New logic analysers said to be fast and easy to use - 13 July 2005

New logic analysers said to be fast and easy to use
13 July 2005, Test & Measurement

Tektronix has released two new logic analysers - the TLA7012 portable mainframe and TLA7016 benchtop mainframe.

These mainframes are compatible with all TLA modules and provide throughput that is at least three times faster than its previous mainframe models. This enables faster data analysis and more rapid zooming, searching, filtering and scrolling. Both use Windows XP Professional and the latest Intel Pentium processors.

High speed serial buses, especially multilane serial buses including second generation PCI Express and SATA III as well as double data rate (DDR II) memories, place new requirements on designers for accurately sampling at high speed and at the correct time. The increasingly sophisticated requirements necessitate flexibility, high performance, and ease of use. The new logic analysers provide modularity, throughput, high speed analysis, and ease of use to match engineering needs, says the company.

The new TLA7012 is a portable mainframe that can contain two modules allowing up to 272 channels of logic analysis capability, has an integrated 2 GHz Pentium M processor, and features a large high-resolution 15" active TFT display. Short-cut keys on the front-panel provide instant access to commonly-used menus and an optional touch screen allows access to all TLA functionality, making it suitable for very space-constrained or rack-mounted environments.

The new TLA7016 benchtop mainframe is able to support up to six modules, up from five modules in previous models. This allows designers of the latest technology, such as FB-DIMM, to use a single TLA7016 mainframe rather than the multiple mainframes required by other logic analyser vendors. The TLA7016 uses a customer-supplied PC or an optional 3 GHz Pentium 4 controller.

Customers can use mainframes individually, or combine portable and benchtop mainframes together for analysing and debugging more complex system problems.

The TLA7012 and TLA7016 also share a new generation of application software, TLA Application Software Version 5.0. This software provides a number of new capabilities to streamline operation including industry-first drag-and-drop automated measurements and triggering.

An enhanced user interface, featuring more intuitive navigation, reduces the number of clicks required to obtain information. Version 5.0 automates many of the measurement tasks that were previously accomplished manually. New measurements such as edge count, frequency, pulse width, and channel-to-channel delay are available for logic analyser data - similar to what is currently provided for DSO data.

For more information contact Channels Measurement Services, +27 (0)11 206 8368.