--- title: "Red Pitaya’s Split Trigger Mode: Precision Data Acquisition, Channel by Channel" description: Enable independent triggers for each channel with Red Pitaya’s new split trigger acquisition mode. image: https://content.redpitaya.com/hubfs/SPECIAL%20DISCOUNT%20JUST%20FOR%20YOU%20For%20a%2010%25%20academic%20discount%2c%20send%20us%20an%20email%20at%20sales@redpitaya.com!%20(4).jpg --- [![Red Pitaya](https://content.redpitaya.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Red_Pitaya_November_2021/images/redpitaya-logo-des.svg "Red Pitaya")](https://redpitaya.com/) [![Red Pitaya](https://content.redpitaya.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Red_Pitaya_November_2021/images/redpitaya-logo.svg "Red Pitaya")](https://redpitaya.com/) - Products - [STEMlab 125-14 Gen 2](https://redpitaya.com/stemlab-125-14-gen2/) - [STEMlab 125-14](https://redpitaya.com/stemlab-125-14/) - [SIGNALlab 250-12](https://redpitaya.com/signallab-250-12/) - [SDRlab 122-16](https://redpitaya.com/sdrlab-122-16/) - [STEMlab TI (Texas Instruments)](https://redpitaya.com/stemlab-ti-texas-instruments/) - [Multi-channel Solutions](https://redpitaya.com/multi-channel-solutions/) - [Accessories](https://redpitaya.com/accessories/) - [Applications](https://redpitaya.com/applications/) - Documentation - [Technical Documentation](https://redpitaya.com/documentation/) - [Teaching materials](https://redpitaya.com/teaching-materials/) - [Student projects](https://redpitaya.com/student-projects/) - [User forum](https://forum.redpitaya.com/) - [About](https://redpitaya.com/about-us/) - [History](https://redpitaya.com/history/) - [Distributors](https://redpitaya.com/distibutors-red-pitaya/) - [Blog](https://content.redpitaya.com/blog) [Shop](https://redpitaya.com/shop/) - [ACADEMIA](https://redpitaya.com/academia/) - [RADIO AMATEURS](https://redpitaya.com/radio-amateurs/) - [Home](https://redpitaya.com/) - Products - [STEMlab 125-10](https://redpitaya.com/stemlab-125-10/) - [STEMlab 125-14](https://redpitaya.com/stemlab-125-14/) - [SIGNALlab 250-12](https://redpitaya.com/signallab-250-12/) - [SDRlab 122-16](https://redpitaya.com/sdrlab-122-16/) - [Accessories](https://redpitaya.com/accessories/) - [Applications](https://redpitaya.com/applications/) - [Resources](https://redpitaya.com/documentation/) - [Shop](https://redpitaya.com/shop/) - [About](https://redpitaya.com/about-us/) - [Blog](https://content.redpitaya.com/blog) - [Compare](https://redpitaya.com/compare/) - [Login / Register](https://redpitaya.com/my-account/) ### Red Pitaya Blog [Home](https://redpitaya.com) » [Blog](https://content.redpitaya.com/blog/tag/blog) » [Blog](https://content.redpitaya.com/blog/tag/blog) # Red Pitaya’s Split Trigger Mode: Precision Data Acquisition, Channel by Channel - Posted by ![Red Pitaya Technical Editorial Team](https://content.redpitaya.com/hubfs/Red-pitaya-fav-ikona.png) [Red Pitaya Technical Editorial Team](https://redpitaya.com/Red-Pitaya-Blog-team/) , May 29, 2025 ![](https://content.redpitaya.com/hubfs/SPECIAL%20DISCOUNT%20JUST%20FOR%20YOU%20For%20a%2010%25%20academic%20discount%2c%20send%20us%20an%20email%20at%20sales@redpitaya.com!%20(4).jpg) In this article, we’ll introduce Red Pitaya’s new split trigger acquisition mode, but first let’s review signal acquisition on these versatile and affordable boards. ## Red Pitaya signal acquisition Data acquisition is the process of sampling real-world analog signals and converting them into digital samples that can be stored and manipulated by a computer. There are many different types of data acquisition, but when discussing electrical signals, we distinguish between continuous and burst data acquisition. - **Continuous data acquisition** – a continuous stream of data from the inputs of the data acquisition unit to a file on a computer, covered by the Red Pitaya streaming application. - **Burst data acquisition** – data is captured into data buffers. When a buffer is full, the acquisition stops, and the data can be extracted from the buffer. Afterwards, the data acquisition can be restarted. This is the default data acquisition mode on a Red Pitaya board. Burst acquisition typically has some dead time between the acquired data buffers, as data is not captured until the acquisition is restarted. When using burst data acquisition, we want to start acquiring data at a specific moment, when the input signal meets certain conditions. We call this the triggering moment. It is defined by the following parameters: - **Trigger level** – input signal voltage level - **Trigger front** – usually positive (rising) or negative (falling) - **Trigger channel** Data acquisition starts the first time the input signal meets the conditions. Under normal circumstances, a Red Pitaya board has a single trigger condition for all input channels, resulting in synchronous data acquisition on all channels. Once acquisition is started and the trigger condition is met, data from each channel is captured into a separate 16384 sample circular memory buffer. The trigger position within the memory buffer is at a random sample within the circular buffer ![image-png-Feb-24-2025-07-24-19-6801-AM](https://content.redpitaya.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Feb-24-2025-07-24-19-6801-AM.png?width=699&height=603&name=image-png-Feb-24-2025-07-24-19-6801-AM.png) Half of the samples are taken before the trigger and half are after. The *circular memory buffer* is then converted into a 16384-sample *data buffer* with the trigger position in the middle of the buffer (at the 8192nd sample). By changing the trigger delay parameter, we can either capture more data before the trigger event (negative trigger delay) or capture more data after the trigger event (by specifying a positive trigger delay). The situation is illustrated below: ![](https://content.redpitaya.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Feb-24-2025-07-25-48-5193-AM.png?width=975&height=250&name=image-png-Feb-24-2025-07-25-48-5193-AM.png)![image-png-Feb-24-2025-07-25-48-5193-AM](https://content.redpitaya.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Feb-24-2025-07-25-48-5193-AM.png?width=975&height=250&name=image-png-Feb-24-2025-07-25-48-5193-AM.png)   It is important to distinguish between the *circular memory buffer* and the *data buffer*. Most of the Red Pitaya SCPI and API commands refer to the *data buffer* and its position, but there are commands that refer to the position within the *circular memory buffer*.   ## Split trigger mode When enabled, the split trigger mode separates the single trigger for all input channels into one trigger per input channel. This allows us to specify a trigger condition for each input channel and acquire the data independently of the other channels, which is important in applications where we want to acquire data from multiple independent sources. Split trigger mode affects several other acquisition settings, where the acquisition parameters must be specified for each channel, rather than setting all channels with a single command. Data acquisition for each channel follows the same principles as described in the previous section. The split trigger functionality also applies to the deep memory acquisition mode. The split trigger mode is currently only available on the STEMlab 125-14 4-Input board with Red Pitaya OS versions 2.05-37 and above. Future OS releases will extend this functionality to other models.   ## Example and sources - [Example](https://redpitaya.readthedocs.io/en/latest/appsFeatures/examples/acquisition/acqRF-5-split_trig.html) - [Streaming application](https://redpitaya.readthedocs.io/en/latest/appsFeatures/applications/streaming/appStreaming.html#streaming) - [Deep memory acquisition](https://redpitaya.readthedocs.io/en/latest/appsFeatures/remoteControl/deepMemoryAcquisition.html#deep-memory-acquisition-dma) - [List of supported SCPI and API commands](https://redpitaya.readthedocs.io/en/latest/appsFeatures/remoteControl/command_list.html#list-of-supported-scpi-api-commands) ### About the Red Pitaya Team The Red Pitaya Technical Editorial Team is a cross-functional group of technical communicators and product specialists. By synthesizing insights from our hardware developers and global research partners, we provide verified, high-value content that bridges the gap between open-source innovation and industrial-grade precision. Our mission is to make advanced instrumentation accessible to engineers, researchers, and educators worldwide. ##### Categories - [academia (47)](https://content.redpitaya.com/blog/tag/academia) ##### Recent Posts - [![Non-Invasive GERD Detection: Continuous Esophageal Monitoring via Radiofrequency Spectrophotometry](https://content.redpitaya.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog%20featured%20image%20-%202026-09-17T104035.026.jpg?width=767&name=blog%20featured%20image%20-%202026-09-17T104035.026.jpg)](https://content.redpitaya.com/blog/non-invasive-gerd-detection-radiofrequency-spectrophotometry) [Non-Invasive GERD Detection: Continuous Esophageal Monitoring via Radiofrequency Spectrophotometry](https://content.redpitaya.com/blog/non-invasive-gerd-detection-radiofrequency-spectrophotometry) September 29, 2026 - [![How a $500 Open-Source MRI Console Sparked a Global Research Ecosystem](https://content.redpitaya.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog%20featured%20image%20-%202026-09-17T131400.982-3.jpg?width=767&name=blog%20featured%20image%20-%202026-09-17T131400.982-3.jpg)](https://content.redpitaya.com/blog/open-source-mri-console-ocra-marcos-red-pitaya) [How a $500 Open-Source MRI Console Sparked a Global Research Ecosystem](https://content.redpitaya.com/blog/open-source-mri-console-ocra-marcos-red-pitaya) September 22, 2026 - [![Probing the Wire: Red Pitaya & Zephyr RTOS Workshop with EESTEC](https://content.redpitaya.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog%20featured%20image%20-%202026-09-17T130509.363.jpg?width=767&name=blog%20featured%20image%20-%202026-09-17T130509.363.jpg)](https://content.redpitaya.com/blog/zephyr-rtos-nordic-logic-analyzer-workshop-eestec-ljubljana) [Probing the Wire: Red Pitaya & Zephyr RTOS Workshop with EESTEC](https://content.redpitaya.com/blog/zephyr-rtos-nordic-logic-analyzer-workshop-eestec-ljubljana) September 17, 2026 ##### Subscribe to our newsletter ![Red Pitaya](https://content.redpitaya.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Red_Pitaya_November_2021/images/redpitaya-logo-wh.svg "Red Pitaya") An open-source solution for hobbyists, professors, radio amateurs and industrial clients. **Red Pitaya** Velika pot 21, 5250 Solkan Slovenia, Europe Phone: +386 30 322 719 Email: [info@redpitaya.com](mailto:info@redpitaya.com) **Red Pitaya US** TX, Dallas - Downtown Republic Center 325 N. St. Paul Street Suite 3100 Dallas, Texas, 75202 United States of America IMPORTANT: This address does not accept RMAs Phone: (888) 637-2706 Email: [US.office@redpitaya.com](mailto:US.office@redpitaya.com) - Customer Service - [Customer Support](https://redpitaya.com/customer-support/) - [Shipping & Returns](https://redpitaya.com/shipping-returns/) - [Contact us](https://redpitaya.com/contact-us/) - [Cookie Policy](https://redpitaya.com/cookie-policy/) - SLO - [O nas](https://redpitaya.com/o-nas/) - [Pogoji poslovanja](https://redpitaya.com/pogoji-poslovanja/) - [Politika zasebnosti](https://redpitaya.com/politika-zasebnosti/) - [Politika piškotkov](https://redpitaya.com/politika-piskotkov/) ##### Follow Us #### Subscribe to our newsletter Get notified about new SW features & updates, news about latest community projects & events and new Red Pitaya products & discounts [Subscribe](https://go.redpitaya.com/cs/c/?cta_guid=36ccbdc0-0344-49c4-aa91-aa67cf437c09&signature=AAH58kHkxFYTAKU-ILQzHI1jlrdI_co0RA&placement_guid=a24cb732-1dfb-4d0a-8c52-aa6851ce9102&click=556cfaee-eee4-48e4-95e7-c483a4f78883&hsutk=537e15e740555d2fd6a1c1ad931d2b6f&canon=https%3A%2F%2Fredpitaya.com%2Fabout-us%2F&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fredpitaya.com%2Fcompare%2F&portal_id=7715357&redirect_url=APefjpGj5Dm9poAAzHFGh4S6pJ-2TvNzBdwZZlfbr7toxfw-epFUtzEHOKToHx0i2TYYr39srj9aSERdntJBh8lJqoSXL-pUF2gwhYvOW6IMm28hQVmhYML2AIbbIRrr3YaoyJkZQ0iRxq-uHlFt66i3_8XpQpXT_M2zF9fS7t0f6hlBjGBJ7X_aXDrhBwXcEAqwoWWleG4uxonSGOR-BBp3tpKcySXYELTGHeGn5Yo61r3xrFvqFP5P6BxVwxTi51_ceW9uBzOMvA1rYz4BsIhLSF8n4bhcHqJTvhibH_laJrjDNdEUUrU&__hstc=72355340.537e15e740555d2fd6a1c1ad931d2b6f.1635738083317.1635738083317.1635746314170.2&__hssc=72355340.5.1635746314170&__hsfp=530052575&contentType=standard-page) **Red Pitaya** 2025 All Rights Reserved. - [Privacy Policy](https://redpitaya.com/privacy-policy/) - [Terms of Use](https://redpitaya.com/terms-of-use/) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Red Pitaya Technical Editorial Team", "url" : "https://content.redpitaya.com/blog/author/red-pitaya-technical-editorial-team" }, "dateModified" : "2025-10-03T12:48:33.278Z", "datePublished" : "2025-05-29T11:37:39.000Z", "headline" : "Red Pitaya’s Split Trigger Mode: Precision Data Acquisition, Channel by Channel", "image" : [ "https://content.redpitaya.com/hubfs/SPECIAL%20DISCOUNT%20JUST%20FOR%20YOU%20For%20a%2010%25%20academic%20discount%2c%20send%20us%20an%20email%20at%20sales@redpitaya.com!%20(4).jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://content.redpitaya.com/blog/splitting-the-trigger", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://content.redpitaya.com/hubfs/Red-pitaya-logo.jpg" }, "name" : "Red Pitaya d.o.o." } } ```