1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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5 This README contains various notes for users of libsigrok (or frontends
6 that are based on libsigrok) about device- and/or driver-specific issues.
12 Some devices supported by libsigrok need a firmware to be uploaded every time
13 the device is connected to the PC (usually via USB), before it can be used.
15 The default locations where libsigrok expects the firmware files are:
17 $SIGROK_FIRMWARE_DIR (environment variable)
18 $HOME/.local/share/sigrok-firmware
19 $prefix/share/sigrok-firmware
20 /usr/local/share/sigrok-firmware
21 /usr/share/sigrok-firmware
23 ($prefix is usually /usr/local or /usr, depending on your ./configure options)
25 For further information see the section below and also:
27 http://sigrok.org/wiki/Firmware
30 Per-driver firmware requirements
31 --------------------------------
33 The following drivers/devices require a firmware upload upon connection:
35 - asix-sigma: The ASIX SIGMA and SIGMA2 require various firmware files,
36 depending on the settings used. These files are available from our
37 'sigrok-firmware' repository/project under a license which allows us
40 - fx2lafw: Logic analyzers based on the Cypress FX2(LP) chip need the
41 firmware files from the 'sigrok-firmware-fx2lafw' repository/project.
42 The firmware is written from scratch and licensed under the GNU GPLv2+.
44 - hantek-6xxx: Certain oscilloscopes based on the Cypress FX2(LP) chip, such
45 as the Hantek 6022BE/6022BL, SainSmart DDS120, and Rocktech BM102, need the
46 firmware files from the 'sigrok-firmware-fx2lafw' repository/project.
47 The firmware is written from scratch and licensed under the GNU GPLv2+.
49 - hantek-dso: The Hantek DSO-2090 (and other supported models of the same
50 series of Hantek PC oscilloscopes) need firmware files.
51 These can be extracted from the vendor's Windows drivers using a tool
52 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
54 - lecroy-logicstudio: The LeCroy LogicStudio requires FPGA bitstream files.
55 These can be extracted from the vendor's Windows software using a tool
56 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
57 Additionally, it requires a Cypress FX2 firmware. This can be extracted
58 from the vendor's Windows software using another tool. Details:
60 http://sigrok.org/wiki/LeCroy_LogicStudio#Firmware
62 - saleae-logic16: The Saleae Logic16 needs a firmware file for the
63 Cypress FX2 chip in the device, as well as two FPGA bitstream files.
64 These can be extracted from the vendor's Linux application using a tool
65 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
69 - The Sysclk LWLA1034 requires various bitstream files.
70 These files are available from our 'sigrok-firmware' repository/project
71 under a license which allows us to redistribute them.
73 - The Sysclk LWLA1016 requires various bitstream files.
74 These can be extracted from the vendor's Windows drivers using a tool
75 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
77 The following drivers/devices do not need any firmware upload:
81 - arachnid-labs-re-load-pro
88 - center-3xx (including all subdrivers)
95 - gmc-mh-1x-2x (including all subdrivers)
100 - ikalogic-scanalogic2
108 - mic-985xx (including all subdrivers)
111 - openbench-logic-sniffer
116 - serial-dmm (including all subdrivers)
117 - serial-lcr (including all subdrivers)
122 - uni-t-dmm (including all subdrivers)
126 - zeroplus-logic-cube
129 Specifying serial ports
130 -----------------------
132 Many devices supported by libsigrok use serial port based cables (real RS232
133 or USB-to-serial ones) to connect to a PC.
135 For all these devices, you need to specify the serial port they are connected
136 to (e.g. using the 'conn' option in sigrok-cli). It is not possible to scan
137 for such devices without specifying a serial port.
141 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=/dev/ttyUSB0 ...
143 The following drivers/devices require a serial port specification. Some of
144 the drivers implement a default for the connection.
151 - center-3xx (including all subdrivers)
155 - gmc-mh-1x-2x (including all subdrivers)
158 - mic-985xx (including all subdrivers)
160 - openbench-logic-sniffer
161 - rigol-ds (for RS232; not required for USBTMC or TCP)
162 - serial-dmm (including all subdrivers)
163 - serial-lcr (including all subdrivers)
167 The following drivers/devices do not require a serial port specification:
175 - ikalogic-scanalogic2
180 - rigol-ds (USBTMC or TCP)
183 - uni-t-dmm (including all subdrivers)
186 - yokogawa-dlm (USBTMC or TCP)
187 - zeroplus-logic-cube
189 Beyond strict serial communication over COM ports (e.g. /dev/ttyUSB0), the
190 conn= property can also address specific USB devices, as well as specify TCP
191 or VXI communication parameters. See these examples:
193 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=<vid>.<pid> ...
194 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=tcp-raw/<ipaddr>/<port> ...
195 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=vxi/<ipaddr> ...
197 The following drivers/devices accept network communication parameters:
205 Specifying serial port parameters
206 ---------------------------------
208 Every serial device's driver has default serial port parameters like baud
209 rate, number of data bits, stop bits and handshake status. If a device requires
210 different parameters, pass them as option "serialcomm" with the driver name.
211 See libsigrok docs for the function serial_set_paramstr() for complete specs.
215 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=<someconn>:serialcomm=9600/7n1/dtr=1
218 Permissions of serial port based devices
219 ----------------------------------------
221 When using devices supported by libsigrok that use serial port based cables
222 (real RS232 or USB-to-serial ones) to connect to a PC, you need to ensure
223 that the user running the libsigrok frontend has (read/write) permissions to
224 access the serial port device (e.g. /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB0, and so on).
226 You can use 'chmod' to apply permissions as you see fit, and/or 'chown' to
227 change the owner of the serial port device to a certain user or group.
229 For USB-to-serial based devices, we recommended using our udev rules file
230 (see below for details).
233 Permissions for USB devices (udev rules files)
234 ----------------------------------------------
236 When using USB-based devices supported by libsigrok, the user running the
237 libsigrok frontend (e.g. sigrok-cli) has to have (read/write) permissions
238 for the respective USB device.
240 On Linux, this is accomplished using udev rules. libsigrok ships a rules
241 file containing all supported devices which can be detected reliably
242 (generic USB-to-serial converters are omitted, as these are used for a wide
243 range of devices, e.g. GPS receivers, which are not handled by libsigrok).
245 The file is available in contrib/60-libsigrok.rules. This file just contains
246 the list of devices and flags these devices with ID_SIGROK="1". Access is
247 granted by the 61-libsigrok-plugdev.rules or 61-libsigrok-uaccess.rules files,
248 allowing access to members of the plugdev group or to currently logged in
251 When using a libsigrok package from your favorite Linux distribution, the
252 files should already be installed in /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/, i.e.
253 60-libsigrok.rules and one of the access granting rules files. Use of
254 61-libsigrok-uaccess.rules is encouraged on systemd distributions.
256 The access policy can be locally overridden by placing appropriate rules in
257 /etc/udev/rules.d/, disabling or ammending the default policy. See the
258 udev documentation, e.g. man 7 udev, for details.
260 If you're building from source, you need to copy the file to the place
261 where udev will read these rules. Local rules should go to /etc/udev/rules.d.
262 Keep the file naming, otherwise interaction between the libsigrok rules and
263 rules shipped by the system will be broken.
265 Please consult the udev docs for details.
268 Cypress FX2 based devices
269 -------------------------
271 Devices using the Cypress FX2(LP) chip without any specific USB VID/PID will
272 be enumerated with VID/PID 04b4:8613 (the default for "unconfigured FX2").
273 These are usually "FX2 eval boards" (that can also be used as LAs, though).
275 On Linux, the 'usbtest' driver will usually grab such devices, and they will
276 thus not be usable by libsigrok (and frontends).
278 You can fix this by running 'rmmod usbtest' as root before using the device.
281 UNI-T DMM (and rebranded models) cables
282 ---------------------------------------
284 UNI-T multimeters (and rebranded devices, e.g. some Voltcraft models) can
285 ship with different PC connectivity cables:
287 - UT-D04 (USB/HID cable with Hoitek HE2325U chip, USB VID/PID 04fa:2490)
288 - UT-D04 (USB/HID cable with WCH CH9325 chip, USB VID/PID 1a86:e008)
289 - UT-D02 (RS232 cable)
291 The above cables are all physically compatible (same IR connector shape)
292 with all/most currently known UNI-T multimeters. For example, you can
293 use either of the UT-D04 USB/HID cables or the UT-D02 RS232 cable with
294 the UNI-T UT61D multimeter.
296 When using the UT-D02 RS232 cable with any of the supported UNI-T DMMs,
297 you have to use the respective driver with a '-ser' drivername suffix
298 (internally all of these models are handled by the 'serial-dmm' driver).
300 You also need to specify the serial port via the 'conn' option, e.g.
301 /dev/ttyUSB0 (attached via a USB-to-serial cable) or /dev/ttyS0 (actual
302 RS232 port) on Linux (see above).
304 Finally, the user running the frontend (e.g. sigrok-cli) also needs
305 permissions to access the respective serial port (see above).
307 Examples (sigrok-cli):
309 $ sigrok-cli --driver uni-t-ut61e-ser:conn=/dev/ttyUSB0 ...
310 $ sigrok-cli --driver voltcraft-vc820-ser:conn=/dev/ttyS0 ...
312 When using any of the UT-D04 USB/HID cables you have to use the respective
313 driver _without_ the '-ser' drivername suffix (internally all of these models
314 are handled by the 'uni-t-dmm' driver).
316 You also need to specify the USB vendor/device IDs of the cable.
317 Autodetection is not possible here, since various other products use the
318 USB VID/PID of those cables too, and there is no way to distinguish them.
320 Since the UT-D04 cables are USB based (but don't use a USB-to-serial chip)
321 there is no need to specify a serial port via 'conn', of course.
322 However, the user running the frontend does also need to have permissions
323 to access the respective USB device (see above).
325 Examples (sigrok-cli):
327 $ sigrok-cli --driver uni-t-ut61e:conn=1a86.e008 ...
328 $ sigrok-cli --driver voltcraft-vc820:conn=04fa.2490 ...
331 UNI-T UT-D04 cable issue on Linux
332 ---------------------------------
334 The UNI-T UT-D04 cable with Hoitek HE2325U (or WCH CH9325) chip seems to have
335 a very specific problem on Linux. Apparently it requires to be put into
336 suspend (and woken up again) before it is usable. This seems to be a
337 Linux-only issue, Windows is not affected by this since apparently the
338 Windows kernel does this for every USB device, always.
340 Thus, if you want to use any of the UNI-T DMMs with this specific cable,
341 you'll have to run the following script (as root) once, every time you attach
342 the cable via USB. The script was written by Ralf Burger.
344 See also: http://erste.de/UT61/index.html
347 for dat in /sys/bus/usb/devices/*; do
348 if test -e $dat/manufacturer; then
349 grep "WCH.CN" $dat/manufacturer > /dev/null && echo auto > ${dat}/power/level && echo 0 > ${dat}/power/autosuspend
354 Enabling multimeter / data logger measurement output
355 ----------------------------------------------------
357 Some multimeters or data loggers will not start outputting measurement data
358 unless a certain action has been performed by the user beforehand. This is
359 usually mentioned in the vendor manual of the respective device, but here's
360 a short list for convenience:
362 - BBC Goertz Metrawatt M2110: Briefly press the "Start/Reset" button on the
363 interface panel on top.
364 - Digitek DT4000ZC: Briefly press the "RS232" button.
365 - Gossen Metrawatt Metrahit 1x/2x devices, driver gmc-mh-1x-2x-rs232:
366 - Power on the device with the "DATA" button pressed.
367 - Metrahit 2x devices must be configured for the respective interface type.
368 - Gossen Metrawatt Metrahit 2x devices, driver gmc-mh-2x-bd232:
370 The multimeter must be configured for the respective interface type.
371 - 'SI232-II' interface ("PC Mode"):
372 The multimeter must be configured for interface type 'BD232' (all),
373 'SI232 online' (28-29S) or 'SI232 store' (22-26x). The interface must
374 be configured to the same baud rate as the host (default 9600).
375 Multimeter and interface must be configured to the same address.
376 - Metrix MX56C: Press the PRINT button to have the meter send acquisition
377 data via IR. Hold the PRINT button to adjust the meter's transmission
379 - Norma DM950: If the interface doesn't work (e.g. USB-RS232 converter), power
380 on the device with "FUNC" pressed (to power the interface from the DMM).
381 - PCE PCE-DM32: Briefly press the "RS232" button.
382 - RadioShack 22-812: Press and hold "SELECT" and "RANGE" together.
383 - TekPower TP4000ZC: Briefly press the "RS232" button.
384 - Tenma 72-7750: Briefly press the "RS232C" button.
385 - UNI-T UT60G: Briefly press the "RS232C" button.
386 - UNI-T UT61B/C/D: Press the "REL/RS232/USB" button for roughly 1 second.
387 - UNI-T UT71x: Press the "SEND/-/MAXMIN" button for roughly 1 second.
388 Briefly pressing the "EXIT" button leaves this mode again.
389 - UNI-T UT325: Briefly press the "SEND" button (as per manual). However, it
390 appears that in practice you don't have to press the button (at least on
391 some versions of the device), simply connect the device via USB.
392 - V&A VA18B/VA40B: Keep the "Hz/DUTY" key pressed while powering on the DMM.
393 - Victor 70C/86C: Press the "REL/RS232" button for roughly 1 second.
394 - Voltcraft VC-830: Press the "REL/PC" button for roughly 2 seconds.
395 - Voltcraft VC-870: Press the "REL/PC" button for roughly 1 second.
398 ChronoVu LA8/LA16 USB VID/PIDs
399 ------------------------------
401 The ChronoVu LA8/LA16 logic analyzer is available in two revisions. Previously,
402 the device shipped with a USB VID/PID of 0403:6001, which is the standard ID
403 for FTDI FT232 USB chips.
405 Since this made it hard to distinguish the LA8/LA16 from any other device
406 with this FTDI chip connected to the PC, the vendor later shipped the
407 device with a USB VID/PID of 0403:8867.
409 The 'chronovu-la' driver in libsigrok supports both VID/PID pairs and
410 automatically finds devices with either VID/PID pair.
416 The Dangerous Prototypes Openbench Logic Sniffer (OLS) logic analyzer
417 driver in libsigrok assumes a somewhat recent firmware has been flashed onto
418 the OLS (it doesn't need a firmware upload every time it's attached via USB,
419 since the firmware is stored in the device permanently).
421 The most recent firmware version that is tested is 3.07.
423 If you use any older firmware and your OLS is not found or is not working
424 properly, please upgrade to at least this firmware version. Check the
425 Dangerous Prototypes wiki for firmware upgrade instructions:
427 http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Logic_Sniffer_upgrade_procedure
429 Also, you need to specify a serial port for the OLS in the frontends, e.g.
430 using the 'conn' option in sigrok-cli, and you also need to have the
431 permissions to access the serial port (see above).
435 $ sigrok-cli --driver ols:conn=/dev/ttyACM0 ...