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Tektronix MSO4000 Series Oscilloscope Digital Channels Remote Interfacing LabVIEW VIJune 3, 2010

David ArditoJinho ParkDavid RichouxCalen Uhligpsu-mcecs_logo.jpg

PSU ECE Department Senior Capstone ProjectProject Name: LabView VI for interfacing with Tektronix MSO oscilloscopes1AcknowledgmentsTektronix Inc.Jeff YostIan Dees

Portland State UniversityDr. Garrison GreenwoodMark FaustPhilip WongAmy Jolsteadpsu-mcecs_logo.jpg

Problem DescriptionMSO oscilloscopes available featuresEquipped with communication interfaces for PC.Commands available for remote control.Existing SignalExpress custom step supports remote control of analog channels.No means to control digital channels and buses.

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Dcomputer interface for the digital channels or the Bus configurationProgrammers Manual ave A:MSO4000 does not have a3RequirementsDesign and implement a user interface VI Enable remote control of digital channels from PC.Required FeaturesDigital channels and buses parameters configuration.Trigger setup. Digital waveforms displayMeasurement data acquisitionpsu-mcecs_logo.jpg

Dave A:Design a computer interface VI using LabVIEW to allow remote access to the Digital Channels and Bus configuration of a MSO4000Capstone Team 10 Project Proposal

Design and implement a user interface VI that enables remote control of digital channels from a PC.Required FeaturesConfigure the digital channels and buses parametersAdjust the trigger settings. Display digital waveformsAcquire measurement data

4Design ApproachModular DesignOscilloscope functionalities divided into five groupsDigital ChannelBus ConfigurationBus TriggerDigital MeasurementDigital WaveformEach group implemented individually.Followed by integration

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Digital Channel InterfaceDigital Channel MeasurementDisplay Digital SignalBus Configuration InterfaceBus Trigger Interface

5Design Approach

Design ApproachIndividual VI DesignEach VI provides own user interface.User interactions handled by event structures.Text commands generated and issued to the oscilloscope according to the user inputs.Interactive controls updated for synchronizationRepresent the current oscilloscope state

Design ApproachDevelopment EnvironmentSoftwareNational Instrument LabVIEW 2009 Professional EditionNational Instrument LabVIEW 2009 Student EditionHardwareTektronix MSO4054 Mixed Signal OscilloscopeFirmware Version v2.48Tektronix custom bus signal generator board

8Design ApproachTestingFor each control in a VIManipulate the control in the VI under test.Verify the effect in the oscilloscope Verify that control are initialized/updated accordinglyFor each indicator in a VIVerify that the values presentedmatches oscilloscope display

Complete testing of every button pressComplete testing of every entered valueComplete testing of every menu displayVI display synchronized with oscilloscopeA Pass is when VI action completely duplicates action performed on oscilloscope

9Design ApproachSample Test Cases

10Design ApproachSample Test Cases

11Design ApproachSample Test Cases

12Results(The team has came up with a) VI that enables user to control the digital and bus portion of a MSO4000 series oscilloscope.Functionalities includeSetting digital channel parametersConfiguring busesDisplaying digital waveformsAcquiring measurement dataSetting up triggers

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ResultsVI Screenshots

ResultsVI Screenshots

ResultsCode Snippets

Resultspsu-mcecs_logo.jpg

Code SnippetsDeliverablesFinal LabView Code for all VIsUser Manual for all VIsCompleted Test Plan and ResultsFinal ReportAll borrowed hardwareTest BoardReturn badgespsu-mcecs_logo.jpg

Future EnhancementsVisible and invisible menus instead of Tab or disabled and grayed outIntegration into Signal Expresspsu-mcecs_logo.jpg

Questionspsu-mcecs_logo.jpg

The Team

Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringThe Tektronix MSO4000 series are mixed-signal oscilloscopes that feature both digital and analog channels. A previously developed custom step in National Instruments SignalExpress can be used to remotely control the analog channels of the oscilloscopes, but there is currently no means to remotely control the digital channels and buses. Our project was to design and implement a LabVIEW Virtual Instrument that will allow a user to remotely configure and control the oscilloscope as well as acquire, analyze, and document measurements from the digital channels and bus waveforms.

The MSO4000 series devices are equipped with a VISA (Virtual Instrument Software Architecture) communications controller and an accompanying command-line programming language which includes commands for almost every hardware action. This means of interfacing proved invaluable to our project, providing us with a means of manipulating the device according to our software specifications. We needed to design an interactive visual interface that could build and transmit appropriate text commands to the oscilloscope, which would cause the device to reflect the users actions and selections within our interface.

We designed a virtual instrument that will allow a user to remotely operate a Tektronix MSO4000 series oscilloscope using National Instruments LabVIEW. The purpose of this VI is to allow a user to control the oscilloscope by manipulating the controls in the user interface of this VI, rather than manipulating the controls that are on the front panel of the oscilloscope itself. Manipulating a control in LabVIEW should have the same effect on the oscilloscope as manipulating the equivalent control on the front panel of the oscilloscope. The user will have remote control over the digital channels, the serial buses, and the bus triggering features from LabVIEW. It will also provide the user with a means to configure and collect data from the scopes built-in in digital channel measurement functions. The VI also displays an image of the waveform in LabVIEW and allows the user to acquire and save measurement data from the oscilloscope.We implemented our solution as a collection of individual virtual instruments, which are then packaged in a top-level master VI. The top level VI plots the waveform data on the graph while simultaneously governing execution of the constituent VIs which configure the various feature groups of the oscilloscope. The configuration VIs are presented in a tabbed layout that allows the user to quickly and seamlessly switch between them, while never having to leave the waveform display - thus ensuring a smooth and seamless workflow, while never having to physically touch the oscilloscope.

National Instruments LabVIEW is a powerful graphical programming environment for developing sophisticated measurement, test, and control systems. It is especially well-suited for rapid development of user-friendly visual interfaces capable of controlling complex hardware of all kinds. In LabVIEW, applications called Virtual Instruments (VIs) are constructed by wiring together different functional blocks, instead of writing lines of text. These functional blocks have vastly wide-ranging capabilities, from simple arithmetic and Boolean logic operators to external hardware communications, control, and data transfer/logging/analysis via the industry-standard VISA API. LabVIEW enables the developer to quickly lay out a visually appealing and user-friendly front panel interface and worry about the programming later. In addition, by thinking hierarchically and planning ahead, portions of code which will be repeatedly useful can themselves be saved as sub-VIs and incorporated into later projects, thus further streamlining future development. LabVIEW VI for Interfacing with Tektronix MSO4000 Oscilloscopes

The Tektronix MSO4000 series mixed-signal oscilloscopes are capable of recognizing both analog and digital input signals, and are packed with specialized high-level functionality for analyzing and interpreting multichannel digital and bus data. Sixteen digital inputs can combine with the four analog inputs for a total of twenty bits of simultaneous input. These inputs can be viewed and measured as individual waveforms or can be grouped and fully decoded using automated serial and parallel bus analysis with a selection of nine different communication bus protocols, including Parallel, I2C, SPI, LIN, CAN, RS-232, FlexRay, USB, and Audio.

Sponsored by Tektronix Corporation of AmericaTektronix Representative: Jeff Yost

PSU Faculty Advisor: Dr. Garrison GreenwoodECE Team Members: David Ardito, Jinho Park, David Richoux, Calen Uhlig

Special thanks: Ian Dees Tektronix,Mark Faust, Philip Wong, Amy Jolstead - Portland State University

Digital Channel VIThe MSO4000 series includes a set of dedicated digital input channels, much like a logic analyzer. This VI allows the user to configure and control the 16 digital channels, D0-D15.

The user is able to:Turn each of the 16 digital channels on or off, either individually or in groups of eightAdjust the height of the digital channel waveformsTurn the MagniVu feature on or offAdjust the vertical positions of the digital channel waveforms Edit the text labels of each digital channelSet the logic threshold voltages for each of the digital channels

Bus Configuration VIThe serial bus decoding of the MSO4000 series is a powerful feature. This VI allows the user to completely configure all four serial buses, B1-B4.

The user is able to:Individually enable/disable the display of each busChange the decoding type for any given bus in two mouse clicksConfigure all input sources and decoding parameters for all bus types (listed at far left)Select the bus display type (Bus and Waveforms, or Bus Only)Select the bus display format for each bus (Binary, Hexadecimal, ASCII, Signed Decimal, Mixed, and Mixed2)Adjust the vertical position of each bus and its associated waveformsEdit the text labels of each busBus Trigger VIEach serial bus on the MSO4000 features fully configurable triggering. This VI allows the user to configure triggering all four buses.

The user is able to:Select the event type on which to trigger. Each bus type has its own set of potential triggering events, and all of them are represented in the VI.Configure all of the triggering parameters for the chosen event type. Each type of event has a particular set of parameters associated with it, and the VI displays only the parameters which pertain to the currently selected event type.

Digital Measurement VIThe MSO4000 includes a suite of channel-to-channel measurement and comparison option. This VI allows the user to execute and display the results of measurements between up to four of the digital channels, D0-D15, replicating the scopes front-panel functionality.

Available measurements include: FrequencyPeriodPhase DifferenceDelayBurstPositive Duty CyclePositive Edge CountPositive WidthNegative Duty CycleNegative Edge CountNegative Width

MSO4000 Series Mixed-Signal OscilloscopesConfiguration VIsLabVIEW Programming SampleProject Benefit SummarizationECE Capstone Project CreditsOur Approach

Our Design

Project Overview

Achievements3rd Place in Poster Competition