New 1 minute video:

Show and Tell - Live broadcast

Are you unsure about backing this project? Perhaps a live demonstration will help you decide.

Sunday 2012/10/28 8am EST
Sunday 2012/10/28 8pm EST

I will post a link on my Twitter, and on my Google+ when the show begins.

Less than 48 hours to go!!!

With your help we reached our goal. But we are not over yet! We are trying to reach the $50,000 stretch goal. Please spread the word!

The Xprotolab is a combination of three electronic instruments: a mixed signal oscilloscope, an arbitrary waveform generator, and a protocol sniffer. The Xprotolab was awarded as one of the 100 Hot Products of 2011, by the EDN magazine. The Xprotolab has been featured in several other online magazines, such as Hack a Day. and Elektor.

The Xprotolab has been in development for several years, the hardware and firmware are stable. Now its time to put the device in an enclosure and add a rechargeable battery. The input connectors are going to be 3.5mm stereo audio plugs, and the logic port is going be a 0.1" male pin connector. The pictures below are from a hand made prototype.

Resources:
Xprotolab-Portable Schematics.
Xprotolab User's Manual

Original Xprotolab Videos:
General Overview
I2C Sniffer
AWG and Frequency Plots

The Xprotolab is small in size, small in price, but giant in features. You will find most (or more) features of a professional scope:

Features

· Mixed Signal Oscilloscope: Simultaneous sampling of 2 analog and 8 digital signals.
· Arbitrary Waveform Generator with advanced sweep options on all the wave parameters.
· Protocol Sniffer: SPI, I2C, UART
· Advanced Triggering System: Normal / Single / Auto / Free, with many trigger modes; adjustable trigger level, and ability to view signals prior to the trigger.
· Meter Mode: VDC, VPP and Frequency readout.
· XY Mode: For plotting Lissajous figures, V/I curves or checking the phase difference between two waveforms.
· Spectrum Analyzer with different windowing options and selectable vertical log and IQ visualization.
· Channel Math: add, multiply, invert, and average.
· Horizontal and Vertical Cursors with automatic waveform measurements, and waveform references.

Specifications

General Specifications

• ATXMEGA32A4U 36KB Flash, 4KB SRAM, 1KB EEPROM
• Graphic OLED display 1.3", 128x64 pixels
• Enclosure size: 3" x 2" x 0.7"
• Internal PDI interface
• 4 tactile switches
• USB connectivity: PC application available, Android App available.

Logic Analyzer Specifications

• 8 Digital Inputs, 3.3V or 5V compatible
• Maximum sampling rate: 2MSPS
• Frequency counter: 12Mhz
• Protocol Sniffer: UART, I2C, SPI
• Internal pull up or pull down.
• Buffer size: 256

Oscilloscope Specifications

• 2 Analog Inputs
• Maximum Sampling rate: 2MSPS
• Analog Bandwidth: 200kHz
• Resolution: 8bits
• Input Impedance: 1MΩ, 10pF
• Buffer size per channel: 256
• Input Voltage Range: -14V to +14V

Arbitrary Waveform Generator Specifications

• 1 Analog Output
• Maximum conversion rate: 1MSPS
• Analog Bandwidth: 50kHz
• Resolution: 8bits
• Output current > +/- 7mA
• Buffer size: 256
• Output Voltage: +/- 3V

I will be using a 600mAh Lipo battery (providing about 12 hours of use per charge) and a Hammond enclosure, the enclosure is big enough to allow a bigger display, I will use a 1.3" OLED. OLED provides very fast refresh rates and high contrast.

The funding will allow to build the first batch of devices in quantity.

Update: I'll include a 10:1 probe to the $100 reward.
Update: Add $5 to your pledge to get the custom curve tracer probe, even if we don't reach the $50k goal.