R&S to launch MXO5

[KungFuJosh]

Or you'll get it done very slowly.

I think that's happening anyway.

[Bernd_2]

Hello,

I may have a point for the roadmap here.

Either it's a bug in the firmware or I'm doing something wrong when trying to set the prefix for Date/Time to Europe.

When I open the menu, the setting is set to Africa.



I change it to Europe,



press Apply,
and suddenly it's back to Africa.



Best Regards
Bernd

[tooki]

Hello,

The new firmware version 2.6.2.4 includes a practical new feature: measurement result lines.

Indeed. If anything, it's kinda shocking that it took this long, given that my freaking $400 Rigol from 10 years ago did this. The MXO implementation also slows down the waveform rate a lot; I hope that a future update moves this to hardware acceleration (as they did with XY mode). One of the things I love about the LeCroy I have at work alongside the MXO4 is the measurement result lines that keep up with the waveform display.

[Bernd_2]

Hello,

Four weeks ago, Paul posted on youtube two videos on the topic of understanding and decoding ARINC 429. Thank you very much for that.

Unfortunately, used aeronautical devices with ARINC 429, such as altimeters, are still very expensive. Too expensive to just try out the decoder in the MXO. But there is an Arduino sketch on Github that generates an ARIC 429 signal. It's not very stable, but I've managed to get a few error-free transmissions from time to time.

For anyone who wants to try it out, I have attached an Arb file for the MXO function generator. It contains 5 words, but is not symmetrical ±5V or ±10 V, as would be correct according to ARINC 429, but only positive.

However, it still works with the correct settings: Gen1 output 3Vpp, 0V offset, Protocol settings, Polarity A Leg, Bit rate mode High, Min Gap Time standard 4 bit, Upper Threshold 2.5V, Lower Threshold 0.5V.

Another suggestion for the MXO roadmap: for the polarity settings, include not only A Leg and B Leg but also A-B.
Images 2 and 3 were created with the ARINC 429 signal from Gen 1.

Best Regards,
Bernd

[pdenisowski]

I hope that a future update moves this to hardware acceleration (as they did with XY mode).

You'll never guess what I'm doing some presentations / videos on literally right now

[pdenisowski]

Four weeks ago, Paul posted on youtube two videos on the topic of understanding and decoding ARINC 429. Thank you very much for that.

Thanks!  Really appreciate the additional testing / waveforms!

And I haven't forgotten about Manchester - just had some urgent issues / requests that I have to take care of first

[pdenisowski]

If you have too much on your plate at once, you won't get anything done.
Or you'll get it done very slowly.

The story of my life 

But I prefer the old saying about "good, fast, and cheap - you can only have two"

[pdenisowski]

I hope that a future update moves this to hardware acceleration (as they did with XY mode).

You'll never guess what I'm doing some presentations / videos on literally right now

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/pauldenisowski_analog-scopes-are-superior-to-digital-scopes-activity-7397669016670142464-1cRx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAAepm4BTn6t3KU9HHcL8iFKiS-v5j1E5hk

[KungFuJosh]

I hope that a future update moves this to hardware acceleration (as they did with XY mode).

You'll never guess what I'm doing some presentations / videos on literally right now

How about some XY music? I'd love to see how this appears on the MXO4/5:

[pdenisowski]

How about some XY music? I'd love to see how this appears on the MXO4/5:

There are some other R&S people who are the "scope music" specialists - I'll ask

[Bernd_2]

Four weeks ago, Paul posted on youtube two videos on the topic of understanding and decoding ARINC 429. Thank you very much for that.

Thanks!  Really appreciate the additional testing / waveforms!

And I haven't forgotten about Manchester - just had some urgent issues / requests that I have to take care of first

Thank you very much.

Thanks to MarkL, Manchester decoding is now working. My mistake was that I hadn't set the gap time correctly.

Best Regards,
Bernd

[Bernd_2]

Hello,

Today I will show you how to decode the SENT protocol. (SENT Fast only, no embedded messages)

First, a very brief description of the SENT legacy protocol SAE J2716 (not SENT SPC).

The SENT protocol (Single Edge Nibble Transmission) is a serial interface for data transmission in the automotive industry that transmits sensor data from a sensor to a control unit. It was developed to improve the transmission of sensor data in the often noisy environment of a vehicle and to offer a cost-effective alternative to conventional analog interfaces. As long as the falling edges of the pulses can be clearly detected it is less susceptible to noise than conventional analog interfaces in vehicles.

Structure and function

Single-wire transmission: Data is transmitted unidirectionally via a single signal line.

Pulse-coded transmission: Data is transmitted as a sequence of pulses, with the duration of the pulses encoding the data. The data is measured by the time intervals between the falling edges of the pulses.

Ticks: The time base for signal measurement is a “tick” (T_tick), the length of which is calibrated by a synchronization pulse. The time length of the sync pulse is 56 Ticks

Data nibbles: A nibble corresponds to four bits and is used as a unit of data transmission. The minimum nibble width of 12 Ticks represents the value 0000b, 0h and the maximum nibble width of 27 Ticks results in the value 1111b, Fh.


A typical SENT data frame consists of:

Synchronization pulse: Used to synchronize and calibrate the time base. 56 x Tick-Time, here 56 x 30 µs = 1.68(6) ms.

Status and communication nibble: Contains information about the sensor or the type of message. here 9h

Data block: Up to six nibbles containing the actual sensor data. here: N1: 1h, N2: 2h, N3: 3h, N4:Ah, N5:Bh, N6: Ch

Checksum nibble: This is a 4-bit CRC of the six data nibbles only. here 8h

Optional pause pulse: Can be used to separate message frames.

For anyone who wants to try it out, I have attached an Arb file for the MXO function generator.

Figure 1 shows the configuration of the decoder for the SENT signal in this example.

Figure 2 shows the decoded signal from the function generator from the Arb file attached in the appendix.

Figure 3 shows the decode layer. I wonder if it is also possible to display both honeycomb displays simultaneously. Perhaps a point for the firmware roadmap.

Figure 4 shows that it also works with the SDS2000X+.

[m-e-t]

hello

i ve found a MXO 5 but it does not boot :-)
someone erase a file and i cannot succeed to bot it up
do you ever copy/save the microSDHC card inside?

regards
sebastien Corradi

[Bernd_2]

As far as I know the MXO5 boots from the 256 GB M.2 SSD on the backside.

The SSD contains the

● Operating system and instrument firmware
● Firmware options and applications
● Instrument states and setups
● Waveform data
● Measurement results and screen images

Maybe that some files on your SSD are missing or corrupted. A replacement SSD can be bought from Batronix at 761,60 Euros.

I haven't dared to make a backup of this SSD yet because I don't know if doing so might damage it, and I don't know if I'd ever be able to get the expensive firmware options back.

In Shariar's teardown video, I was also shocked to see that there's an SD card on the Complex board.
Unfortunately, he didn't say anything about what it's used for.

The question is how much data is written to this SD card during operation and how often, and whether it’s a simple standard card that, in the worst case, will fail after 3,000 write cycles, or whether a high-endurance card is installed that can withstand up to 100,000 write cycles.

Despite all the high-quality components built into the device, this SD card could ultimately determine the oscilloscope's lifespan.

It would be great if Paul or Daniel from R&S could shed some light on this and, if they're allowed to, say a few words about how the SD card works and any potential risks of failure associated with it.

Best Regards,
Bernd

[tv84]

hello

i ve found a MXO 5 but it does not boot :-)
someone erase a file and i cannot succeed to bot it up
do you ever copy/save the microSDHC card inside?

regards
sebastien Corradi

How did "someone" erase the file? Just put the file back from a FW package.

About the "microSDHC card" you're seeing: that should be a Javacard, not a SD card. As such, no straightforward copy/save as you might be expecting.

[Bernd_2]

In Shariar's MXO5 teardown video, starting around the 2:04 mark, it looks to me like there's an SD card slot with an SD card inserted on the lower left edge of the Complex board.



Could this be a smartSD card running JavaCard applets?

Do you have any idea what this card is used for in the MXO5? I didn't see a card like this in the teardown videos for the MXO3 and MXO4.

Best Regards,
Bernd

[tv84]

Could this be a smartSD card running JavaCard applets?

Yes, it can be a Secure SD running a JavaCard OS.

That card holds the licensing/scope ID info.

[Bernd_2]

Hello,
The new firmware version 2.10.2.0 introduces a useful new feature: Channel Label

Figure 1 (Excerpt from the User Manual)shows the settings available in the Settings -> Appearance -> Grid menu. In addition to the channel name and label, it can also display the X- and Y-values, thereby replacing a cursor measurement in some cases.

Figure 2 shows an example where I use the channel label display for eight consecutive oscillograms, which saves me the trouble of having to add new annotations to each graph. However, since I need to take cursor measurements here, the display of the X and Y positions is turned off.

Anyone interested in the details of what can be seen in Figure 2 can read about it in the thread, "Investigating starting methods for 3-phase asynchronous motors using an oscilloscope."

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/investigating-starting-methods-for-3-phase-asynchr-motors-using-an-oscilloscope/msg6308950/#msg6308950

Please read Post #24 on Page 1 first.

Best Regards,
Bernd

[KungFuJosh]

I was going to tease about something as fancy as channel labeling coming to an R&S product, but I really like how they implemented it.

[Bernd_2]

I have to make a correction here.

The input field for the channel label was already available in the Channel menu, and the text was—and still is—displayed in the header of the respective channel icon in the lower-left corner of the screen.

Firmware version 2.10.2.0 now includes a major improvement.

Best Regards,
Bernd

[Bernd_2]

Hello,

here is a solution to generate coefficient files for user defined filters on MXO oscilloscopes.

You can use the following short Python script to generate coefficient files for bandpass and bandstop filters with various window functions.

Code: [Select]


import numpy as np
import scipy.signal as signal

numtaps = 99          # even for Bandpass, odd for Bandstop 
fs = 5.0e9              # Samplerate (5 Gs/s)

f_low = 200.0e6         
f_high = 300.0e6       
beta = 6.0 # for Type Kaiser

output_filename = "mxo5_bandstop_hamming.csv"

nyq = fs / 2

coefficients = signal.firwin(
    numtaps,
    [f_low / nyq, f_high / nyq],
    pass_zero=True, # True = Bandstop, False = Bandpass
    fs=fs,
    window='hamming' 
#   window=('kaiser', beta), 
)

with open(output_filename, mode='w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
    for coeff in coefficients:
        f.write(f"{coeff:.12e},")

print(f"Success! File '{output_filename}' with {len(coefficients)} Taps created")



It is important that the sampling rate for the filter matches the sampling rate set on the oscilloscope.

I have tested it with the following window methods:
- Hamming
- von Hann
- Blackman
- Kaiser (with different beta values)

The beta value allows you to flexibly adjust the stopband attenuation of the Kaiser filter to your needs.

You can adjust the filters using the following parameters:

• numtaps:   Number of coefficients — even for bandpass, odd for bandstop
• fs:             Sample rate
• f_low:        Lower cutoff frequency
• f_high:       Upper cutoff frequency
• beta:          Beta value for the Kaiser window
• pass_Zero: True for bandstop, False for bandpass

All tests were performed with a sampling rate of 5 Gs/s, a lower cutoff frequency of 200 MHz and an upper cutoff frequency of 300 MHz. The input signal comes from the Bodnar LBE-1322 pulse generator.

The filters were calculated using 100 taps (bandpass) or 99 taps (bandstop). Next, we can examine how the filter length affects the selectivity for each windowing method.

Next.... images with the results

Best Regardds,
Bernd

[Bernd_2]

Hello,
Here are the results for the various bandpass filters.

Part I: Blackman, Hamming, von Hann

I don’t know enough about the subject to provide a sophisticated interpretation of the filter curves. Maybe someone here would like to take that on.

To make it easy to try them out quickly, I’ve also uploaded the corresponding coefficient file for each image. To be able to upload the CSV files, I added the .txt extension. This must be removed before uploading to MXO oscilloscope.

Best Regards,
Bernd

[Bernd_2]

Hello,

here comes Bandpass Part II: Kaiser with various Beta Values.

Best Regards,
Bernd

Next ... Results for Bandstop Filters