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Digital Oscilloscope


Overview:

An oscilloscope or scope is an electronic measuring instrument that creates a visible two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences. The horizontal axis of the display normally represents time, making the instrument useful for displaying periodic signals. The vertical axis usually shows voltage. The display is caused by a "spot" that periodically "sweeps" the screen from left to right.

Digital storage oscilloscope Oscilloscope software running in WindowsThe digital storage oscilloscope, or DSO for short, is now the preferred type for most industrial applications, although simple analogue CROs are still used by hobbyists. It replaces the unreliable storage method used in analogue storage scopes with digital memory, which can store data as long as required without degradation. It also allows complex processing of the signal by high-speed digital signal processing circuits. The vertical input, instead of driving the vertical amplifier, is digitised by an analog to digital converter to create a data set that is stored in the memory of a microprocessor. The data set is processed and then sent to the display, which in early DSOs was a cathode ray tube, but is now more likely to be an LCD flat panel. DSOs with colour LCD displays are common. The data set can be sent over a LAN or a WAN for processing or archiving. The scope's own signal analysis software can extract many useful time-domain features (e.g. rise time, pulse width, amplitude), frequency spectra, histograms and statistics, persistence maps, and a large number of parameters meaningful to engineers in specialized fields such as telecommunications, disk drive analysis and power electronics.

Important digital oscilloscope products:

Manufacturer Model Condition Description Specs
Agilent Technologies 86108A New (GSA discount) 2 Channel Oscilloscope Receiver with Internal Clock Recovery and Precision Timebase 86108A
Agilent Technologies DSO5012A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, 2-channel, 100 MHz DSO5012A
Agilent Technologies DSO5014A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, 4-channel, 100 MHz DSO5014A
Agilent Technologies DSO5032A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, 2-channel, 300MHz DSO5032A
Agilent Technologies DSO5052A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, 2-channel, 500 MHz DSO5052A
Agilent Technologies DSO5054A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, 4-channel, 500 MHz DSO5054A
Agilent Technologies DSO6012A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, 2-channel, 100 MHz DSO6012A
Agilent Technologies DSO6014A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, 4-channel, 100 MHz DSO6014A
Agilent Technologies DSO6014L New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, LXI, 4-channel, 100 MHz DSO6014L
Agilent Technologies DSO6032A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, 2-channel, 300 MHz DSO6032A
Agilent Technologies DSO6034A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, 4-channel, 300 MHz DSO6034A
Agilent Technologies DSO6052A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, 2-channel, 500 MHz DSO6052A
Agilent Technologies DSO6054A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, 4-channel, 500 MHz DSO6054A
Agilent Technologies DSO6054L New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, LXI, 4-channel, 500 MHz DSO6054L
Agilent Technologies DSO6102A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, 2-channel, 1 GHz DSO6102A
Agilent Technologies DSO6104A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, 4-channel, 1 GHz DSO6104A
Agilent Technologies DSO6104L New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope, LXI, 4-channel, 1GHz DSO6104L
Agilent Technologies DSO8064A New (GSA discount) Infiniium DSO - 600 MHz, 2/4 GSa/s, 4 Ch DSO8064A
Agilent Technologies DSO8104A New (GSA discount) Infiniium DSO - 1 GHz, 2/4 GSa/s, 4 Ch DSO8104A
Agilent Technologies DSO9104A New (GSA discount) Oscilloscope - 1 GHz,4 channel DSO9104A
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Digital Oscilloscopes by different manufacturers:

Example usage

The classic use of a scope is to diagnose a failing piece of electronic equipment. In a radio, for example, one looks at the schematic and tries to locate the connections between stages (e.g. electronic mixers, electronic oscillators, amplifiers).

Then one puts the scope's ground on the circuit's ground, and the probe of the scope on a connection between two of the stages in the middle of the train of stages.

When the expected signal is absent, one knows that some preceding stage of the electronics has failed. Since most failures occur because of a single faulty component, each measurement can prove that half of the stages of a complex piece of equipment either work, or probably did not cause the fault.

Once the failing stage is found, further probing of the defective stage can usually tell a skilled technician exactly which component is broken. Once the technician replaces the component, the unit can be restored to service, or at least the next fault can be isolated.

Another use is to check newly designed circuitry. Very often a newly-designed circuit will misbehave because of bad voltage levels, electrical noise or design errors. Digital electronics usually operates from a clock, so a dual-trace scope is needed to check digital circuits. "Storage scopes" are helpful for "capturing" rare electronic events that cause defective operation.

Another use is for software engineers who must program electronics. Often a scope is the only way to see if the software is running the electronics properly.