Here is a link to the Agilent web site and brochure for the LogicWave E9340A PC hosted logic analyzer. The data sheet will say almost everything so I need not repeat it here.



The PC Based software that runs the unit is one of the nicest Windoes programs I have ever used!! One can download the software from the Agilent web site to run it in a demo mode to see what it works like. In demo mode the software provides a built in set of capture data to the displays are realistic.

I purchased this unit about 3 years ago for about $3200 US. I do not need to use it often BUT it has been VERY VERY useful upon occasion to solve some problems. For example, I worked on a half duplex FSK serial bit stream transmission protocol last year that was implemented in a Dallas DS80C320 processor. All of the pulse timing was controlled using a state machine attached to the TIMER2 interrupt. The transmission used a military protocol of 640 bits per second by modulating a carrier between 4 cycles @ 2560 Hz for a zero and 5 cycles at 3200 Hz for a one. Debugging the protocol with a live piece of gear on the other end of the line was not possible with a debugger and break points/single stepping and thus the LogicWave came to the rescue.

I only have two things that I wish were different about the unit. First off...it has a USB port that to this day is not implemented. HP aka Agilent had originally told me at time of purchase to expect a software update that would permit interface to the PC via USB. One still has to use the parallel port interface to hook it up. The second thing I dislike is the fact that the internal clocking settings of the logic analyzer use a 1-2-4-8 sequence instead of the far more conventional 1-2-5-10 sequence.

My favorite way to use this unit is to connect it to a older Notebook computer. It makes it a quite portable testing solution. I even keep the LogicWave and its accessories in an used notebook computer satchel.

Michael Karas