Agilent: Five Hints for Debugging Microcontroller-Based Designs

Hint 1: Verifying quadrature encoder signals in a motion control system Using a mixed analog and digital signal oscilloscope to simultaneously monitor the signal levels of a quadrature encoder, an LS7083 converter chip, and a motor's positive lead. Hint 2: Implementing a simple voltage follower using a digital pentiometer Using SPI triggering and deep memory to measure the analog input and digital output for an SPI interface. Hint 3: Monitoring a digital motor speed controller Using an AC/DC current probe and a mixed signal oscilloscope to perform various analog and digital measurements without interrupting the motor connections. Hint 4: Basic tilt sensing using a MEMS accelerometer Using deep memory to understand the temperature sensitivity of MEMS accelerometers. Hint 5: Implementing reliable serial communication with an RC oscillator Using a simple bit-timing method to synchronize clocks in asynchronous serial communications. It's almost impossible to design an electronic or electromechanical product these days without using a microcontroller (MCU). While there are plenty of interesting design challenges, the debugging tools for MCU-based designs haven't always kept up.