# Digilent Analog Discovery 3

> Add oscilloscope, waveform generation and logic tools to a laptop.

- **Category:** Instruments
- **Availability:** Listed by maker
- **Price:** US$379 (at digilent.com), checked 2026-09-15
- **Good for:** Add oscilloscope, waveform generation and logic tools to a laptop.
- **You'll need:** Supported host, WaveForms, suitable leads/adapters, and adequate USB power or a 5 V auxiliary supply.
- **Trade-off:** Full advertised oscilloscope bandwidth requires the BNC adapter.
- **Page:** https://gadgets.sh/devices/digilent-analog-discovery-3/

## Where to buy

| Shop | Status | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Digilent | Orderable | https://digilent.com/shop/analog-discovery-3/?utm_source=gadgets.sh&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=digilent-analog-discovery-3&utm_content=api |
| Amazon | Orderable | https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4L59R83?utm_source=gadgets.sh&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=digilent-analog-discovery-3&utm_content=api |

## Blueprint

**Closed design.** Digilent publishes a reference manual and datasheet for Analog Discovery 3 but no schematics, PCB files, BOM, or FPGA source.

### Design files

- manual: [Analog Discovery 3 Reference Manual (mirror, PDF)](https://assets.testequity.com/te1/Documents/pdf/digilent/Digilent_Analog-Discovery-3-Reference-Manual_1123.pdf) (PDF)

### Key parts

| Part | Role | Datasheet |
|---|---|---|
| Xilinx (AMD) 7 Series FPGA (exact device not disclosed) | instrument FPGA (clocking, ADC/DAC control) | https://assets.testequity.com/te1/Documents/pdf/digilent/Digilent_Analog-Discovery-3-Reference-Manual_1123.pdf |

_Notes:_ digilent.com and files.digilent.com (incl. the known_links datasheet and WaveForms manual) return a Cloudflare challenge 403 to curl and WebFetch here, so they are not cited. Used a TestEquity-hosted copy of Digilent's AD3 Reference Manual (HTTP 200, 8.8 MB PDF, text extracted with pdftotext): it says the unit 'features circuitry made by Texas Instruments' and references Xilinx's 7 Series SelectIO guide (UG471), but names no ADC/DAC part numbers and includes no schematic. No Digilent GitHub hardware repo or schematic download exists for AD3; forum threads asking for AD3 schematics exist (titles seen in search) but could not be fetched. Specific ADC/DAC/FPGA part numbers need a teardown.

## Specifications

### Oscilloscope

| | |
|---|---|
| Inputs | Two differential channels. |
| Resolution and rate | 14-bit; up to 125 MS/s per channel. |
| Measurement range | ±2.5 V or ±25 V relative to ground. |
| Analog bandwidth | 9 MHz direct; 30+ MHz with BNC adapter, at −3 dB. |
| Input impedance | 1 MΩ parallel with 24 pF. |
| Protection | ±50 VDC / ±30 VRMS protection; not a larger measurement range. |
| Capture buffer | Up to 32,768 samples/channel; 65,536 with one analog input, configuration-dependent. |
| Streaming | Approximately 10 MS/s total to RAM or 5 MS/s to disk; host-dependent. |

### Generation and digital I/O

| | |
|---|---|
| Waveform outputs | Two 14-bit channels, up to 125 MS/s; ±5 V. |
| AWG bandwidth | 9 MHz direct; 12 MHz with BNC adapter, at −3 dB. |
| AWG load | Up to 30 mA DC drive. |
| Digital channels | 16 individually programmable I/Os, up to 125 MS/s. |
| Digital levels | 3.3 V outputs; 5 V-tolerant inputs; threshold setting is shared. |
| Target supplies | 0.5–5 V and −0.5…−5 V; auxiliary-powered limit is 800 mA or 2.4 W per channel. |

### Power, accessories and pinout

| | |
|---|---|
| Host connection | USB-C connector; USB 2.0 data rates. |
| USB-A host | USB 3.2-compatible power required unless auxiliary-powered. |
| Auxiliary input | 5 V; 4 A recommended, 3.1 A minimum; 5.5×2.1 mm center-positive barrel. |
| Base kit | Device, project box, USB-C/C cable, 2×15 flywires, headers and labels. |
| Separate accessories | BNC adapter, probes, auxiliary supply and measurement adapters are optional. |
| BNC wiring | Adapter grounds the scope’s negative inputs; use BNC output leads rather than oscilloscope probes on the AWG. |
| Pinout | Official AD3 startup guide supplies the 30-pin map and per-function operating limits. |
| External clock | Trigger 1 accepts a documented 10–50 MHz reference in the configured clock mode. |
| Body | 100×100×20 mm; 128 g; operating ambient 0–40 °C. |

### Software and setup

| | |
|---|---|
| Application | WaveForms supports Windows, macOS and Linux; demo mode works without hardware. |
| Windows runtime | WaveForms installer includes Adept Runtime and USB support. |
| Apple silicon | WaveForms 3.25.1 manual describes an Intel app using Rosetta; its runtime supports arm64. |
| Linux runtime | Install the appropriate architecture’s WaveForms and separate Adept Runtime packages. |
| SDK and instruments | C/C++/Python control; LabVIEW/MATLAB support; scope, protocol and network/impedance tools. |
| Specification conditions | Generally typical after 30-minute warm-up at 25 °C. |

## Documentation

- [Maker specifications and base-kit contents](https://digilent.com/shop/analog-discovery-3/)
- [AD3 datasheet rev1, May 2025](https://files.digilent.com/datasheets/Analog-Discovery-3-Datasheet.pdf)
- [AD3 pinout, setup and troubleshooting](https://files.digilent.com/manuals/WaveForms/3.25.1/start10.html)
- [WaveForms 3.25.1 installation and runtime](https://files.digilent.com/manuals/WaveForms/3.25.1/main.html)
- [BNC adapter and coupling options](https://digilent.com/shop/bnc-adapter-for-analog-discovery/)
- [WaveForms instrument documentation](https://files.digilent.com/manuals/WaveForms/3.25.1/toc.html)

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