1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 - dreamsourcelab-dslogic: The DreamSourceLab DSLogic/DSCope device series
41 requires various firmware files and FPGA bitstream files.
42 These can be extracted/downloaded from the vendor's GitHub repo using a
43 tool from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
45 - fx2lafw: Logic analyzers based on the Cypress FX2(LP) chip 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-6xxx: Certain oscilloscopes based on the Cypress FX2(LP) chip, such
50 as the Hantek 6022BE/6022BL, SainSmart DDS120, and Rocktech BM102, need the
51 firmware files from the 'sigrok-firmware-fx2lafw' repository/project.
52 The firmware is written from scratch and licensed under the GNU GPLv2+.
54 - hantek-dso: The Hantek DSO-2090 (and other supported models of the same
55 series of Hantek PC oscilloscopes) need firmware files.
56 These can be extracted from the vendor's Windows drivers using a tool
57 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
59 - lecroy-logicstudio: The LeCroy LogicStudio requires FPGA bitstream files.
60 These can be extracted from the vendor's Windows software using a tool
61 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
62 Additionally, it requires a Cypress FX2 firmware. This can be extracted
63 from the vendor's Windows software using another tool. Details:
65 http://sigrok.org/wiki/LeCroy_LogicStudio#Firmware
67 - saleae-logic16: The Saleae Logic16 needs a firmware file for the
68 Cypress FX2 chip in the device, as well as two FPGA bitstream files.
69 These can be extracted from the vendor's Linux application using a tool
70 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
72 - saleae-logic-pro: The Saleae Logic Pro 16 needs a firmware file for the
73 Cypress FX3 chip in the device, as well as an FPGA bitstream file.
74 These can be extracted from the vendor's Linux application using a tool
75 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
79 - The Sysclk LWLA1034 requires various bitstream files.
80 These files are available from our 'sigrok-firmware' repository/project
81 under a license which allows us to redistribute them.
83 - The Sysclk LWLA1016 requires various bitstream files.
84 These can be extracted from the vendor's Windows drivers using a tool
85 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
87 - sysclk-sla5032: The Sysclk SLA5032 needs an FPGA bitstream file.
88 This file can be copied (and renamed) from the Windows vendor software
89 installation directory. Details:
91 https://sigrok.org/wiki/Sysclk_SLA5032#Firmware
93 The following drivers/devices do not need any firmware upload:
97 - arachnid-labs-re-load-pro
103 - center-3xx (including all subdrivers)
111 - gmc-mh-1x-2x (including all subdrivers)
118 - hung-chang-dso-2100
119 - ikalogic-scanalogic2
130 - mic-985xx (including all subdrivers)
135 - openbench-logic-sniffer
141 - rohde-schwarz-sme-0x
144 - serial-dmm (including all subdrivers)
145 - serial-lcr (including all subdrivers)
150 - uni-t-dmm (including all subdrivers)
153 - zeroplus-logic-cube
157 Specifying serial ports
158 -----------------------
160 Many devices supported by libsigrok use serial port based cables (real RS232
161 or USB-to-serial ones, CDC class) to connect to a PC. These serial cables are
162 supported by the libserialport library. Some vendors prefer to use HID chips
163 instead of CDC chips in their serial cables. These cables can get supported
164 by means of the hidapi library. Note that each chip type requires specific
165 support in the libsigrok library. Bluetooth connected devices may be supported
166 as well when they communicate by means of RFCOMM channels, or one of the
167 implemented BLE notification/indication approaches, and one of the Bluetooth
168 supporting platforms is used.
170 For all these devices, you need to specify the serial port they are connected
171 to (e.g. using the 'conn' option in sigrok-cli). It is not possible to scan
172 for such devices without specifying a serial port.
176 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=/dev/ttyUSB0 ...
177 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=hid/cp2110 ...
178 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=bt/rfcomm/01-23-45-67-89-ab ...
180 Formal syntax for serial communication:
182 - COM ports (RS232, USB CDC):
186 conn=hid[/<chip>]/usb=<bus>.<dev>[.<if>]
187 conn=hid[/<chip>]/raw=<path>
188 conn=hid[/<chip>]/sn=<serno>
189 conn=hid[/<chip>]/iokit=<path>
190 chip can be: bu86x, ch9325, cp2110, victor
191 path may contain slashes
192 path and serno are "greedy" (span to the end of the spec)
193 - Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE):
194 conn=bt/<conn>/<addr>
195 conn can be: rfcomm, ble122, nrf51, cc254x
196 addr can be "dense" or separated, bt/cc254x/0123456789ab or
197 bt/rfcomm/11-22-33-44-55-66 or bt/ble122/88:6b:12:34:56:78
198 (note that colons may not be available when the conn= spec is taken
199 from a string that separates fields by colon, e.g. in the "--driver
200 <name>:conn=<spec>" example, that is why the dense form and the use
201 of dashes for separation are supported)
203 Some of the drivers implement a default for the connection. Some of the
204 drivers can auto-detect USB connected devices.
206 Beyond strict serial communication over COM ports (discussed above), the
207 conn= property can also address specific USB devices, as well as specify TCP
208 or VXI communication parameters. See these examples:
210 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=<vid>.<pid> ...
211 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=tcp-raw/<ipaddr>/<port> ...
212 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=vxi/<ipaddr> ...
213 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=usbtmc/<bus>.<addr> ...
216 Specifying serial port parameters
217 ---------------------------------
219 Every serial device's driver has default serial port parameters like baud
220 rate, number of data bits, stop bits and handshake status. If a device requires
221 different parameters, pass them as option "serialcomm" with the driver name.
222 See libsigrok docs for the function serial_set_paramstr() for complete specs.
226 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=<someconn>:serialcomm=9600/7n1/dtr=1
229 Permissions of serial port based devices
230 ----------------------------------------
232 When using devices supported by libsigrok that use serial port based cables
233 (real RS232 or USB-to-serial ones) to connect to a PC, you need to ensure
234 that the user running the libsigrok frontend has (read/write) permissions to
235 access the serial port device (e.g. /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB0, and so on).
237 You can use 'chmod' to apply permissions as you see fit, and/or 'chown' to
238 change the owner of the serial port device to a certain user or group.
240 For USB-to-serial based devices, we recommended using our udev rules file
241 (see below for details).
244 Permissions for USB devices (udev rules files)
245 ----------------------------------------------
247 When using USB-based devices supported by libsigrok, the user running the
248 libsigrok frontend (e.g. sigrok-cli) has to have (read/write) permissions
249 for the respective USB device.
251 On Linux, this is accomplished using udev rules. libsigrok ships a rules
252 file containing all supported devices which can be detected reliably
253 (generic USB-to-serial converters are omitted, as these are used for a wide
254 range of devices, e.g. GPS receivers, which are not handled by libsigrok).
256 The file is available in contrib/60-libsigrok.rules. This file just contains
257 the list of devices and flags these devices with ID_SIGROK="1". Access is
258 granted by the 61-libsigrok-plugdev.rules or 61-libsigrok-uaccess.rules files,
259 allowing access to members of the plugdev group or to currently logged in
262 When using a libsigrok package from your favorite Linux distribution, the
263 files should already be installed in /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/, i.e.
264 60-libsigrok.rules and one of the access granting rules files. Use of
265 61-libsigrok-uaccess.rules is encouraged on systemd distributions.
267 The access policy can be locally overridden by placing appropriate rules in
268 /etc/udev/rules.d/, disabling or ammending the default policy. See the
269 udev documentation, e.g. man 7 udev, for details.
271 If you're building from source, you need to copy the file to the place
272 where udev will read these rules. Local rules should go to /etc/udev/rules.d.
273 Keep the file naming, otherwise interaction between the libsigrok rules and
274 rules shipped by the system will be broken.
276 Please consult the udev docs for details.
279 Non-default drivers for commodity chips
280 ---------------------------------------
282 Some vendors include common USB chips in their products yet assign device
283 specific VID:PID pairs. Which results in the necessity for extra steps
284 before the serial port can be used:
286 - GW Instek VCP, found in GDM-8000 and probably other meters: Install the
287 vendors Windows driver to get access to a COM port. Or force the driver
290 # echo 2184 0030 > /sys/bus/usb-serial/drivers/cp210x/new_id
293 Cypress FX2 based devices
294 -------------------------
296 Devices using the Cypress FX2(LP) chip without any specific USB VID/PID will
297 be enumerated with VID/PID 04b4:8613 (the default for "unconfigured FX2").
298 These are usually "FX2 eval boards" (that can also be used as LAs, though).
300 On Linux, the 'usbtest' driver will usually grab such devices, and they will
301 thus not be usable by libsigrok (and frontends).
303 You can fix this by running 'rmmod usbtest' as root before using the device.
306 UNI-T DMM (and rebranded models) cables
307 ---------------------------------------
309 UNI-T multimeters (and rebranded devices, e.g. some Voltcraft models) can
310 ship with different PC connectivity cables:
312 - UT-D02 (RS232 cable)
313 - UT-D04 (USB/HID cable with Hoitek HE2325U chip, USB VID/PID 04fa:2490)
314 - UT-D04 (USB/HID cable with WCH CH9325 chip, USB VID/PID 1a86:e008)
315 - UT-D07 (Bluetooth adapter, ISSC BL79 BLETR chip)
316 - UT-D09 (USB/HID cable with SiL CP2110 chip, USB VID/PID 10c4:ea80)
318 The above cables are all physically compatible (same IR connector shape)
319 with all/most currently known UNI-T multimeters. For example, you can
320 use either of the UT-D04 USB/HID cables or the UT-D02 RS232 cable with
321 the UNI-T UT61D multimeter.
323 When using the UT-D02 RS232 cable with any of the supported UNI-T DMMs,
324 you have to use the respective driver with a '-ser' drivername suffix
325 (internally all of these models are handled by the 'serial-dmm' driver).
327 You also need to specify the serial port via the 'conn' option, e.g.
328 /dev/ttyUSB0 (attached via a USB-to-serial cable) or /dev/ttyS0 (actual
329 RS232 port) on Linux (see above).
331 Finally, the user running the frontend (e.g. sigrok-cli) also needs
332 permissions to access the respective serial port (see above).
334 Examples (sigrok-cli):
336 $ sigrok-cli --driver uni-t-ut61e-ser:conn=/dev/ttyUSB0 ...
337 $ sigrok-cli --driver voltcraft-vc820-ser:conn=/dev/ttyS0 ...
339 When using any of the UT-D04 USB/HID cables you have to use the respective
340 driver _without_ the '-ser' drivername suffix (internally all of these models
341 are handled by the 'uni-t-dmm' driver).
343 You also need to specify the USB vendor/device IDs of the cable.
344 Autodetection is not possible here, since various other products use the
345 USB VID/PID of those cables too, and there is no way to distinguish them.
347 Since the UT-D04 cables are USB based (but don't use a USB-to-serial chip)
348 there is no need to specify a serial port via 'conn', of course.
349 However, the user running the frontend does also need to have permissions
350 to access the respective USB device (see above).
352 Examples (sigrok-cli):
354 $ sigrok-cli --driver uni-t-ut61e:conn=1a86.e008 ...
355 $ sigrok-cli --driver voltcraft-vc820:conn=04fa.2490 ...
358 UNI-T UT-D04 cable issue on Linux
359 ---------------------------------
361 The UNI-T UT-D04 cable with Hoitek HE2325U (or WCH CH9325) chip seems to have
362 a very specific problem on Linux. Apparently it requires to be put into
363 suspend (and woken up again) before it is usable. This seems to be a
364 Linux-only issue, Windows is not affected by this since apparently the
365 Windows kernel does this for every USB device, always.
367 Thus, if you want to use any of the UNI-T DMMs with this specific cable,
368 you'll have to run the following script (as root) once, every time you attach
369 the cable via USB. The script was written by Ralf Burger.
371 See also: http://erste.de/UT61/index.html
374 for dat in /sys/bus/usb/devices/*; do
375 if test -e $dat/manufacturer; then
376 grep "WCH.CN" $dat/manufacturer > /dev/null && echo auto > ${dat}/power/level && echo 0 > ${dat}/power/autosuspend
381 Enabling multimeter / data logger measurement output
382 ----------------------------------------------------
384 Some multimeters or data loggers will not start outputting measurement data
385 unless a certain action has been performed by the user beforehand. This is
386 usually mentioned in the vendor manual of the respective device, but here's
387 a short list for convenience:
389 - BBC Goertz Metrawatt M2110: Briefly press the "Start/Reset" button on the
390 interface panel on top.
391 - Brymen BM257s: Press HOLD during power-on.
392 - Digitek DT4000ZC: Briefly press the "RS232" button.
393 - EEVBlog 121GW: Hold "1ms PEAK" until the "BT" indicator is shown.
394 - ES51919 based LCR meters (DER EE DE-5000, PeakTech 2170, UNI-T UT612):
395 Press the button with the "RS232" or "USB" or "PC link" label (usually
396 the "up" cursor button).
397 - Gossen Metrawatt Metrahit 1x/2x devices, driver gmc-mh-1x-2x-rs232:
398 - Power on the device with the "DATA" button pressed.
399 - Metrahit 2x devices must be configured for the respective interface type.
400 - Gossen Metrawatt Metrahit 2x devices, driver gmc-mh-2x-bd232:
402 The multimeter must be configured for the respective interface type.
403 - 'SI232-II' interface ("PC Mode"):
404 The multimeter must be configured for interface type 'BD232' (all),
405 'SI232 online' (28-29S) or 'SI232 store' (22-26x). The interface must
406 be configured to the same baud rate as the host (default 9600).
407 Multimeter and interface must be configured to the same address.
408 - GW Instek GDM-397: Press the "REL/RS232C (USB)" button for roughly 1 second.
409 - GW Instek VCP: See the discussion on manual driver assignment to common
410 USB to UART chips with non-default USB identification.
411 - MASTECH MS6514: Press the "Setup/PC-Link" button for roughly 3 seconds.
412 - Metrix MX56C: Press the PRINT button to have the meter send acquisition
413 data via IR. Hold the PRINT button to adjust the meter's transmission
415 - Norma DM950: If the interface doesn't work (e.g. USB-RS232 converter), power
416 on the device with "FUNC" pressed (to power the interface from the DMM).
417 - PCE PCE-DM32: Briefly press the "RS232" button.
418 - RadioShack 22-812: Press and hold "SELECT" and "RANGE" together.
419 - TekPower TP4000ZC: Briefly press the "RS232" button.
420 - Tenma 72-7750: Briefly press the "RS232C" button.
421 - UNI-T UT60G: Briefly press the "RS232C" button.
422 - UNI-T UT61B/C/D: Press the "REL/RS232/USB" button for roughly 1 second.
423 - UNI-T UT71x: Press the "SEND/-/MAXMIN" button for roughly 1 second.
424 Briefly pressing the "EXIT" button leaves this mode again.
425 - UNI-T UT181A: In the "SETUP" menu set "Communication" to "ON".
426 - UNI-T UT325: Briefly press the "SEND" button (as per manual). However, it
427 appears that in practice you don't have to press the button (at least on
428 some versions of the device), simply connect the device via USB.
429 - V&A VA18B/VA40B: Keep the "Hz/DUTY" key pressed while powering on the DMM.
430 - Victor 70C/86C: Press the "REL/RS232" button for roughly 1 second.
431 - Voltcraft VC-830: Press the "REL/PC" button for roughly 2 seconds.
432 - Voltcraft VC-870: Press the "REL/PC" button for roughly 1 second.
435 ChronoVu LA8/LA16 USB VID/PIDs
436 ------------------------------
438 The ChronoVu LA8/LA16 logic analyzer is available in two revisions. Previously,
439 the device shipped with a USB VID/PID of 0403:6001, which is the standard ID
440 for FTDI FT232 USB chips.
442 Since this made it hard to distinguish the LA8/LA16 from any other device
443 with this FTDI chip connected to the PC, the vendor later shipped the
444 device with a USB VID/PID of 0403:8867.
446 The 'chronovu-la' driver in libsigrok supports both VID/PID pairs and
447 automatically finds devices with either VID/PID pair.
453 The Dangerous Prototypes Openbench Logic Sniffer (OLS) logic analyzer
454 driver in libsigrok assumes a somewhat recent firmware has been flashed onto
455 the OLS (it doesn't need a firmware upload every time it's attached via USB,
456 since the firmware is stored in the device permanently).
458 The most recent firmware version that is tested is 3.07.
460 If you use any older firmware and your OLS is not found or is not working
461 properly, please upgrade to at least this firmware version. Check the
462 Dangerous Prototypes wiki for firmware upgrade instructions:
464 http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Logic_Sniffer_upgrade_procedure
466 Also, you need to specify a serial port for the OLS in the frontends, e.g.
467 using the 'conn' option in sigrok-cli, and you also need to have the
468 permissions to access the serial port (see above).
472 $ sigrok-cli --driver ols:conn=/dev/ttyACM0 ...
478 The Mooshim Engineering Mooshimeter is controlled via Bluetooth Low Energy
479 (sometimes called Bluetooth 4.0), as such it requires a supported Bluetooth
480 interface available. The 'conn' option is required and must contain the
481 Bluetooth MAC address of the meter.
485 $ sigrok-cli --driver mooshimeter-dmm:conn=12-34-56-78-9A-BC ...
487 Since the Mooshimeter has no physical interface on the meter itself, the
488 channel configuration is set with the 'channel_config' option. The format
489 of this option is 'CH1,CH2' where each channel configuration has the form
490 'MODE:RANGE:ANALYSIS', with later parts being optional. In addition for
491 CLI compatibility, the ',' in the channels can also be a '/' and the ':' in
492 the individual configuration can be a ';'.
494 Available channel 1 modes:
496 - Current, A: Current in amps
497 - Temperature, T, K: Internal meter temperature in Kelvin
498 - Resistance, Ohm, W: Resistance in ohms
499 - Diode, D: Diode voltage
500 - Aux, LV: Auxiliary (W input) low voltage sensor (1.2V max)
502 Available channel 2 modes:
504 - Voltage, V: Voltage
505 - Temperature, T, K: Internal meter temperature in Kelvin
506 - Resistance, Ohm, W: Resistance in ohms
507 - Diode, D: Diode voltage
508 - Aux, LV: Auxiliary (W input) low voltage sensor (1.2V max)
510 Only one channel can use the shared inputs at a time (e.g. if CH1 is measuring
511 resistance, CH2 cannot measure low voltage). Temperature is excepted from
512 this, so the meter can measure internal temperature and low voltage at the
515 Additionally, the meter can calculate the real power of both channels. This
516 generally only makes sense when CH1 is set to current and CH2 is set to a
517 voltage and so it is disabled by default. It must be enabled by enabling the
518 'P' channel (the third channel).
520 The range of the channel specification sets the maximum input for that channel
521 and is rounded up to the next value the meter itself supports. For example,
522 specifying 50 for the voltage will result in the actual maximum of 60.
523 Specifying 61 would result in 600. If omitted, sigrok will perform
524 auto-ranging of the channel by selecting the next greater value than the
527 The analysis option sets how the meter reports its internal sampling buffer
530 - Mean, DC: The default is a simple arithmetic mean of the sample buffer
531 - RMS, AC: The root mean square of the sample buffer
532 - Buf, Buffer, Samples: Report the entire sample buffer to sigrok. This
533 results in packets that contain all the samples in the buffer instead
534 of a single output value.
536 The size of the sample buffer is set with the 'avg_samples' option, while
537 the sampling rate is set with the 'samplerate' option. So the update rate
538 is avg_samples/samplerate. Both are rounded up to the next supported value
543 $ sigrok-cli -c channel_config="Aux;0.1/T" --driver mooshimeter-dmm...
544 $ sigrok-cli -c channel_config="A;;AC/V;;AC" --driver mooshimeter-dmm...