In measuring or displaying weak signals, noise places the ultimate limit on detectability. It usually appears as a fluctuating horizontal line known as the noise floor in a spectrum analyzer of oscilloscope in FFT or RF mode. In the time domain, it appears as a thickening of the trace and in severe instances, causes a […]
Five-year tests help reveal why PV modules poop out
Some PV solar panels degrade long before others, a fact that makes it tough to estimate the economics of a given solar panel installation. But researchers in Germany are shedding light on solar panel degradation through life tests being run on panels using different PV technologies. Tests took place on PV panels sitting on the […]
How to measure CCD and CMOS image sensor qualities
Today, about 95% of all digital cameras use CMOS image sensors with the rest employing CCDs. From the standpoint of sensor outputs, the main difference between CMOS and CCD sensors is that each pixel in a CMOS sensor has its own readout circuit next to the photosensitive area. In CCDs, charge collected in individual pixels […]
Setting input parameters in the Tektronix MDO3000 oscilloscope
Input parameters in the Tektronix MDO3000 Series Oscilloscope are determined by the user. This is done by pressing one or more of the channel menu buttons, causing the horizontal channel menu to appear. Menu items are: • Scale – Fine, Offset, Position, Probe setup and Deskew • Coupling – ac or dc • Termination – […]
Basics of flat screens in test equipment
Flat-screen technology has become ubiquitous. It has almost completely replaced CRTs in test instruments as well as in other appliances. Unfortunately, flat-screen tech can be a bit confusing because of vendors that use their own trade names to refer to their specific type of flat display technology. Here, we’ll try to clear up some of […]
The rise, fall, and modern uses of CRT technology
A few decades ago, virtually all computer monitors, radar installations, TVs and oscilloscopes employed cathode ray tubes for the user’s visual interface. Today, except for a few educational models and replacements for radar installations, CRTs aren’t used as displays. (CRT material and process technologies are still common in the vacuum tube industry as a whole […]
Displaying digital data in the MDO3000 Series oscilloscope
An application module lets the Tektronix MDO3000 Series oscilloscope decode and trigger on any of the principal serial bus types. For a parallel bus, the MDO3MSO option is required. Serial bus types include Audio, CAN, LIN, FlexRay, I2C, SPI, MIL-STD-1553, RS-232, RS-422, RS-485 and UART. Digital data, serial or parallel, can be entered into B1 […]
More MDO3000 Series scope menus and front panel controls
A previous article covered many of the Tektronix MDO3000 Series Oscilloscope menus and front panel controls. Now we bring the survey closer to completion. Rather than memorizing all the details, you can refer to the user manual, connect to the internal or external AFG for sample waveforms, and start pushing buttons. Don’t worry, the oscilloscope […]
The system of menus in the Tektronix MDO3000 Series oscilloscope
New users are invariably challenged by the large number of front-panel controls and extensive menu trees found on modern scopes. Many menu items have single-word designations, which only begin to describe their extensive functions. In on-screen menus, specific display modes are not always where you expect to find them. Learning the layout of this architecture […]
Displaying waveforms and trace data in the Tektronix MDO3000 Series oscilloscope
When you are trying to get an accurate idea of waveform qualities from a scope display, the display settings are quite important. So it can be helpful to review the setup process in widely used scopes such as a Tektronix MDO3000. Display style and persistence in this instrument can be accessed by pressing the Acquire […]
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