I have seen 
problems with earth loops when the Cleverscope is connected to a PC 
and the signal is also earth-referenced. Shouldn't be a problem with 
a laptop. The vertical resolution is 10-bit (most others are only 8-
bit) and the offset facility means you don't have to loose DC info to 
look at some small signals.

> 2. It is a one man shop so promised software enhancements might be slow to
> come or fail to arrive altogether.

True. I happen to know the guy personally. He knows his stuff and has 
been playing (and building) digital scopes for about 15 years.

> 3. It is kind of nice having a separate screen for signal display and actual
> knobs to spin.  I am afraid I'll eventually have yet another PC & Display on
> my bench which in the end is larger than the dedicated MSO...

Possibly. Mine is connected to my main development PC so the PC is 
already there. The ability to copy/paste a waveform for documentation 
is very useful.

> On the plus side, the Cleverscope is FPGA based and new features (like
> protocol triggers) are simply a matter of control software updates.  It is
> small so I could pack it in with the laptop on field trips, etc.

I have done one full upgrade and it was painless - just follow the 
instructions. As far as field operation is concerned, you can't power 
the Cleverscope from the USB port so you will need a separate power 
source. But it is quite small. The supplied probes are not 'cheap and 
nasty'.

You will find the very deep memory (4M samples per input) very useful 
for protocol debugging. I have.

I hope that helps.

Cheers,
Les Grant.


-------------------------------------------------------------
Les Grant. VK2KYJ.      Phone: 02 9896 7150 Fax: 02 9896 7153
Grantronics Pty Ltd     Int'l: +612 9896 7150, +612 9896 7153
ABN 46 070 123 643
PO Box 275, Wentworthville. NSW. 2145. Australia.            
http://www.grantronics.com.au  mailto:info@grantronics.com.au
Microcontroller Hardware and Software development: 
Atmel AVR - C, ASM, Digital and analogue 
-------------------------------------------------------------
o ImageCraft AVR, TI, Motorola and ARM Windows-hosted C compilers
o ELNEC Device Programmers (E)EPROMs, Flash, Micros, PLDs
o CAN-BUS Hardware and Software from LAWICEL
o Logical Systems Programming, Prototyping & Production Adaptors
o Cleverscope USB oscilloscopes
-------------------------------------------------------------