By David Herres Hand-held oscilloscopes are available in a wide range of prices. For a robust instrument such as the Tektronix THS3024, expect to pay about one-third the cost of a mid-level bench model. Naturally, the screen size, display clarity and range of features including bandwidth are less, but there are some palpable advantages. Today’s […]
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Basics of synchronous inverters
By David Herres Wind turbines and solar arrays produce power only when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining, of course, so many of these renewable energy systems incorporate a means for storing electrical energy during peak production and releasing it as needed. A battery bank will serve the purpose and in a stand-alone […]
Basics of resonant circuits
A resonant circuit is formed when a capacitor and inductor (coil) are in parallel or in series. The two circuit elements will block or pass a single specific frequency out of a divers mix. For this reason, resonant circuits make possible radio and TV transmission and reception and perform many other useful tasks. Capacitors and coils share […]
Basics of solar cells
By David Herres Solar cells, the building blocks of solar arrays, are simple two-wire diodes packaged and configured to produce electrical current when exposed to electromagnetic radiation of suitable frequency. This implies the cell must be flat, with a broad side situated as close to perpendicular as possible to the incoming radiation. It is also essential […]
Video: Tektronix MDO 3104 Oscilloscope Demo Board Introduction
Powering up the Tektronix MDO 3104 Oscilloscope demo board and acquiring signals from it.
Video: Tektronix MDO 3104 Oscilloscope Arbitrary Function Generator
How to record a waveform from an outside source.
Top test & measurement posts on EDAboard this week
Here are some of the most viewed posts on test and measurement topics from our EDAboard.com sister site this week: Measuring capacitance: “I am going to make a circuit for measuring capacitance….I want to convert a differential capacitance to voltage. I have found many designs which use a timer. Is a timer mandatory? The circuit […]
New DC source targets high-current device testing
A new DC-source benchtop instrument aims to integrate the capabilities of I‑V systems, curve tracers, and semiconductor analyzers as used for characterizing wide bandgap power semiconductors such as SiC and GaN. The Model 2460 SourceMeter Source Measure Unit (SMU) Instrument incorporates a capacitive touchscreen graphical user interface and can source up to 105-V, 7-A DC/7-A […]
ICs and timers
Moore’s law, actually more an observation than an edict, states that the number of transistors that can sit on a single semiconductor chip may be expected to double every two years. (Another version sets the time frame as 18 months.) The assertion is flawed because it suggests that before long the device population on a single chip […]
Basics of three-phase electrical power
By David Herres Unlike residential wiring, the electrical harness in an industrial or large commercial setting usually carries three-phase power. To many homeowners and beginning technologists, three-phase circuits are a big mystery only because they are unfamiliar. Actually they are simple, conceptually and in terms of the labor involved when working with three-phase equipment. Three-phase conductors are […]