Sigrok open source signal analysis software suite had a major release last week-end with libsigrok 0.4.0, libsigrokdecode 0.4.0, sigrok-cli 0.6.0, and PulseView 0.3.0. The new version added numerous bug fixes for supported hardware such as UNI-T UT61E digital multimeter or USBee AX Pro logic analyzer, and added support for several logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, multimeters, programmable power supplies, an electronic load, an LCR meter, a scale, and one BeagleBone Black cape, namely BayLibre ACME.
The ACME initiative was launched in order to get rid of the limitations of proprietary solutions, and provide an open source hardware and software multi-channel power and temperature measurements solution to the community.
BayLibre ACME cape supports up to 8 probes to measure VBUS (0 to +36V), VSHUNT ( 2.5uV up to 81.92mV), CURRENT AND POWER. Three current / power probes have been developed with all featuring TI INA226 for the ADC conversion:
- ACME HE10 Power Probe
- 6-pin HE10 header with up to 6A max current, 13mΩ contact resistance
- 3 possible current ranges:
- 0.005Ω for 1.5A < Current < 10A
- 0.05Ω for 150mA < Current < 1.5A
- 0.5Ω for 0 < Current < 150mA
- USB Power Probe
- Power Control – Power switching capability through TPS22929
- High precision resistor – 0.08Ω for Current up to 1A
- Jack Power Probe
- Power Control – Power switching capability through TPS22929; 6A current limitation;20.5V transil for voltage protection
- High precision resistor – 0.01Ω for Current up to 6A
There’s no much details about the temperature probe except it’s based on Texas Instruments TMP435 temperature sensor.
A custom Buildroot BBB Linux distribution is available with upstream ACME HW drivers, Sigrok software Suite, and low-level hardware interface interface. You can check the measured data on the command line, or a graphical user interface (PulseView) via HDMI or vncviewer. The solution also works with Xoscope digital oscilloscope application. You can find more technical details on BayLibre ACME Wiki and Sigrok Wiki.
ACME cape and the probes are said to be available now, but for some reasons you need to contact them via the form at the end of BayLibre ACME page in order to purchase them.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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