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HowtoUseanOscilloscope
CONTRIBUTORS: JIMB0

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Introduction
Haveyoueverfoundyourselftroubleshootingacircuit,needingmoreinformationthanasimplemultimetercanprovide?Ifyouneedtouncoverinformationlikefrequency,
noise,amplitude,oranyothercharacteristicthatmightchangeovertime,youneedanoscilloscope!

Oscopesareanimportanttoolinanyelectricalengineerslab.Theyallowyoutoseeelectricsignalsastheyvaryovertime,whichcanbecriticalindiagnosingwhyyour
555timercircuitisntblinkingcorrectly,orwhyyournoisemakerisntreachingmaximumannoyancelevels.

CoveredinThisTutorial
Thistutorialaimstointroducetheconcepts,terminology,andcontrolsystemsofoscilloscopes.Itsbrokendownintothefollowingsections:

BasicsofOScopesAnintroductiontowhat,exactly,oscilloscopesare,whattheymeasure,andwhyweusethem.
OscilloscopeLexiconAglossarycoveringsomeofthemorecommonoscilloscopecharacteristics.
AnatomyofanOScopeAnoverviewofthemostcriticalsystemsonanoscilloscopethescreen,horizontalandverticalcontrols,triggers,andprobes.
UsinganOscilloscopeTipsandtricksforsomeoneusinganoscilloscopeforthefirsttime.

WellbeusingtheGrattenGA1102CALahandy,midlevel,digitaloscilloscopeasthebasisforourscopediscussion.Otheroscopesmaylookdifferent,butthey
shouldallshareasimilarsetofcontrolandinterfacemechanisms.

SuggestedReading
Beforecontinuingwiththistutorial,youshouldbefamiliarwiththeconceptsbelow.Checkoutthetutorialifyouwanttolearnmore!

Voltage,Current,ResistanceandOhmsLaw
HowtoUseaMultimeter
Analogvs.Digital
AlternatingCurrent(AC)vs.DirectCurrent(DC)

Video

How to Use an Oscilloscope

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BasicsofOScopes
Themainpurposeofanoscilloscopeistographanelectricalsignalasitvariesovertime.Mostscopesproduceatwodimensionalgraphwithtimeonthexaxisand
voltageontheyaxis.

Anexampleofanoscilloscopedisplay.Asignal(theyellowsinewaveinthiscase)isgraphedonahorizontaltimeaxisandaverticalvoltageaxis.

Controlssurroundingthescopesscreenallowyoutoadjustthescaleofthegraph,bothverticallyandhorizontallyallowingyoutozoominandoutonasignal.There
arealsocontrolstosetthetriggeronthescope,whichhelpsfocusandstabilizethedisplay.

WhatCanScopesMeasure
Inadditiontothosefundamentalfeatures,manyscopeshavemeasurementtools,whichhelptoquicklyquantifyfrequency,amplitude,andotherwaveformcharacteristics.
Ingeneralascopecanmeasurebothtimebasedandvoltagebasedcharacteristics:

Timingcharacteristics:
FrequencyandperiodFrequencyisdefinedasthenumberoftimespersecondawaveformrepeats.Andtheperiodisthereciprocalofthat(numberof
secondseachrepeatingwaveformtakes).Themaximumfrequencyascopecanmeasurevaries,butitsofteninthe100sofMHz(1E6Hz)range.
DutycycleThepercentageofaperiodthatawaveiseitherpositiveornegative(therearebothpositiveandnegativedutycycles).Thedutycycleisaratio
thattellsyouhowlongasignalisonversushowlongitsoffeachperiod.
RiseandfalltimeSignalscantinstantaneouslygofrom0Vto5V,theyhavetosmoothlyrise.Thedurationofawavegoingfromalowpointtoahighpoint
iscalledtherisetime,andfalltimemeasurestheopposite.Thesecharacteristicsareimportantwhenconsideringhowfastacircuitcanrespondtosignals.
Voltagecharacteristics:
AmplitudeAmplitudeisameasureofthemagnitudeofasignal.Thereareavarietyofamplitudemeasurementsincludingpeaktopeakamplitude,which
measurestheabsoluteddifferencebetweenahighandlowvoltagepointofasignal.Peakamplitude,ontheotherhand,onlymeasureshowhighorlowa
signalispast0V.
MaximumandminimumvoltagesThescopecantellyouexactlyhowhighandlowthevoltageofyoursignalgets.
MeanandaveragevoltagesOscilloscopescancalculatetheaverageormeanofyoursignal,anditcanalsotellyoutheaverageofyoursignalsminimum
andmaximumvoltage.

WhentoUseanOScope
Theoscopeisusefulinavarietyoftroubleshootingandresearchsituations,including:

Determiningthefrequencyandamplitudeofasignal,whichcanbecriticalindebuggingacircuitsinput,output,orinternalsystems.Fromthis,youcantellifa
componentinyourcircuithasmalfunctioned.
Identifyinghowmuchnoiseisinyourcircuit.
Identifyingtheshapeofawavesine,square,triangle,sawtooth,complex,etc.
Quantifyingphasedifferencesbetweentwodifferentsignals.

OscilloscopeLexicon
Learninghowtouseanoscilloscopemeansbeingintroducedtoanentirelexiconofterms.Onthispagewellintroducesomeoftheimportantoscopebuzzwordsyou
shouldbefamiliarwithbeforeturningoneon.

KeyOscilloscopeSpecifications
Somescopesarebetterthanothers.Thesecharacteristicshelpdefinehowwellyoumightexpectascopetoperform:

BandwidthOscilloscopesaremostcommonlyusedtomeasurewaveformswhichhaveadefinedfrequency.Noscopeisperfectthough:theyallhavelimitsasto
howfasttheycanseeasignalchange.Thebandwidthofascopespecifiestherangeoffrequenciesitcanreliablymeasure.
Digitalvs.AnalogAswithmosteverythingelectronic,oscopescaneitherbeanalogordigital.Analogscopesuseanelectronbeamtodirectlymaptheinput
voltagetoadisplay.Digitalscopesincorporatemicrocontrollers,whichsampletheinputsignalwithananalogtodigitalconverterandmapthatreadingtothe
display.Generallyanalogscopesareolder,havealowerbandwidth,andlessfeatures,buttheymayhaveafasterresponse(andlookmuchcooler).
ChannelAmountManyscopescanreadmorethanonesignalatatime,displayingthemallonthescreensimultaneously.Eachsignalreadbyascopeisfedinto
aseparatechannel.Twotofourchannelscopesareverycommon.
SamplingRateThischaracteristicisuniquetodigitalscopes,itdefineshowmanytimespersecondasignalisread.Forscopesthathavemorethanone
channel,thisvaluemaydecreaseifmultiplechannelsareinuse.
RiseTimeThespecifiedrisetimeofascopedefinesthefastestrisingpulseitcanmeasure.Therisetimeofascopeisverycloselyrelatedtothebandwidth.It
canbecalculatedas RiseTime = 0.35 / Bandwidth .
MaximumInputVoltageEverypieceofelectronicshasitslimitswhenitcomestohighvoltage.Scopesshouldallberatedwithamaximuminputvoltage.Ifyour
signalexceedsthatvoltage,theresagoodchancethescopewillbedamaged.

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ResolutionTheresolutionofascoperepresentshowpreciselyitcanmeasuretheinputvoltage.Thisvaluecanchangeastheverticalscaleisadjusted.
VerticalSensitivityThisvaluerepresentstheminimumandmaximumvaluesofyourvertical,voltagescale.Thisvalueislistedinvoltsperdiv.
TimeBaseTimebaseusuallyindicatestherangeofsensitivitiesonthehorizontal,timeaxis.Thisvalueislistedinsecondsperdiv.
InputImpedanceWhensignalfrequenciesgetveryhigh,evenasmallimpedance(resistance,capacitance,orinductance)addedtoacircuitcanaffectthe
signal.Everyoscilloscopewilladdacertainimpedancetoacircuititsreading,calledtheinputimpedance.Inputimpedancesaregenerallyrepresentedasalarge
resistiveimpedance(>1M)inparallel(||)withsmallcapacitance(inthepFrange).Theimpactofinputimpedanceismoreapparentwhenmeasuringveryhigh
frequencysignals,andtheprobeyouusemayhavetohelpcompensateforit.

UsingtheGA1102CALasanexample,herearespecificationsyoumightexpectfromamidrangescope:

Characteristic Value
Bandwidth 100MHz
SamplingRate 1GSa/s(1E9samplespersecond)
RiseTime <3.5ns
ChannelCount 2
MaximumInputVoltage 400V
Resolution 8bit
Verticalsensitivity 2mV/div5V/div
Timebase 2ns/div50s/div
InputImpedance 1M3%||16pF3pF

Understandingthesecharacteristics,youshouldbeabletopickoutanoscilloscopethatllbestfityourneeds.Butyoustillhavetoknowhowtouseitontothenextpage!

AnatomyofAnOScope
Whilenoscopesarecreatedexactlyequal,theyshouldallshareafewsimilaritiesthatmakethemfunctionsimilarly.Onthispagewelldiscussafewofthemorecommon
systemsofanoscilloscope:thedisplay,horizontal,vertical,trigger,andinputs.

TheDisplay
Anoscilloscopeisntanygoodunlessitcandisplaytheinformationyouretryingtotest,whichmakesthedisplayoneofthemoreimportantsectionsonthescope.

Everyoscilloscopedisplayshouldbecrisscrossedwithhorizontalandverticallinescalleddivisions.Thescaleofthosedivisionsaremodifiedwiththehorizontaland
verticalsystems.Theverticalsystemismeasuredinvoltsperdivisionandthehorizontalissecondsperdivision.Generally,scopeswillfeaturearound810vertical
(voltage)divisions,and1014horizontal(seconds)divisions.

Olderscopes(especiallythoseoftheanalogvariety)usuallyfeatureasimple,monochromedisplay,thoughtheintensityofthewavemayvary.Moremodernscopes
featuremulticolorLCDscreens,whichareagreathelpinshowingmorethanonewaveformatatime.

Manyscopedisplaysaresituatednexttoasetofaboutfivebuttonseithertothesideorbelowthedisplay.Thesebuttonscanbeusedtonavigatemenusandcontrol
settingsofthescope.

VerticalSystem
Theverticalsectionofthescopecontrolsthevoltagescaleonthedisplay.Therearetraditionallytwoknobsinthissection,whichallowyoutoindividuallycontrolthe
verticalpositionandvolts/div.

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Themorecriticalvoltsperdivisionknoballowsyoutosettheverticalscaleonthescreen.Rotatingtheknobclockwisewilldecreasethescale,andcounterclockwisewill
increase.Asmallerscalefewervoltsperdivisiononthescreenmeansyouremorezoomedintothewaveform.

ThedisplayontheGA1102,forexample,has8verticaldivisions,andthevolts/divknobcanselectascalebetween2mV/divand5V/div.So,zoomedallthewayinto
2mV/div,thedisplaycanshowwaveformthatis16mVfromtoptobottom.Fullyzoomedout,thescopecanshowawaveformrangingover40V.(Theprobe,aswell
discussbelow,canfurtherincreasethisrange.)

Thepositionknobcontrolstheverticaloffsetofthewaveformonthescreen.Rotatetheknobclockwise,andthewavewillmovedown,counterclockwisewillmoveitup
thedisplay.Youcanusethepositionknobtooffsetpartofawaveformoffthescreen.

Usingboththepositionandvolts/divknobsinconjunction,youcanzoominonjustatinypartofthewaveformthatyoucareaboutthemost.Ifyouhada5Vsquarewave,
butonlycaredabouthowmuchitwasringingontheedges,youcouldzoominontherisingedgeusingbothknobs.

HorizontalSystem
Thehorizontalsectionofthescopecontrolsthetimescaleonthescreen.Liketheverticalsystem,thehorizontalcontrolgivesyoutwoknobs:positionandseconds/div.

Thesecondsperdivision(s/div)knobrotatestoincreaseordecreasethehorizontalscale.Ifyourotatethes/divknobclockwise,thenumberofsecondseachdivision
representswilldecreaseyoullbezoominginonthetimescale.Rotatecounterclockwisetoincreasethetimescale,andshowalongeramountoftimeonthescreen.

UsingtheGA1102asanexampleagain,thedisplayhas14horizontaldivisions,andcanshowanywherebetween2nSand50sperdivision.Sozoomedallthewayinon
thehorizontalscale,thescopecanshow28nSofawaveform,andzoomedwayoutitcanshowasignalasitchangesover700seconds.

Thepositionknobcanmoveyourwaveformtotherightorleftofthedisplay,adjustingthehorizontaloffset.

Usingthehorizontalsystem,youcanadjusthowmanyperiodsofawaveformyouwanttosee.Youcanzoomout,andshowmultiplepeaksandtroughsofasignal:

Oryoucanzoomwayin,andusethepositionknobtoshowjustatinypartofawave:

TriggerSystem
Thetriggersectionisdevotedtostabilizingandfocusingtheoscilloscope.Thetriggertellsthescopewhatpartsofthesignaltotriggeronandstartmeasuring.Ifyour
waveformisperiodic,thetriggercanbemanipulatedtokeepthedisplaystaticandunflinching.Apoorlytriggeredwavewillproduceseizureinducingsweepingwaves
likethis:

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Thetriggersectionofascopeisusuallycomprisedofalevelknobandasetofbuttonstoselectthesourceandtypeofthetrigger.Thelevelknobcanbetwistedtoseta
triggertoaspecificvoltagepoint.

Aseriesofbuttonsandscreenmenusmakeuptherestofthetriggersystem.Theirmainpurposeistoselectthetriggersourceandmode.Thereareavarietyoftrigger
types,whichmanipulatehowthetriggerisactivated:

Anedgetriggeristhemostbasicformofthetrigger.Itwillkeytheoscilloscopetostartmeasuringwhenthesignalvoltagepassesacertainlevel.Anedgetrigger
canbesettocatchonarisingorfallingedge(orboth).
Apulsetriggertellsthescopetokeyinonaspecifiedpulseofvoltage.Youcanspecifythedurationanddirectionofthepulse.Forexample,itcanbeatinyblipof
0V>5V>0V,oritcanbeasecondslongdipfrom5Vto0V,backto5V.
Aslopetriggercanbesettotriggerthescopeonapositiveornegativeslopeoveraspecifiedamountoftime.
Morecomplicatedtriggersexisttofocusonstandardizedwaveformsthatcarryvideodata,likeNTSCorPAL.Thesewavesuseauniquesynchronizingpatternat
thebeginningofeveryframe.

Youcanalsousuallyselectatriggeringmode,which,ineffect,tellsthescopehowstronglyyoufeelaboutyourtrigger.Inautomatictriggermode,thescopecanattempt
todrawyourwaveformevenifitdoesnttrigger.Normalmodewillonlydrawyourwaveifitseesthespecifiedtrigger.Andsinglemodelooksforyourspecifiedtrigger,
whenitseesititwilldrawyourwavethenstop.

TheProbes
Anoscilloscopeisonlygoodifyoucanactuallyconnectittoasignal,andforthatyouneedprobes.Probesaresingleinputdevicesthatrouteasignalfromyourcircuitto
thescope.Theyhaveasharptipwhichprobesintoapointonyourcircuit.Thetipcanalsobeequippedwithhooks,tweezersorclipstomakelatchingontoacircuit
easier.Everyprobealsoincludesagroundclip,whichshouldbesecuredsafelytoacommongroundpointonthecircuitundertest.

Whileprobesmayseemlikesimpledevicesthatjustlatchontoyourcircuitandcarryasignaltothescope,theresactuallyalotthatgoesintoprobedesignandselection.

Optimally,whataprobeneedstobeisinvisibleitshouldnthaveanyeffectonyoursignalundertest.Unfortunately,longwiresallhaveintrinsicinductance,capacitance,
andresistance,so,nomatterwhat,theyllaffectscopereadings(especiallyathighfrequencies).

Thereareavarietyofprobetypesoutthere,themostcommonofwhichisthepassiveprobe,includedwithmostscopes.Mostofthestockpassiveprobesare
attenuated.Attenuatingprobeshavealargeresistanceintentionallybuiltinandshuntedbyasmallcapacitor,whichhelpstominimizetheeffectthatalongcablemight
haveonloadingyourcircuit.Inserieswiththeinputimpedanceofascope,thisattenuatedprobewillcreateavoltagedividerbetweenyoursignalandthescopeinput.

Mostprobeshavea9Mresistorforattenuating,which,whencombinedwithastandard1Minputimpedanceonascope,createsa1/10voltagedivider.Theseprobes
arecommonlycalled10Xattenuatedprobes.Manyprobesincludeaswitchtoselectbetween10Xand1X(noattenuation).

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Attenuatedprobesaregreatforimprovingaccuracyathighfrequencies,buttheywillalsoreducetheamplitudeofyoursignal.Ifyouretryingtomeasureaverylow
voltagesignal,youmayhavetogowitha1Xprobe.Youmayalsoneedtoselectasettingonyourscopetotellityoureusinganattenuatedprobe,althoughmanyscopes
canautomaticallydetectthis.

Beyondthepassiveattenuatedprobe,thereareavarietyofotherprobesoutthere.Activeprobesarepoweredprobes(theyrequireaseparatepowersource),which
canamplifyyoursignalorevenpreprocessitbeforeitgettoyourscope.Whilemostprobesaredesignedtomeasurevoltage,thereareprobesdesignedtomeasureAC
orDCcurrent.Currentprobesareuniquebecausetheyoftenclamparoundawire,neveractuallymakingcontactwiththecircuit.

UsinganOscilloscope
Theinfinitevarietyofsignalsouttheremeansyoullneveroperateanoscilloscopethesamewaytwice.Buttherearesomestepsyoucancountonperformingjustabout
everytimeyoutestacircuit.Onthispagewellshowanexamplesignal,andthestepsrequiredtomeasureit.

ProbeSelectionandSetup
Firstoff,youllneedtoselectaprobe.Formostsignals,thesimplepassiveprobeincludedwithyourscopewillworkperfectlyfine.

Next,beforeconnectingittoyourscope,settheattenuationonyourprobe.10Xthemostcommonattenuationfactorisusuallythemostwellroundedchoice.If
youretryingtomeasureaverylowvoltagesignalthough,youmayneedtouse1X.

ConnecttheProbeandTurntheScopeOn
Connectyourprobetothefirstchannelonyourscope,andturniton.Havesomepatiencehere,somescopestakeaslongtobootupasanoldPC.

Whenthescopebootsupyoushouldseethedivisions,scale,andanoisy,flatlineofawaveform.

Thescreenshouldalsoshowpreviouslysetvaluesfortimeandvoltsperdiv.Ignoringthosescalesfornow,maketheseadjustmentstoputyourscopeintoastandard
setup:

Turnchannel1onandchannel2off.
Setchannel1toDCcoupling.
Setthetriggersourcetochannel1noexternalsourceoralternatechanneltriggering.
Setthetriggertypetorisingedge,andthetriggermodetoauto(asopposedtosingle).
Makesurethescopeprobeattenuationonyourscopematchesthesettingonyourprobe(e.g.1X,10X).

Forhelpmakingtheseadjustments,consultyourscopesusersmanual(asanexample,herestheGA1102CALmanual).

TestingtheProbe
Letsconnectthatchanneluptoameaningfulsignal.Mostscopeswillhaveabuiltinfrequencygeneratorthatemitsareliable,setfrequencywaveonthe
GA1102CALthereisa1kHzsquarewaveoutputatthebottomrightofthefrontpanel.Thefrequencygeneratoroutputhastwoseparateconductorsoneforthesignal
andoneforground.Connectyourprobesgroundcliptotheground,andtheprobetiptothesignaloutput.

Assoonasyouconnectbothpartsoftheprobe,youshouldseeasignalbegintodancearoundyourscreen.Tryfiddlingwiththehorizontalandverticalsystemknobs
tomaneuverthewaveformaroundthescreen.Rotatingthescaleknobsclockwisewillzoomintoyourwaveform,andcounterclockwisezoomsout.Youcanalsousethe
positionknobtofurtherlocateyourwaveform.

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Ifyourwaveisstillunstable,tryrotatingthetriggerpositionknob.Makesurethetriggerisnthigherthanthetallestpeakofyourwaveform.Bydefault,thetrigger
typeshouldbesettoedge,whichisusuallyagoodchoiceforsquarewaveslikethis.

Tryfiddlingwiththoseknobsenoughtodisplayasingleperiodofyourwaveonthescreen.

Ortryzoomingwayoutonthetimescaletoshowdozensofsquares.

CompensatinganAttenuatedProbe
Ifyourprobeissetto10X,andyoudonthaveaperfectlysquarewaveformasshownabove,youmayneedtocompensateyourprobe.Mostprobeshavearecessed
screwhead,whichyoucanrotatetoadjusttheshuntcapacitanceoftheprobe.

Tryusingasmallscrewdrivertorotatethistrimmer,andlookatwhathappenstothewaveform.

Adjustthetrimmingcapontheprobehandleuntilyouhaveastraightedgedsquarewave.Compensationisonlynecessaryifyourprobeisattenuated(e.g.10X),in
whichcaseitscritical(especiallyifyoudontknowwhousedyourscopelast!).

Probing,Triggering,andScalingTips
Onceyouvecompensatedyourprobe,itstimetomeasurearealsignal!Gofindasignalsource(frequencygenerator?,TerrorMin?)andcomeback.

Thefirstkeytoprobingasignalisfindingasolid,reliablegroundingpoint.Claspyourgroundcliptoaknownground,sometimesyoumayhavetouseasmallwireto
intermediatebetweenthegroundclipandyourcircuitsgroundpoint.Thenconnectyourprobetiptothesignalundertest.Probetipsexistinavarietyofformfactorsthe
springloadedclip,finepoint,hooks,etc.trytofindonethatdoesntrequireyoutoholditinplaceallthetime.

Onceyoursignalisonthescreen,youmaywanttobeginbyadjustingthehorizontalandverticalscalesintoatleasttheballparkofyoursignal.Ifyoureprobinga5V
1kHzsquarewave,youllprobablywantthevolts/divsomewherearound0.51V,andsettheseconds/divtoaround100s(14divisionswouldshowaboutoneandahalf
periods).

Ifpartofyourwaveisrisingorfallingofthescreen,youcanadjusttheverticalpositiontomoveitupordown.IfyoursignalispurelyDC,youmaywanttoadjustthe0V
levelnearthebottomofyourdisplay.

Onceyouhavethescalesballparked,yourwaveformmayneedsometriggering.Edgetriggeringwherethescopetriestobeginitsscanwhenitseesvoltagerise(or
fall)pastasetpointistheeasiesttypetouse.Usinganedgetrigger,trytosetthetriggerleveltoapointonyourwaveformthatonlyseesarisingedgeonceper
period.

Nowjustscale,position,triggerandrepeatuntilyourelookingatexactlywhatyouneed.

MeasureTwice,CutOnce

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Withasignalscoped,triggered,andscaled,itcomestimetomeasuretransients,periods,andotherwaveformproperties.Somescopeshavemoremeasurementtools
thanothers,buttheyllallatleasthavedivisions,fromwhichyoushouldbeabletoatleastestimatetheamplitudeandfrequency.

Manyscopessupportavarietyofautomaticmeasurementtools,theymayevenconstantlydisplaythemostrelevantinformation,likefrequency.Togetthemostoutof
yourscope,youllwanttoexploreallofthemeasurefunctionsitsupports.Mostscopeswillcalculatefrequency,amplitude,dutycycle,meanvoltage,andavarietyof
otherwavecharacteristicsforyouautomatically.

UsingthescopesmeasuretoolstofindVPP,VMax,frequency,period,anddutycycle.

Athirdmeasuringtoolmanyscopesprovideiscursors.Cursorsareonscreen,movablemarkerswhichcanbeplacedoneitherthetimeorvoltageaxis.Cursorsusually
comeinpairs,soyoucanmeasurethedifferencebetweenoneandtheother.

Measuringtheringingofasquarewavewithcursors.

Onceyouvemeasuredthequantityyouwerelookingfor,youcanbegintomakeadjustmentstoyourcircuitandmeasuresomemore!Somescopesalsosupportsaving,
printing,orstoringawaveform,soyoucanrecallitandrememberthosegoodol'timeswhenyouscopedthatsignal.

Tofindoutmoreaboutwhatyourscopecando,consultitsusersmanual!

PurchasinganOscilloscope
Nowthatyouvelearnedallaboutthishandytoolsfeaturesandbenefits,itstimetoputanoscilloscopeonyourworkbench.

Ourrecommendations:

DigilentAnalogDiscovery2 100MHzDigitalStorageOscilloscopeGA1102CAL
TOL13929 TOL11766
$279.95 $399.95
8 3

DSOQuadPocketDigitalOscilloscope(Black) USBOscilloscopeMSO28
TOL12065 TOL11219
$234.95 $334.95
1

VIEWALLOPTIONS

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ResourcesandGoingFurther
Withthetoolsdiscussedinthistutorial,youshouldbepreparedtostartscopingsignalsofyourown.Ifyourestillunsureofwhatcertainpartsofyourscopearefor,first
consultyourusersmanual.Herearesomeadditionalresourceswerecommendcheckingoutaswell:

TheXYZsofOscilloscopes(PDF)Agreatindepthintroductiontooscilloscopes.
HowtoUseanOscilloscope(YouTube)Greatoscopeexplanationstraightfromthemakersofscopes(Tektronix).
GA1102CALUsersManual.pdf)AusersmanualforAttensGA1102CAL100MHzoscilloscope.Whileitsspecifictothatscope,itstillprovidesaniceoverviewof
whatsimilarscopesarecapableof,andhowtheywork.

GoingFurther
Nowthatyoureapracticedoscilloscoper,whatcircuitareyougoingtobedebugging?Needsomeinspiration?Herearesomerelatedtutorialswedrecommendchecking
outnext!

PCBDesignwithEAGLEIfyoureatapointwhereyouneedtotroubleshootcircuitsatthesignallevel,maybeyourereadytostepintodesigningPCBs.Our
EAGLEseriesoftutorialshowtousethefreelyavailablesoftwaretodesignyourowncircuitboards.
RecreatingClassicElectronicsKitsIfyoureinsearchofacircuittotroubleshootwithascope,whynotmakeyourownversionof50in1electronicskit?
PulseWidthModulationPWMsignalsarethefoundationbehinddimmingLEDsanddrivingservomotors.Learnaboutthesesignaltypesandthenscopethem
withyournewskills!

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