In today’s mailbag I received a box containing an IKALOGIC WS200 hand held scope and an SQ200 logic analyser.
These French-made units are oscilloscope and logic analyser respectively and they arrived in attractive packaging, directly from IKALOGIC in Limoges, France. Translations to English are spot-on, if only some others used the same care.
The packaging as it turns out was not only attractive but functional as the box arrived without any of the usual marks or dents.
To use these units it is necessary to visit the IKALOGIC web site to grab the software which is available for Windows/Mac/Linux/Android/IOS
First off, the WS200. I can honestly say, given my current recovery status, I was worried in case setup proved difficult, but my fears proved unfounded. These small units are easily set up (at least on a PC).
The scope software installed without issue which allowed me to have an initial play by connecting the supplied micro-USB/USB lead.
As the WIFI connection is used for data, USB for power, you initially need the Ikascope to use its own internal access point and set your device to work with this access point, however once that is done you can tell Ikascope from that point on to use your normal access point if you wish (as I do).
I could however find no way to tell it about my WIFI access point. I contacted support by email and sure enough they pointed me in the right direction. The unit initially sets up its own access point and then can be used by putting your mobile device onto that network and once you have done that initially, it can in future be joined to your existing network.
So now, I turn on my Ikascope by merely pressing the probe (ProbeClick) and it immediately connects to my access point.
There’s not much to the above picture simply because there isn’t much to see externally on the scope. No buttons to press, merely the probe to press (ProbeClick) to initiate a reading on your PC or mobile device on the downloadable “Ikascope” software. Simple. I like it.
The scope comes with the ground lead for the probe head and a USB lead for charging, along with a little setup card.
I’ve tested the unit on both my Windows laptop and Android smartphone. PC software shown above.
Here’s the Android phone screenshot.
Coming up next – a first look at SQ200..
The unit turns on automatically when connected to USB and the PC software has a clean interface. Of course, the software is also available for MAC and Linux, though not, it would seem, mobile Android/IOS devices.
The SQ200 unit has 4 inputs and handles a range of input voltages and supports a good range of protocols out of the box with more online.
Here we see the SQ200 unit running Scanastudio (3.0.14) on my laptop… testing I2c from a BME280 to an ESP8266 on Aidan’s new weather station.
I just purchased a Micsig TO1104 portable scope with 100Mhz and 4 channels and I got the decode options for free. It’s a little more expensive than the likes of the Rigol DS1054 (50Mhz) which can also get free decode options and probably out of reach of many hobbyists unless you are serious about your hobby but it is a very nice and easy to use scope with touch screen and is actually Android based. The display is a nice 8.1inch with capacitive touch. I got it for onsite work but also because it has 4 channels so debugging SPI will be easy with this. I paid $640 for it from a local supplier and that includes a hefty import charge. They are also listed on AliExpress.
Hi Dave, That Missig looks a nice bit of kit. Good price on Aliexpress too at about £400.00 or about £650.00 from Germany. I have the Rigol 1104Z which is also a nice bit of kit but the screen is smaller than the Micsig.
However, what I really like about the IKALOGIC devices is the fact that you can display / store / analyse the data on a larger screen if you wish. I use mine with my netbook, laptop and on my 28″ monitor in ascending screen size and its very easy to use.
Thank you Bob for your comment.
We wan’t wait to show you all the other features we are bringing in the next months… !
Assuming Ikalogic keep me up to date I’ll write more in the near future in here. Up to now I’m very pleased.
I have owned IKALOGIC devices for a few years including the newer SQ100. The devices themselves are really good and well made but it is the software that really stands out. IKALOGIC continually develop the software. I had some problems with a custom serial protocol they were easily solved using the logic analyser. Highly recommended
First this is actually pretty cool. I’ll need to check it out further but it’s at the tail end of a long list.
Might try to see if my hackerspace might put it on it’s list of future tools.
Hey Neil,
If your hackerspace is interested, we can offer “hobby / educational” discount 🙂
Thanks, I’ll check with the folks who handle the finances. We’re small so things may take awhile. But we eventually get what we need. 🙂