Digital Discovery FAQ

What is the Digital Discovery?
The Digital Discovery is a digital logic analyzer, pattern generator, and protocol analyzer.
I already have an Analog Discovery, do I need the Digital Discovery?
That depends on your intended use and requirements. The main differences in the two devices are in the specifications, as well as some additional features in the power supplies. The Digital Discovery has all the same digital features as the Analog Discovery 2 but at much higher spec and more channels. Mainly it boasts 800MS/s at 8 channels, 400MS/s at 16 channels, and 200MS/s at 32 channels.

The other difference is that the Digital Discovery allows you to choose what logic level you want the Digital pins to output and input in, and you can select the pin drive strength, which makes the Digital Discovery a more versatile embedded development tool.

If you are going into applications where you need flexibility in logic levels and drive current or higher speeds for communication or video, then a Digital Discovery would be a worthy purchase.

What's the difference between the Analog Discovery and Digital Discovery?
The Digital Discovery has all the same digital features as the Analog Discovery 2 but at much higher spec and more channels. The main differences in the two devices' digital tools are in the specifications, as well as some additional features in the power supplies. Mainly the Digital Discovery boasts 800MS/s at 8 channels, 400MS/s at 16 channels, and 200MS/s at 32 channels.

The other difference is that the Digital Discovery allows you to choose what logic level you want the Digital pins to output and input in, and you can select the pin drive strength, which makes the Digital Discovery a more versatile embedded development tool.

What software do I use?
The Digital Discovery comes with WaveForms, which is completely free and compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux. Make sure you download WaveForms 3.5.4 or later for Digital Discovery support.
What platform can I use the Digital Discovery on?
WaveForms runs on Mac, Linux, and Windows.
What is the sample rate?
The sample rate of the logic analyzer is configurable based on how many channels you select. At 32 channels the sample rate is up to 200 MS/s, at 16 channels the sample rate is up to 400 MS/s, and at 8 channels the sample rate is up to 800 MS/s. In order to achieve sample rates higher than 200 MS/s, the high speed adapter and logic probes must be used.

The sample rate of the pattern generator is 100 MS/s.

What protocols are supported in the Pattern Generator?
Communication via SPI, I2C, and UART are all automatically implemented in the Pattern Generator.
What protocol decoding is supported in the Logic Analyzer?
SPI, I2C, CAN, UART, and I2S decoding are all supported in the logic analyzer. You can also script a custom decoder if the communication protocol you require is not listed.
I have a question that isn't listed.
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