Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series Reference Manual

The Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series devices, the ADP5250, ADP5470, and ADP5490, are Digilent’s most ambitious mixed signal oscilloscopes to date, bringing higher sample rates, wider bandwidth, and more power to your benchtop.

Each devices sports an integrated CAT II Digital Multimeter, three programmable power supplies, a dedicated trigger line, and arbitrary waveform generator to complement the mixed signal oscilloscope. With 34 digital inputs operating at 1 GS/s working in tandem with the analog system, the rugged 5000 Series devices provide a range of bandwidths and sample rates for analog inputs to fit your needs – from a base of 100 MHz at 1 GS/s, to 350 MHz at 1.5 GS/s, all the way up to 500 MHz at 2 GS/s.

Driven by Digilent’s free WaveForms software and with everything included with a one-time purchase of the hardware, the Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series is more than just a tool – it’s analysis uncompromised.

• Two or Four single-ended BNC analog input channels with 8-bit resolution with up to ±20 V input range
• 100 MHz, 350 MHz, or 500 MHz bandwidth for the ADP5250, ADP5470, and ADP5490, respectively.
• 500 MS/s per channel, 1.5 GS/s per channel, or 2 GS/s per channel for the ADP5250, ADP5470, and ADP5490, respectively.
• Up to 1 million sample points buffer memory per channel
• Front panel connector generating a 5 V, 1 kHz, square wave for convenient compensation of BNC oscilloscope probes
• FFT, Spectrogram, Eye Diagram, XY Plot views, and more
• Rectangular, Triangular, Hamming, Hann, Cosine, Flat-top, Blackman, Blackman-Harris, Kaiser, and more windowing functions
• Edge and pulse triggering
• Cross-triggering with Logic Analyzer, Waveform Generator, or external trigger
• Multiple math channels with complex functions
• Cursors with advanced data measurements
• Captured data files can be exported in standard formats
• Scope configurations can be saved, exported, and imported

The Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series can be used with WaveForms’ Scope instrument to capture analog data via the analog input channels using BNC probes. When this instrument is used, the ADP5000 Series' analog input channels act as a two or four-channel oscilloscope with 8-bit resolution at up to 500 MS/s, 1.5 GS/s, or 2 GS/s depending on the hardware being used.

The Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series features an additional connector, found just to the right of the analog input channels, that provides a square wave for use in compensating your probes. By connecting the probe to the tab indicated by the square wave symbol and the ground clip to the tab indicated by the ground symbol, a 5 V, 1 kHz, square wave reference signal can be measured using the Scope instrument. If your probes support adjusting the compensation, you can then do so, by minimizing the over/undershoot of the measured reference signal.

Important Note: Grounding Circuitry

The BNC analog input connectors on the ADP5000 Series are single-ended and the BNC shielding is connected to the device ground, which is referenced to USB GND and mains. Depending on the PC powering scheme, and other PC connections (Ethernet, audio, etc. – which might also be grounded) the ADP5000 Series GND reference might be connected to the whole GND system and ultimately to the power network protection (earth ground). The circuit under test might also be connected to earth or possibly floating.

For safety reasons, it is the user’s responsibility to understand the powering and grounding scheme and to make sure that there is a common GND reference between the Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series and the circuit under test.

Software Math channels, which are calculated by the WaveForms software on the host computer, can also be added as visible channels to the viewing plot. These software channels and filters include straightforward arithmetic operations such as calculating the total amount of power consumed by a system, Butterworth and Chebyshev IIR filters for signal processing, Lock-in amplifiers to extract a signal from surrounding noise, and scriptable math functions. Each software channel can use any of the existing hardware or software channels as the source for their inputs.

Digital signals from the Logic Analyzer can be simultaneously shown in the Scope instrument with the two types of signals sharing the same time scale for easy comparison. A Scope to Digital option is also available, allowing users to convert their received analog input data into known data protocols. Configurable threshold voltages can be individually selected for each channel. When using the Scope to Digital feature, trigger settings are shared between the analog and digital data shown within the Scope instrument. Because the analog to digital conversion is processed within WaveForms software, patterns in the converted data cannot be used to trigger acquisitions.

Since the Analog Discovery Pro’s analog input channels are shared, the Oscilloscope instrument cannot be used at the same time as the Spectrum Analyzer, Network Analyzer, or Impedance Analyzer instruments.

For more information on the analog input (“Scope”) channels, please visit the Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series Specifications. For a walkthrough of the different features of WaveForms' Oscilloscope instrument, please visit the Using the Oscilloscope guide.

• One BNC analog output with 14-bit resolution, ±12 V output range
• 20 MHz bandwidth for the ADP5250 and ADP5470, 40 MHz bandwidth for the ADP5490, with switchable output filter
• Standard waveforms: sine, triangle, sawtooth, noise, and many others
• User-defined arbitrary waveforms: defined within WaveForms software user interface or using standard tools (e.g. Excel)

The Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series can be used with WaveForms' Wavegen instrument to output analog voltage waves via the BNC connector. The Waveform Generator converts digital samples to analog and stimulates a circuit connected over a single channel. When the Wavegen instrument is used, the Analog Discovery Pro's analog output channel acts as an Arbitrary Waveform Generator. The instrument supports many simple waveforms like Sine and Triangle waves. Fully custom waveforms can be generated by importing sample sets defined in an external application. The ADP5470 and ADP5490 also feature an indicator LED that lights up blue when the waveform generator channel is active.

A 50 Ω output impedance on the analog output channel mitigates any ringing and overshoot that is present on signals with abrupt edges that are being driven in highly capacitive loads. It is recommended to use BNC to minigrabber cables instead of BNC Probes for the analog output to avoid any bandwidth limitations on 1x mode or corresponding signal attenuation on 10x mode.

Since the Analog Discovery Pro's analog output channel is shared, the Waveform Generator instrument cannot be used at the same time as the Network Analyzer, or Impedance Analyzer instruments.

For more information on the analog output (“Wavegen”) channel, please visit the Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series Specifications. For a walkthrough of the different features of WaveForms' Waveform Generator instrument, please visit the Using the Waveform Generator guide.

• Three programmable power supplies
  • 0 V to 6 V
    • 0 A to 1 A for the ADP5250
    • 0 A to 3 A for the ADP5470 and ADP5490
  • 0 V to +25 V
    • 0 A to 500 mA for the ADP5250
    • 0 A to 1 A for the ADP5470 and ADP5490
  • 0 V to -25 V
    • 0 A to 500 mA for the ADP5250
    • 0 A to 1 A for the ADP5470 and ADP5490
• Integrated voltage and current readback for each channel
• Voltage and Current limiting settings for each channel

The Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series has 3 programmable Digital Voltage Supplies, which can supply from 0 V to +6 V, 0 V to +25 V, and 0 V to -25 V, and are configured through the Power Supplies (“Supplies”) instrument.

Each of the power supply rails is associated with an LED available on the connector, just above the supply's screw terminal or banana connector, which is used to indicate the operating mode of that supply. When a load doesn't require more current than the supply's current limit, the supply operates in Constant Voltage (CV) mode, and the indicator LED is blue. When the load does try to draw more current than the current limit, the supply operates in Constant Current (CC) mode, and the LED is orange. WaveForms' Supplies instrument UI for the ADP5000 Series also features these LEDs, showing CV mode with a green indicator and CC with a red indicator.

For more information on using the programmable power supplies, please visit the Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series Specifications. For a walkthrough of the different features of WaveForms' Power Supplies instrument, please visit the Using Power Supplies with a Readback Plot guide.

• Category II Digital Multimeter
• 5 ½ digit resolution
• DC Voltage, AC Voltage, Current, Resistance, Diode, and Continuity measurements

The Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series all feature a Category II Digital Mulitmeter, providing users with some quick sanity check measurement options without having to worry about exceeding the voltage ranges on the other instruments. WaveForms further enhances the experience with auto-ranging, adjustable averaging and sample rates, history plot, and offset nulling.

• Measurements: DC, AC RMS, True RMS, with Averages, Minimums, and Maximums
• Up to 10 million samples at sample rates ranging from 10 Hz to once per hour
• Scriptable conversion functions

The Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series can be used with WaveForms' “Logger” instrument to capture large buffers of analog input data on the Scope channels.

The Data Logger can capture buffers of data at update rates ranging from 10 times per second to once per hour. Each sample rate supports up to 10 million and 1 samples, though Digilent must advice you that collecting 10 million samples at a rate of once per hour will, regrettably, exceed the hardware warranty timeframe provided on our our products.

Since the Analog Discovery Pro's analog input channels are shared, the Data Logger instrument cannot be used at the same time as the Oscilloscope, Spectrum Analyzer, Network Analyzer, or Impedance Analyzer instruments.

For more information on the analog input (“Scope”) channels, please visit the Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series Specifications. For a walkthrough of the different features of WaveForms' Data Logger instrument, please visit the Using the Data Logger guide.

• Multiple trigger options including pin state change, configurable pulse, and external trigger
• Cross-triggering between the Analog input channels or Waveform Generator Output
• Interpreter for SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, I2S, 1-Wire, parallel buses, and more
• Scripted custom protocol interpretation
• Data file import/export using standard formats

The Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series can be used with WaveForms' “Logic” instrument to act as a Logic Analyzer. When used this way, the digital input channels (in the 2×20 Logic Analyzer connector, part of the overall Mixed Signal Oscilloscope section on the front panel) are configured to capture the high/low logic states over time of connected digital signals.

Individual input channels can be grouped as buses and protocols. Protocol groups can be used to view the decoded contents of packets of many common communications protocols, including SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, and I2S.

The Logic Analyzer can be used simultaneously with the Scope instrument by using the Scope-to-Digital view to enable the Mixed Signal Oscilloscope ability of the Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series.

For more information on the digital input, please visit the Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series Specifications. For a walkthrough of the different features of WaveForms' Logic Analyzer instrument, please visit the Using the Logic Analyzer guide.

• Virtual I/O devices (LEDs, buttons, switches & displays)
• Customized visualization options available

The Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series can be used with WaveForms' Static I/O instrument to emulate a variety of user input/output devices on the digital input/output pins. Virtual LEDs, buttons, switches, sliders, and displays can be assigned to specific digital I/O pins, found on the “Digital I/O” connector, and interacted with within the WaveForms user interface.

Important Note: To prevent damage to the device, care must be taken not to drive input signals to the digital input/output channels over 5 V.

Digital input/output channels are also shared by the Protocol instrument.

For more information on the digital input/output channels, please visit the Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series Specifications. For a walkthrough of the different features of WaveForms' Static I/O instrument, please visit the Using the Static I/O guide.

• Power spectrum algorithms: FFT, CZT
• Frequency range modes: center/span, start/stop
• Frequency scales: linear, logarithmic
• Vertical axis options: voltage-peak, voltage-RMS, dBV, and dBu
• Windowing: options: rectangular, triangular, hamming, cosine, and many others
• Cursors and automatic measurements: noise floor, SFDR, SNR, THD and many others
• Data file import/export using standard formats

The Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series can be used with WaveForms' “Spectrum” instrument to view the power of frequency-domain components of analog signals captured on the analog input channels.

Signals can be plotted in units of peak voltage, RMS voltage, and various voltage level ratio units.

Since the Spectrum Analyzer instrument uses the same hardware resources as the Oscilloscope, Network Analyzer, and Impedance Analyzer instruments, it cannot be used at the same time as these other instruments.

For more information on the analog input channels, please visit the Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series Specifications. For a walkthrough of the different features of WaveForms' Spectrum Analyzer instrument, please visit the Using the Spectrum Analyzer guide.

• Available diagrams: Bode, Nichols, Nyquist, and FFTs
• Settable input amplitude and offset
• Analog input records response at each frequency

The Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series can be used with WaveForms' “Network” instrument to view the amplitude and phase response (a Bode plot) of a circuit under test. Nichols and Nyquist plots can also be viewed with this instrument.

Frequency sweeps can be performed in ranges between 10 Hz and 500 MHz¹⁾ with up to 10k samples per decade. The wave used for the sweep can be customized, and uses the same resources as the Waveform Generator instrument.

The Network Analyzer instrument uses the analog output and analog input channels of the Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series to probe a test circuit. The Network Analyzer can be configured to use an external signal to provide input to the circuit under test, rather than using the analog output channels.

Since the Analog Discovery Pro's analog input and output channels are shared, the Network Analyzer instrument cannot be used at the same time as the Oscilloscope, Waveform Generator, Data Logger, Spectrum Analyzer, or Impedance Analyzer instruments.

For more information on the analog output and analog input channels, please visit the Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series Specifications. For a walkthrough of the different features of WaveForms' Network Analyzer instrument, please visit the Using the Network Analyzer guide.

• Chart views for Voltage, Current, Impedance, Admittance, Capacitance, and others
• Alternative simple Meter view
• Selectable external compensation circuit
• Data file export using standard formats

The Analog Discovery Pro ADP5000 Series can be used with WaveForms' “Impedance” instrument to view a wide variety of frequency response characteristics of a circuit under test. Input, Phase, Voltage, Current, Impedance, Admittance, Inductance, Factor, and Nyquist plots are all available. In addition, Custom plots can be used to present the results of a wide variety of different mathematical operations on buffered data.

Frequency sweeps are performed to stimulate the connected circuit and measure the response. The signal used in the sweeps can be selected from a variety of presets, with configurable amplitude and offset. An external network analyzer reference circuit can be selected from a variety of options.

The Impedance Analyzer instrument uses the Analog Discovery Pro's analog output channels and analog input channels to probe a test circuit.

Since the Analog Discovery Pro's analog input and output channels are shared, the Impedance Analyzer instrument cannot be used at the same time as the Oscilloscope, Waveform Generator, Data Logger, Spectrum Analyzer, or Network Analyzer instruments.

For more information on the analog output and analog input channels, please visit the Analog Discovery Pro 5000 Series Specifications. For a walkthrough of the different features of WaveForms' Impedance Analyzer instrument, please visit the Using the Impedance Analyzer guide.

• Available within the WaveForms application
• Simultaneous control of all instruments through JavaScript
• Automatable GUI actions
• Custom data analysis and manipulation functions

Each of WaveForms' instruments can be controlled through scripts within the WaveForms application itself. WaveForms' “Script” instrument allows the user to write and run JavaScript code that can control the rest of the application through an extensive API. This allows the user to configure and run many instruments at the same time, in an easily repeatable way.

A variety of code examples are available in the application to aid in learning to write WaveForms scripts. Additional resources for writing scripts can be found on the Test and Measurement section of the Digilent Forum.

A plot pane within the Script instrument itself can be used to integrate data from many different instruments, and display it in a highly customizable way.

For a walkthrough of the different features of WaveForms' Script instrument, please visit the Using Scripts guide.

WaveForms is Digilent's free Test and Measurement software application compatible with all of Digilent's Discovery family devices. With support for Windows operating systems, users can easily configure and control all of the virtual instruments offered by the Analog Discovery Pro (ADP5000).

More information about WaveForms including a getting started guide and examples can be found in the WaveForms Resource Center.

• Downloaded via the WaveForms installer, used independently of the WaveForms application
• Languages supported: C/C++, C#, Python, Visual Basic
• Provides control of hardware channels and virtual instruments to custom applications

Note: For custom applications we recommend and support WaveForms SDK, however, NI’s VirtualBench C API and VirtualBench LabVIEW VIs can also be used.

WaveForms SDK is a set of software libraries and examples that can be used to develop custom applications that can control Digilent Test and Measurement devices. Supported languages include C, C++, C#, Visual Basic, and Python. More information about WaveForms SDK can be found through the WaveForms SDK Resource Center.

Digilent has created a package for LabVIEW to provide users with flexibility in the environment used for both data acquisition and subsequent analysis. The package provides a curated experience to let users who are more comfortable in different development environments still have access to all of the power contained within the Analog Discovery Pro (ADP5000). Further customization and control of the ADP5000 can be done through Digilent's WaveForms SDK, letting users create their own applications in C/C++, C#, Python, and Visual Basic.

A guide for using WaveForms with LabVIEW can be found in Digilent's Getting Started with LabVIEW guide.

The Analog Discovery Pro (ADP5000) Series have a single device configuration which allocates predefined buffer sizes for the analog input, analog output, and digital logic systems.

The ADP5000 Series use a USB 2.0 Hi-Speed USB Type-B® connector. A USB Standard-A to USB Type-B cable is included with each ADP5000 Series device.

The ADP5470 and ADP5490 also have an Ethernet port available for communication with WaveForms. See the ADP5000 Series Ethernet Guide for additional information on using this connector.

The Analog Discovery Pro (ADP5000) Series has separate front panel interfaces and connectors for its variety of features. Callout diagrams for each device showing the location of the analog inputs, digital inputs, programmable power supplies, digital multimeter, trigger, and digital I/O pins for the ADP5250 (Figure 2), ADP5470 (Figure 3), and ADP5490 (Figure 4) are provided below.

The power LED on the front of the Analog Discovery Pro (ADP5000) has two different states, fully lit to indicate when both the analog and digital rails are active and powered ON and OFF when the device is not powered.

The ADP5470 and ADP5490 feature an Ethernet network indicator LED and a USB indicator LED, to the right of the power button, that lights up blue when a connection is established.

The ADP5470 and ADP5490 feature an indicator LED that lights up blue when the waveform generator channel is active. The blue waveform generator LED is located on the front panel above the AWG connector.

Note: The ADP5250 does not have an AWG LED; if the ADP5250 power button is blinking, the reason could be a warning that voltage is being applied/backdriven to the AWG.

Each of the power supply rails is associated with an LED available on the connector, just above the supply's screw terminal or banana connector, which is used to indicate the operating mode of that supply. When a load doesn't require more current than the supply's current limit, the supply operates in Constant Voltage (CV) mode, and the indicator LED is blue. When the load does try to draw more current than the current limit, the supply operates in Constant Current (CC) mode, and the LED is orange.