EEVblog #858 - Red Pitaya

Dave tries to get the Red Pitaya up and running and doing some basic measurements via WiFi & Ethernet.
TLDR:
Many issues: apps freeze, WiFi didn't work, and the apps have only very basic rudimentary functionality. But it's promising, and probably a good solution for those who want to write their own custom (internet enabled or remote) apps or learn FPGA programming, or do custom SDR stuff to 50MHz.
Those that want an out-of-the-box DAQ scope/wavegen/spectrum/network analyser combo tool are better off with the Analog Discovery.

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[alfagulf]

I bought it last year and after one hour playing with it I decided to return it because I found it absolutely useless. I was hoping by now they would have improved it, but apparently they did not. thanks Dave for exposing its issues.

[Thesignalpath]

They have to decide how they want to market this. Is it a development platform for leaning how to program, etc? Or is it a test instrument that you can rely on to do debugging and get work done? The software needs a lot of work, but I can see the potential.

[OndrejPistek]

Thanks, it was so satisfying see this video. I considered bying this as scope/generator/analyzer instead of shelf devices. I bought shelf osciloscope and I'm saving money for rest of devices. That was realy good choice.

[MikeBrown-qpjn]

Hi everybody,
I am using Red Pitaya for more than a year and I have to say that I am 100% satisfied with the product. Also if something does not work they have a very responsive support. It is true that the Apps are not full of features but for 90% of people are more than enough. Regarding the user interface you mentioned to be empty but you have to bear in mind that the platform is cross compatible and works on all devices. So my opinion is very positive. Red Pitaya...keep the good work on!

[thomasdrew]

I have backed Red Pitaya when it was introduced on a Kickstarted and when they first release it the open software was really bad, but till then they are improving constantly and I must say that pro scope applications doest' lack any features for me, it has actually all the features basic Rigol has. And what I like most is that I can use this interface on any screen also with my tablet. I don't even use their WEB service, I just simply connect directly to it over WIFI.

[proluxelectronics]

Looks like they released the hardware expecting users to spend time writing better open source GUI interfaces, but if Pitaya's enthusiasm is not in it, Why bother??

[erikgraham]

I have played with this device at the Embedded World in Nuremberg at Mouser's booth and I was very surprised about how well the oscilloscope was running from the WEB browser. I didn't notice the problems Dave did, and I plan to order one soon. Anyhow I did notice that device get's pretty hot, but is probably normal when for board that has CPU+FPGA.

[MatjazVencelj]

I have one of these. I can confirm the web server is running on-board the gadget. I use it locally, regardless of the web uplink.

[sebastiankossak]

I have followed the debate and checked more about this product, and I think there are many people here that are just posting some complains that makes no sense at all. It is clear from the specs. that this thing is running at 125Msps and it has 2 outputs and 2 inputs both 14bits with Xilinx CPU and FPGA on it and it also has 1Gbit ethernet, so I guess the price is very low even for just a board without any software. I believe that 1Gsps ethernet connection should be fair enough to offer a good refresh rates, and since all the applications are constantly failing in the video I believe this is a problem of Dave's network or maybe some router settings. I noticed there are many videos online from other users that didn't have such problems..

[magicwoody]

I'm building actual a Ham Radio TRX with the Red Pitaya, turning it in a wonderful SDR.

[davidhorvath]

As an IT guys who wanna have some education about electronics the question "what server" causedd so much pain I cryed :'(

[SootySweep]

This login/registration business is total bullshit. I just want to use the product, I don't want you to know who i am. It seems half the value of tech companies nowadays is how many registered users you've got. Pass.

[CristiNeagu]

As for the freezes, maybe thermal throttling. It maybe needs some thermal paste on that radiator.

[shmehfleh]

Hey man, why you gotta be that way toward us network nerds?

[killymxi]

Dave, you're not the only one having issues.
And check how much they charge for these "PRO" applications. That looks stupid in current state of things.

[GeorgeWMays]

Hi Dave. Power supply. This thing likely draws a fair amount of power. Give it 2+ amps to work with and see if it smooths out. Other reviewers don't seem to have the problems that you are seeing. And, what do you have against network guyz?

[hezik]

Maybe time for a revisit? I received mine a few days ago, and it has been rock stable.. both over wifi and over ethernet. As it is right now, you unintentionally trash this device, read the responses, people say things like "glad I didn't buy it". I'm glad I did, for my purposes the capabilities of this device in respect to oscilloscope, signal generator, and so on, are sufficient, and had I bought all these devices as seperate hardware devices, i'd be out like at least triple the money, and have a bench full of clunky devices looking like we're still living in the 80's.. I suspect the issue you had with stability, had to do with one of three things; a powersupply that doesn't cut it (although it came with it); disturbed or isufficient cooling or the fact that you had both ethernet and wifi on it. My money would be on the last, as what you're experiencing looks like typical networking errors. The device runs Ubuntu linux 16.04, so networking should not be an issue.

I have used it both wired with standard internet (100Mbit) and wireless with a non-red-pitaya conformant dongle. The latter is easily done, as it's just ubunutu and support damn near every wifi dongle on the market. Why they thought they had to make their own 'network manager' bound to a single device, is beyond me.

In any case, I have been using it now for hours straight without any hiccups. Other issues you mention, like the poor UI design on the oscilloscope, still exist ofcourse.

What people shouldn't forget; it's open source. So if you don't like the UI, you can actualy change it. Try doing that on your rigol ;)

[Eletronicafg]

Dave, did you've tried to update the SD card Linux image? Maybe they solved some of the stability issues.

[revealingfactsall]

how can it be worth the money if the dam thing keeps freezing up. running in a browser is a complete fail. for $238, there is no way at that price point would I put up with buggy and freezing software.

[Mixbag]

any plans to do more PCB BUILD AND DESIGN VIDEOS?