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Instrumation

A high-level Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) for RF test stations. Stop wrestling with PyVISA boilerplate — write test logic, not connection code.

Why Instrumation?

RF test bench automation is painful. Every instrument brand has its own quirks, SCPI dialects vary, and testing your scripts requires physical hardware on your desk. Instrumation fixes all three:

• One API for everything — same code works on Keysight, Rigol, Siglent, Tektronix, R&S, Anritsu, Keithley, and TDK-Lambda
• Digital Twin mode — develop and debug offline with simulated instruments that emit realistic Gaussian noise
• Smart auto-detection — scans connected devices and loads the right driver automatically, no manual config

Real Hardware Validation

Instrumation has been validated against real lab hardware. See our experiment reports:

• 🔬 AFG ↔ DSOX Loopback Validation — Plug-and-play AUTO discovery with Tektronix AFG3022C + Keysight DSOX2002A
• 📡 PXA N9030A Spectrum Analyzer — 32-bit binary trace transfers at high speed
• 🎛️ MXG N5183B Signal Generator — Pulse modulation and frequency sweeps
• 📊 PNA N5232A Network Analyzer — S-parameter measurements and Smith charts
• 📈 Rigol DS1054Z Oscilloscope — 4-channel calibrated waveform readout and edge trigger

PyVISA vs Instrumation: See the Difference

Programming a signal generator the traditional way vs. with Instrumation:

Side-by-Side Code

# ─── PyVISA: 8 lines of boilerplate ───
import pyvisa
rm = pyvisa.ResourceManager()
# Manually find the right resource...
sg = rm.open_resource("TCPIP0::192.168.1.100::inst0::INSTR")
sg.write("*RST")
sg.write(":FREQ:CW 2.4e9")
sg.write(":POW:AMPL -10")
sg.write(":OUTP ON")
sg.close()

# ─── Instrumation: 5 lines, zero config ───
from instrumation import connect_instrument

with connect_instrument("AUTO", "SG") as sg:
    sg.set_frequency(2.4e9)
    sg.set_amplitude(-10)
    sg.set_output(True)

No resource manager. No SCPI strings. No hardcoded addresses. Just your test logic.

Live Data Streaming

Instrumation includes a built-in DataBroadcaster for streaming live readings over UDP. This allows you to build real-time dashboards or loggers with zero external dependencies.

• Zero-lag — UDP delivery doesn't block your test flow.
• Zero-config — Broadcast to any host/port as JSON packets.
• Zero-dep — Built-in with Python standard library.

See examples/broadcast_demo.py and examples/dashboard.py for usage.

Features

• Auto-Discovery — scans VISA and Serial buses, identifies what's connected
• Smart Factory — detects instrument brand and loads the correct driver
• Digital Twin — full simulation mode for offline development and CI pipelines
• Unified API — write once, run on any supported hardware
• Built-in CSV logging — test results logged out of the box

Installation

pip install instrumation

Or install from source:

git clone https://github.com/abduznik/instrumation.git
cd instrumation
pip install .

Windows users: You may need NI-VISA or Keysight IO Libraries Suite for physical hardware access.

Packaging as a Windows .exe (PyInstaller)

If your packaged app starts but fails the moment it connects to an instrument, read this.

Instrumation loads part of its functionality at runtime instead of at import time:

• pyvisa_py — the pure-Python VISA backend used by PyVISA when no vendor VISA library is installed.
• instrumation.drivers.* — device drivers discovered dynamically via load_plugins() and lazy imports.

PyInstaller only bundles modules it can see by static analysis, so a default single-file build will be missing these modules. The .exe starts fine but fails as soon as it tries to connect, with errors like:

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pyvisa_py'
AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'rsplit'

Include them explicitly at build time:

pyinstaller --onefile --windowed --name MyApp ^
  --collect-all pyvisa_py ^
  --hidden-import pyvisa_py.protocols.hislip ^
  --hidden-import pyvisa_py.protocols.vxi11 ^
  --collect-all instrumation ^
  app.py

Note for Windows: instrumation never passes None to pyvisa.ResourceManager (it passes an empty string), so PyVISA automatically selects system VISA if installed and falls back to the bundled pyvisa_py otherwise.

Quick Start

Real hardware

import instrumation

sa = instrumation.connect_instrument("USB0::0x2A8D::...")

peak_power = sa.get_peak_value()
print(f"Peak Power: {peak_power} dBm")

Digital Twin (no hardware needed)

# Linux/macOS
export INSTRUMATION_MODE=SIM

# Windows PowerShell
$env:INSTRUMATION_MODE="SIM"

from instrumation.factory import get_instrument

# Safer usage with context manager
with get_instrument("DUMMY_ADDRESS", "DMM") as dmm:
    print(dmm.get_id())
    result = dmm.measure_voltage()
    print(f"Voltage: {result}")

Station Manager (TOML)

Manage complex test stations with multiple instruments using a station.toml file.

[instruments.sa_main]
driver = "SA"
address = "USB0::0x2A8D::0x0101::MY12345678::0::INSTR"

[instruments.psu_dut]
driver = "PSU"
address = "TCPIP0::192.168.1.100::inst0::INSTR"

Use it in your code:

from instrumation import Station

station = Station("station.toml")
station.connect()

# Access instruments via dot notation
res = station.instr.sa_main.get_peak_value()
print(f"Peak: {res}")

station.disconnect()

Command Line Interface

Instrumation comes with a powerful CLI for quick interaction and diagnostics.

# Scan for connected hardware
instrumation scan

# Take a quick measurement
instrumation measure USB0::... DMM measure_voltage

# List instruments in your station.toml
instrumation station list

# Measure using a named instrument from your station
instrumation station measure sa_main get_peak_value

API Reference

Platform Support

Development

# Install in editable mode (required for tests to pick up local changes)
pip install -e .
# This project uses pyproject.toml (PEP 517/518). No setup.py is required.


# Install test dependencies
pip install pytest ruff

# Run tests (simulation mode)
export INSTRUMATION_MODE=SIM  # Linux/macOS
pytest

Related Projects

instrumation-report

A lightweight Python library for generating structured UUT (Unit Under Test) test reports from measurement data. Works standalone or alongside Instrumation.

Features:

• HTML, Excel, and PDF report output
• Automatic pass/fail evaluation with configurable conditions
• Structured sections and test tables
• Easy integration with Instrumation measurements

pip install instrumation-report

from instrumation_report import Report, Section, TestTable, Measurement

report = Report(header=ReportHeader(
    title="RF Subsystem Validation",
    engineer="Yan",
    uut_serial="SN-2024-001",
))

section = Section(number="1", title="Voltage Tests")
table = TestTable(title="Power Supply Checks", sub_number="1.1")
table.add(Measurement("3.3V Rail", 3.31, "V", condition=(3.2, 3.4)))
section.add_table(table)
report.add_section(section)

report.generate_html("report.html")
report.generate_excel("report.xlsx")

Tech Stack

• Language: Python 3.7+
• Libraries: PyVISA, PySerial
• Architecture: Smart Factory Pattern, Polymorphism
• Standards: SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments)

Support the Project

Instrumation is maintained in my spare time alongside a full-time RF technician job. If it's saved you hours of boilerplate or made your test bench easier to automate, consider supporting:

Commercial support or custom driver development? Reach out via GitHub Issues or Discussions.

Contributing

PRs and driver contributions are welcome. Open an issue first to discuss larger changes.

License

See LICENSE for details.