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 location where libsigrok expects the firmware files is:
17 $prefix/share/sigrok-firmware
19 ($prefix is usually /usr/local or /usr, depending on your ./configure options)
21 For further information see the section below and also:
23 http://sigrok.org/wiki/Firmware
26 Per-driver firmware requirements
27 --------------------------------
29 The following drivers/devices require a firmware upload upon connection:
31 - asix-sigma: The ASIX SIGMA and SIGMA2 require various firmware files,
32 depending on the settings used. These files are available from our
33 'sigrok-firmware' repository/project under a license which allows us
36 - fx2lafw: Logic analyzers based on the Cypress FX2(LP) chip need the
37 firmware files from the 'sigrok-firmware-fx2lafw' repository/project.
38 The firmware is written from scratch and licensed under the GPLv2+.
40 - hantek-dso: The Hantek DSO-2090 (and other supported models of the same
41 series of Hantek PC oscilloscopes) need firmware files.
42 These can be extracted from the vendor's Windows drivers using a tool
43 from our 'sigrok-util' repository/project.
45 - nexus-osciprime: The Nexus Computing OsciPrime PC oscilloscope needs
46 firmware files. These are available from the vendor website.
48 The following drivers/devices do not need any firmware upload:
60 - openbench-logic-sniffer
69 Specifying serial ports
70 -----------------------
72 Many devices supported by libsigrok use serial port based cables (real RS232
73 or USB-to-serial ones) to connect to a PC.
75 For all these devices, you need to specify the serial port they are connected
76 to (e.g. using the 'conn' option in sigrok-cli). It is not possible to scan
77 for such devices without specifying a serial port.
81 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=/dev/ttyUSB0 ...
83 The following drivers/devices require a serial port specification:
92 - openbench-logic-sniffer
96 The following drivers/devices do not require a serial port specification:
108 - zeroplus-logic-cube
111 Permissions of serial port based devices
112 ----------------------------------------
114 When using devices supported by libsigrok that use serial port based cables
115 (real RS232 or USB-to-serial ones) to connect to a PC, you need to ensure
116 that the user running the libsigrok frontend has (read/write) permissions to
117 access the serial port device (e.g. /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB0, and so on).
119 You can use 'chmod' to apply permissions as you see fit, and/or 'chown' to
120 change the owner of the serial port device to a certain user or group.
122 For USB-to-serial based devices, we recommended using our udev rules file
123 (see below for details).
126 Permissions for USB devices (udev rules file)
127 ---------------------------------------------
129 When using USB-based devices supported by libsigrok, the user running the
130 libsigrok frontend (e.g. sigrok-cli) has to have (read/write) permissions
131 for the respective USB device.
133 On Linux, this is accomplished using either 'chmod' (not recommended) or
134 using the udev rules file shipped with libsigrok (recommended).
136 The file is available in contrib/z60_libsigrok.rules. It contains entries
137 for all libsigrok-supported (USB-based) devices and changes their group
138 to 'plugdev' and the permissions to '664'.
140 When using a libsigrok package from your favorite Linux distribution, the
141 packager will have already taken care of properly installing the udev file
142 in the correct (distro-specific) place, and you don't have to do anything.
143 The packager might also have adapted 'plugdev' and '664' as needed.
145 If you're building from source, you need to copy the file to the place
146 where your distro expects such files. This is beyond the scope of this README,
147 but generally the location could be e.g. /etc/udev/rules.d, or maybe
148 /lib/udev/rules.d, or something else. Afterwards you might have to restart
149 udev, e.g. via '/etc/init.d/udev restart' or similar, and you'll have to
150 re-attach your device via USB.
152 Please consult the udev docs of your distro for details.
155 Cypress FX2 based devices
156 -------------------------
158 Devices using the Cypress FX2(LP) chip without any specific USB VID/PID will
159 be enumerated with VID/PID 04b4:8613 (the default for "unconfigured FX2").
160 These are usually "FX2 eval boards" (that can also be used as LAs, though).
162 On Linux, the 'usbtest' driver will usually grab such devices, and they will
163 thus not be usable by libsigrok (and frontends).
165 You can fix this by running 'rmmod usbtest' as root before using the device.
168 UNI-T DMM (and rebranded models) cables
169 ---------------------------------------
171 UNI-T multimeters (and rebranded devices, e.g. some Voltcraft models) can
172 ship with different PC connectivity cables:
174 - UT-D04 (USB/HID cable with Hoitek HE2325U chip, USB VID/PID 04fa:2490)
175 - UT-D04 (USB/HID cable with WCH CH9325 chip, USB VID/PID 1a86:e008)
176 - UT-D02 (RS232 cable)
178 The above cables are all physically compatible (same IR connector shape)
179 with all/most currently known UNI-T multimeters. For example, you can
180 use either of the UT-D04 USB/HID cables or the UT-D02 RS232 cable with
181 the UNI-T UT61D multimeter.
183 When using the UT-D02 RS232 cable with any of the supported UNI-T DMMs,
184 you have to use the respective driver with a '-ser' drivername suffix
185 (internally all of these models are handled by the 'serial-dmm' driver).
187 You also need to specify the serial port via the 'conn' option, e.g.
188 /dev/ttyUSB0 (attached via a USB-to-serial cable) or /dev/ttyS0 (actual
189 RS232 port) on Linux (see above).
191 Finally, the user running the frontend (e.g. sigrok-cli) also needs
192 permissions to access the respective serial port (see above).
194 Examples (sigrok-cli):
196 $ sigrok-cli --driver uni-t-ut61e-ser:conn=/dev/ttyUSB0 ...
197 $ sigrok-cli --driver voltcraft-vc820-ser:conn=/dev/ttyS0 ...
199 When using any of the UT-D04 USB/HID cables you have to use the respective
200 driver _without_ the '-ser' drivername suffix (internally all of these models
201 are handled by the 'uni-t-dmm' driver).
203 Since the UT-D04 cables are USB based (but don't use a USB-to-serial chip)
204 there is no need to specify a serial port via 'conn', of course.
205 However, the user running the frontend does also need to have permissions
206 to access the respective USB device (see above).
208 Examples (sigrok-cli):
210 $ sigrok-cli --driver uni-t-ut61e ...
211 $ sigrok-cli --driver voltcraft-vc820 ...
214 UNI-T UT-D04 cable issue on Linux
215 ---------------------------------
217 The UNI-T UT-D04 cable with Hoitek HE2325U (or WCH CH9325) chip seems to have
218 a very specific problem on Linux. Apparently it requires to be put into
219 suspend (and woken up again) before it is usable. This seems to be a
220 Linux-only issue, Windows is not affected by this since apparently the
221 Windows kernel does this for every USB device, always.
223 Thus, if you want to use any of the UNI-T DMMs with this specific cable,
224 you'll have to run the following script (as root) once, every time you attach
225 the cable via USB. The script was written by Ralf Burger.
227 See also: http://erste.de/UT61/index.html
230 for dat in /sys/bus/usb/devices/*; do
231 if test -e $dat/manufacturer; then
232 grep "WCH.CN" $dat/manufacturer > /dev/null && echo auto > ${dat}/power/level && echo 0 > ${dat}/power/autosuspend
240 The 'alsa' driver can be used to sample analog data using a PC's soundcard.
241 I.e. the sound card can act as a simple oscilloscope (with some limitations)
242 using commercial or DIY "sound card scope probe" cables.
244 Since ALSA is a Linux-specific sound system, this driver will inherently
245 only compile and work on Linux.
247 We might write additional drivers to make a similar functionality available
248 on other OSes at some point.
251 Link Instruments MSO-19
252 -----------------------
254 The driver for the Link Instruments MSO-19 mixed-signal oscilloscope (MSO)
255 is currently using libudev (which is a library for the Linux-specific udev
256 system). Thus, this driver can currently only compile and work on Linux.
258 We plan to fix this though, so that it'll work on all other OSes, too.
261 ChronoVu LA8 USB VID/PIDs
262 -------------------------
264 The ChronoVu LA8 logic analyzer is available in two revisions. Previously,
265 the LA8 shipped with a USB VID/PID of 0403:6001, which is the standard ID
266 for FTDI FT232 USB chips.
268 Since this made it hard to distinguish the LA8 from any other device
269 with this FTDI chip connected to the PC, the vendor later shipped the
270 LA8 with a USB VID/PID of 0403:8867.
272 The 'chronovu-la8' driver in libsigrok supports both VID/PID pairs and
273 automatically finds devices with either VID/PID pair. However, currently
274 the driver will assume any device with VID/PID 0403:6001 is a ChronoVu LA8.
280 The Dangerous Prototypes Openbench Logic Sniffer (OLS) logic analyzer is
281 supported by the 'ols' driver in libsigrok. This driver assumes a somewhat
282 recent firmware has been flashed onto the OLS (it doesn't need a firmware
283 upload every time it's attached via USB, since the firmware is stored in the
286 The most recent firmware version that is tested is 3.07.
288 If you use any older firmware and your OLS is not found or is not working
289 properly, please upgrade to at least this firmware version. Check the
290 Dangerous Prototypes wiki for firmware upgrade instructions:
292 http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Logic_Sniffer_upgrade_procedure
294 Also, you need to specify a serial port for the OLS in the frontends, e.g.
295 using the 'conn' option in sigrok-cli, and you also need to have the
296 permissions to access the serial port (see above).
300 $ sigrok-cli --driver ols:conn=/dev/ttyACM0 ...
303 Rigol DS1xx2 oscilloscopes
304 --------------------------
306 The 'rigol-ds1xx2' driver (for the Rigol DS1052E and some other, similar DSOs)
307 currently uses the Linux usbtmc kernel driver. This means it can currently
308 only be built and used on Linux (i.e., it's non-portable).
310 The use of a kernel module also means it is dependent on the kernel version
311 used, as well as on whether this specific module is available in the kernel.
312 Additionally, the usbtmc kernel module has been known to have various bugs
313 in some versions. These are some (but not all) drawbacks of using a kernel
314 module as opposed to a libusb-based driver that works in user-space.
316 We plan to change the driver to use the 'librevisa' user-space shared
317 library (which uses libusb) soon, which will fix all these issues and make
318 the driver portable at the same time.