Google Research PRUDAQ is a 40MSPS ADC Data Acquisition (DAQ) Cape for BeagleBone Black & Green

Engineers at Google Research wanted to measure the strength of a carrier signals without having to use a bulky oscilloscope or DAQ (Data Acquisition) system,  so they looked into several makers boards to achieve this task, eventually decided to go with BeagleBone Black / Green, and created their own PRUDAQ cape capable of sampling 40 million samples per second, and open source it all.

PRUDAQ cape specifications:

• Dual-channel simultaneously-sampled 10-bit ADC (Analog Devices AD9201)
• Up to 20MSPS per channel (40MSPS total) theoretical
• 0-2V input voltage range (DC coupled)
• 4:1 analog switches in front of each channel provide a total of 8 single-ended analog inputs. (See here for differential input)
• SMA jacks for direct access to the 2 ADC channels
• Flexible clock options:
  • External input via SMA jack
  • Internal on-board 10MHz oscillator
  • Programmable clock from BeagleBone GPIO pins
• Powered via BeagleBone headers – no external power needed
• Fully exposed BeagleBone headers on top to connect/stack more electronics or another cape
• Dimensions – 87mm x 56mm (+/- 1mm)
• Weight – 29 grams

The complete software and hardware documentation can be found on the Wiki and source code and design files in Github. The software is based on BeagleLogic logic analyzer, and you can retrieve and analyze the data on your computer using the command line with a typical output looking like:

The Beaglebone Black already has an ADC input, but PRUDAQ allows for much faster sampling, suitable to capture radio waves for example. Bear in mind that it’s not really suitable to be used as an oscilloscope due to limitations such as 0 to 2V range, and others. Any specific questions about PRUDAQ project can be asked on PRUDAQ users Google Group.

While the add-on board has been designed by Google Research engineers, it is not a Google product, and it’s made by GetLab, and currently sold on GroupSets for $79 for the cape only, or $159 as a bundle with a BeagleBone Black, PRUDAQ cape, an 8GB micro SD card pre-loaded with BeagleLogic image, one 64GB USB 3.0 Thumb Drive, one BNC-M to SMA-M RG-58 Cable, a USB mini cable, and 3 jumpers.

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