Lab classes become much more meaningful when students can operate their own test instruments rather than watch an instructor turn knobs and push buttons. Paul Cracknell, Liquid Instruments Consider the typical EE lab in the average university. Labs must be outfitted with costly equipment to give students exposure to the breadth of measurements that characterize […]
FAQ
Debugging digital and analog signals with cross-domain analysis
Multi-domain signal analysis is blurring the line between real-time oscilloscopes and real-time spectrum and signal analyzers. Fernando Gomez, Tektronix Inc. Multi-domain signal analysis is enabled by advanced oscilloscope features such as 12-bit ADC, digital down conversion (DDC), and flexible channel inputs where each can be either analog or digital. As Signal Integrity (SI) and Power […]
Key considerations for RF power measurement equipment
The choice of power sensor and meter greatly depends on the qualities of the signal being measured. Bob Buxton, Boonton Electronics Today’s complex modulation schemes and pulsed communication modes have brought the need to measure RF power ever more accurately and efficiently. There are multiple technologies available for the measurement of RF power, falling into […]
Can RF shock you?
Engineers know they’ll get a poke if they touch household ac wires. But RF current typically is not felt as electric shock because the frequency is too high to depolarize nerve membranes. However, RF current can cause both internal organ damage and surface radiation burns, so care must be taken to avoid high exposure. It’s […]
Scope-based diagnosis of three-phase motor drives
Ordinary oscilloscopes can view basic parameters in modern motor drives, but operational insights generally require specialized power analyzers. Variable frequency drives (VFD) generate carefully controlled pulse-width modulated (PWM) waveforms to modulate the speed of industrial ac motors. Often, the motors involved are three phase. Three-phase ac induction motors (ACIMs) are widely used though they are […]
EMI testing for IoT transceivers
A few oscilloscope measurements can give insight into sources of electromagnetic interference that garble the operation of wireless IoT devices. Examine a typical wireless device with an internet of things connection and you’ll likely find multiple RF receivers squeezed together in close proximity onto a circuit board. Cramped quarters characterize modern IoT electronics, so sensitive […]
Audio measurements for product development
It pays to know the fundamental parameters that quantify the performance of sound equipment. By Daniel Knighten, Audio Precision Quantitative, objective audio measurements have a role to play not just during design validation and as a manufacturing quality control tool, but during all stages of product development . They even come in handy during the […]
What you need to know about error analysis in PCIe 6.0 designs
The much-awaited next generation of PCIe makes it important to understand bit error-rate measurements. Hiroshi Goto, Anritsu Co. PCI Express (PCIe) 6.0 is being developed to meet the high-speed data transmission needs of emerging applications, particularly data centers supporting 5G. It features a doubling of data rates and other enhanced performance specs but at a […]
Whatever happened to parallel interfaces?
Back in the early days of desktop personal computers, parallel interfaces were the norm rather than the exception. The parallel moniker refers to the way the data is sent; parallel ports send multiple bits of data simultaneously, as opposed to serial communication where bits pass one-at-a-time typically over a single connection. The rationale for parallel […]
The many measurements of power quality
There’s a confusing variety of ways to quantify power consumption. Make sure you understand what your favorite power metric means. To most engineers, the concept of power quality pertains to characteristics of the ac line feeding grid energy to equipment in a facility. But variations of the “power quality” term now can refer not just […]