Analog Discovery Studio - Getting Started Guide

Unboxing

The Analog Discovery Studio comes in a sturdy cardboard box. Lift the flap in the front to open the box.


In the cardboard box, an insert with instructions on getting started with the Analog Discovery Studio and a walkaround of it's features can be found. Keep the insert for reference, or recycle it. Lift the cardboard section containing the Analog Discovery Studio to reveal the MTE cables, power supply and USB cable.


A foam protector is placed underneath the Breadboard Canvas to protect the power access pins during shipping. Remove the canvas by lifting it straight up to remove the foam. Place the canvas back down onto the Analog Discovery Studio once the foam has been removed.


The each of the items in the following list comes in the box:

  • Analog Discovery Studio with Breadboard Canvas
  • 15V Power Supply Cable with barrel connector for powering the Analog Discovery Studio
  • USB A to B cable intended to connect the Analog Discovery Studio to a host computer
  • Sets of MTE cables intended to connect the breadboard to the following sets of pins:
    • Scope Channel 1
    • Scope Channel 2
    • Wavegen Channel 1
    • Wavegen Channel 2
    • Digital I/O
    • Power Access


Download and Install WaveForms

Digilent's WaveForms application provides a user interface to the Analog Discovery Studio. Please download the appropriate WaveForms installer for the operating system (Windows, Linux, Mac) via the WaveForms Resource Center. Then click on the appropriate option below for OS-specific installation instructions.

If WaveForms is already installed, please make sure that it is up to date (version 3.10.9 or later).


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 Studio 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, 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

Finish.

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.


Install Drivers : Only for OS-X 10.13 or earlier
Skip this section if the OS version is newer than OS-X 10.13.

Launch Installer

Double click DigilentFtdiDriver.pkg to open the FTDI Driver Installer.


The OS may block the launch of the driver installer. If this is the case, go into the System Preferences' Security and Privacy page and click Open Anyway.


Introduction

Click Continue.


Read Me

Click Continue.


License

Read the license, then if in agreement, click Continue, then click Agree in the popup.


Destination Select

Pick the users to install the drivers for, then click Continue.


Installation Type

Click Install.


Summary

Once the installation has completed, click Close.


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 Studio 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 the Test and Measurement section of the Digilent Forum.


Take a Measurement

This section walks through using the Analog Discovery Studio 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.

Plug in the Analog Discovery Studio's power supply to an outlet, then plug the power supply's barrel jack into the Analog Discovery Studio.


2.

Plug in the Analog Discovery Studio to the computer via the USB cable.


3.

Flip the Analog Discovery Studio's power switch to the on position. The green “power good” indicator LED on the top of the Analog Discovery Studio will turn on.


4.

Take out the two sets of MTE cables for the Analog Discovery Studio's scope channel 1 (orange wire paired with orange wire with a white stripe) and wavegen channel 1 (yellow wire paired with black wire).

Connect the black wire (GND) of the wavegen MTE cable to the white-striped wire (1-) of the scope MTE cable by plugging each of them into the same row of the breadboard.

On a different row of the breadboard, do the same for the yellow wire (W1) of the wavegen MTE cable and the solid orange wire (1+) of the scope.

Be sure to have sliding switch on the Oscilloscope channel set towards the input type you plan to use.


5.

Launch WaveForms. Upon launch, WaveForms will automatically detect and connect to the Analog Discovery Studio. If the Analog Discovery Studio is not connected to the host computer when WaveForms launches, the Device Manager will be launched. Make sure that the device is plugged in and turned on, at which point it will appear in the Device Manager's device list (1). Click on the device in the list to select it, then click the Select button (2) to close the Device Manager.

Note: “DEMO” devices are also listed, which allow the user to use WaveForms and create projects without a physical device.

Note: The Device Manager can be opened by clicking on the “Connected Device” button in the bottom right corner of the screen (3), or by selecting “Device Manager” from the “Settings” menu at the top of the screen.


6.

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

Leave all settings as defaults, and click the green arrow at the top of the window to play the wave.


7.

Go back to WaveForms' “Welcome” tab, and open the “Scope” instrument.

Leave all settings as defaults and click the green play arrow to begin capturing data.


Next Steps

To find reference materials and guides on how to use the Analog Discovery Studio and WaveForms, please visit the Analog Discovery Studio 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 Digilent Forum.