Libiio command line utility#

Libiio provides five main userspace help/utilities to ease development of software interfacing Linux Industrial I/O (IIO) devices:

  • iio_attr : read and write IIO attributes.

  • iio_info : dump the IIO attributes.

  • iio_readdev : read an IIO buffer device.

  • iio_writedev : write an IIO buffer device.

  • iio_reg : read or write SPI or I2C registers in an IIO device (useful to debug drivers).

iio_reg#

iio_reg is part of the Libiio package and allows to read or write SPI or I2C registers in an IIO device (useful to debug drivers):

~$
iio_reg -h
Usage:

iio_reg <device> <register> [<value>]

Running Remote#

The iio_reg application can also connect to a libiio remote device via IP. Prior in running iio_reg set the IIOD_REMOTE environmental variable.

~$
export IIOD_REMOTE=IP address of the remote platform

Finding#

An IIO context can have multiple logical devices, and sometimes not all devices will have a specific register interface. To find out which IIO device support register access, try (remember that iio_attr supports a -D option to look for debug attributes).

~$
iio_attr  -u ip:192.168.2.1 -D
IIO context has 4 devices:
    iio:device0, ad9361-phy: found 179 debug attributes
    iio:device1, xadc: found 0 debug attributes
    iio:device2, cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc: found 1 debug attributes
    iio:device3, cf-ad9361-lpc: found 2 debug attributes
~$
iio_attr  -u ip:192.168.2.1 -D . direct_reg_access
dev 'ad9361-phy', debug attr 'direct_reg_access', value :'0x0'
dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', debug attr 'direct_reg_access', value :'0x90162'
dev 'cf-ad9361-lpc', debug attr 'direct_reg_access', value :'0x0'

From here you can see the three different devices that support the iio_reg tool.

Example#

~$
iio_reg ad9361-phy 0x3
0x5c

iio_attr#

iio_attr is part of the Libiio package, and allows to read and write IIO attributes:

~$
iio_attr -h
Usage:
        iio_attr [OPTION]...    -d [device] [attr] [value]
                                -c [device] [channel] [attr] [value]
                                -B [device] [attr] [value]
                                -D [device] [attr] [value]
                                -C [attr]
Options:
        -h, --help           : Show this help and quit.
        -I, --ignore-case    : Ignore case distinctions.
        -q, --quiet          : Return result only.
        -a, --auto           : Use the first context found.
Optional qualifiers:
        -u, --uri            : Use the context at the provided URI.
        -i, --input-channel  : Filter Input Channels only.
        -o, --output-channel : Filter Output Channels only.
Attribute types:
        -s, --scan-channel   : Filter Scan Channels only.
        -d, --device-attr    : Read/Write device attributes
        -c, --channel-attr   : Read/Write channel attributes.
        -C, --context-attr   : Read IIO context attributes.
        -B, --buffer-attr    : Read/Write buffer attributes.
        -D, --debug-attr     : Read/Write debug attributes.

Examples#

Look at Context Attributes#

~$
iio_attr -a -C
Using auto-detected IIO context at URI "usb:3.8.5"
IIO context with 14 attributes:
hw_model: Analog Devices PlutoSDR Rev.B (Z7010-AD9364)
hw_model_variant: 0
hw_serial: 104473222a87000618000600473ed57ae0
fw_version: v0.31
ad9361-phy,xo_correction: 40000000
ad9361-phy,model: ad9364
local,kernel: 4.14.0-42540-g387d584
usb,idVendor: 0456
usb,idProduct: b673
usb,release: 2.0
usb,vendor: Analog Devices Inc.
usb,product: PlutoSDR (ADALM-PLUTO)
usb,serial: 104473222a87000618000600473ed57ae0
usb,libusb: 1.0.22.11312

List Devices in a Context#

~$
iio_attr -u usb:3.8.5 -d
IIO context has 5 devices:
    iio:device0: adm1177, found 0 device attributes
    iio:device1: ad9361-phy, found 18 device attributes
    iio:device2: xadc, found 1 device attributes
    iio:device3: cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc, found 0 device attributes
    iio:device4: cf-ad9361-lpc, found 0 device attributes
~$
iio_attr -u usb:3.8.5 -c
IIO context has 5 devices:
    iio:device0: adm1177, found 2 channels
    iio:device1: ad9361-phy, found 9 channels
    iio:device2: xadc, found 10 channels
    iio:device3: cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc, found 6 channels
    iio:device4: cf-ad9361-lpc, found 2 channels

List Channel attributes#

The . can be used as a wildcard if you don’t know the name.

~$
iio_attr -u ip:192.168.2.1 -c adm1177 .
dev 'adm1177', channel 'voltage0' (input), attr 'raw', value '771'
dev 'adm1177', channel 'voltage0' (input), attr 'scale', value '6.433105468'
dev 'adm1177', channel 'current0' (input), attr 'raw', value '776'
dev 'adm1177', channel 'current0' (input), attr 'scale', value '0.516601562'

Read a channel attributes#

~$
iio_attr -u ip:192.168.2.1 -c ad9361-phy RX_LO
dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'RX_LO', attr 'external', value '0'
dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'RX_LO', attr 'fastlock_load', value '0'
dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'RX_LO', attr 'fastlock_recall', ERROR: Invalid argument (-22)
dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'RX_LO', attr 'fastlock_save', value '0 242,198,163,125,228,163,171,195,167,187,179,163,241,167,187,167'
dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'RX_LO', attr 'fastlock_store', value '0'
dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'RX_LO', attr 'frequency', value '2400000000'
dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'RX_LO', attr 'frequency_available', value '[70000000 1 6000000000]'
dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'RX_LO', attr 'powerdown', value '0'
~$
iio_attr -u ip:192.168.2.1 -c ad9361-phy RX_LO frequency
dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'RX_LO', attr 'frequency', value '2400000000'

Write to a channel attribute#

~$
iio_attr -u ip:192.168.2.1 -c ad9361-phy RX_LO frequency 2400000100
dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'RX_LO', attr 'frequency', value '2400000000'
wrote 11 bytes to frequency
dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'RX_LO', attr 'frequency', value '2400000100'

iio_info#

iio_info is part of the Libiio package and allows to dump the IIO attributes:

~$
iio_info -h
Usage:
        iio_info [-x <xml_file>]
        iio_info [-n <hostname>]
        iio_info [-u <uri>]

Options:
        -h, --help
                        Show this help and quit.
        -x, --xml
                        Use the XML backend with the provided XML file.
        -n, --network
                        Use the network backend with the provided hostname.
        -u, --uri
                        Use the context at the provided URI.
        -s, --scan
                        Scan for available backends.
        -a, --auto
                        Scan for available contexts and if only one is available use it.

Example#

~$
iio_info
Library version: 0.15 (git tag: v0.15)
Compiled with backends: local xml ip usb serial
IIO context created with local backend.
Backend version: 0.15 (git tag: v0.15)
Backend description string: Linux pluto 4.9.0-10475-g2398d50 #263 SMP PREEMPT Mon Aug 20 15:30:08 CEST 2018 armv7l
IIO context has 7 attributes:
        hw_model: Analog Devices PlutoSDR Rev.B (Z7010-AD9363)
        hw_model_variant: 1
        hw_serial: 104400b83991001807001100968f65adac
        fw_version: v0.29
        ad9361-phy,xo_correction: 39999853
        ad9361-phy,model: ad9364
        local,kernel: 4.9.0-10475-g2398d50
IIO context has 5 devices:
        iio:device3: cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc (buffer capable)
                6 channels found:
                        voltage0:  (output, index: 0, format: le:S16/16>>0)
                        4 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: calibscale value: 1.000000
                                attr  1: calibphase value: 0.000000
                                attr  2: sampling_frequency_available value: 30720000 3840000
                                attr  3: sampling_frequency value: 30720000
                        voltage1:  (output, index: 1, format: le:S16/16>>0)
                        4 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: calibphase value: 0.000000
                                attr  1: calibscale value: 1.000000
                                attr  2: sampling_frequency_available value: 30720000 3840000
                                attr  3: sampling_frequency value: 30720000
                        altvoltage3: TX1_Q_F2 (output)
                        5 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: raw value: 1
                                attr  1: phase value: 0
                                attr  2: frequency value: 9279985
                                attr  3: scale value: 0.000000
                                attr  4: sampling_frequency value: 30720000
                        altvoltage1: TX1_I_F2 (output)
                        5 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: phase value: 90000
                                attr  1: scale value: 0.000000
                                attr  2: raw value: 1
                                attr  3: frequency value: 9279985
                                attr  4: sampling_frequency value: 30720000
                        altvoltage0: TX1_I_F1 (output)
                        5 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: phase value: 90000
                                attr  1: scale value: 0.000000
                                attr  2: frequency value: 9279985
                                attr  3: raw value: 1
                                attr  4: sampling_frequency value: 30720000
                        altvoltage2: TX1_Q_F1 (output)
                        5 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: raw value: 1
                                attr  1: phase value: 0
                                attr  2: frequency value: 9279985
                                attr  3: scale value: 0.000000
                                attr  4: sampling_frequency value: 30720000
                2 buffer-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: watermark value: 2048
                                attr  1: data_available value: 0
                1 debug attributes found:
                                debug attr  0: direct_reg_access value: 0x90062
        iio:device1: ad9361-phy
                9 channels found:
                        altvoltage1: TX_LO (output)
                        8 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: external value: 0
                                attr  1: frequency value: 2450000000
                                attr  2: fastlock_store value: 0
                                attr  3: fastlock_recall ERROR: Invalid argument (-22)
                                attr  4: powerdown value: 0
                                attr  5: fastlock_save value: 0 218,218,218,218,218,218,218,218,218,218,218,218,218,218,218,218
                                attr  6: frequency_available value: [46875001 1 6000000000]
                                attr  7: fastlock_load value: 0
                        voltage0:  (input)
                        15 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: hardwaregain_available value: [-3 1 71]
                                attr  1: hardwaregain value: 71.000000 dB
                                attr  2: rssi value: 115.50 dB
                                attr  3: rf_port_select value: A_BALANCED
                                attr  4: gain_control_mode value: slow_attack
                                attr  5: rf_port_select_available value: A_BALANCED B_BALANCED C_BALANCED A_N A_P B_N B_P C_N C_P TX_MONITOR1 TX_MONITOR2 TX_MONITOR1_2
                                attr  6: rf_bandwidth value: 18000000
                                attr  7: rf_dc_offset_tracking_en value: 1
                                attr  8: sampling_frequency_available value: [2083333 1 61440000]
                                attr  9: quadrature_tracking_en value: 1
                                attr 10: sampling_frequency value: 30720000
                                attr 11: gain_control_mode_available value: manual fast_attack slow_attack hybrid
                                attr 12: filter_fir_en value: 0
                                attr 13: rf_bandwidth_available value: [200000 1 56000000]
                                attr 14: bb_dc_offset_tracking_en value: 1
                        voltage3:  (output)
                        8 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: scale value: 1.000000
                                attr  1: raw value: 306
                                attr  2: sampling_frequency_available value: [2083333 1 61440000]
                                attr  3: rf_port_select_available value: A B
                                attr  4: filter_fir_en value: 0
                                attr  5: sampling_frequency value: 30720000
                                attr  6: rf_bandwidth_available value: [200000 1 40000000]
                                attr  7: rf_bandwidth value: 18000000
                        altvoltage0: RX_LO (output)
                        8 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: frequency_available value: [70000000 1 6000000000]
                                attr  1: fastlock_save value: 0 220,220,220,220,220,220,220,220,220,220,220,220,220,220,220,220
                                attr  2: powerdown value: 0
                                attr  3: fastlock_load value: 0
                                attr  4: fastlock_store value: 0
                                attr  5: frequency value: 2399999998
                                attr  6: external value: 0
                                attr  7: fastlock_recall ERROR: Invalid argument (-22)
                        voltage2:  (output)
                        8 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: raw value: 306
                                attr  1: scale value: 1.000000
                                attr  2: sampling_frequency_available value: [2083333 1 61440000]
                                attr  3: rf_port_select_available value: A B
                                attr  4: filter_fir_en value: 0
                                attr  5: sampling_frequency value: 30720000
                                attr  6: rf_bandwidth_available value: [200000 1 40000000]
                                attr  7: rf_bandwidth value: 18000000
                        temp0:  (input)
                        1 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: input value: 33333
                        voltage0:  (output)
                        10 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: rf_port_select value: A
                                attr  1: hardwaregain value: -10.000000 dB
                                attr  2: rssi value: 0.00 dB
                                attr  3: hardwaregain_available value: [0 250 89750]
                                attr  4: sampling_frequency_available value: [2083333 1 61440000]
                                attr  5: rf_port_select_available value: A B
                                attr  6: filter_fir_en value: 0
                                attr  7: sampling_frequency value: 30720000
                                attr  8: rf_bandwidth_available value: [200000 1 40000000]
                                attr  9: rf_bandwidth value: 18000000
                        voltage2:  (input)
                        13 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: offset value: 57
                                attr  1: scale value: 0.305250
                                attr  2: raw value: 1049
                                attr  3: rf_port_select_available value: A_BALANCED B_BALANCED C_BALANCED A_N A_P B_N B_P C_N C_P TX_MONITOR1 TX_MONITOR2 TX_MONITOR1_2
                                attr  4: rf_bandwidth value: 18000000
                                attr  5: rf_dc_offset_tracking_en value: 1
                                attr  6: sampling_frequency_available value: [2083333 1 61440000]
                                attr  7: quadrature_tracking_en value: 1
                                attr  8: sampling_frequency value: 30720000
                                attr  9: gain_control_mode_available value: manual fast_attack slow_attack hybrid
                                attr 10: filter_fir_en value: 0
                                attr 11: rf_bandwidth_available value: [200000 1 56000000]
                                attr 12: bb_dc_offset_tracking_en value: 1
                        out:  (input)
                        1 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: voltage_filter_fir_en value: 0
                18 device-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: dcxo_tune_coarse ERROR: No such device (-19)
                                attr  1: rx_path_rates value: BBPLL:983040007 ADC:245760001 R2:122880000 R1:61440000 RF:30720000 RXSAMP:30720000
                                attr  2: trx_rate_governor value: nominal
                                attr  3: calib_mode_available value: auto manual manual_tx_quad tx_quad rf_dc_offs rssi_gain_step
                                attr  4: xo_correction_available value: [39991854 1 40007852]
                                attr  5: gain_table_config value: <gaintable AD9361 type=FULL dest=3 start=1300000000 end=4000000000>
                                attr  6: dcxo_tune_fine ERROR: No such device (-19)
                                attr  7: dcxo_tune_fine_available value: [0 0 0]
                                attr  8: ensm_mode_available value: sleep wait alert fdd pinctrl pinctrl_fdd_indep
                                attr  9: multichip_sync ERROR: Permission denied (-13)
                                attr 10: rssi_gain_step_error value: lna_error: 0 0 0 0 mixer_error: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  gain_step_calib_reg_val: 0 0 0 0 0
                                attr 11: dcxo_tune_coarse_available value: [0 0 0]
                                attr 12: tx_path_rates value: BBPLL:983040007 DAC:122880000 T2:122880000 T1:61440000 TF:30720000 TXSAMP:30720000
                                attr 13: trx_rate_governor_available value: nominal highest_osr
                                attr 14: xo_correction value: 39999853
                                attr 15: ensm_mode value: fdd
                                attr 16: filter_fir_config value: FIR Rx: 0,0 Tx: 0,0
                                attr 17: calib_mode value: auto
                178 debug attributes found:
                                debug attr  0: digital_tune value: 0
                                debug attr  1: calibration_switch_control value: 0
                                debug attr  2: multichip_sync value: 0
                                debug attr  3: gaininfo_rx2 ERROR: Resource temporarily unavailable (-11)
                                debug attr  4: gaininfo_rx1 value: 71 76 0 0 0 0 0 0
                                debug attr  5: bist_timing_analysis value: 0
                                debug attr  6: bist_tone value: 0
                                debug attr  7: bist_prbs value: 0
                                debug attr  8: loopback value: 0
                                debug attr  9: initialize value: 0
                                debug attr 10: adi,txmon-2-lo-cm value: 48
                                debug attr 11: adi,txmon-1-lo-cm value: 48
                                debug attr 12: adi,txmon-2-front-end-gain value: 2
                                debug attr 13: adi,txmon-1-front-end-gain value: 2
                                debug attr 14: adi,txmon-duration value: 8192
                                debug attr 15: adi,txmon-delay value: 511
                                debug attr 16: adi,txmon-one-shot-mode-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 17: adi,txmon-dc-tracking-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 18: adi,txmon-high-gain value: 24
                                debug attr 19: adi,txmon-low-gain value: 0
                                debug attr 20: adi,txmon-low-high-thresh value: 37000
                                debug attr 21: adi,gpo3-tx-delay-us value: 0
                                debug attr 22: adi,gpo3-rx-delay-us value: 0
                                debug attr 23: adi,gpo2-tx-delay-us value: 0
                                debug attr 24: adi,gpo2-rx-delay-us value: 0
                                debug attr 25: adi,gpo1-tx-delay-us value: 0
                                debug attr 26: adi,gpo1-rx-delay-us value: 0
                                debug attr 27: adi,gpo0-tx-delay-us value: 0
                                debug attr 28: adi,gpo0-rx-delay-us value: 0
                                debug attr 29: adi,gpo3-slave-tx-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 30: adi,gpo3-slave-rx-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 31: adi,gpo2-slave-tx-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 32: adi,gpo2-slave-rx-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 33: adi,gpo1-slave-tx-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 34: adi,gpo1-slave-rx-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 35: adi,gpo0-slave-tx-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 36: adi,gpo0-slave-rx-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 37: adi,gpo3-inactive-state-high-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 38: adi,gpo2-inactive-state-high-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 39: adi,gpo1-inactive-state-high-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 40: adi,gpo0-inactive-state-high-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 41: adi,gpo-manual-mode-enable-mask value: 0
                                debug attr 42: adi,gpo-manual-mode-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 43: adi,aux-dac2-tx-delay-us value: 0
                                debug attr 44: adi,aux-dac2-rx-delay-us value: 0
                                debug attr 45: adi,aux-dac2-active-in-alert-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 46: adi,aux-dac2-active-in-tx-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 47: adi,aux-dac2-active-in-rx-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 48: adi,aux-dac2-default-value-mV value: 0
                                debug attr 49: adi,aux-dac1-tx-delay-us value: 0
                                debug attr 50: adi,aux-dac1-rx-delay-us value: 0
                                debug attr 51: adi,aux-dac1-active-in-alert-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 52: adi,aux-dac1-active-in-tx-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 53: adi,aux-dac1-active-in-rx-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 54: adi,aux-dac1-default-value-mV value: 0
                                debug attr 55: adi,aux-dac-manual-mode-enable value: 1
                                debug attr 56: adi,aux-adc-decimation value: 256
                                debug attr 57: adi,aux-adc-rate value: 40000000
                                debug attr 58: adi,temp-sense-decimation value: 256
                                debug attr 59: adi,temp-sense-periodic-measurement-enable value: 1
                                debug attr 60: adi,temp-sense-offset-signed value: 206
                                debug attr 61: adi,temp-sense-measurement-interval-ms value: 1000
                                debug attr 62: adi,elna-gaintable-all-index-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 63: adi,elna-rx2-gpo1-control-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 64: adi,elna-rx1-gpo0-control-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 65: adi,elna-bypass-loss-mdB value: 0
                                debug attr 66: adi,elna-gain-mdB value: 0
                                debug attr 67: adi,elna-settling-delay-ns value: 0
                                debug attr 68: adi,ctrl-outs-enable-mask value: 255
                                debug attr 69: adi,ctrl-outs-index value: 0
                                debug attr 70: adi,rssi-duration value: 1000
                                debug attr 71: adi,rssi-wait value: 1
                                debug attr 72: adi,rssi-delay value: 1
                                debug attr 73: adi,rssi-unit-is-rx-samples-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 74: adi,rssi-restart-mode value: 3
                                debug attr 75: adi,fagc-adc-large-overload-inc-steps value: 2
                                debug attr 76: adi,fagc-power-measurement-duration-in-state5 value: 64
                                debug attr 77: adi,fagc-rst-gla-if-en-agc-pulled-high-mode value: 0
                                debug attr 78: adi,fagc-rst-gla-en-agc-pulled-high-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 79: adi,fagc-rst-gla-large-lmt-overload-enable value: 1
                                debug attr 80: adi,fagc-rst-gla-large-adc-overload-enable value: 1
                                debug attr 81: adi,fagc-energy-lost-stronger-sig-gain-lock-exit-cnt value: 8
                                debug attr 82: adi,fagc-rst-gla-engergy-lost-sig-thresh-below-ll value: 10
                                debug attr 83: adi,fagc-rst-gla-engergy-lost-goto-optim-gain-enable value: 1
                                debug attr 84: adi,fagc-rst-gla-engergy-lost-sig-thresh-exceeded-enable value: 1
                                debug attr 85: adi,fagc-rst-gla-stronger-sig-thresh-above-ll value: 10
                                debug attr 86: adi,fagc-optimized-gain-offset value: 5
                                debug attr 87: adi,fagc-rst-gla-stronger-sig-thresh-exceeded-enable value: 1
                                debug attr 88: adi,fagc-use-last-lock-level-for-set-gain-enable value: 1
                                debug attr 89: adi,fagc-gain-index-type-after-exit-rx-mode value: 0
                                debug attr 90: adi,fagc-gain-increase-after-gain-lock-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 91: adi,fagc-final-overrange-count value: 3
                                debug attr 92: adi,fagc-lmt-final-settling-steps value: 1
                                debug attr 93: adi,fagc-lpf-final-settling-steps value: 1
                                debug attr 94: adi,fagc-lock-level-gain-increase-upper-limit value: 5
                                debug attr 95: adi,fagc-lock-level-lmt-gain-increase-enable value: 1
                                debug attr 96: adi,fagc-lp-thresh-increment-steps value: 1
                                debug attr 97: adi,fagc-lp-thresh-increment-time value: 5
                                debug attr 98: adi,fagc-allow-agc-gain-increase-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 99: adi,fagc-state-wait-time-ns value: 260
                                debug attr 100: adi,fagc-dec-pow-measurement-duration value: 64
                                debug attr 101: adi,agc-immed-gain-change-if-large-lmt-overload-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 102: adi,agc-immed-gain-change-if-large-adc-overload-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 103: adi,agc-gain-update-interval-us value: 1000
                                debug attr 104: adi,agc-sync-for-gain-counter-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 105: adi,agc-dig-gain-step-size value: 4
                                debug attr 106: adi,agc-dig-saturation-exceed-counter value: 3
                                debug attr 107: adi,agc-lmt-overload-large-inc-steps value: 2
                                debug attr 108: adi,agc-lmt-overload-small-exceed-counter value: 10
                                debug attr 109: adi,agc-lmt-overload-large-exceed-counter value: 10
                                debug attr 110: adi,agc-adc-lmt-small-overload-prevent-gain-inc-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 111: adi,agc-adc-large-overload-inc-steps value: 2
                                debug attr 112: adi,agc-adc-large-overload-exceed-counter value: 10
                                debug attr 113: adi,agc-adc-small-overload-exceed-counter value: 10
                                debug attr 114: adi,agc-outer-thresh-low-inc-steps value: 2
                                debug attr 115: adi,agc-outer-thresh-low value: 18
                                debug attr 116: adi,agc-inner-thresh-low-inc-steps value: 1
                                debug attr 117: adi,agc-inner-thresh-low value: 12
                                debug attr 118: adi,agc-inner-thresh-high-dec-steps value: 1
                                debug attr 119: adi,agc-inner-thresh-high value: 10
                                debug attr 120: adi,agc-outer-thresh-high-dec-steps value: 2
                                debug attr 121: adi,agc-outer-thresh-high value: 5
                                debug attr 122: adi,agc-attack-delay-extra-margin-us value: 1
                                debug attr 123: adi,mgc-split-table-ctrl-inp-gain-mode value: 0
                                debug attr 124: adi,mgc-dec-gain-step value: 2
                                debug attr 125: adi,mgc-inc-gain-step value: 2
                                debug attr 126: adi,mgc-rx2-ctrl-inp-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 127: adi,mgc-rx1-ctrl-inp-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 128: adi,gc-use-rx-fir-out-for-dec-pwr-meas-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 129: adi,gc-max-dig-gain value: 15
                                debug attr 130: adi,gc-dig-gain-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 131: adi,gc-low-power-thresh value: 24
                                debug attr 132: adi,gc-dec-pow-measurement-duration value: 8192
                                debug attr 133: adi,gc-lmt-overload-low-thresh value: 704
                                debug attr 134: adi,gc-lmt-overload-high-thresh value: 800
                                debug attr 135: adi,gc-adc-large-overload-thresh value: 58
                                debug attr 136: adi,gc-adc-small-overload-thresh value: 47
                                debug attr 137: adi,gc-adc-ovr-sample-size value: 4
                                debug attr 138: adi,gc-rx2-mode value: 2
                                debug attr 139: adi,gc-rx1-mode value: 2
                                debug attr 140: adi,update-tx-gain-in-alert-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 141: adi,tx-attenuation-mdB value: 10000
                                debug attr 142: adi,rf-tx-bandwidth-hz value: 18000000
                                debug attr 143: adi,rf-rx-bandwidth-hz value: 18000000
                                debug attr 144: adi,qec-tracking-slow-mode-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 145: adi,dc-offset-count-low-range value: 50
                                debug attr 146: adi,dc-offset-count-high-range value: 40
                                debug attr 147: adi,dc-offset-attenuation-low-range value: 5
                                debug attr 148: adi,dc-offset-attenuation-high-range value: 6
                                debug attr 149: adi,dc-offset-tracking-update-event-mask value: 5
                                debug attr 150: adi,clk-output-mode-select value: 0
                                debug attr 151: adi,external-rx-lo-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 152: adi,external-tx-lo-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 153: adi,xo-disable-use-ext-refclk-enable value: 1
                                debug attr 154: adi,trx-synthesizer-target-fref-overwrite-hz value: 80008000
                                debug attr 155: adi,rx1-rx2-phase-inversion-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 156: adi,tx-rf-port-input-select-lock-enable value: 1
                                debug attr 157: adi,rx-rf-port-input-select-lock-enable value: 1
                                debug attr 158: adi,tx-rf-port-input-select value: 0
                                debug attr 159: adi,rx-rf-port-input-select value: 0
                                debug attr 160: adi,split-gain-table-mode-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 161: adi,1rx-1tx-mode-use-tx-num value: 1
                                debug attr 162: adi,1rx-1tx-mode-use-rx-num value: 1
                                debug attr 163: adi,2rx-2tx-mode-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 164: adi,digital-interface-tune-fir-disable value: 1
                                debug attr 165: adi,digital-interface-tune-skip-mode value: 0
                                debug attr 166: adi,tx-fastlock-pincontrol-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 167: adi,rx-fastlock-pincontrol-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 168: adi,rx-fastlock-delay-ns value: 0
                                debug attr 169: adi,tx-fastlock-delay-ns value: 0
                                debug attr 170: adi,tdd-skip-vco-cal-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 171: adi,tdd-use-dual-synth-mode-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 172: adi,debug-mode-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 173: adi,ensm-enable-txnrx-control-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 174: adi,ensm-enable-pin-pulse-mode-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 175: adi,frequency-division-duplex-independent-mode-enable value: 0
                                debug attr 176: adi,frequency-division-duplex-mode-enable value: 1
                                debug attr 177: direct_reg_access value: 0x0
        iio:device4: cf-ad9361-lpc (buffer capable)
                2 channels found:
                        voltage0:  (input, index: 0, format: le:S12/16>>0)
                        6 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: calibphase value: 0.000000
                                attr  1: calibbias value: 0
                                attr  2: calibscale value: 1.000000
                                attr  3: samples_pps ERROR: No such device (-19)
                                attr  4: sampling_frequency_available value: 30720000 3840000
                                attr  5: sampling_frequency value: 30720000
                        voltage1:  (input, index: 1, format: le:S12/16>>0)
                        6 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: calibbias value: 0
                                attr  1: calibphase value: 0.000000
                                attr  2: calibscale value: 1.000000
                                attr  3: samples_pps ERROR: No such device (-19)
                                attr  4: sampling_frequency_available value: 30720000 3840000
                                attr  5: sampling_frequency value: 30720000
                2 buffer-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: watermark value: 2048
                                attr  1: data_available value: 0
                2 debug attributes found:
                                debug attr  0: pseudorandom_err_check value: CH0 : PN9 : Out of Sync : PN Error
CH1 : PN9 : Out of Sync : PN Error
                                debug attr  1: direct_reg_access value: 0x0
        iio:device2: xadc
                10 channels found:
                        voltage5: vccoddr (input)
                        2 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: scale value: 0.732421875
                                attr  1: raw value: 1832
                        voltage0: vccint (input)
                        2 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: raw value: 1374
                                attr  1: scale value: 0.732421875
                        voltage4: vccpaux (input)
                        2 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: scale value: 0.732421875
                                attr  1: raw value: 2446
                        temp0:  (input)
                        3 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: scale value: 123.040771484
                                attr  1: offset value: -2219
                                attr  2: raw value: 2637
                        voltage7: vrefn (input)
                        2 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: scale value: 0.732421875
                                attr  1: raw value: -5
                        voltage1: vccaux (input)
                        2 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: scale value: 0.732421875
                                attr  1: raw value: 2440
                        voltage2: vccbram (input)
                        2 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: scale value: 0.732421875
                                attr  1: raw value: 1371
                        voltage3: vccpint (input)
                        2 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: scale value: 0.732421875
                                attr  1: raw value: 1367
                        voltage8:  (input)
                        2 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: raw value: 3673
                                attr  1: scale value: 0.244140625
                        voltage6: vrefp (input)
                        2 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: raw value: 1695
                                attr  1: scale value: 0.732421875
                1 device-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: sampling_frequency value: 961538
        iio:device0: adm1177
                2 channels found:
                        voltage0:  (input)
                        2 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: scale value: 6.433105468
                                attr  1: raw value: 724
                        current0:  (input)
                        2 channel-specific attributes found:
                                attr  0: raw value: 853
                                attr  1: scale value: 0.516601562

iio_readdev#

iio_readdev is part of the Libiio package and allows to read an IIO buffer device:

~$
iio_readdev -h
Usage:
    iio_readdev [-n <hostname>] [-t <trigger>] [-T <timeout-ms>] [-b <buffer-size>] [-s <samples>] <iio_device> [<channel> ...]

Options:
    -h, --help
            Show this help and quit.
    -n, --network
            Use the network backend with the provided hostname.
    -u, --uri
            Use the context with the provided URI.
    -t, --trigger
            Use the specified trigger.
    -b, --buffer-size
            Size of the capture buffer. Default is 256.
    -s, --samples
            Number of samples to capture, 0 = infinite. Default is 0.
    -T, --timeout
            Buffer timeout in milliseconds. 0 = no timeout
    -a, --auto
            Scan for available contexts and if only one is available use it.

Example#

A quick example, captures 4 frames of 256 samples, (1024 samples in total), from the receive side of the ADALM-PLUTO.

  1. Find the device:

    ~$
    
    iio_info -s
    
    Library version: 0.9 (git tag: 263bd08)
    Compiled with backends: local xml ip usb serial
    Available contexts:
        0: 0456:b673 (Analog Devices Inc. PlutoSDR (ADALM-PLUTO)), serial=104473222a87000c0a000e009b8ed5102e [usb:3.80.5]
    
  2. Find the streaming device

    ~$
    
    iio_attr -u usb:3.80.5 -s -c ad
    
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'voltage0' (output, index: 0, format: le:S16/16>>0)
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'voltage1' (output, index: 1, format: le:S16/16>>0)
    dev 'cf-ad9361-lpc', channel 'voltage0' (input, index: 0, format: le:S12/16>>0)
    dev 'cf-ad9361-lpc', channel 'voltage1' (input, index: 1, format: le:S12/16>>0)
    

    In this case (which happens to use the ADALM-PLUTO, it is cf-ad9361-lpc for the input (rx), and cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc for the output.

  3. Put the device into Digital loopback mode, so we know what we should be seeing

    ~$
    
    iio_attr -u usb:3.80.5  -D ad9361-phy loopback 1
    
    dev 'ad9361-phy', debug attr 'loopback', value :'0'
    wrote 2 bytes to loopback
    dev 'ad9361-phy', debug attr 'loopback', value :'1'
    
  4. Set the DDS to something slow, so it is easier to see, and we don’t alias when looking at things in the time domain.

    ~$
    
    iio_attr -a -c cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc altvoltage0 frequency 50000
    
    Using auto-detected IIO context at URI "usb:2.26.5"
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'TX1_I_F1', attr 'frequency', value '9279985'
    wrote 5 bytes to frequency
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'TX1_I_F1', attr 'frequency', value '50034'
    
    ~$
    
    iio_attr -a -c cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc altvoltage2 frequency 50000
    
    Using auto-detected IIO context at URI "usb:2.26.5"
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'altvoltage2' (output), id 'TX1_I_F2', attr 'frequency', value '9279985'
    wrote 5 bytes to frequency
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'altvoltage2' (output), id 'TX1_I_F2', attr 'frequency', value '50034'
    
  5. Set the amplitude of the DDS, so you know what it is:

    ~$
    
    iio_attr -a -c cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc altvoltage0 scale 0.4
    
    Using auto-detected IIO context at URI "usb:2.26.5"
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'TX1_I_F1', attr 'scale', value '0.000000'
    wrote 4 bytes to scale
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'altvoltage0' (output), id 'TX1_I_F1', attr 'scale', value '0.400024'
    
    ~$
    
    iio_attr -a -c cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc altvoltage1 scale 0.0
    
    Using auto-detected IIO context at URI "usb:2.26.5"
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'altvoltage1' (output), id 'TX1_I_F2', attr 'scale', value '0.000000'
    wrote 4 bytes to scale
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'altvoltage1' (output), id 'TX1_I_F2', attr 'scale', value '0.000000'
    
    ~$
    
    iio_attr -a -c cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc altvoltage2 scale 0.4
    
    Using auto-detected IIO context at URI "usb:2.26.5"
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'altvoltage2' (output), id 'TX1_I_F2', attr 'scale', value '0.000000'
    wrote 4 bytes to scale
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'altvoltage2' (output), id 'TX1_I_F2', attr 'scale', value '0.400024'
    
    ~$
    
    iio_attr -a -c cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc altvoltage3 scale 0.0
    
    Using auto-detected IIO context at URI "usb:2.26.5"
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'altvoltage3' (output), id 'TX1_I_F2', attr 'scale', value '0.000000'
    wrote 4 bytes to scale
    dev 'cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc', channel 'altvoltage3' (output), id 'TX1_I_F2', attr 'scale', value '0.000000'
    
  6. Set the sample rate to something reasonable for the DDS frequency

    ~$
    
    iio_attr -a -i -c ad9361-phy voltage0 sampling_frequency 3000000
    
    Using auto-detected IIO context at URI "usb:2.29.5"
    dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'voltage0' (input), attr 'sampling_frequency', value '3000000'
    wrote 8 bytes to sampling_frequency
    dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'voltage0' (input), attr 'sampling_frequency', value '3000000'
    
  7. Capture 1024 samples in 256 sample buffers

    ~$
    
    iio_readdev -u usb:3.80.5 -b 256 -s 1024 cf-ad9361-lpc > samples.dat
    
  8. Check the data via hexdump:

    ~$
    
    hexdump -d ./samples.dat | less
    
    0000000   64086   65499   64097   65352   64124   65206   64165   65064
    0000010   64220   64926   64289   64794   64371   64670   64466   64555
    0000020   64572   64451   64688   64358   64813   64278   64946   64211
    0000030   65085   64158   65228   64119   65374   64095   65520   64086
    0000040   00131   64092   00277   64113   00421   64148   00561   64199
    0000050   00695   64263   00822   64341   00940   64431   01048   64533
    0000060   01145   64646   01230   64768   01302   64898   01360   65035
    0000070   01404   65177   01433   65322   01448   65468   01447   00079
    0000080   01431   00225   01401   00370   01356   00512   01296   00648
    
  9. Plot the results in gnuplot:

    ~$ gnuplot
    gnuplot> plot 'samples.dat' binary format='%short%short' using 1 with lines,\
      'samples.dat' binary format='%short%short' using 2 with lines
    
    ../../_images/sine_wave_pluto.png
  10. If you can see discontinuities then the sample rate is too high, so check that.

    ~$
    
    iio_attr -a -i -c ad9361-phy voltage0 sampling_frequency
    
    dev 'ad9361-phy', channel 'voltage0' (input), attr 'sampling_frequency', value '30720000'
    

    You can expect that 30.72 MSPS is too fast to stream over USB with zero gaps between buffers. Increasing the buffer length is the best thing to do.

iio_writedev#

iio_writedev is part of the Libiio package and allows to write an IIO buffer device:

~$
iio_writedev -h
Usage:
        iio_writedev [-n <hostname>] [-t <trigger>] [-T <timeout-ms>] [-b <buffer-size>] [-s <samples>] <iio_device> [<channel> ...]

Options:
        -h, --help
                        Show this help and quit.
        -n, --network
                        Use the network backend with the provided hostname.
        -u, --uri
                        Use the context with the provided URI.
        -t, --trigger
                        Use the specified trigger.
        -b, --buffer-size
                        Size of the capture buffer. Default is 256.
        -s, --samples
                        Number of samples to write, 0 = infinite. Default is 0.
        -T, --timeout
                        Buffer timeout in milliseconds. 0 = no timeout
        -a, --auto
                        Scan for available contexts and if only one is available use it.
        -c, --cyclic
                        Use cyclic buffer mode.

Example#

~$
iio_readdev -b 100000 cf-ad9361-lpc | iio_writedev -b 100000 cf-ad9361-dds-core-lpc