Oscilloscope Operation Visualizing Signals and Making Measurements
Set Up Oscilloscope Start with the oscilloscope off, with the input plugged into channel one.
Press the power button to turn the scope on, and wait 30s for it to get rolling
Soon you ll see this And can press any button to continue
After which you ll see this The oscilloscope is now on, but not set up to take measurements
Press default setup to configure the oscilloscope to the defaults Go to the upper right corner
The oscilloscope is now set to the factory defaults Unfortunately the factory defaults include a 10x attenuation on the input channel We want to remove that attenuation to use the oscilloscope as a voltmeter After which you ll see this
Press the channel 1 menu button
Then adjust the attenuation By pressing the button next to Probe 10x Voltage until it reads Attenuation: 1x
Then hit Ch 1 Menu again This returns you to the channel 1 menu You must repeat this process every time you hit Default Setup because it resets the scope settings
Signal Noise
Let s look at some noise Connect your oscilloscope s inputs to the air-core solenoid We want to view the noise picked up by the solenoid Adjust the vertical zoom until you can see a signal. The signal you observe is electrical noise.
Solenoid noise The solenoid acts as an antenna. The noise will dependent on the orientation Move the solenoid to see how the amplitude of the noise signal changes
Measuring Output of Signal Generator.
Connect the signal generator to the oscilloscope Crank the output level all the way up Select a sinusoidal wave input Set the frequency range to 5K and set the frequency to about 1000 Hz
Adjust the Position Move the signal by turning the knobs under vertical position horizontal position This doesn t change the signal, just the position.
The main screen should now show your chosen input signal Note how you can measure your input signal frequency and amplitude on this screen
Horizontal and Vertical Zoom Vertical -- Volts/Div Horizontal -- Sec/Div
The Display A Div in this context is the distance between the grid lines on the plot shown to you by the oscilloscope Each box represents one of each div unit
The Trigger
Trigger Arrows indicate where the shapshot was taken ie Triggered
Trigger Level The device waits until trigger conditions are met In this case, the scope is looking for a rising slope starting at 0.00V A snapshot is then taken. In this case, the scope is looking for a rising edge at 0.00V Arrows indicate trigger position.
Adjust the trigger level knob to change the trigger criteria. Adjust the trigger level knob -- watch how your signal changes. Trigger Level Knob
When you adjust the trigger level upward your signal will shift in time. Keep shifting the trigger level upward just to see what happens Trigger Level Shifted Upward
Trigger Level Trigger condition is not met. Signal starts to roll For our purposes, a trigger level near zero should be sufficient for viewing your signal Move the trigger level back to 0.00V
Cursors
Cursors To bring up the cursors press the CURSOR button Let s start by measuring peak-topeak voltage Hit the button next to type until it reads Amplitude
First adjust one cursor to the top of your signal using the multipurpose knob Cursors
Then press the button next to Cursor 2 and adjust the second cursor to the bottom of your signal Cursors
The ΔV column will tell you the peakto-peak voltage of your signal You can use this method to measure voltage and its uncertainty Cursors
Hit the button next to Type: Amplitude until it reads Type: Time Adjust the positions of the cursors Frequency Cursors
Tips and Tricks Turn a channel on or off with the CH1 MENU or CH2 MENU If all else fails, try hitting Default setup Remember to set attenuation to 1X voltage If you get stuck, please ask us for assistance. We re happy to help!
Conclusion You should now be able to do the following with your oscilloscope: Set the scope to default settings Adjust the probe attenuation Zoom in and out in the horizontal and vertical directions Adjust the trigger level to view a consistent signal Measure voltage and its uncertainty using the cursors Measure frequency and its uncertainty using the cursors