Are you a hardware or firmware developer struggling with debugging complex systems? Look no further than the Active-Pro, a powerful real-time firmware and hardware debugger that promises to revolutionize your debugging experience. In this Voltlog review, I take a deep dive into the capabilities of the Active-Pro, and I must say, I was truly impressed.
This little tool packs a punch, offering a level of debug capability that is unmatched in the market. One of the standout features of the Active-Pro is its Active Debug interface, which allows you to integrate a snippet of code into your firmware. This code enables you to output any data you want via a standard printf, which is then captured and analyzed in the provided software.
Imagine being able to visualize digital inputs, analog inputs, various triggers, current waveforms, debug messages, and internal variables all within the same interface, all time-synced. It’s a game-changer! But that’s not all. The Active-Pro also functions as a logic analyzer, allowing you to capture and analyze digital inputs, digital outputs, and analog inputs in a familiar logic analyzer style.
Additionally, it supports hardware decoding for various protocols, including I2C, SPI, CAN, and LIN, with future support promised for USB and more. During my review, I put together a simple test setup involving an ESP32 reading an accelerometer over I2C. I was able to monitor the I2C traffic, debug messages, and internal variables simultaneously, all while leveraging the software’s powerful Packet Presenter feature, which decoded the raw data into meaningful information.
One of the most impressive aspects of the Active-Pro is its ability to monitor multiple devices simultaneously. You can have different processors, programmed with different IDEs, communicating with each other and other peripherals, and monitor the data flow between them on a single interface. It’s a level of integration that I haven’t seen in any other product.