How to Use Arduino DDS Frequency Signal Generator AD9850

In this Tutorial we will learn how to make a Frequency Signal Generator using a AD9850 module and Arduino.

Watch the Video!

Note: I managed to get frequency up to +50MHz but the signal quality gets worse with the higher frequencies.

What You Will Need

Arduino Uno or any other Arduino board
AD9850 (DDS Synthesizer) More Info
Jumper wires
Breadboard
Visuino software: Download here

Output Response

You can see the output results for the frequency 10Hz

First picture is Scope connected to SQ Wave 1 pin
First picture is Scope connected to Sine Wave 1 pin

The Circuit

Connect "AD9850" module pin Serial "W_CLK" to Arduino Digital pin 8
Connect "AD9850" module pin Serial "FQ_UD" to Arduino Digital pin 9
Connect "AD9850" module pin Serial "Serial Data" to Arduino Digital pin 11
Connect "AD9850" module pin Serial "Reset" to Arduino Digital pin 10
Connect "AD9850" module pin VCC to Arduino pin 5V
Connect "AD9850" module pin GND (On both sides) to Arduino pin GND

Start Visuino, and Select the Arduino UNO Board Type

The Visuino: https://www.visuino.eu also needs to be installed. Download Free version or register for a Free Trial.

Start Visuino as shown in the first picture Click on the "Tools" button on the Arduino component (Picture 1) in Visuino When the dialog appears, select "Arduino UNO" as shown on Picture 2

In Visuino Add, Set & Connect Components

Add "Analog Devices Serial DDS Synthesizer (Signal Generator) - AD9850" component
Select "Synthesizer1" component and in the properties window under "Frequency (Hz)" set the desired frequency, in our case we set the frequency 10Hz
Select "Synthesizer1" component and connect pin "Word Load Clock" to Arduino digital pin 8
Select "Synthesizer1" component and connect pin "Frequency Update" to Arduino digital pin 9
Select "Synthesizer1" component and connect pin "Reset" to Arduino digital pin 10
Select "Synthesizer1" component and connect pin "Data" to Arduino digital pin 11

Generate, Compile, and Upload the Arduino Code

In Visuino, at the bottom click on the "Build" Tab, make sure the correct port is selected, then click on the "Compile/Build and Upload" button.

Play

If you power the Arduino UNO module, the AD9850 will start to put the frequency on the output pins, Square wave out on "SQ Wave Out 1" pin or Sine wave on "Sine Wave Out 1" pin.

Congratulations! You have completed your project with Visuino. Also attached is the Visuino project, that I created for this Instructable, you can download it and open it in Visuino: https://www.visuino.eu

Downloads

Freq-gen.visuino