Products > Test Equipment

Picoscope- yay or nay?

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JPortici:
 :-//
I've been using a picoscope for years (at least six)
I am not using PICO 7 as when i tried the beta it looked to me a huge step backwards since 6 (Sure, some things were fixed but on the whole it was a pretty but useless interface. The TWO color schemes available were... oof)
I like the really complex math (though it doesn't like when your locale isn't UK English, making confusion with dot and comma, last i checked it WASN'T fixed in 7 beta) the fact that i can overlay traces over traces and have multiple views, tons of protocols and i could probably write my own decoder with the SDK, all things i can do on much much much much more expensive bench scopes.

Sure, what i miss from the bench scope is the wfm/s, sample memory and triggering from decoders but when i need i reach out to the bench scope.
Most of my work is in front of a PC, board i'm writing firmware for or debugging is in front of me or just on the side, picoscope is usually more convenient to use
My pico has been abused several times, i had to change the BNC and a couple of components but it was due to mechanical stress, i haven't managed to destroy the front end yet

Lomax:
I know this is a pretty old thread, but want to add my $0.02 for the benefit of anyone considering a PicoScope. I've used a PicoScope 2206B MSO (2+16 50MHz, 500MS/s) since 2017, which I bought mainly for its portability. I build interactive exhibits for public exhibitions, and travel a lot between different museums, mostly by public transport and often by air, so size & weight are critical parameters. I also sideline in marine electronics and electrical installations, which again is usually done "on site". So it doesn't matter what fancy kit I have in my workshop, all that matters is what I have with me. I used to have an HP 54645D MSO in my workshop which I loved, but was forced to sell it (along with most of my other T&M gear) as I lost my income during the pandemic - but I kept the PicoScope. That it's a PC based scope is not much of an issue since I always have to bring my laptop (Thinkpad X230 i7 w. 16Gb RAM) anyway. I'm exclusively on Linux, so the fact that their software runs natively on Linux weighed heavily in favour of the PicoScope compared to the competition, though to be honest I find the performance to be better in a Windows virtual machine. I probably use the digital inputs more than the two analogue channels, though being able to look at signals in 12-bit resolution has been a real life saver more than once. The built in signal generator is also incredibly useful sometimes. Being able to record arbitrarily long captures is brilliant when working with software that interacts with the outside world - I often hook it up to the GPIO lines I'm using while I'm working on the software for more complicated exhibits and just let it run, which lets me go back and check timing and functionality without having to breadboard anything. Being able to capture serial comms and exporting it for processing and analysis has solved many tricky situations; I often use second-hand industrial gear in my exhibits for which documentation can be poor or non existent - reverse engineering becomes so much easier when you have a reliable way to capture and look at the actual data and signals. The same goes for marine electronics which often uses RS-232/422/485 or CAN-bus. The ability to work "floating" (w. laptop on battery) is great when you're worried about damaging voltages.

Pros:


* Portable
* Linux compatible
* 16 digital channels
* Signal generator
* Floating operation
* Data capture & decoding
* Arbitrary sample length
* Not made in China
Cons:


* Poor Linux performance
* Less responsive than traditional scope
* No warm fuzzy feeling
* Relatively expensive


SiliconWizard:
As I get it, the OP's question is not with Picoscope gear per se - I think many of us can confirm that these work fine - but with Picoscope gear on MacOS. The OP may have wanted to add this in the thread title to avoid useless posts. I personally have no experience with Pico on MacOS, but have used their products on various Windows versions and Linux with little pain. I can second the performance issues on Linux though. Compared to Windows, on Linux their software has very high CPU usage.

As to their new v7 software, I have tried it a while ago, and I personally think the new UI is pure garbage.

Lomax:
Ah :palm:

JPortici:

--- Quote from: SiliconWizard on January 23, 2023, 06:53:33 pm ---As to their new v7 software, I have tried it a while ago, and I personally think the new UI is pure garbage.

--- End quote ---

complete and utter garbage.
It's no wonder they're still updating 6
and i think none of the bugs i submitted since the first betas were solved

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