USB oscilloscopes are highly versatile instruments. With the right software, they can perform functions usually reserved for spectrum analyzers and digitizers. In some cases, however, special instruments are needed for optimal results. This FAQ compares the functions of oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and digitizers with USB interfaces. They are called USB devices because they connect to […]
Test Equipment
Free drivers connect Tektronix instruments to Python
Tektronix announced an open-source Python instrument driver package for the company’s test instruments. Available at no cost, the package provides you with a native Python user experience for instrument automation. With integration into daily workflows and utilizing it with a preferred Integrated Development Environment (IDE), engineers use features such as auto-complete, precise type hinting, comprehensive […]
High-speed digitizers add pulse generation
After the successful introduction of the Digital Pulse Generator (DPG) option for its medium-speed products, Spectrum Instrumentation has now added the same feature to its ultrafast digitizers (with up to 10 GS/s speed) and Arbitrary Waveform Generators. Available for the entire product line, the low-cost $325 option adds three to four independent digital sources for […]
Signal generator puts four channels in a 2U-size box
Designed for bench and production use, the N5186A generates wireless signals to 8.5 GHz and includes a built-in reflectometer. Designing commercial or military wireless receivers, amplifiers, and systems means you’ll need to generate test signals. Keysight’s N5186A MXG vector-signal generator (datasheet) is available in one-channel or four-channel models with Type-N connectors. Each channel can generate […]
Boost/single-ended primary inductance converter (SEPIC) controller for various automotive LED applications.
Spectrum Instrumentation has extended the M5i flagship series of high-speed PCIe digitizers, adding two new models with ultrawide bandwidths that go up to 4.7 GHz for -3 dB attenuation or even 5 GHz for -5 dB attenuation. The models M5i.3360-x16 and M5i.3367-x16 provide one and two channels respectively with prices starting from $27,990. Each card […]
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 […]
That Maxwell book that was returned to a library 115 years late: what’s it about? Part 2
Work on resistance measurement, described in An Elementary Treatise on Electricity, helped pave the way to successful trans-Atlantic telegraphy. In Part 1, I discussed An Elementary Treatise on Electricity by James Clerk Maxwell. One volume made national news earlier this summer when it was returned to New Bedford, Mass. Free Public Library 115 years overdue. […]
That Maxwell book that was returned to a library 115 years late: what’s it about? (Part 1)
Published in 1881, An Elementary Treatise on Electricity evolved from notes Maxwell had written in preparation for lectures on electricity at the Cavendish Laboratory. In June 2023, the national media carried a story about a book 115 years overdue that was returned to the Free Public Library in New Bedford, Mass. The book turned out […]
How does a thermocouple work, and do I really need an ice bath? part 2
Modern thermocouple instruments automate the cold-junction-compensation process. Part 1 of this two-part series introduced thermocouple cold-junction compensation (CJC). This part will elaborate on the concept. Table 1, presented in part 1 and repeated here, lists a subset of the NIST voltage and temperature data for the type T thermocouple.Figure 1 shows a typical measurement setup, […]
How does a thermocouple work, and do I really need an ice bath? part 1
Efforts at the Bureau of Standards 110 years ago paved the way for the cold-junction-compensation technique used today. Thermocouples have long been used to make temperature measurements. They are simple, consisting of a pair of wires of dissimilar metals welded together at one end. They are rugged, operate over wide temperature ranges, and generate readily […]
