LAB 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE USE OF THE

DIGILENT’S ANALOG DISCOVERY

1.A. OBJECTIVES

1. Building of an electrical circuit on a breadboard.

2. Using of the interfaces of the voltage generator and voltmeter.
3. Generating of electrical signals having predefined parameters.
4. Using of the oscilloscope Analog Discovery for visualizing the waveforms.

1.B. THEORY

Viewing and analyzing the waveforms of time-varying electrical signals in a circuit is done
using the oscilloscope. Dependence on power supply from the power network and its large
dimensions, combined with the fact that it can be part of complex measurement systems, makes the
oscilloscope not so easy to carry in case of field
interventions.

Digilent SUA created a complex

instrumentation system, known as Digilent Analog
Discovery, which provides several analog and digital
tools in a small portable device: oscilloscope, signal
generator, spectrum analyzer, voltmeter, power
supply and more (Figure 1). The USB-powered
Analog Discovery lets you measure, visualize,
analyze, record, and control mixed analog and digital
signal circuits of all kinds in virtually any
environment. The device must be connected to the
computer’s USB and uses the graphical interface, of
the WaveForms2015 application.

The Analog Discovery provides 15 pairs of

connectors, as shown in Figure 2:
‐ (1+;1-) (orange; orange and white) and
(2+;2-) (blue; blue and white) are two scope
channels;
‐ (; ) (black) are the ground pins. Figure 1. The system Analog Discovery
‐ (V+;V-) (red; white) are the power supply
pins;
‐ (W1;W2) (yellow, yellow and white) are waveform generator pins; each pin can independently
provide an electrical signal;
‐ (T1;T2) (grey; grey and white) are clock generator pins (trigger);
‐ the rest of the pins are the logical signal generator pins.

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 When the device is connected to a computer, all the signals can be saved in a database which is
further available in the WaveForms2015 application.
The workspace refers to the current state of any
instrument. The workspace can be saved and loaded
when reopened (the *dwfwork files).
The WaveForm’s Welcome tab has buttons for
each virtual instrument, as presented in Figure 3:
 Scope (two-channel oscilloscope)
 Wavegen (waveform generator)
 Supplies (voltage supplies)
 Voltmeter Logger (data recorder)
 Logic (logic analyzer)
 Patterns (digital signal generator)
 Static I/O (static digital input/output)
 Network (network analyzer)
Figure 2. The pins of the device
 Spectrum (spectrum analyzer)
 Analyzer (logic data analyzer)
 Protocol (communication protocol)
 Script (script instruments).

Scope has the interface as shown in Figure 4, with

two probes: pins (1+;1-) and (2+;2-) respectively. Its
interface allows us to display the waveforms, to
measure their properties (amplitude, frequency, offset,
noises, averages, etc.) and to edit a database for the
measurements.
Wave Generator (Figure 5) provides the
electrical signals at pins W1 and W2. The signals can
be independently generated. They can be periodic,
sweep, can be edited or imported from the computer’s
memory.
The voltage generator (Supplies) (Figure 6) has an
interface with a switch for the On/Off states and a bar
graph indicating the presence and the level of the
voltage.
The voltage generator can provide at connectors
(V+;V-) (red, white) a maximum value of ±5V
(limited by the USB connection to the computer).
Figure 3. The main menu of the
The 2-channels Voltmeter (Figure 7) measures the
WaveForms
voltages across the pins (1+;1-) and (2+;2-)
respectively.

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 Figure 4. The Scope interface

Figure 5. The WaveGen interface

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 Figure 6. The Supplies interface

Figure 7. The Voltmeter interface

The instruments of the Analog Discovery equipment presented here are necessary for carrying out
this laboratory work. As required by technical requirements, the other tools will be described in other
laboratory work.

1.C. PROBLEMS

1.C.1. Consider the circuit shown in Figure 8. The supply voltage is 9 V and the LED has the voltage
drop of 1.8 V. Find the resistor value if the current through the LED is 20 mA.

1.C.2. If the resistor value is 100 Ώ, find the power supply for the same circuit, the LED has the
voltage drop of 1.6 V and a forward current of 34 mA.

1.D. LABORATORY WORK

1. Building of an electrical circuit on a breadboard.

For a better understanding of how Analog Discovery works, we we’ll use a simple circuit,
composed by a resistor and a led, connected in series, as presented in Figure 8.

 Place the components of the circuit on a breadboard.

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 Figure 8. The schematic of the circuit

2. Using of the voltage generator

 Connect the Analog Device to your PC using the USB connector.

 Start the WaveForms application from the icon . The window from Figure 3 will
appear on the display.
 Start the interface of the voltage generator (Voltage). The display will show the window
from Figure 6.
 Using the jumpers, connect pin V+ to node 1 from Figure 8, and a ground pin to node 3.
 On the voltage generator set Positive Supply (+5V) to ready state (RDY), then set the
state Master Enable is ON. Positive Supply (+5V) will switch to ON. Now, pin V+
provides a voltage of +5V and the circuit is powered (the led is on). If Negative Supply (-
5V) is set ON, the pin V- provides a voltage of -5V.

3. Using the Voltmeter

 Select Voltmeter in the main window (Figure 3). There are actually two voltmeters,
having the probes (1+;1-) for channel 1 and (2+;2-) for channel 2.
 Using the jumpers, connect pin 1+ to V+. Notice the voltage of 5V (channel 1) on the
voltmeter’s display.
 Measure the voltage at V- on channel 2.
 Excite the circuit with the voltage of 5 V and display the voltage on the resistor on
channel 1 and the voltage on the LED on channel 2.
 Verify the Kirchhoff’s currents theorem for the circuit.

4. Using the signal generator.

 Open WaveGen from the Welcome window (Figure 3). This tool can generate two
distinct signals on channel 1 and channel 2 and send them to pins W1 and W2 by
pressing Run or Run All. When opening a new work session, only channel 1 shows. In
order to display also channel 2, you must check 2 in the Channels menu.
 The generated signals can be Simple, Basic (DC, sine, square, triangle, ramp up, ramp
down, noise, trapezium) or any other shape, which can be described using Custom. For
any signal, the following parameters can be changed: Type, Frequency, Amplitude,
Offset, Symmetry (the vertical symmetry) and Phase.
 On channel 1 display a sinusoidal signal with the frequency of 5 Hz, amplitude of 3 V,
offset 0 V, symmetry of 50 % and zero initial phase. Notice the displayed waveform.
 Generate then a rectangular, then a triangular signal, having the same parameters as
above.

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  Using the Custom mode, you can “build” the signal over one period. Press Custom, then
New from the menu. In the new window (WaveGen-Custom) you can set the parameters
of the signal.
 In Function menu generate the signal with the following characteristics:

Range Type Symmetry Amplitude Offset Phase

0% - 10% DC 0% 0% 00
10% - 30% Triangle 50% 80% 0% 00
30% - 40% DC 0% 0% 00
40% - 60% Square 50% 40% 0% 00
60% - 70% DC 0% 0% 00
70% - 100% Sine 50% 90% 0% 00

 Save the signal in C:\TEMP by pressing Export, then select type Data for the file.
Several signals can be generated in the same way, then loaded using Import button on
the Wavegen window.
 On channel 1: generate a triangular signal having the frequency of 1 Hz, amplitude of 5
V, the offset 0 V, symmetry of 50 % and initial phase of 00. The generated signal will be
found between W1 and a ground pin.
 Excite the circuit from Figure 8 with the previously generated signal, by connecting W1
to node 1 abd a ground pin to node 3. Press RUN. Notice how the circuit works. Change
the signal frequency and notice again. Change the amplitude of the signal with a value
from the range 0 ÷ 5 V and explain the functioning of the circuit.

5. Using the scope

 Open Scope interface (Scope from the Welcome window). Display and measure the
signal generated between channel 1 (1+; 1-) and channel 2 (2+; 2-).
 On channel 1 display a sinusoidal signal with the frequency of 5 Hz, amplitude of 2 V,
offset 1.8 V, symmetry of 50 % and zero initial phase. Change its parameters (one at a
time) and notice the effect on the scope.
 Use the previously generated signal as an excitation for the circuit shown in Figure 8, by
connecting W1 and a ground pin (black) to nodes 1 and 3 respectively. Connect scopes’
channels as follows: channel 1 between the terminals of the diode (1+ to anode, 1- to
cathode); channel 2 on the resistor (2+ to node 1 and 2- to node 2).
 Set the time base (Base) to 50 ms/div. Set for channel C1: Offset of 1.6 V and Range of 1
V/div. Set for channel C2: Offset of 0 V and Range of 1 V/div.
 Look at the displayed waveforms. Verify Kirchhoff’s’ theorems.
 Press Stop for sweep stop. Open Measurement from the View menu and select Defined
Measurement. For each channel measure the following: peak-to-peak voltage, amplitude,
maximum frequency, period, and duty-cycle. Explain the results.