BitScope DSO V 2.

8 Release Notes

BitScope DSO V2.8 Release Notes

This is the initial BitScope DSO 2.8 production release. It is based DSO 2.9 beta and includes all the updates and
bug fixes made as part of the beta series as well as the changes listed here. This may seem odd (that DSO 2.8 has
updates from DSO 2.9) but its because we wanted to include the latest development changes ahead of the DSO
3.0 release due in a few months back ported into the current production release.
1. Fixed some DC bias scaling bugs when used with BitScope Micro. Several scaling errors have been found in
earlier versions of BitScope DSO when used with BitScope Micro. Some of these are fixed in this update and
others are still pending. Those that are fixed apply when measuring a voltages (at the BitScope input) lower
than about +/- 3V. Those that are yet to be fixed apply to voltages higher than this.
2. Added ZERO button to make Input Offset management easier.
A new ZERO appears on each channel. When
clicked it assigns the offset currently appearing at the channel input to zero. That is, it zeros out the input
offset. Typical usage is to connect the probe (with or without attenuation) to ground reference, click ZERO and
then make measurements. This works automatically when tracing with MEAN or MEDIAN offset tracking
enabled. If REF or manual offsets are applied, the trace must be moved to the ground level (usually middle of
the display) before clicking ZERO.
3. Updated BitScope Logo and help reference for bitscope.com/guide
.
4. Enabled Input Offset and Trigger Level tracking for Raspberry Pi
. Previously MEAN tracking was switched off
on each channel when DSO was run on Raspberry Pi. It is now enabled by default when the channel is enabled
(as it is on all other platforms). MEAN tracking is preferred for most purposes when viewing AC waveforms.
The DC bias (if present) is shown on the display or REF can be selected.
5. Activated timebase led status indication on machine state
. The Timebase LED now indicates capture
operating correctly when using BitScope Micro. It illuminates when DSO is actively looking for a trigger and
when it is capturing signal. Previously it enabled when DSO was running.
6. Fixed offset assignment upon zero set when manually adjusted
. Previously the zero offset function worked
only when MEAN or MEDIAN tracking was enabled. When the offset was manually assigned zero set worked
the first time but the previous (stale) offset remained in force which required the selection of REF or a manual
change in offset to update the channel to the (new) offset (in the new frame of reference). This change fixes
this by resetting the (manual) offset to zero when zero set is activated.
7. Updated probe scaling for forthcoming port adapters
. Added attenuation and prescale ranges for all
supported probes and the new industrial port adapters. Ranges include 1:10, 1:5, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, 5.5':1, 10:1,
20:1, 50:1, 100:1 and 200:1.
8. Default voltage cursors now track REF and MEAN
. The voltage cursors previously defaulted to tracking MIN
and MAX. For AC signals this was convenient but for DC measurement it was not ideal. By popular request,
we've changed so that when cursors are enabled the ground reference is reported and shown on the display
(via MARK) and the DC (or AC mean) signal voltage is reported and shown on the display (via POINT). These
cursor assignments can be changed with a single click as may be required.
9. Removed tracking captions from parameter widgets
. Previously parameter widgets (e.g. input offset, cursors
etc) reported the name of the parameter they were tracking (when tracking was enabled). By popular request,
they now report the value of the parameter being tracked instead. To see which parameter is being tracked
the pop-up menu now shows a check mark. If no parameter is being tracked, no check mark appears.
10. Dim parameter widget values when tracking
. When a parameter widget it tracking its value is shown
dimmed. This tells you that the parameter is being updated by something else. If the parameter is clicked or
manually modified it shows the new (manual) value in highlight telling you that you can adjust it manually.
Tracking is re-enabled on any parameter via the pop-up menu or (for some widgets) double-click.
11. Range widget now always reports the range
. Previously it reported the label "RANGE" when the range was
set to track the scale (which is the default) instead of the selected voltage range. By popular request, it now
reports the voltage range in dimmed colours when tracking the scale. If clicked it becomes highlighted and can
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BitScope DSO V 2.8 Release Notes

be changed manually. The scale can be set to track the range (instead) by clicking in the middle or the range
can changed via the pop-up menu or the up/down acton clicks (see the user guide).
12. Prevent trigger level widget from becoming inactive upon logic
. Previously selecting the LOGIC instrument
caused the (analog) trigger level widget to become inactive. Selecting the SCOPE (or any other analog)
instrument was supposed to make it active again (but didn't). This has been fixed. Additionally, when LOGIC is
selected the nominal logic level (3.3V) is reported.
13. Added MIN and MAX tracking to the input offset control
. It is now possible to track the offset to the signal
maximum or minima (i.e. align the waveform so that its upper or lower limit is aligned to the center of the
display). This is in addition to REF, MEAN and MEDIAN.
14. Fixed REF tracking to dim the input offset control when selected
. Previously the widget did not indicate (via
dimming) that REF was selected, which could be confusing. Fixed.
15. Redesigned the waveform generator as a Function Generator
. The old waveform generator has been replace
with this new design. It introduces the ability to load user defined wave functions for replay (not yet
implemented). The wave functions support (up to) 1024 sample points per waveform period which means
quite complex waveforms can be programmed.
16. Redesigned generator control panel to use Act On Touch
. The generator control panel no longer uses the
complicated slider controls and paired parameters of the past. Instead the parameters work like every other
DSO parameter. This allows a more compact design which looks much better and works properly on all
platforms (including Mac!).
17. Created new Symmetry parameter for the function generator
. The function generator symmetry widget is
now operational. It works from 0 to 100% in 10% steps with vernier control and 50% reset upon center click.
18. Created new Frequency, Amplitude and Offset parameters
. These new widgets replace the old slider and edit
fields with act on touch equivalents. The Frequency parameter operates on a logarithmic basis in Hz and the
Amplitude and Offset operate on a linear basis in V (Volts). The waveform preview shows what is requested.
The main display shows what is actually generated (and captured). They may differ. When they do it will be
due to hardware constraints in the generator (which will vary depending on the model BitScope used) and or
the connection to BitScope and circuit the function generator is driving This is the main reason preview exists.
19. Created and used new parameter colour for mode selection
. Parameters that choose a mode of operation
now have their own colour. The first two parameters that use it are the wavefunction parameter of the
function generator and the main display mode parameter. They don't highlight (yet). More on this new
feature soon.
20. Fixed parameter widget highlights when parameter activated
. When a parameter has a value other than the
default (or tracking value) it is rendered in mute colours. When it is set to any other value it is highlighted to
indicate this. Previously several parameters failed to do this (e.g. display and data mode parameters) which
could be confusing for some users.
21. Improved voltage offset linearity used with BitScope Micro
. When large offsets are applied to an input signal
(via the offset control), DSO now has improved linearity reducing DC offset errors that could previously
appear. it is no longer necessary to zero the bias and create a new reference before making accurate DC
voltage measurements (when input offsets are applied to the input in all ranges except the largest).
22. Added frame rate control to DSO Data Recorder
. The selected frame rate (pop-up menu on the REPEAT
button) is now used to control the frame rate used by the data recorder upon replay. This makes it easy to
emulate time-lapse or slow motion replay for very slow or very fast moving signal sequences. For example, a
waveform that changes very slowly (e.g. over minutes) captured at 1Hz can be replayed at up to 100Hz
allowing slow transitions to be observed or very fast changes which are capture at up to 100Hz slowed down
the 1Hz or lower upon replay.

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BitScope DSO V 2.8 Release Notes

23. Added colour coding to recorder control parameter
. When the recorder is idle the parameter is shown in dim
ORANGE. When set to listen or record it's shown in RED and when set to review or replay it is shown in
GREEN. This provides more intuitive feedback about operation of the data recorder via the parameter.
24. Fixed $PATH modification bug in Windows package installer
. Backported to the previous build, this change
fixes a problem that some people experienced when installing BitScope DSO on a Windows PC where the
$PATH variable was longer than 1000 characters. The $PATH variable is no longer modified by the installer (it's
no longer necessary).
25. Added pop-up menu to function generator frequency
. The function generator frequency widget now
supports a pop-up menu of preset frequencies in a 1, 2, 5, 10 sequence. It's now easy to make a quick
selection of frequency from the menu and then adjust the frequency using the mouse if the nearest preset is
not exactly what you need.
26. Reworked (virtual) instrument (display) modes
. The following virtual display modes are now supported:
OSCILLOSCOPE a dual or quad trace digital oscilloscope
VECTORSCOPE an X-Y plotting oscilloscope
LOGIC ANALYZER a multi-channel logic analyzer
MIXED SIGNAL SCOPE a scope and logic analyzer in one
SPECTRUM ANALYZER a real-time spectrum analyzer
PHASE ANALYZER a real-time spectrum phase analyzer
MIXED DOMAIN SCOPE a scope and spectrum analyzer
These modes define how data is pre-processed and displayed and are selected per virtual instrument.
27. Updated function generator to use the BitScope model specifications
. The function generator frequency,
level and offset controls now observe the BitScope model specifications when setting their respective ranges.
It is no longer possible to (incorrectly) assign values to these parameters which will not work (because the
hardware is not capable of delivering the request).
28. Updated function generator selector to highlight upon enable
. The function generator selector (TONE, STEP
etc) now highlights when the generator is enabled. The values are still visible when disabled so they can be
changed (without affecting the output, until re-enabled). All the other parameters highlight when a
non-default value is selected.
29. Updated function generator level, offset and symmetry highlights
. When these parameters are assigned
their default values (or in future, when they are tracking another parameter) they are rendered without the
highlight. The default level is full-scale (e.g. 3.3V). The default offset is the mid-point at full-scale (e.g. 1.65V)
and the default symmetry is 50%.

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