Which is a better logic analyzer

[WattsThat]

I don’t have a specific use case so this is general, best bang for buck kind of question. Yes, I know some will ask fifteen follow-up questions, please don’t, I’m not not looking for details.

For general, hobby use, 50MHz max, what’s a better spend for my money?

Saleae Logic Pro 8
or
The LA in the Rigol MSO5074?

I’ve watch the videos on the MSO’s and think I’m better off with a stand-alone unit.

What’s the general consensus (if that’s possible)?

[TK]

For serial protocol decoding, I use DSLogic and Zeroplus.  Saleae is overpriced.
For lots of signals (vintage computing board) I use Agilent (HP) 1660 or 1670G with over 100 ports.

[WattsThat]

Thank you. I was not aware of ZeroPlus, the software looks well done, something that I think the Saleae offering comes up short on, the lack of triggering options. That’s why I’m posting, looking for any and all helpful feedback to make an informed decision.

Saleae does offer a non-commercial use discount so the pricing isn’t bad for my use case. Their hardware looks solid and the 3 year warranty is worth something.

[TK]

Zeroplus software only runs on Windows, a clear disadvantage if you use OSX or Linux.

Saleae Logic Pro 8 is $699... how much is for non-commercial use?

[WattsThat]

The pro 8 is $429, the 16, $539.

Yeah, I’m OSX but have VM’s for XP and win 7 so no problem there.

[rvalente]

Do you really need 50Mhz for hobby use?

Check SALEAE 16 clone... its "only" 25MHz, but is really cheap, cant go wrong.

Or http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Open_Bench_Logic_Sniffer is cheap supported by sigrok

[BBBbbb]

Are DreamSourceLab folks, behind DSLogic, still being assholes about "stealing" and locking their SW?

[Gandalf_Sr]

I own a Saleae Logic 8, it's OK; the software looks somewhat Apple-like but there are limitations on triggering plus it is a listen-only device which means I don't use it very often - the real issue is that it's so damn expensive.  I've still to play fully with the LA on the MSO5000 but it looks promising in that the buffer size is large.  On both the Saleae and the MSO5000, I don't think you can trigger from a byte sequence e.g. a specific I2C address.

One advantage of the MSO5000 is that (I think) you can use an analog channel as one of the logic/decode lines so you can see the actual waveform for a signal that's problematic.

I own a Dangerous Prototypes BusPirate and, although the UI is VERY clunky (serial text window), it works and can transmit and receive in multiple formats so, for instance, you can connect to an I2C bus and use a built-in macro to sniff for all devices on that bus - that has been a great feature that I use on prototypes to find out if all the devices are a)at the addresses I think they are at and b) that they are responding as expected.  Sparkfun sells the Bus Pirate 3.6 (don't bother with the 4.0) and have some useful information on using it plus it's only $30. 

[Adrian_Arg.]

I am looking at the possibility of acquiring the DSlogic plus price u $ s95, with that I would be more than satisfied, it seems to me from what I have seen is a good team.

in spanish
yo estoy viendo la posibilidad de adquirir el DSlogic plus precio u$s95, yo con ese estaria mas que conforme, me parece por lo que he visto es un buen equipo.

[2N3055]

I own a Saleae Logic 8, it's OK; the software looks somewhat Apple-like but there are limitations on triggering plus it is a listen-only device which means I don't use it very often - the real issue is that it's so damn expensive.  I've still to play fully with the LA on the MSO5000 but it looks promising in that the buffer size is large.  On both the Saleae and the MSO5000, I don't think you can trigger from a byte sequence e.g. a specific I2C address.

One advantage of the MSO5000 is that (I think) you can use an analog channel as one of the logic/decode lines so you can see the actual waveform for a signal that's problematic.

I own a Dangerous Prototypes BusPirate and, although the UI is VERY clunky (serial text window), it works and can transmit and receive in multiple formats so, for instance, you can connect to an I2C bus and use a built-in macro to sniff for all devices on that bus - that has been a great feature that I use on prototypes to find out if all the devices are a)at the addresses I think they are at and b) that they are responding as expected.  Sparkfun sells the Bus Pirate 3.6 (don't bother with the 4.0) and have some useful information on using it plus it's only $30.

On MSO5000 you have very sophisticated triggering on serial protocols, using analog and digital channels..
Best reference what is possible is actually Programming Guide, where you have all details...

[grizewald]

I am very happy with the Hantek 4032L which I picked up for the equvalent of $150 about a year ago. (The case on mine is actually black.)



It has 32 channels, 2GB of capture memory and a claimed bandwidth of 150MHz with 400Ms/s sampling rate. It covers all my needs.

One of the things that influenced my decision to buy the Hantek is that it is supported by Sigrok so that I don't have to have a computer running Windows to load Hantek's very average software. Instead, I can just use pulseview under Linux and that works very well indeed. Some of the most esoteric trigger conditions are not supported in Sigrok, but I've not found myself being hindered by that (so far).

It's a great tool for the money

[rstofer]

If I thought that 100 Msps was adequate, I might just use the Digilent Analog Discovery 2.
https://store.digilentinc.com/analog-discovery-2-100msps-usb-oscilloscope-logic-analyzer-and-variable-power-supply/

OTOH, if I needed up to 800 Msps, I might look at the Digilent Digital Discovery 2
https://store.digilentinc.com/digital-discovery-portable-usb-logic-analyzer-and-digital-pattern-generator/

Caveat:  I have both and I use the AD2 a LOT.  Yes, I have other bits of TE but I really like working with the AD2.