Analog Discovery Pro (ADP3450/ADP3250) Getting Started Guide

Overview

This guide will get you started with your new Analog Discovery Pro, from getting it out of the box to taking your first measurement in the default Standard mode.


Inventory

  • Your new Analog Discovery Pro, along with the included power supply and USB cable.
    • BNC oscilloscope probes and BNC to minigrabber clip cables
  • A computer, with the WaveForms application (version 3.15.22 or later) installed.
    • Installation instructions can be found in Step 2 of this guide.
    • Installers for each supported operating system (Windows, Mac, and Linux) can be found here: WaveForms installers.

Guide

1. Unboxing

Unboxing

The Analog Discovery Pro arrives in a large box.

What could be inside?


A thin layer of foam and a small walk-around sheet are located on top of the Analog Discovery Pro which is contained in an anti-static bag.

I think I see it!


Underneath the Analog Discovery Pro, which is nestled in its own tray, are two compartments: the required Power Supply Brick and the MTE, USB, and IEC cables.

Wait there's more?


2. Download and Install WaveForms

Digilent's WaveForms application provides a user interface to the Analog Discovery Pro (ADP3450/ADP3250). Please download the appropriate WaveForms installer for the operating system (Windows, Linux, Mac). If WaveForms is already installed, please make sure that it is up to date (version 3.15.22 or later).

Check the Inventory section, above, for the download link.

Click on the appropriate option below for OS-specific installation instructions.


Installing WaveForms : Windows

Welcome

First launch the WaveForms installer, by clicking on it in the Downloads folder. Upon launching the WaveForms installer, the welcome page will be seen. Click Next.

License Agreement

Read the license agreement on this screen, then, if in agreement to it, click I Agree to continue.

Choose Components

In the “Choose Components” screen, a list is presented of each of the things that can be installed. In order to use the Analog Discovery Pro with the WaveForms application, the Adept Runtime, WaveForms Runtime, and WaveForms Application are required.

  • The Adept Runtime allows WaveForms to communicate with the Analog Discovery 2, Analog Discovery, Analog Discovery Studio, Analog Discovery Pro (ADP3450/ADP3250), Digital Discovery, and Electronics Explorer Board.
  • The WaveForms Runtime contains a library and device support files needed to run custom applications.
  • The WaveForms Application is the Digilent virtual instrumentation interface.
  • The Waveforms SDK is the software development kit for creating custom applications.

Note: Even with all components selected, the WaveForms install does not take much hard drive space (<200MB). Digilent recommends that all components are installed.

Shortcut Options

Click Next.

Choose Install Location

Click Install.

Installing / Installation Complete

Wait for the Installation to complete, then click Next.

Complete

Click Finish to close the installer.

Installing WaveForms : Mac

From the downloads folder, open the downloaded .dmg file.


From the desktop, open the WaveForms drive.


Drag the WaveForms icon into the Applications folder.


The OS may block the launch of WaveForms when it is opened for the first time. If this is the case, go into the System Preferences' Security and Privacy page and click Open Anyway.

Installing WaveForms : Linux

First, download the package for the Adept Runtime. This program is required for WaveForms to connect to the Analog Discovery Pro and must be installed prior to installing WaveForms.

For systems using .deb packages, (Ubuntu, Fedora, etc), use the built-in package manager to install the Adept Runtime and then WaveForms - typically, a package manager can be opened by double-clicking on the file in question. Alternatively, use the following set of commands in the terminal to install the Adept Runtime and WaveForms from the downloaded packages:

sudo dpkg -i <path to Adept Runtime .deb file>
sudo dpkg -i <path to WaveForms .deb file>
sudo apt-get install -f

For systems using .rpm packages, (Red Hat Linux, etc), use the following set of commands in the terminal to install the Adept Runtime and WaveForms from the downloaded packages:

sudo rpm -i <path to Adept Runtime .rpm file>
sudo rpm -i <path to WaveForms .rpm file>

If WaveForms has already been installed on the system, replace the “-i” flag passed to the rpm command with “-U” to upgrade the existing installation.

For technical support with installing WaveForms on various Linux distributions, please visit to the Test and Measurement section of the Digilent Forum.


3. Update the Firmware (Optional)

In Standard Mode

Plug the Analog Discovery Pro’s power supply into an outlet, then plug the power supply into the Analog Discovery Pro.

Plug the Analog Discovery Pro into the computer via the USB cable.

Flip the Analog Discovery Pro power switch to the on position, on the left side of the unit. The green “power good” indicator LED on the front of the device (far left side) will turn on.

Connected cables and switched on

Launch the WaveForms application and open the Device Manager, with the device connected to the host computer through USB. Click Update Device to have WaveForms automatically update the firmware.

If this button doesn't appear, the device firmware is up to date.

WaveForms will tell you not to power off or unplug the device while it is updating. Click Yes to continue.

Once the update is complete, click OK to confirm and reboot the device.



4. Take a Measurement

This section walks through using the Analog Discovery Pro (ADP3450/ADP3250) for the first time. An analog output pin is connected to an analog input pin, and a waveform is generated and captured via this simple loopback circuit.

Take a Measurement

1.

If you haven't yet, plug the Analog Discovery Pro’s power supply into an outlet, then plug the power supply into the Analog Discovery Pro.

2.

Plug the Analog Discovery Pro into the computer via the USB cable.

3.

Flip the Analog Discovery Pro power switch to the on position, on the left side of the unit. The green “power good” indicator LED on the front of the device (far left side) will turn on.

Connected cables and switched on


4.

Take a BNC oscilloscope probe and connect it to the Analog Discovery Pro’s Oscilloscope Channel 1. Connect a BNC to minigrabber clip cable to Wavegen Out Channel 1. Connect the tips together. Set the scope probe's attenuation to 1x.


5.

Launch the WaveForms application. Upon launch, WaveForms will automatically detect and connect to the Analog Discovery Pro in the Device Manager. If the Analog Discovery Pro is not connected to the host computer when WaveForms launches, plug in the device and turn it on, at which point it will appear in the Device Manager’s device list.

If your device doesn't show up, you can click the Refresh Stopped button to have WaveForms begin automatically refreshing the list of devices.

If an Update Device button is visible after selecting the device, update the firmware prior to doing anything else. After updating the firmware, select the Device and then click Select to continue.


6.

In WaveForms, open the Wavegen instrument by clicking on the Wavegen button in the instrument panel on the left side of the screen.


7.

Leave all settings as defaults, and then go back to WaveForms' Welcome tab and click on the Scope button to open the Scope instrument. You will hear a small click from the Analog Discovery Pro when the oscilloscope is enabled.


8.

Click the green play arrow in the top right of WaveForms to run all Instruments and begin capturing data.

9.

You have now taken your first measurement!


Other Resources

If you want to check out using the device in Linux mode, see Getting Started in Linux Mode with the Analog Discovery Pro (ADP3450/ADP3250).

For more information on streaming data through ethernet while using Standard mode, see Streaming Data over Ethernet from the Analog Discovery Pro (ADP3450/ADP3250).

To find reference materials and guides on how to use the Analog Discovery Pro and WaveForms, please visit the Analog Discovery Pro (ADP3450/ADP3250) Resource Center.

For detailed steps about how to install and use WaveForms on Raspberry Pi, follow this guide: Getting Started with Raspberry Pi and a Test and Measurement Device.

For technical support, please visit the Test and Measurement section of the Digilent Forum.