The global distributor Digilent recently announced that the new Analog Discovery 3 test instrument will arrive in June and it will still be supported by the free software Waveforms which is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux.

The product page describes the following: “the AD3 boasts a larger-than-ever buffer size, allowing more data to be sent through the waveform generator and received through the mixed signal (analog and digital) oscilloscope. It also has an increased sampling rate of up to 125 MS/s on all channels and a more potent power supply (up to 800 mA). The larger buffers allow you to capture longer records at high resolution and enable more complex AWG signals.”

   
Analog Discovery 3 front and back
(click images to enlarge)

The AD3 design is still compact, although one of its main differences is that now it features a USB Type-C port compared to its predecessor.

Oscilloscope:

• Two differential channels w/ 14-bit resolution (up to 125 MS/s per channel with a +/-25 V) input range, 30+ MHz bandwidth w/ BNC Adapter
• User-configurable input filters and lock-in amplifier
• FFT, Spectrogram, Eye Diagram, XY Plot views, etc

Arbitrary Waveform Generator:

• Two channels with 14-bit resolution (up to 125 MS/s per channel w/ a +/-5 V output range; 12 MHz bandwidth w/ BNC Adapter)
• Standard waveforms, amplitude and frequency modulated signals, direct playback from analog inputs, custom waveforms, etc

Logic Analyzer and Pattern Generator:

• 16 digital I/O channels (up to 125 MS/s per channel)
• Individually-configurable 3.3 V digital inputs and outputs, 5V tolerant inputs
• SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, JTAG, ROM logic, custom protocols, and more

Programmable Power Supplies:

• 0.5 V to 5 V and -0.5 V to -5 V variable power supplies
• Up to 800 mA per channel when used with an auxiliary power source

Additional Features:

• Additional software instruments including:
  • Spectrum Analyzer, Network Analyzer, and Impedance Analyzer
  • Protocol Analyzer, virtual digital I/O such as buttons, switches, LEDs
  • Data logging, Voltmeter, in-app scripting
• SDK for hardware control in C, C++, Python, etc
• Support for LabVIEW and MATLAB

     
Analog Discovery 3 Kit (left) and demo (right)
(click images to enlarge)

The kit includes the AD3, 1x plastic project box, 1x USB-C cable, 1x 2x 15 flywire signal cable, 5-pack of 6-pin male header, 30-pin flywire labels. The testbench device is also compatible with other Digilent products such as a transistor tester, an impedance analyzer, a BNC adapter and the upcoming Audio adapter+.

Lastly, Digilent indicates that “the AD3 is built on the next generation Xilinx FPGA, opening up even more features and future enhancements over time with software updates.”

Analog Discovery 3
(click image to enlarge)