TRACKING DOWN USB

After I had decided to write this article, I set out to find a suitable and inexpensive USB analysis tool. To do so, I started my e-mail engine and donned my telephone headset. In less than a day, I located and obtained the holy grail of USB, an Ellisys USB Tracker 110 (see Photo 2).

Photo 2—You don’t need anything but this little box, a downloadable software application, and three USB cables to help unlock the mysteries of USB. It costs less than $900.

The USB Tracker 110 is a small hardware device that traps, decodes, and displays a USB datastream flowing between the USB device being tested and a PC. Installing the USB Tracker 110 was a snap: I downloaded the latest version of the analysis software, UsbShow (www.usbtracker. com), and after a few mouse clicks, the USB Tracker 110 software and driver set were installed.

The next step involved connecting the USB Tracker 110 to the analysis computer. After the standard “I have found a new USB device” Windows message had appeared, I manually directed the installation wizard to install the USB Tracker 110 drivers that I had previously downloaded. I got a magic wand from the Windows installation wizard, and the USB Tracker didn’t smoke, so all was going well.

This is a good place to pause the USB Tracker 110 discussion and comment on the USB hardware I collected for analysis. I have two USB development boards and a PICkit 1 that can connect to my newly acquired USB Tracker 110. Let’s begin by looking at ME Labs’s PICProto USB development board.