FRA4PicoScope Aaron Hexamer / Untitled project / FRA4PicoScope

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Overview, Main Features and Use Cases
Pull requests
This application provides Frequency Response Analysis (FRA) capabilities for the PicoScope instruments
Pipelines from Pico Technology. The FRA uses a common technique of frequency sweeping (in this case stepping),
and DFT extraction. The main output is a Bode plot of gain in dB and phase in degrees.
Deployments
FRA has several use cases, some of which may be limited by the capabilities of the scope. Some examples
include:
Jira issues
Filter characterization
Security Feedback loop analysis, to characterize control system stability and responsiveness
A subset of feedback loop analysis includes power supply stability analysis
Wiki General impedance measurements

Downloads The user supplies basic inputs such as channel settings, input signal amplitude, and sweep range. Once the
FRA is started, the execution is automated, including all necessary auto-ranging. Once the analysis is
complete, a plot of the data is displayed. This data can be exported into image files or raw data.

Screenshots
The following is an example screenshot from a FRA execution for a 1 kHz RC highpass filter.

The following is an example screenshot from an SMPS stability measurement (TPS5420EVM-175)

Basic use instructions

The first time the application is run, it will search for available scopes. If there is only one scope, it will just
use that one, otherwise it will ask the user to select one. From that point forward, the application will
 remember the most recently used scope and automatically open it on startup. The scope can be changed
by accessing the File->Connect Device menu.

The first time a scope is opened, default FRA settings are provided. The user should change these as
appropriate. Once settings are entered and the circuit being measured is connected, press the Go button. If
FRA4PicoScope the user needs to stop the execution for any reason, the Cancel button can be pressed. Once the FRA
execution is completed, the plot image or raw data can be exported by accessing these features from the
File menu.
Source
Modes of operation
Commits
There are two major modes of operation: Low noise and Noise reject. In Low noise mode, it is assumed
Branches that the background noise is minimal and thus only samples the data at a nominal oversampling of the
stimulus signal. This mode would be appropriate where a filter is being characterized in isolation. If there is
Pull requests significant noise, it may get aliased, leading to inaccurate results. The main advantage of this mode is that
it executes faster. In Noise reject mode, it is assumed that significant background noise exists that must be
Pipelines filtered out. In this mode, the sampling rate is as high as possible for the scope, or a modest oversampling
above the bandwidth limiter (where available). This mode would be appropriate for switched mode power
Deployments supply stability measurements, where ripple noise is significant compared to the injected stimulus.

Jira issues Settings description

For a detailed explanation on settings, see the settings documentation page.
Security

Wiki Obtaining the application

Downloads
Binary download
If you're not interested in building from source, a stock windows binary is available from the project
Downloads. For the FRA for PicoScope application to run correctly, you should have the PicoScope
SDK installed on your PC. Having only the PicoScope Application software installed may work as
well, but is not guaranteed. The PicoScope SDK can be downloaded and installed from the Pico
Technology website. Install the SDK for the operating system and processor architecture appropriate
for the FRA4PicoScope app (currently only Windows 32 bit)

Building from source

This application was developed in Visual Studio 2015 Community Edition. Other versions of Visual Studio
may work, but are not guaranteed. The main dependencies are the PicoScope SDK libraries, the PLplot
library with Qt, and the Boost library.

For detailed build steps, please see the Detailed Build Steps page.

If you would like to build FRA4PicoScope but would rather not build the PLplot or Qt libraries, I have
provided binaries of these libraries on the downloads page as well. Instructions for how these were built
are included in the Detailed Build Steps page.

Qt libs
PLplot debug libs
PLplot release libs

Compatibility
The current design of the application requires a PicoScope device that has at least 2 channels and a
function generator. This is unlikely to change in the near term for the following reasons. Firstly, it is
fundamentally important that the input and output signals be captured simultaneously. Lags between
input/output captures will directly impact phase measurements. While single channel devices could be
combined to capture an input and output, there are currently no mechanisms for these to be synchronized.
Secondly, using the internal function generator keeps the design simple: there's no need to pull in another
library to interface to a standalone function generator. Finally, use of the internal function generator has
the assumed advantage of sharing a common clock with the sampling subsystem. This avoids possible
inaccuracy caused by frequency mismatch between an external function generator and the scope; although
this may not be a practical concern.

Some devices are not compatible due to other unique impediments. For example, the PS3204 function
generator currently does not output a pure sine. Due to current design limitations, the application may
open incompatible scopes, but then report incompatibility when the user attempts to execute a FRA.

The application is designed to run in Windows XP SP3, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10.

Known limitations and issues

Some functional limitations can be due to the capabilities of the scope being used. These are
normally driven by the main specs such as bandwidth, sampling rates, resolution, range, and
function generator frequency and amplitude limitations.
 Outstanding bugs
The method of changing frequencies results in discontinuities in the function generator output.
When in AC coupling mode, the DC offsets introduced by these discontinuities take some time to
settle out. The program tries to adapt to this, but is not perfect. The main issue is at very low
FRA4PicoScope
frequencies where there can be a DC offset decay that appears in the captured data. This is largely
compensated by the DFT, but may affect noise measurement.

Source
Planned future enhancements
Commits Some enhancements are already partially implemented. They may appear to be available in the UI, but are
not completed.
Branches
Ability to send the plot to a printer
Pull requests Support calibration by running a "loopback" test and compensate for any gain/phase bias.
Interactive auto-ranging. This is the ability to ask the user to take actions upon reaching an auto-
Pipelines range limit. These could be switching the probe attenuation, turning on/off an amplifier, etc. The
user would indicate the action taken and the FRA could proceed.
Deployments Allow customizing colors on the plot (screen and image file).
User interactive cursors for the plot
Jira issues Make multi-platform (e.g. including Linux). This was an original design goal, but due to complexity
was abandoned. Much of the code is still portable and that which is not is mostly encapsulated.
Security
Version History
Wiki

Downloads Copyright and License:

Copyright (c) 2014-2017 by Aaron Hexamer

Frequency Response Analyzer for PicoScope is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version
3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

Frequency Response Analyzer for PicoScope is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,but WITHOUT
ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with Frequency Response
Analyzer for PicoScope. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.

Updated 2020-07-11