saleae Logic analyzer

[Anks]

I got one of these because of the reviews it got before dave did his. This in my eyes is not a logic analyzer it is a bit streamer to your pc. It is closer to the bus pirate and is nothing short of anoying.

I also have a zeroplus that is by far a much better instrument. People said the sorfware is rubbish but its not it is feature packed. Yes its not got all the trigger options id like but compared to the saleae it can atleast be considered a logic analyzer.

I think the misconception comes from people that havnt used a proper logic analyzer and I mean somthing a good HP. The reviews before daves that ive seen im sure have come from people like this.

Anyway just my opinion.

[marshallh]

You are quite correct, its literally a bit pipe. Fine for slow serial protocols. IMO useless for busses, it just ain't got enough I/O.
I use a fpga dev board and write skeleton verilog to capture signals. Only done 30 or so at the moment, past that its usually on my own pcbs anyway

[c4757p]

It's kind of sad IMHO that it's just a bit pipe. How much more would it really cost for a small FPGA and some cache RAM? It would be a bit more expensive, sure, but so much more useful.

[Anks]

I need to get back into more FPGA stuff not really had a need for one recently. Last thing I did was building a sega JVS interface for a arcade game. Even that would of been better on a micro just used what was at hand but the signal tap logic analyzer helped alot. At the end of the day that was only rs485 I think. Just no one had the steering controls documented so had to work it out. The saleae may of been some use for that but at the end of the day I had the fpga there doing noubt.

Dose the new logic 16 have a fpga in it?

[c4757p]

Just a microcontroller, IIRC.

[Circuitous]

The Logic16 is a bit different.  Here's a review and teardown, there are others out there as well.
 https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/saleae-logiclogic16-product-review-teardown/msg47979/#msg47979

I haven't used the 8-bit one, but the Logic16 has performed fine for me on up to 8-bit bus use.

[Anks]

Is the software the same and dose the new one have internal memory and better triggers.

[alm]

No one will confuse the Saleae Logic with a real HP logic analyzer. It fills a useful niche as a simple device for slow serial protocols like I2C and SPI, however. It's apparently quite popular in that space. No one in their right mind would use this for MPU debugging.

Adding an FPGA would make it significantly more complex, compared to the simple Logic design. The Logic 16 is substantially more expensive.

The weak triggering is kind of ridiculous. This is purely a software issue, since they can stream real time for as long as it takes for the computer memory to fill up.

I remember not being overly impressed by the Zeroplus triggering either. Didn't they use to sell an external box to make up for the weak triggering? Or is this integrated in the newer Zeroplus logic analyzers?

[Anks]

There are trigger modules also a pule with trigger but you can also use software trigger that your "suppose" to pay for. Its a much more capable unit than the saleae and with its other channels ive found ways of triggering using simple self made addons but this ive done with much more advanced analyzers. For the money the addon is not exactly exspensive and I may buy it just to try it out.
 
The hype Ive heard about the software being so good in other forums when I bought it really has fallen flat on its face.

[amyk]

The hardware is basically a single microcontroller with a USB device. That's why clones cost <$10 and many of them can do a lot of other I/O-ish things too like programming FPGAs, basic signal generation, and USB parallel port adapters. It's a versatile GPIO device but not a specialised logic analyser, despite how much Saleae wants you to think it is (and overprices accordingly.)

If you want a true fully-featured LA you can find used HP ones selling for less than a new Saleae-8.

[alm]

The hardware is basically a single microcontroller with a USB device.

Yep. This is why adding an FPGA would add substantial complexity and cost. You're mostly paying for the software, which you clearly are not a big fan of. I don't mind the software, apart from the glaring omissions like triggering and search.

How is the usability of the ZeroPlus software these days? Last time I checked it was a clumsy UI with tons of small buttons, but I admit that was in the early days of ZeroPlus.

If you want a true fully-featured LA you can find used HP ones selling for less than a new Saleae-8.

Except that you will certainly have exceeded the $150 by the time you bought pods. Does it do I2C and 1-wire decoding?

In my mind there is actually little overlap between these LAs and the Saleae/Usbee devices. The former is for fast parallel buses. The Saleae/Usbee devices are for slow serial protocols as typically used on small MCUs that typically lack an external memory bus.

[c4757p]

Adding an FPGA would make it significantly more complex, compared to the simple Logic design. The Logic 16 is substantially more expensive.

Then the simple Logic design is overly simple. An FPGA isn't that hard to implement. No, you're not going to fit it into a case the size of an iPod Nano anymore, but why should even a "basic" logic analyzer fit in something that small anyway? They used to be bench equipment...

(Speaking of which, I wonder what fraction of the price covers that wanky custom anodized aluminum case. I don't imagine they're made in very large quantity.)

If you want a true fully-featured LA you can find used HP ones selling for less than a new Saleae-8.

It really amazes me how cheap these sell. I guess a lot of people just don't see a use for one, so there's not as much of a market for them...?

Except that you will certainly have exceeded the $150 by the time you bought pods.

I've seen at least a few of them sold fully equipped for a similar price, and that's just with casual browsing.

[ivan747]

If you want a true fully-featured LA you can find used HP ones selling for less than a new Saleae-8.

It really amazes me how cheap these sell. I guess a lot of people just don't see a use for one, so there's not as much of a market for them...?

Silence, or people will buy them and they will get more expensive! 

[c4757p]

Sorry.  I mean, "Holy shit those things are expensive and useless! Nobody buy one, you might as well burn your money!"

[Anks]

Yep the Hp ones are very very expensive for what you get I wouldnt buy one there really really bad for even debugging old stuff lol.

The software still isnt great but it dose work. It can be annoying at times but for the price you cant argue. It dose what it says on the tin.

[nctnico]

If you want a true fully-featured LA you can find used HP ones selling for less than a new Saleae-8.

No probes. No system disk. IOW: old junk.

[Anks]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190823551892?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

not bad for the price