USB oscilloscopes can be highly useful design, development, and testing tools. Like many tools, they need to be optimized for specific use cases. This second FAQ looks at specifications for triggering, input ranges and probes, zooming, and control software. Part 1 considered specifications for the number and types of channels, bandwidth, sample rate, refresh rate, […]
What are the important specifications of USB oscilloscopes? part 1
USB oscilloscopes are compact and low-cost. If properly specified, they can be highly capable instruments. This FAQ reviews some important USB oscilloscope specifications including the number of channels, sample rate, bandwidth, refresh rate, and memory depth. Part 2 of this series considers specifications (available Sept. 8) for triggering, input ranges and probes, zooming, and control […]
What specialist software is available for USB oscilloscopes? part 2
This FAQ looks at software that can synchronize multiple oscilloscopes, perform mathematical functions, and transform a basic USB oscilloscope into multiple instruments. A USB oscilloscope consists of signal capture and conditioning electronics, a personal computer (PC) that can be a laptop, tablet, or desktop, plus PC software. The availability of application specialist software is a […]
What specialist software is available for USB oscilloscopes? part 1
USB oscilloscopes capture analog and digital signals. Through software, engineers can analyze protocols and logic signals. By adding a D/A converter, a USB oscilloscope can also become a waveform generator. A USB oscilloscope consists of the signal capture and conditioning electronics package, a personal computer (PC) that can be a laptop or tablet unit, or […]
What’s a USB oscilloscope?
By connecting to a computer, a USB oscilloscope lets engineers offload screens and compute-intensive functions to the host, which reduces needed bench space and brings portability. Oscilloscopes are sometimes grouped into three types, benchtop, portable, and USB. The first two types are self-contained, but USB oscilloscopes are not. They consist of the electronics that capture […]
Quantifying and measuring non-electrical phenomena: Vibration
Vibration is an important design consideration in many electronic applications such as industrial, automotive, aerospace, and marine systems, consumer white goods, and disc drives. Even electronic devices designed for use in relatively vibration-free environments can be subjected to potentially damaging vibration during shipment. The concepts related to vibration also find utility in computer graphics, gaming, […]
Quantifying and measuring non-electrical phenomena: Humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor in the air. Too much or too little humidity can be detrimental to the functioning of electronic devices. This FAQ begins by looking at some basic concepts related to humidity and the impact that humidity can have on electronics. It then looks at the importance of using humidity […]
Quantifying and measuring non-electrical phenomena: Heat
Heat involves the transfer of energy to or from a thermodynamic system. “Heat flow,” although commonly used, is a redundant term since heat is defined as the flow (or transfer) of thermal energy. Thermal energy is the kinetic energy of molecules and atoms. A Joule (J) is the International System (SI) unit of heat, work, […]
Quantifying and measuring non-electrical phenomena – Light
Light has varying definitions; it’s usually limited to the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, but sometimes it’s defined to include the near-infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) portions. For example, LidAR (light detection and ranging) uses various portions of UV, visible, or near IR spectrum to image objects. And ‘light’ has a different definition if […]
