Introduction to ScanaPLUS logic analyzers

Important Note: ScanaPLUS is a discontinued device and has been superseded by SP209 series logic analyzers. We - of course - continue to provide full support for the users who have purchased ScanaPLUS devices.

What is ScanaPLUS?

ScanaPLUS is a 9-channel logic analyzer with a 100MHz sampling rate. ScanaPLUS compresses and streams samples to the host computer.

ScanaPLUS logic analyzer device

Principle of operation

ScanaPLUS device mode of operation is illustrated in the image below: it samples the logic signals on all 9 channels at a maximum sampling frequency of 100 MHz, and records the exact time of each and every transition. In the same time, it compresses this data and streams it to a host computer running ScanaStudio. That implies that there is no need to adjust the sampling frequency and a number of samples to reach a compromise between sampling time and accuracy: With ScanaPLUS you can use the maximum sampling frequency without sacrificing memory usage.

ScanaPLUS principle of operation

Software

Just like all other Ikalogic logic analyzers, ScanaStudio software is needed to configure the logic analyzer, to download captured signals and to visualize them.

Currently, ScanaPLUS is not supported by latest ScanaStudio releases (5.1) however, it’s planned to reintroduce support for ScanaPLUS devices in future software releases.

For the time being, to use a ScanaPLUS device, you can download an older ScanaStudio version (V4.0) from the links below:

ScanaPLUS device drivers

Windows OS

ScanaPLUS device drivers are included and should be automatically installed with ScanaStudio software. Because certain system configurations may require manual installation, the following sections provide guide lines to perform driver install or update.

Manual driver setup on Windows

To setup the drivers manually, follow the following steps:

  1. Download the driver package from this url: https://cdn.ikalogic.com/dist/drivers/ScanaStudioDriver.zip
  2. Unzip the driver package to a known folder, (e.g. c:\ScanaStudioDriver\)
  3. Connect the device to a USB port on your computer (Important: avoid using any HUBs, connect directly to root USB port.)
  4. Open device manager and locate the device in the list. The device may be named “IKALOGIC Device”, “IKALOGIC COM PORT” or “USB Serial port” (even though a ScanaPLUS devices is not a serial port, until the driver is correctly installed, windows wont be able to correctly enumerate it). You may also disconnect and reconnect the device to see which device appears and disappears in the list. It’s also worth noting that if the device driver is not correctly installed, a yellow exclamation mark should be visible next to the device name in the list.
  5. Once the device is identified, right click on it and select “Update driver” (or an equivalent item depending on the language of your system).
  6. Follow the steps in order to specify the location of the driver on your computer.
  7. Provide the path to the drivers folder that was created in step 2.
  8. Follow the lasts steps in the wizard to finish installing the driver.

If the device is still not recognized at this point, we recommend installing the FTDI D2XX drivers that can be downloaded here: https://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/D2XX.htm

Linux and MacOS

ScanaPLUS devices uses an FTDI USB chip, loaded with a default FTDI PID/VID. A Proprietary PID was latter attributed to Ikalogic products: this prevents FTDI drivers from claiming the device as an FTDI serial COM port.

For older devices (like the ScanaPLUS), the loaded PID was not a proprietary one, and is shared with other FTDI Chip devices. Luckily, it is possible to update the PID of an older SQ device by launching the device compatibility wizard (which can be accessed from the top right settings menu in ScanaStudio software).

ScanaPLUS LED indications

ScanaPLUS LEDs

ScanaPLUS has two leds: 1: Power LED 2: Activity LED

The Power LED (1) - as the name implies - is tuned on when the ScanaPLUS device is correctly connected to USB port and powered up.

The activity LED (2) blinks whenever there is a logic state change that is detected on any of the 9 input channels.

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