RE: Logic Analyzer

> I've been looking for a logic analyzer and was wondering what you guys
> recommend.
> Has anybody owned/used any of the following LA's? and what do you
> think of
> them (what features and limitations do each have)
>
> FLUKE 9005A, 9010A
>
Not really a logic analyzer, and not really an ICE. But... Really handy
to have for a trouble-shooter. The 9010 is the one to get if possible
(the 9005 doesn't have the programmablility that the 9010 does.)

> HP 1600A, 1607A, 1610A, 1611A, 1615A, 1630D, 5000A, 5006A
>
I wouldn't mess with any HP stuff less than a 1630 or 1650. (Little too
old and under-featured, IMHO) Once you're at the 1630's they're nice
though-- largely a matter of personal preference. If you start on HP's,
you like HP's. If you start with Tek, you like Tek. ;-)

> TEK 1230, 1240, 1241, LA501
>
The 1240 and 1241 are the HP1630/50 of Tek logic analyzers... Those are
the ones I have. Relatively easy to setup and use for a beginner, but
they can go to "ridiculously complex" if you really want to. They have
ROM cartridges that allow for mnemonic disassembly and state analysis of
most processors. (Hmmm, I should probably make some "multigame"
mnemonic cartridges since they're impossible to find for sale.) The
1240/1 also support serial ports, printer ports, etc. You can "program"
the capture module to get the most use from the memory-- when doing
video work recently I'd do things like have the Tek count occurrances on
my "hblank" line (to get to a certain line on the screen), and then
trigger and grab the data I wanted. You can do all sorts of "wait for
this, then count this N times, then wait for this, then look for this,
and then grab all the data" nesting and whatnot.

If there's a weak point it's with the "capture pods". You need them
'cause there's circuitry onboard. They can be hard to find and
expensive depending on where you buy from. And they have these little
wire harnesses that plug into them too...

The 1241 is basically a 1240 with a color display. (Well, kinda color.
It's "RG" -- no "B".) You can configure them with different capture
cards-- the most common configuration is probably a single 9-channel and
an 18 channel card. Capture memory isn't very big-- only about 256/512
words depending on if glitch capture is on or not, but you can chain the
memory from multiple capture cards to make longer traces.

The LA series (like the 7's) are "big" logic analyzers supports lots of
rack-modules. I've never used them though.

I have an American Arium ML4400, which is pretty nice for 68000
processor work (with the 68000 pod and software). Damn hard to use
compared with the Tek's though.

-Clay
Received on Tue Feb 23 13:28:36 1999