Electrical engineers consider the oscilloscope as one of the most important equipment in their lab. Working without it is just like working in blind fold since the oscilloscope provides engineers a clear view of the electronic signal’s hidden world.
Aside from presenting a visual display of the circuit’s voltage level at a particular point, the oscilloscope also offers a visual display of the sensor’s signal output. Since most of the signals are cyclical in nature or are repetitive at a specified period time, knowing the frequency when signals repeat is of utmost importance.
To measure oscilloscope amplitude frequency, a user must first put the signal into the oscilloscope’s input port. Signals can be used through a dedicated probe or through a less sophisticated cable.
The user must then set a trigger source to enable the oscilloscope to start scanning. This is the time when the oscilloscope begins to display a trace. Coming from a threshold level, the trigger can alter in slope of the signal itself. It can also come from a different source.
The voltage scale must be set so that the signal’s full vertical range can be displayed as big as possible while still fitting within the screen of the oscilloscope. The timebase must also be set to easily spread the display of the signal’s full cycle across the screen – from left to right.
Then the user must decide on the starting and finish point for a full cycle. The point can be the maximum voltage to the next maximum, or the point where the voltage passes zero on its way to negative from positive, or any other easily identifiable feature on the signal.
It has to be noted that signals come in various waveform shapes. Thus, users must “mark” or identify the start and finish point. This marking can be achieved by taking a picture of the screen, by placing “markers” on the oscilloscope or by simply looking at the oscilloscope display, depending on the oscilloscope. It can also be performed internally by the oscilloscope that will measure the frequency automatically.
The number of horizontal divisions among the start and finish point must then be measured by the user. To determine the period of signal, the number of divisions must be multiplied with the timebase.
Taking the inverse of the period yields to the frequency. For instance, a measured value of 2.5 ms (2.5 thousandths of a second, or 2.5 milliseconds) represents a frequency of 1/(2.5 X 10^-6 sec) or 400,000 cycles per second, or 400 kiloHertz. Depending on the oscilloscope, the calculation can be performed with pencil and paper, or instantly determined and analyzed statistically for thousands of pulses and offered as part of the display.
Prior to settling on a particular frequency measurement, users must ensure that they have thoroughly examined the signal to determine if the measurement is an accurate representation of the whole signal and not an artifact of a certain trigger or selected signal feature.
Boo says
25ms is milliseconds, not microseconds.
david parkin says
i want to buy a oscilloscope to repair car audio amplifiers what should be the minimum MHz and gighurz would a 100 MHz be ok
siddhesh madaye says
yes u should buy one of this Hantek DSO4072C Digital Oscilloscope 2CH,70MHz Bandwidth,1GSa/s
Nelson says
How do you measure the amplitude of the wave? The oscilloscope provided me with period information which I used to get the frequency but I do not know how to go about obtaining the amplitude.