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 - 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)
112 - openbench-logic-sniffer
117 - serial-dmm (including all subdrivers)
118 - serial-lcr (including all subdrivers)
123 - uni-t-dmm (including all subdrivers)
127 - zeroplus-logic-cube
130 Specifying serial ports
131 -----------------------
133 Many devices supported by libsigrok use serial port based cables (real RS232
134 or USB-to-serial ones, CDC class) to connect to a PC. These serial cables are
135 supported by the libserialport library. Some vendors prefer to use HID chips
136 instead of CDC chips in their serial cables. These cables can get supported
137 by means of the hidapi library. Note that each chip type requires specific
138 support in the libsigrok library. Bluetooth connected devices may be supported
139 as well when they communicate by means of RFCOMM channels, or one of the
140 implemented BLE notification/indication approaches, and one of the Bluetooth
141 supporting platforms is used.
143 For all these devices, you need to specify the serial port they are connected
144 to (e.g. using the 'conn' option in sigrok-cli). It is not possible to scan
145 for such devices without specifying a serial port.
149 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=/dev/ttyUSB0 ...
150 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=hid/cp2110 ...
151 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=bt/rfcomm/01-23-45-67-89-ab ...
153 Formal syntax for serial communication:
155 - COM ports (RS232, USB CDC):
159 conn=hid[/<chip>]/usb=<bus>.<dev>[.<if>]
160 conn=hid[/<chip>]/raw=<path>
161 conn=hid[/<chip>]/sn=<serno>
162 chip can be: ch9325, cp2110
163 path may contain slashes
164 path and serno are "greedy" (span to the end of the spec)
165 - Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE):
166 conn=bt/<conn>/<addr>
167 conn can be: rfcomm, ble122, nrf51, cc254x
168 addr can be "dense" or separated, bt/cc254x/0123456789ab or
169 bt/rfcomm/11-22-33-44-55-66 or bt/ble122/88:6b:12:34:56:78
170 (note that colons may not be available when the conn= spec is taken
171 from a string that separates fields by colon, e.g. in the "--driver
172 <name>:conn=<spec>" example, that is why the dense form and the use
173 of dashes for separation are supported)
175 The following drivers/devices require a serial port specification. Some of
176 the drivers implement a default for the connection. Some of the drivers
177 can auto-detect USB connected devices.
184 - center-3xx (including all subdrivers)
188 - gmc-mh-1x-2x (including all subdrivers)
191 - mic-985xx (including all subdrivers)
193 - openbench-logic-sniffer
194 - rigol-ds (for RS232; not required for USBTMC or TCP)
195 - serial-dmm (including all subdrivers)
196 - serial-lcr (including all subdrivers)
199 - uni-t-dmm (all -ser subdrivers)
202 The following drivers/devices do not require a serial port specification:
210 - ikalogic-scanalogic2
215 - rigol-ds (USBTMC or TCP)
218 - uni-t-dmm (all non -ser subdrivers)
219 - yokogawa-dlm (USBTMC or TCP)
220 - zeroplus-logic-cube
222 Beyond strict serial communication over COM ports (discussed above), the
223 conn= property can also address specific USB devices, as well as specify TCP
224 or VXI communication parameters. See these examples:
226 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=<vid>.<pid> ...
227 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=tcp-raw/<ipaddr>/<port> ...
228 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=vxi/<ipaddr> ...
229 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=usbtmc/<bus>.<addr> ...
231 The following drivers/devices accept network communication parameters:
240 Specifying serial port parameters
241 ---------------------------------
243 Every serial device's driver has default serial port parameters like baud
244 rate, number of data bits, stop bits and handshake status. If a device requires
245 different parameters, pass them as option "serialcomm" with the driver name.
246 See libsigrok docs for the function serial_set_paramstr() for complete specs.
250 $ sigrok-cli --driver <somedriver>:conn=<someconn>:serialcomm=9600/7n1/dtr=1
253 Permissions of serial port based devices
254 ----------------------------------------
256 When using devices supported by libsigrok that use serial port based cables
257 (real RS232 or USB-to-serial ones) to connect to a PC, you need to ensure
258 that the user running the libsigrok frontend has (read/write) permissions to
259 access the serial port device (e.g. /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB0, and so on).
261 You can use 'chmod' to apply permissions as you see fit, and/or 'chown' to
262 change the owner of the serial port device to a certain user or group.
264 For USB-to-serial based devices, we recommended using our udev rules file
265 (see below for details).
268 Permissions for USB devices (udev rules files)
269 ----------------------------------------------
271 When using USB-based devices supported by libsigrok, the user running the
272 libsigrok frontend (e.g. sigrok-cli) has to have (read/write) permissions
273 for the respective USB device.
275 On Linux, this is accomplished using udev rules. libsigrok ships a rules
276 file containing all supported devices which can be detected reliably
277 (generic USB-to-serial converters are omitted, as these are used for a wide
278 range of devices, e.g. GPS receivers, which are not handled by libsigrok).
280 The file is available in contrib/60-libsigrok.rules. This file just contains
281 the list of devices and flags these devices with ID_SIGROK="1". Access is
282 granted by the 61-libsigrok-plugdev.rules or 61-libsigrok-uaccess.rules files,
283 allowing access to members of the plugdev group or to currently logged in
286 When using a libsigrok package from your favorite Linux distribution, the
287 files should already be installed in /usr/lib/udev/rules.d/, i.e.
288 60-libsigrok.rules and one of the access granting rules files. Use of
289 61-libsigrok-uaccess.rules is encouraged on systemd distributions.
291 The access policy can be locally overridden by placing appropriate rules in
292 /etc/udev/rules.d/, disabling or ammending the default policy. See the
293 udev documentation, e.g. man 7 udev, for details.
295 If you're building from source, you need to copy the file to the place
296 where udev will read these rules. Local rules should go to /etc/udev/rules.d.
297 Keep the file naming, otherwise interaction between the libsigrok rules and
298 rules shipped by the system will be broken.
300 Please consult the udev docs for details.
303 Cypress FX2 based devices
304 -------------------------
306 Devices using the Cypress FX2(LP) chip without any specific USB VID/PID will
307 be enumerated with VID/PID 04b4:8613 (the default for "unconfigured FX2").
308 These are usually "FX2 eval boards" (that can also be used as LAs, though).
310 On Linux, the 'usbtest' driver will usually grab such devices, and they will
311 thus not be usable by libsigrok (and frontends).
313 You can fix this by running 'rmmod usbtest' as root before using the device.
316 UNI-T DMM (and rebranded models) cables
317 ---------------------------------------
319 UNI-T multimeters (and rebranded devices, e.g. some Voltcraft models) can
320 ship with different PC connectivity cables:
322 - UT-D02 (RS232 cable)
323 - UT-D04 (USB/HID cable with Hoitek HE2325U chip, USB VID/PID 04fa:2490)
324 - UT-D04 (USB/HID cable with WCH CH9325 chip, USB VID/PID 1a86:e008)
325 - UT-D07 (Bluetooth adapter, ISSC BL79 BLETR chip)
326 - UT-D09 (USB/HID cable with SiL CP2110 chip, USB VID/PID 10c4:ea80)
328 The above cables are all physically compatible (same IR connector shape)
329 with all/most currently known UNI-T multimeters. For example, you can
330 use either of the UT-D04 USB/HID cables or the UT-D02 RS232 cable with
331 the UNI-T UT61D multimeter.
333 When using the UT-D02 RS232 cable with any of the supported UNI-T DMMs,
334 you have to use the respective driver with a '-ser' drivername suffix
335 (internally all of these models are handled by the 'serial-dmm' driver).
337 You also need to specify the serial port via the 'conn' option, e.g.
338 /dev/ttyUSB0 (attached via a USB-to-serial cable) or /dev/ttyS0 (actual
339 RS232 port) on Linux (see above).
341 Finally, the user running the frontend (e.g. sigrok-cli) also needs
342 permissions to access the respective serial port (see above).
344 Examples (sigrok-cli):
346 $ sigrok-cli --driver uni-t-ut61e-ser:conn=/dev/ttyUSB0 ...
347 $ sigrok-cli --driver voltcraft-vc820-ser:conn=/dev/ttyS0 ...
349 When using any of the UT-D04 USB/HID cables you have to use the respective
350 driver _without_ the '-ser' drivername suffix (internally all of these models
351 are handled by the 'uni-t-dmm' driver).
353 You also need to specify the USB vendor/device IDs of the cable.
354 Autodetection is not possible here, since various other products use the
355 USB VID/PID of those cables too, and there is no way to distinguish them.
357 Since the UT-D04 cables are USB based (but don't use a USB-to-serial chip)
358 there is no need to specify a serial port via 'conn', of course.
359 However, the user running the frontend does also need to have permissions
360 to access the respective USB device (see above).
362 Examples (sigrok-cli):
364 $ sigrok-cli --driver uni-t-ut61e:conn=1a86.e008 ...
365 $ sigrok-cli --driver voltcraft-vc820:conn=04fa.2490 ...
368 UNI-T UT-D04 cable issue on Linux
369 ---------------------------------
371 The UNI-T UT-D04 cable with Hoitek HE2325U (or WCH CH9325) chip seems to have
372 a very specific problem on Linux. Apparently it requires to be put into
373 suspend (and woken up again) before it is usable. This seems to be a
374 Linux-only issue, Windows is not affected by this since apparently the
375 Windows kernel does this for every USB device, always.
377 Thus, if you want to use any of the UNI-T DMMs with this specific cable,
378 you'll have to run the following script (as root) once, every time you attach
379 the cable via USB. The script was written by Ralf Burger.
381 See also: http://erste.de/UT61/index.html
384 for dat in /sys/bus/usb/devices/*; do
385 if test -e $dat/manufacturer; then
386 grep "WCH.CN" $dat/manufacturer > /dev/null && echo auto > ${dat}/power/level && echo 0 > ${dat}/power/autosuspend
391 Enabling multimeter / data logger measurement output
392 ----------------------------------------------------
394 Some multimeters or data loggers will not start outputting measurement data
395 unless a certain action has been performed by the user beforehand. This is
396 usually mentioned in the vendor manual of the respective device, but here's
397 a short list for convenience:
399 - BBC Goertz Metrawatt M2110: Briefly press the "Start/Reset" button on the
400 interface panel on top.
401 - Brymen BM257s: Press HOLD during power-on.
402 - Digitek DT4000ZC: Briefly press the "RS232" button.
403 - EEVBlog 121GW: Hold "1ms PEAK" until the "BT" indicator is shown.
404 - ES51919 based LCR meters (DER EE DE-5000, PeakTech 2170, UNI-T UT612):
405 Press the button with the "RS232" or "USB" or "PC link" label (usually
406 the "up" cursor button).
407 - Gossen Metrawatt Metrahit 1x/2x devices, driver gmc-mh-1x-2x-rs232:
408 - Power on the device with the "DATA" button pressed.
409 - Metrahit 2x devices must be configured for the respective interface type.
410 - Gossen Metrawatt Metrahit 2x devices, driver gmc-mh-2x-bd232:
412 The multimeter must be configured for the respective interface type.
413 - 'SI232-II' interface ("PC Mode"):
414 The multimeter must be configured for interface type 'BD232' (all),
415 'SI232 online' (28-29S) or 'SI232 store' (22-26x). The interface must
416 be configured to the same baud rate as the host (default 9600).
417 Multimeter and interface must be configured to the same address.
418 - Metrix MX56C: Press the PRINT button to have the meter send acquisition
419 data via IR. Hold the PRINT button to adjust the meter's transmission
421 - Norma DM950: If the interface doesn't work (e.g. USB-RS232 converter), power
422 on the device with "FUNC" pressed (to power the interface from the DMM).
423 - PCE PCE-DM32: Briefly press the "RS232" button.
424 - RadioShack 22-812: Press and hold "SELECT" and "RANGE" together.
425 - TekPower TP4000ZC: Briefly press the "RS232" button.
426 - Tenma 72-7750: Briefly press the "RS232C" button.
427 - UNI-T UT60G: Briefly press the "RS232C" button.
428 - UNI-T UT61B/C/D: Press the "REL/RS232/USB" button for roughly 1 second.
429 - UNI-T UT71x: Press the "SEND/-/MAXMIN" button for roughly 1 second.
430 Briefly pressing the "EXIT" button leaves this mode again.
431 - UNI-T UT325: Briefly press the "SEND" button (as per manual). However, it
432 appears that in practice you don't have to press the button (at least on
433 some versions of the device), simply connect the device via USB.
434 - V&A VA18B/VA40B: Keep the "Hz/DUTY" key pressed while powering on the DMM.
435 - Victor 70C/86C: Press the "REL/RS232" button for roughly 1 second.
436 - Voltcraft VC-830: Press the "REL/PC" button for roughly 2 seconds.
437 - Voltcraft VC-870: Press the "REL/PC" button for roughly 1 second.
440 ChronoVu LA8/LA16 USB VID/PIDs
441 ------------------------------
443 The ChronoVu LA8/LA16 logic analyzer is available in two revisions. Previously,
444 the device shipped with a USB VID/PID of 0403:6001, which is the standard ID
445 for FTDI FT232 USB chips.
447 Since this made it hard to distinguish the LA8/LA16 from any other device
448 with this FTDI chip connected to the PC, the vendor later shipped the
449 device with a USB VID/PID of 0403:8867.
451 The 'chronovu-la' driver in libsigrok supports both VID/PID pairs and
452 automatically finds devices with either VID/PID pair.
458 The Dangerous Prototypes Openbench Logic Sniffer (OLS) logic analyzer
459 driver in libsigrok assumes a somewhat recent firmware has been flashed onto
460 the OLS (it doesn't need a firmware upload every time it's attached via USB,
461 since the firmware is stored in the device permanently).
463 The most recent firmware version that is tested is 3.07.
465 If you use any older firmware and your OLS is not found or is not working
466 properly, please upgrade to at least this firmware version. Check the
467 Dangerous Prototypes wiki for firmware upgrade instructions:
469 http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Logic_Sniffer_upgrade_procedure
471 Also, you need to specify a serial port for the OLS in the frontends, e.g.
472 using the 'conn' option in sigrok-cli, and you also need to have the
473 permissions to access the serial port (see above).
477 $ sigrok-cli --driver ols:conn=/dev/ttyACM0 ...
483 The Mooshim Engineering Mooshimeter is controlled via Bluetooth Low Energy
484 (sometimes called Bluetooth 4.0), as such it requires a supported Bluetooth
485 interface available. The 'conn' option is required and must contain the
486 Bluetooth MAC address of the meter.
490 $ sigrok-cli --driver mooshimeter-dmm:conn=12-34-56-78-9A-BC ...
492 Since the Mooshimeter has no physical interface on the meter itself, the
493 channel configuration is set with the 'channel_config' option. The format
494 of this option is 'CH1,CH2' where each channel configuration has the form
495 'MODE:RANGE:ANALYSIS', with later parts being optional. In addition for
496 CLI compatibility, the ',' in the channels can also be a '/' and the ':' in
497 the individual configuration can be a ';'.
499 Available channel 1 modes:
501 - Current, A: Current in amps
502 - Temperature, T, K: Internal meter temperature in Kelvin
503 - Resistance, Ohm, W: Resistance in ohms
504 - Diode, D: Diode voltage
505 - Aux, LV: Auxiliary (W input) low voltage sensor (1.2V max)
507 Available channel 2 modes:
509 - Voltage, V: Voltage
510 - Temperature, T, K: Internal meter temperature in Kelvin
511 - Resistance, Ohm, W: Resistance in ohms
512 - Diode, D: Diode voltage
513 - Aux, LV: Auxiliary (W input) low voltage sensor (1.2V max)
515 Only one channel can use the shared inputs at a time (e.g. if CH1 is measuring
516 resistance, CH2 cannot measure low voltage). Temperature is excepted from
517 this, so the meter can measure internal temperature and low voltage at the
520 Additionally, the meter can calculate the real power of both channels. This
521 generally only makes sense when CH1 is set to current and CH2 is set to a
522 voltage and so it is disabled by default. It must be enabled by enabling the
523 'P' channel (the third channel).
525 The range of the channel specification sets the maximum input for that channel
526 and is rounded up to the next value the meter itself supports. For example,
527 specifying 50 for the voltage will result in the actual maximum of 60.
528 Specifying 61 would result in 600. If omitted, sigrok will perform
529 auto-ranging of the channel by selecting the next greater value than the
532 The analysis option sets how the meter reports its internal sampling buffer
535 - Mean, DC: The default is a simple arithmetic mean of the sample buffer
536 - RMS, AC: The root mean square of the sample buffer
537 - Buf, Buffer, Samples: Report the entire sample buffer to sigrok. This
538 results in packets that contain all the samples in the buffer instead
539 of a single output value.
541 The size of the sample buffer is set with the 'avg_samples' option, while
542 the sampling rate is set with the 'samplerate' option. So the update rate
543 is avg_samples/samplerate. Both are rounded up to the next supported value
548 $ sigrok-cli -c channel_config="Aux;0.1/T" --driver mooshimeter-dmm...
549 $ sigrok-cli -c channel_config="A;;AC/V;;AC" --driver mooshimeter-dmm...