Excited to announce the release of version 1.8 of the board software package for the Quarto which bundles a new library to enable threading with the Quarto. This means you can run multiple functions at the same time. Take a look at Threading Example for details, or try running some of the examples in the Arduino IDE.

The latest firmware on the Quarto can now use an external trigger to start ADC data acquisitions. With this functionality, ADC acqusitions can be 'on-demand' based on a trigger signal and do not have to be periodic. The trigger signal can also be driven by the Quarto so the Quarto can drive when to acquire ADC data. More details on how this functionality works in the new application note ADC Timing.

To enable this functionality, in the Arduino IDE, go to Boards Manager and install the latest (1.7.x or higher) version of "qNimble iMXRT Boards by qNimble". Then simply run

useExtADCClock(true);

in the setup() section of your code. More documention on how to use this functionality at Software Functions / External Clocks. Also check out the example UseExternalADCClock and OnDemandADCTrigger in the Arduino IDE under File, Examples, Examples for Quarto, Clocks.

If you aren't sure what firmware version of the Quarto you have, open the DeviceInfo example under Testing:

And when you run it, the output on the Serial Monitor should look something like:

Quarto Device Information
SN: 123
Device ID: qN-101.5.1
Firmware Revision: 1.29.45

If you see a firmware revision lower than 1.32.X, you will need to upgrade your firmware to use this feature. Please contact qNimble about upgrading your firmware.

The latest firmware on the Quarto can now sync its clock to an external 10 MHz clock reference. This enables the Quarto's ADC reading and DAC updates as well as internal timers to all run synchronously with the rest of your experiment. The input 10 MHz reference must be within a few kHz of 10 MHz, otherwise the Quarto will revert to using its internal reference.

To enable this functionality, in the Arduino IDE, go to Boards Manager and install the latest (1.7.x or higher) version of "qNimble iMXRT Boards by qNimble". Then simply run

useExtClock(true);

in the setup() section of your code. More documention on how to use this functionality at Software Functions / External Clocks. Also check out the example UseExternalClock in the Arduino IDE under File, Examples, Examples for Quarto, Clocks.

If you aren't sure what firmware version of the Quarto you have, open the DeviceInfo example under Testing:

And when you run it, the output on the Serial Monitor should look something like:

Quarto Device Information
SN: 123
Device ID: qN-101.5.1
Firmware Revision: 1.29.45

If you see a firmware revision lower than 1.30.X, you will need to upgrade your firmware to use this feature. Please contact qNimble about upgrading your firmware.

Bethel University's Atomic, Molecular and Optical lab used a Quarto in their experiment to lock a laser to a two photon transition of Rb-85 with the Quarto acting as both a Lock-In amplifier and tunable servo. The lab wrote up a very nice application note about the setup. Some highlights about the Quarto:

Overall, our lab has had a very positive experience using the qNimble Quarto. The Arduino code was easy to learn, and the ability to send serial commands to the Quarto provided a seamless interface with the experiment. The technical support offered by qNimble was invaluable, including answering emails with questions and tips and pointing us to helpful online forums. We are very grateful for their assistance and are benefitting from adding the Quarto to our laboratory apparatus.

The qNimble Quarto is a flexible data acquisition and experiment control device. Low latency & jitter, high-resolution A2Ds & D2As, a high sampling rate, and a facile user interface make the Quarto a high-performance tool for any laboratory.

You can read the full application note here.

Excited to announce the release of version 1.5 of the board software package for the Quarto. The Quarto now supports using either of its two serial communication ports and adds the new qCommand library to make it very easy to change variables on the Quarto with text commands over the comm port. See the Serial Commands for Dynamic Control example for a full description. Or take a look at the Lock-In Amplifier example to see it in a real-world example. Also with this release are more Examples in the Arduino IDE for using and interacting with the Quarto.

If you aren't sure what version of package you have, go to Boards Manager in the Arduino IDE and filter for 'qN' and it should show what version you have installed. If you see something like 1.4.0, as shown below, click on upgrade.

In partnership with Vescent, this spring, qNimble raffled off a free Quarto. We are pleased to announce the winner of the raffle is...:

Shankar Menon in Hannes Bernien's lab at the University of Chicago!

We can't wait to see what you will do with is Shankar.

Thanks to everyone who entered the raffle, and if you want get a Quarto in a more deterministic fashion, please click here.

With the release of the latest 1.4.x of the board software package for the Quarto, the new and better port selection comes out of beta and the Quarto has much better crash detection. Now if you program the Quarto in a way that it crashes or can no longer response to USB, the device will automatically reboot into the bootloader where you can troubleshoot what went wrong and upload new code. See the Troubleshooting Guide for more details.

In partnership with Vescent, qNimble is raffling off a free Quarto. To enter, please fill out for entry form describing how you would use the Quarto. Make sure to use your professional e-mail address as we are not accepting entries from @gmail.com and the like. Also, if you entered the raffle on Vescent's website, it is the same raffle, so no need to create a duplicate entry. The winner will be announced around May 16th.

By entering, you agree that qNimble and Vescent may, if you win, use your name and institution in promotional material. Please see Raffle Terms and Conditions for full contest details.

Want to get the latest Arduino Quarto software? Then change the board mananger URL from https://qnimble.com/package_qnimble_index.json to

https://qnimble.com/package_qnimble_beta_index.json

Then restart the Arduino IDE and when you go to the board manager, you will see options to install beta versions of our latest software.

For detailed instructions, follow the Quick Start Guide but use the beta URL listed above. For information about the latest (beta and released) software and new features, see the announcements page on the forum.

With the release of the latest 1.2.x of the board software package for the Quarto, recent versions of the Quarto now support reading and writing to the SD card. All Quarto's shipped after in Febuarary 2022 or later fully support the SD card.

To use the SD card, first in the Arduino IDE, go to Boards Manager and install the latest (1.2.x or higher) version of "qNimble iMXRT Boards by qNimble"

Once installed, open the UsageAndBenchmark example under SD,

Then you can put a SD card in the Quarto and run the example to do some basic operations and to benchmark the SD card. Or look at the example code to see how to list files, change directories, read and write files, etc.

If you aren't sure what version of the Quarto you have and if it supports the SD card, open the DeviceInfo example under Testing:

And when you run it, the output on the Serial Monitor should look something like:

Quarto Device Information
SN: 516
Device ID: qN-101.3.1
Firmware Revision: 1.26.46

If you see a Device ID of qN-101.3.1 or higher, you are ready to use the SD card. If you have qN-101.1.X or qN-101.2.X, please contact qNimble about your options for using the SD card with the Quarto.