Skip to main content
Measure the target during a known state, such as boot, radio transmission, or sleep. Identify the instrument, wiring, supply, workload, and duration before starting.

​
Choose the instrument

Nordic PPK2

Measure inline current or supply the target in source-meter mode at 800–5000 mV.

Joulescope

Measure inline current and voltage from an external supply, with statistics, streaming, and JLS recordings.

Digilent WaveForms

Capture analog voltages and monitor the device’s supported supply rails in the Power view.
Ask Embedder to check the connected device and complete any required setup. Follow the wiring and limits for your exact model and front panel.

​
Set up PPK2

Use the PPK2 guide to choose source-meter or ampere-meter mode and connect the current path. Check alternate power paths through USB and debugger connections before measuring.

​
Set up Joulescope

Use the Joulescope guide for external-supply wiring, model-specific setup, ranges, and digital I/O. Joulescope does not supply voltage.

​
Stream live power in the Monitor

Watch a wired Joulescope or PPK2 in real time without writing a script. Open the Monitor’s Power tab, pick the instrument and its port in the Setup panel, and press Start. The panel lists detected Joulescope models and PPK2 units automatically. The stream uses the same provider runtime as hardware scripts, so device recovery, fuse checks, and capture publishing behave the same way.

​
Control the stream

  • Start opens the instrument and begins streaming. Pause keeps the device open and the hardware claim held, so Resume continues without a reconnect. Windows that arrive while paused are discarded instead of replayed, and the timeline excludes the paused time.
  • Stop ends the stream and saves the rolling chart buffer as an ordinary power capture in the session history.
  • The live stream holds the hardware while it runs. Other hardware work waits until you stop it.
The Setup panel collapses into a locked summary chip once a stream starts. Live readouts for current, average, peak, and charge sit above the chart. See Joulescope and PPK2 for sample rates, ranges, and meter settings.

​
Control DUT power

A live stream starts with the DUT current path off. Use the DUT toggle in the Power toolbar to switch the current path on or off, before or during a stream. On a Joulescope, turning the path on runs the fuse check, so a tripped JS320 fuse surfaces as a stream error instead of a silent flat 0 A trace. In PPK2 source-meter mode, stopping the stream also turns DUT power off.

​
Read the chart

The live chart is a rolling window of the most recent samples. Select a series name to hide or show current, voltage, or power. Drag a region to zoom both axes, and use Reset zoom to return to the full window.

​
Record a live capture

Choose the record button in the tab bar while the stream is running to record windows from that point on. Stopping the recording publishes the recorded windows as a power capture. Embedder posts a summary with the source, measure frequency, and sample count to the active session so the agent can analyze the file. Stopping the stream itself publishes the rolling chart buffer the same way.

​
Record a longer test

Define the workload and settling period, measure the required interval, and save its trace or statistics. For long Joulescope tests, choose statistics, streaming, or JLS recording. A one-shot Joulescope capture is limited to 60 seconds. Keep firmware revision, supply voltage, duration, and any measurement-jumper changes with the result. Restore the board’s normal connections before returning to ordinary debug use.

​
Correlate activity

Capture a known firmware state or use supported Joulescope digital markers. Compare settled intervals separately when the marker results do not provide timestamps aligned to current samples. See Combined workflows for relating power to firmware behavior.

​
Troubleshoot

If current is zero, check the current path and supply state. If readings are unexpected, check alternate power sources and voltage-sense wiring. Follow the device-specific troubleshooting for PPK2, Joulescope, or Digilent.
Last modified on September 19, 2026