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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 $HOME/.local/share/sigrok-firmware
18 $prefix/share/sigrok-firmware
19 /usr/local/share/sigrok-firmware
20 /usr/share/sigrok-firmware
22 ($prefix is usually /usr/local or /usr, depending on your ./configure options)
24 For further information see the section below and also:
26 http://sigrok.org/wiki/Firmware
29 Per-driver firmware requirements
30 --------------------------------
32 The following drivers/devices require a firmware upload upon connection:
34 - asix-sigma: The ASIX SIGMA and SIGMA2 require various firmware files,
35 depending on the settings used. These files are available from our
36 'sigrok-firmware' repository/project under a license which allows us
39 - fx2lafw: Logic analyzers based on the Cypress FX2(LP) chip need the
40 firmware files from the 'sigrok-firmware-fx2lafw' repository/project.
41 The firmware is written from scratch and licensed under the GNU GPLv2+.
43 - hantek-6xxx: Certain oscilloscopes based on the Cypress FX2(LP) chip,
44 such as the Hantek 6022BE and SainSmart DDS120, need the
45 firmware files from the 'sigrok-firmware-fx2lafw' repository/project.
46 The firmware is written from scratch and licensed under the GNU GPLv2+.
48 - hantek-dso: The Hantek DSO-2090 (and other supported models of the same
49 series of Hantek PC oscilloscopes) need firmware files.
50 These can be extracted from the vendor's Windows drivers using a tool
51 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
53 - lecroy-logicstudio: The LeCroy LogicStudio requires FPGA bitstream files.
54 These can be extracted from the vendor's Windows software using a tool
55 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
56 Additionally, it requires a Cypress FX2 firmware. This can be extracted
57 from the vendor's Windows software using another tool. Details:
59 http://sigrok.org/wiki/LeCroy_LogicStudio#Firmware
61 - saleae-logic16: The Saleae Logic16 needs a firmware file for the
62 Cypress FX2 chip in the device, as well as two FPGA bitstream files.
63 These can be extracted from the vendor's Linux application using a tool
64 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
68 - The Sysclk LWLA1034 requires various bitstream files.
69 These files are available from our 'sigrok-firmware' repository/project
70 under a license which allows us to redistribute them.
72 - The Sysclk LWLA1016 requires various bitstream files.
73 These can be extracted from the vendor's Windows drivers using a tool
74 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
76 The following drivers/devices do not need any firmware upload:
80 - arachnid-labs-re-load-pro
87 - 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)
120 - uni-t-dmm (including all subdrivers)
124 - zeroplus-logic-cube
127 Specifying serial ports
128 -----------------------
130 Many devices supported by libsigrok use serial port based cables (real RS232
131 or USB-to-serial ones) to connect to a PC.
133 For all these devices, you need to specify the serial port they are connected
134 to (e.g. using the 'conn' option in sigrok-cli). It is not possible to scan
135 for such devices without specifying a serial port.
139 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=/dev/ttyUSB0 ...
141 The following drivers/devices require a serial port specification:
148 - center-3xx (including all subdrivers)
152 - gmc-mh-1x-2x (including all subdrivers)
155 - mic-985xx (including all subdrivers)
157 - openbench-logic-sniffer
158 - rigol-ds (for RS232; not required for USBTMC or TCP)
159 - serial-dmm (including all subdrivers)
163 The following drivers/devices do not require a serial port specification:
171 - ikalogic-scanalogic2
176 - rigol-ds (USBTMC or TCP)
179 - uni-t-dmm (including all subdrivers)
182 - yokogawa-dlm (USBTMC or TCP)
183 - zeroplus-logic-cube
186 Specifying serial port parameters
187 ---------------------------------
189 Every serial device's driver has default serial port parameters like baud
190 rate, number of data bits, stop bits and handshake status. If a device requires
191 different parameters, pass them as option "serialcomm" with the driver name.
192 See libsigrok docs for the function serial_set_paramstr() for complete specs.
196 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=<someconn>:serialcomm=9600/7n1/dtr=1
199 Permissions of serial port based devices
200 ----------------------------------------
202 When using devices supported by libsigrok that use serial port based cables
203 (real RS232 or USB-to-serial ones) to connect to a PC, you need to ensure
204 that the user running the libsigrok frontend has (read/write) permissions to
205 access the serial port device (e.g. /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB0, and so on).
207 You can use 'chmod' to apply permissions as you see fit, and/or 'chown' to
208 change the owner of the serial port device to a certain user or group.
210 For USB-to-serial based devices, we recommended using our udev rules file
211 (see below for details).
214 Permissions for USB devices (udev rules file)
215 ---------------------------------------------
217 When using USB-based devices supported by libsigrok, the user running the
218 libsigrok frontend (e.g. sigrok-cli) has to have (read/write) permissions
219 for the respective USB device.
221 On Linux, this is accomplished using either 'chmod' (not recommended) or
222 using the udev rules file shipped with libsigrok (recommended).
224 The file is available in contrib/z60_libsigrok.rules. It contains entries
225 for all libsigrok-supported (USB-based) devices and changes their group
226 to 'plugdev' and the permissions to '664'.
228 When using a libsigrok package from your favorite Linux distribution, the
229 packager will have already taken care of properly installing the udev file
230 in the correct (distro-specific) place, and you don't have to do anything.
231 The packager might also have adapted 'plugdev' and '664' as needed.
233 If you're building from source, you need to copy the file to the place
234 where your distro expects such files. This is beyond the scope of this README,
235 but generally the location could be e.g. /etc/udev/rules.d, or maybe
236 /lib/udev/rules.d, or something else. Afterwards you might have to restart
237 udev, e.g. via '/etc/init.d/udev restart' or similar, and you'll have to
238 re-attach your device via USB.
240 Please consult the udev docs of your distro for details.
243 Cypress FX2 based devices
244 -------------------------
246 Devices using the Cypress FX2(LP) chip without any specific USB VID/PID will
247 be enumerated with VID/PID 04b4:8613 (the default for "unconfigured FX2").
248 These are usually "FX2 eval boards" (that can also be used as LAs, though).
250 On Linux, the 'usbtest' driver will usually grab such devices, and they will
251 thus not be usable by libsigrok (and frontends).
253 You can fix this by running 'rmmod usbtest' as root before using the device.
256 UNI-T DMM (and rebranded models) cables
257 ---------------------------------------
259 UNI-T multimeters (and rebranded devices, e.g. some Voltcraft models) can
260 ship with different PC connectivity cables:
262 - UT-D04 (USB/HID cable with Hoitek HE2325U chip, USB VID/PID 04fa:2490)
263 - UT-D04 (USB/HID cable with WCH CH9325 chip, USB VID/PID 1a86:e008)
264 - UT-D02 (RS232 cable)
266 The above cables are all physically compatible (same IR connector shape)
267 with all/most currently known UNI-T multimeters. For example, you can
268 use either of the UT-D04 USB/HID cables or the UT-D02 RS232 cable with
269 the UNI-T UT61D multimeter.
271 When using the UT-D02 RS232 cable with any of the supported UNI-T DMMs,
272 you have to use the respective driver with a '-ser' drivername suffix
273 (internally all of these models are handled by the 'serial-dmm' driver).
275 You also need to specify the serial port via the 'conn' option, e.g.
276 /dev/ttyUSB0 (attached via a USB-to-serial cable) or /dev/ttyS0 (actual
277 RS232 port) on Linux (see above).
279 Finally, the user running the frontend (e.g. sigrok-cli) also needs
280 permissions to access the respective serial port (see above).
282 Examples (sigrok-cli):
284 $ sigrok-cli --driver uni-t-ut61e-ser:conn=/dev/ttyUSB0 ...
285 $ sigrok-cli --driver voltcraft-vc820-ser:conn=/dev/ttyS0 ...
287 When using any of the UT-D04 USB/HID cables you have to use the respective
288 driver _without_ the '-ser' drivername suffix (internally all of these models
289 are handled by the 'uni-t-dmm' driver).
291 You also need to specify the USB vendor/device IDs of the cable.
292 Autodetection is not possible here, since various other products use the
293 USB VID/PID of those cables too, and there is no way to distinguish them.
295 Since the UT-D04 cables are USB based (but don't use a USB-to-serial chip)
296 there is no need to specify a serial port via 'conn', of course.
297 However, the user running the frontend does also need to have permissions
298 to access the respective USB device (see above).
300 Examples (sigrok-cli):
302 $ sigrok-cli --driver uni-t-ut61e:conn=1a86.e008 ...
303 $ sigrok-cli --driver voltcraft-vc820:conn=04fa.2490 ...
306 UNI-T UT-D04 cable issue on Linux
307 ---------------------------------
309 The UNI-T UT-D04 cable with Hoitek HE2325U (or WCH CH9325) chip seems to have
310 a very specific problem on Linux. Apparently it requires to be put into
311 suspend (and woken up again) before it is usable. This seems to be a
312 Linux-only issue, Windows is not affected by this since apparently the
313 Windows kernel does this for every USB device, always.
315 Thus, if you want to use any of the UNI-T DMMs with this specific cable,
316 you'll have to run the following script (as root) once, every time you attach
317 the cable via USB. The script was written by Ralf Burger.
319 See also: http://erste.de/UT61/index.html
322 for dat in /sys/bus/usb/devices/*; do
323 if test -e $dat/manufacturer; then
324 grep "WCH.CN" $dat/manufacturer > /dev/null && echo auto > ${dat}/power/level && echo 0 > ${dat}/power/autosuspend
329 Enabling multimeter / data logger measurement output
330 ----------------------------------------------------
332 Some multimeters or data loggers will not start outputting measurement data
333 unless a certain action has been performed by the user beforehand. This is
334 usually mentioned in the vendor manual of the respective device, but here's
335 a short list for convenience:
337 - BBC Goertz Metrawatt M2110: Briefly press the "Start/Reset" button on the
338 interface panel on top.
339 - Digitek DT4000ZC: Briefly press the "RS232" button.
340 - Gossen Metrawatt Metrahit 1x/2x devices, driver gmc-mh-1x-2x-rs232:
341 - Power on the device with the "DATA" button pressed.
342 - Metrahit 2x devices must be configured for the respective interface type.
343 - Gossen Metrawatt Metrahit 2x devices, driver gmc-mh-2x-bd232:
345 The multimeter must be configured for the respective interface type.
346 - 'SI232-II' interface ("PC Mode"):
347 The multimeter must be configured for interface type 'BD232' (all),
348 'SI232 online' (28-29S) or 'SI232 store' (22-26x). The interface must
349 be configured to the same baud rate as the host (default 9600).
350 Multimeter and interface must be configured to the same address.
351 - Norma DM950: If the interface doesn't work (e.g. USB-RS232 converter), power
352 on the device with "FUNC" pressed (to power the interface from the DMM).
353 - PCE PCE-DM32: Briefly press the "RS232" button.
354 - RadioShack 22-812: Press and hold "SELECT" and "RANGE" together.
355 - TekPower TP4000ZC: Briefly press the "RS232" button.
356 - Tenma 72-7750: Briefly press the "RS232C" button.
357 - UNI-T UT60G: Briefly press the "RS232C" button.
358 - UNI-T UT61B/C/D: Press the "REL/RS232/USB" button for roughly 1 second.
359 - UNI-T UT71x: Press the "SEND/-/MAXMIN" button for roughly 1 second.
360 Briefly pressing the "EXIT" button leaves this mode again.
361 - UNI-T UT325: Briefly press the "SEND" button (as per manual). However, it
362 appears that in practice you don't have to press the button (at least on
363 some versions of the device), simply connect the device via USB.
364 - V&A VA18B/VA40B: Keep the "Hz/DUTY" key pressed while powering on the DMM.
365 - Victor 70C/86C: Press the "REL/RS232" button for roughly 1 second.
366 - Voltcraft VC-830: Press the "REL/PC" button for roughly 2 seconds.
367 - Voltcraft VC-870: Press the "REL/PC" button for roughly 1 second.
370 ChronoVu LA8/LA16 USB VID/PIDs
371 ------------------------------
373 The ChronoVu LA8/LA16 logic analyzer is available in two revisions. Previously,
374 the device shipped with a USB VID/PID of 0403:6001, which is the standard ID
375 for FTDI FT232 USB chips.
377 Since this made it hard to distinguish the LA8/LA16 from any other device
378 with this FTDI chip connected to the PC, the vendor later shipped the
379 device with a USB VID/PID of 0403:8867.
381 The 'chronovu-la' driver in libsigrok supports both VID/PID pairs and
382 automatically finds devices with either VID/PID pair.
388 The Dangerous Prototypes Openbench Logic Sniffer (OLS) logic analyzer
389 driver in libsigrok assumes a somewhat recent firmware has been flashed onto
390 the OLS (it doesn't need a firmware upload every time it's attached via USB,
391 since the firmware is stored in the device permanently).
393 The most recent firmware version that is tested is 3.07.
395 If you use any older firmware and your OLS is not found or is not working
396 properly, please upgrade to at least this firmware version. Check the
397 Dangerous Prototypes wiki for firmware upgrade instructions:
399 http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Logic_Sniffer_upgrade_procedure
401 Also, you need to specify a serial port for the OLS in the frontends, e.g.
402 using the 'conn' option in sigrok-cli, and you also need to have the
403 permissions to access the serial port (see above).
407 $ sigrok-cli --driver ols:conn=/dev/ttyACM0 ...