HDA125 Mixed-Signal Probe Tackles Real-World Test Issues

While it’s definitely nice that the new HDA125 digital analyzer from Teledyne LeCroy zips along at 12.5 GSamples/s on 18 input channels, a closer look shows that the story is more about addressing real-world embedded test and validation problems in the most practical and cost-effective manner possible.
Of course, that’s what all test vendors strive to accomplish. Nothing strange there, so you’d be forgiven for moving along at this point, but hang on a second. Yes, the sampling rate is high, and note too that the HDA125 is an external box that connects to any Teledyne LeCroy scope via the proprietary LBUS interface to synch triggers and timebases to the picosecond (Fig. 1).

1. The HDA125 is a high-speed mixed-signal analyzer and probe system that operates as an add-on to the Teledyne LeCroy WaveMaster line of scopes so you can get the functionality without buying a whole new mixed-signal oscilloscope.

That approach is also what grabbed my attention: modular is smart as it leverages the installed base of oscilloscopes to cater to current users’ needs, and helps keep costs down and provides flexibility. The system would typically be matched to one of the company’s WaveMaster 4- to 30-GHz scopes.
Then I noticed that the HDA125 itself costs up to $20,000 if you ordered a full, 18-channel leadset. That’s when I realized there was much more to the HDA125 than appeared at first blush.
Obviously, going from a regular DSO to an MSO has a cost differential associated with it. According to Teledyne LeCroy’s Patrick Connally, technical marketing engineer for high-bandwidth oscilloscopes, the cost differential is in the same ballpark as the cost of the full HDA125, “except you don’t get the lead set: and that’s a pretty high-tech piece of equipment.” He added that with competitors’ standalone MSOs, “that can be an extra $7,500 to get the bandwidth needed for [the high-speed] sample rate to be useful.”

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