BitScope Programming

Using BitScope.

Programming any BitScope requires three simple steps:

  1. Program registers with capture control information.
  2. Issue the data acquisition command (T, P etc).
  3. Retrieve the captured data when available (S).

At step 2, BitScope immediately echos the command and commences acquistion, sampling analog and digital data to its capture buffers or measuring the period, frequency or POD data. It continues to acquire data until a programmable time delay expires following trigger assertion at which point it terminates the capture and sends the 16 bit address of the last recorded sample to the host. After receiving the sample address, the host may issue the sample dump command S (or M or A) to read the captured data.

The type of data acquired and how BitScope acquires it depends on the programming of the data capture engine and the selected trace mode. BitScope supports simultaneous alt/chop dual channel analog and 8 channel logic capture, period measurement, and triggers with edge and level condition logic as well as programmable pre and post trigger delays.

In the case where a trigger event never occurs, the host may terminate the trace by sending any new command. In addition to this core data capture operation, the same instruction set may be used to read and write EEPROM and program and retrieve data from any connected PODs. See the programming manual for full details.