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
102 - center-3xx (including all subdrivers)
110 - gmc-mh-1x-2x (including all subdrivers)
117 - hung-chang-dso-2100
118 - ikalogic-scanalogic2
129 - mic-985xx (including all subdrivers)
134 - openbench-logic-sniffer
140 - rohde-schwarz-sme-0x
143 - serial-dmm (including all subdrivers)
144 - serial-lcr (including all subdrivers)
149 - uni-t-dmm (including all subdrivers)
152 - zeroplus-logic-cube
156 Specifying serial ports
157 -----------------------
159 Many devices supported by libsigrok use serial port based cables (real RS232
160 or USB-to-serial ones, CDC class) to connect to a PC. These serial cables are
161 supported by the libserialport library. Some vendors prefer to use HID chips
162 instead of CDC chips in their serial cables. These cables can get supported
163 by means of the hidapi library. Note that each chip type requires specific
164 support in the libsigrok library. Bluetooth connected devices may be supported
165 as well when they communicate by means of RFCOMM channels, or one of the
166 implemented BLE notification/indication approaches, and one of the Bluetooth
167 supporting platforms is used.
169 For all these devices, you need to specify the serial port they are connected
170 to (e.g. using the 'conn' option in sigrok-cli). It is not possible to scan
171 for such devices without specifying a serial port.
175 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=/dev/ttyUSB0 ...
176 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=hid/cp2110 ...
177 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=bt/rfcomm/01-23-45-67-89-ab ...
179 Formal syntax for serial communication:
181 - COM ports (RS232, USB CDC):
185 conn=hid[/<chip>]/usb=<bus>.<dev>[.<if>]
186 conn=hid[/<chip>]/raw=<path>
187 conn=hid[/<chip>]/sn=<serno>
188 conn=hid[/<chip>]/iokit=<path>
189 chip can be: bu86x, ch9325, cp2110, victor
190 path may contain slashes
191 path and serno are "greedy" (span to the end of the spec)
192 - Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE):
193 conn=bt/<conn>/<addr>
194 conn can be: rfcomm, ble122, nrf51, cc254x
195 addr can be "dense" or separated, bt/cc254x/0123456789ab or
196 bt/rfcomm/11-22-33-44-55-66 or bt/ble122/88:6b:12:34:56:78
197 (note that colons may not be available when the conn= spec is taken
198 from a string that separates fields by colon, e.g. in the "--driver
199 <name>:conn=<spec>" example, that is why the dense form and the use
200 of dashes for separation are supported)
202 Some of the drivers implement a default for the connection. Some of the
203 drivers can auto-detect USB connected devices.
205 Beyond strict serial communication over COM ports (discussed above), the
206 conn= property can also address specific USB devices, as well as specify TCP
207 or VXI communication parameters. See these examples:
209 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=<vid>.<pid> ...
210 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=tcp-raw/<ipaddr>/<port> ...
211 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=vxi/<ipaddr> ...
212 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=usbtmc/<bus>.<addr> ...
215 Specifying serial port parameters
216 ---------------------------------
218 Every serial device's driver has default serial port parameters like baud
219 rate, number of data bits, stop bits and handshake status. If a device requires
220 different parameters, pass them as option "serialcomm" with the driver name.
221 See libsigrok docs for the function serial_set_paramstr() for complete specs.
225 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=<someconn>:serialcomm=9600/7n1/dtr=1
228 Permissions of serial port based devices
229 ----------------------------------------
231 When using devices supported by libsigrok that use serial port based cables
232 (real RS232 or USB-to-serial ones) to connect to a PC, you need to ensure
233 that the user running the libsigrok frontend has (read/write) permissions to
234 access the serial port device (e.g. /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB0, and so on).
236 You can use 'chmod' to apply permissions as you see fit, and/or 'chown' to
237 change the owner of the serial port device to a certain user or group.
239 For USB-to-serial based devices, we recommended using our udev rules file
240 (see below for details).
243 Permissions for USB devices (udev rules files)
244 ----------------------------------------------
246 When using USB-based devices supported by libsigrok, the user running the
247 libsigrok frontend (e.g. sigrok-cli) has to have (read/write) permissions
248 for the respective USB device.
250 On Linux, this is accomplished using udev rules. libsigrok ships a rules
251 file containing all supported devices which can be detected reliably
252 (generic USB-to-serial converters are omitted, as these are used for a wide
253 range of devices, e.g. GPS receivers, which are not handled by libsigrok).
255 The file is available in contrib/60-libsigrok.rules. This file just contains
256 the list of devices and flags these devices with ID_SIGROK="1". Access is
257 granted by the 61-libsigrok-plugdev.rules or 61-libsigrok-uaccess.rules files,
258 allowing access to members of the plugdev group or to currently logged in
261 When using a libsigrok package from your favorite Linux distribution, the
262 files should already be installed in /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/, i.e.
263 60-libsigrok.rules and one of the access granting rules files. Use of
264 61-libsigrok-uaccess.rules is encouraged on systemd distributions.
266 The access policy can be locally overridden by placing appropriate rules in
267 /etc/udev/rules.d/, disabling or ammending the default policy. See the
268 udev documentation, e.g. man 7 udev, for details.
270 If you're building from source, you need to copy the file to the place
271 where udev will read these rules. Local rules should go to /etc/udev/rules.d.
272 Keep the file naming, otherwise interaction between the libsigrok rules and
273 rules shipped by the system will be broken.
275 Please consult the udev docs for details.
278 Non-default drivers for commodity chips
279 ---------------------------------------
281 Some vendors include common USB chips in their products yet assign device
282 specific VID:PID pairs. Which results in the necessity for extra steps
283 before the serial port can be used:
285 - GW Instek VCP, found in GDM-8000 and probably other meters: Install the
286 vendors Windows driver to get access to a COM port. Or force the driver
289 # echo 2184 0030 > /sys/bus/usb-serial/drivers/cp210x/new_id
292 Cypress FX2 based devices
293 -------------------------
295 Devices using the Cypress FX2(LP) chip without any specific USB VID/PID will
296 be enumerated with VID/PID 04b4:8613 (the default for "unconfigured FX2").
297 These are usually "FX2 eval boards" (that can also be used as LAs, though).
299 On Linux, the 'usbtest' driver will usually grab such devices, and they will
300 thus not be usable by libsigrok (and frontends).
302 You can fix this by running 'rmmod usbtest' as root before using the device.
305 UNI-T DMM (and rebranded models) cables
306 ---------------------------------------
308 UNI-T multimeters (and rebranded devices, e.g. some Voltcraft models) can
309 ship with different PC connectivity cables:
311 - UT-D02 (RS232 cable)
312 - UT-D04 (USB/HID cable with Hoitek HE2325U chip, USB VID/PID 04fa:2490)
313 - UT-D04 (USB/HID cable with WCH CH9325 chip, USB VID/PID 1a86:e008)
314 - UT-D07 (Bluetooth adapter, ISSC BL79 BLETR chip)
315 - UT-D09 (USB/HID cable with SiL CP2110 chip, USB VID/PID 10c4:ea80)
317 The above cables are all physically compatible (same IR connector shape)
318 with all/most currently known UNI-T multimeters. For example, you can
319 use either of the UT-D04 USB/HID cables or the UT-D02 RS232 cable with
320 the UNI-T UT61D multimeter.
322 When using the UT-D02 RS232 cable with any of the supported UNI-T DMMs,
323 you have to use the respective driver with a '-ser' drivername suffix
324 (internally all of these models are handled by the 'serial-dmm' driver).
326 You also need to specify the serial port via the 'conn' option, e.g.
327 /dev/ttyUSB0 (attached via a USB-to-serial cable) or /dev/ttyS0 (actual
328 RS232 port) on Linux (see above).
330 Finally, the user running the frontend (e.g. sigrok-cli) also needs
331 permissions to access the respective serial port (see above).
333 Examples (sigrok-cli):
335 $ sigrok-cli --driver uni-t-ut61e-ser:conn=/dev/ttyUSB0 ...
336 $ sigrok-cli --driver voltcraft-vc820-ser:conn=/dev/ttyS0 ...
338 When using any of the UT-D04 USB/HID cables you have to use the respective
339 driver _without_ the '-ser' drivername suffix (internally all of these models
340 are handled by the 'uni-t-dmm' driver).
342 You also need to specify the USB vendor/device IDs of the cable.
343 Autodetection is not possible here, since various other products use the
344 USB VID/PID of those cables too, and there is no way to distinguish them.
346 Since the UT-D04 cables are USB based (but don't use a USB-to-serial chip)
347 there is no need to specify a serial port via 'conn', of course.
348 However, the user running the frontend does also need to have permissions
349 to access the respective USB device (see above).
351 Examples (sigrok-cli):
353 $ sigrok-cli --driver uni-t-ut61e:conn=1a86.e008 ...
354 $ sigrok-cli --driver voltcraft-vc820:conn=04fa.2490 ...
357 UNI-T UT-D04 cable issue on Linux
358 ---------------------------------
360 The UNI-T UT-D04 cable with Hoitek HE2325U (or WCH CH9325) chip seems to have
361 a very specific problem on Linux. Apparently it requires to be put into
362 suspend (and woken up again) before it is usable. This seems to be a
363 Linux-only issue, Windows is not affected by this since apparently the
364 Windows kernel does this for every USB device, always.
366 Thus, if you want to use any of the UNI-T DMMs with this specific cable,
367 you'll have to run the following script (as root) once, every time you attach
368 the cable via USB. The script was written by Ralf Burger.
370 See also: http://erste.de/UT61/index.html
373 for dat in /sys/bus/usb/devices/*; do
374 if test -e $dat/manufacturer; then
375 grep "WCH.CN" $dat/manufacturer > /dev/null && echo auto > ${dat}/power/level && echo 0 > ${dat}/power/autosuspend
380 Enabling multimeter / data logger measurement output
381 ----------------------------------------------------
383 Some multimeters or data loggers will not start outputting measurement data
384 unless a certain action has been performed by the user beforehand. This is
385 usually mentioned in the vendor manual of the respective device, but here's
386 a short list for convenience:
388 - BBC Goertz Metrawatt M2110: Briefly press the "Start/Reset" button on the
389 interface panel on top.
390 - Brymen BM257s: Press HOLD during power-on.
391 - Digitek DT4000ZC: Briefly press the "RS232" button.
392 - EEVBlog 121GW: Hold "1ms PEAK" until the "BT" indicator is shown.
393 - ES51919 based LCR meters (DER EE DE-5000, PeakTech 2170, UNI-T UT612):
394 Press the button with the "RS232" or "USB" or "PC link" label (usually
395 the "up" cursor button).
396 - Gossen Metrawatt Metrahit 1x/2x devices, driver gmc-mh-1x-2x-rs232:
397 - Power on the device with the "DATA" button pressed.
398 - Metrahit 2x devices must be configured for the respective interface type.
399 - Gossen Metrawatt Metrahit 2x devices, driver gmc-mh-2x-bd232:
401 The multimeter must be configured for the respective interface type.
402 - 'SI232-II' interface ("PC Mode"):
403 The multimeter must be configured for interface type 'BD232' (all),
404 'SI232 online' (28-29S) or 'SI232 store' (22-26x). The interface must
405 be configured to the same baud rate as the host (default 9600).
406 Multimeter and interface must be configured to the same address.
407 - GW Instek GDM-397: Press the "REL/RS232C (USB)" button for roughly 1 second.
408 - GW Instek VCP: See the discussion on manual driver assignment to common
409 USB to UART chips with non-default USB identification.
410 - MASTECH MS6514: Press the "Setup/PC-Link" button for roughly 3 seconds.
411 - Meterman 38XR: Press the "RS232" button.
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 Grand Idea Studio JTAGulator also implements the SUMP protocol and
479 thus is covered by the OLS driver. See the vendor's wiki on details how
480 to enable the Logic Analyzer mode of operation.
482 https://github.com/grandideastudio/jtagulator/wiki/Logic-Analyzer
488 The Mooshim Engineering Mooshimeter is controlled via Bluetooth Low Energy
489 (sometimes called Bluetooth 4.0), as such it requires a supported Bluetooth
490 interface available. The 'conn' option is required and must contain the
491 Bluetooth MAC address of the meter.
495 $ sigrok-cli --driver mooshimeter-dmm:conn=12-34-56-78-9A-BC ...
497 Since the Mooshimeter has no physical interface on the meter itself, the
498 channel configuration is set with the 'channel_config' option. The format
499 of this option is 'CH1,CH2' where each channel configuration has the form
500 'MODE:RANGE:ANALYSIS', with later parts being optional. In addition for
501 CLI compatibility, the ',' in the channels can also be a '/' and the ':' in
502 the individual configuration can be a ';'.
504 Available channel 1 modes:
506 - Current, A: Current in amps
507 - Temperature, T, K: Internal meter temperature in Kelvin
508 - Resistance, Ohm, W: Resistance in ohms
509 - Diode, D: Diode voltage
510 - Aux, LV: Auxiliary (W input) low voltage sensor (1.2V max)
512 Available channel 2 modes:
514 - Voltage, V: Voltage
515 - Temperature, T, K: Internal meter temperature in Kelvin
516 - Resistance, Ohm, W: Resistance in ohms
517 - Diode, D: Diode voltage
518 - Aux, LV: Auxiliary (W input) low voltage sensor (1.2V max)
520 Only one channel can use the shared inputs at a time (e.g. if CH1 is measuring
521 resistance, CH2 cannot measure low voltage). Temperature is excepted from
522 this, so the meter can measure internal temperature and low voltage at the
525 Additionally, the meter can calculate the real power of both channels. This
526 generally only makes sense when CH1 is set to current and CH2 is set to a
527 voltage and so it is disabled by default. It must be enabled by enabling the
528 'P' channel (the third channel).
530 The range of the channel specification sets the maximum input for that channel
531 and is rounded up to the next value the meter itself supports. For example,
532 specifying 50 for the voltage will result in the actual maximum of 60.
533 Specifying 61 would result in 600. If omitted, sigrok will perform
534 auto-ranging of the channel by selecting the next greater value than the
537 The analysis option sets how the meter reports its internal sampling buffer
540 - Mean, DC: The default is a simple arithmetic mean of the sample buffer
541 - RMS, AC: The root mean square of the sample buffer
542 - Buf, Buffer, Samples: Report the entire sample buffer to sigrok. This
543 results in packets that contain all the samples in the buffer instead
544 of a single output value.
546 The size of the sample buffer is set with the 'avg_samples' option, while
547 the sampling rate is set with the 'samplerate' option. So the update rate
548 is avg_samples/samplerate. Both are rounded up to the next supported value
553 $ sigrok-cli -c channel_config="Aux;0.1/T" --driver mooshimeter-dmm...
554 $ sigrok-cli -c channel_config="A;;AC/V;;AC" --driver mooshimeter-dmm...