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 […]
PC-based Test Equipment
I’ve got the measurement blues again
Back from a three-year hiatus, I’m covering test and measurement again. This time, it’s for EE World.
DIO card completes PCIe instrument family
Spectrum instrumentation’s family of PCIe instrument cards also includes digitizers and waveform generators. Automated test systems often need to generate and measure analog signals. They often need to provide digital I/O for status monitoring and control of test hardware or industrial process equipment. With the addition of the M2p.7515-x4 digital I/O card, Spectrum Instrumentation completes […]
Test instrument enables Wi-Fi testing, OFDMA wireless packet capture in the field
The fieldPal is a precision Wi-Fi test instrument that enables Wi-Fi testing and OFDMA wireless packet capture in the field. To test performance of the new wireless technologies and applications, engineers use controlled laboratory testbeds like the octoBox in combination with field testing. New types of test tools are needed that allow testing in the […]
Product review: Pico VNA 108 8.5-GHz vector network analyzer
The vector network analyzer (VNA) is an advanced member of the oscilloscope family of electronic instruments. The DUT may be as simple as a single resistor or conductor. The VNA can also operate as a time domain reflectometer, measuring the distance to and nature of a fault, impedance anomaly, complete break or short in a […]
NI CEO: COVID-19 on day one
NI CEO Eric Starkloff’s first decision was what to do about COVID-19 the night before he took over on February 1, 2020. Since then, he’s seen the opportunities in communications resulting from the pandemic. How would you like to take on a new leadership role just as a pandemic takes hold? That’s what Eric Starkloff […]
16- to 256-channel I/O card for PXIE and ATE instruments
Salland Engineering is addressing the challenges of finding the right balance between performance, density/throughput within the right available power, and cooling at the right cost per channel when building custom ATE instrument by designing the Instrument IP themselves. This enables customers to benefit from proven and available building blocks to achieve high performance and very […]
Getting familiar with work-at-home instrumentation
The rise in social distancing has fostered a need for professional-grade test instruments that function as well at home as in the lab. David Horn | Digilent The events that have unfolded across the world since the beginning of 2020 have turned the global marketplace upside down. Few industries have felt this seismic shift as […]
Magnetic positioning system holds PCBs for instrument probing
Oscilloscopes with more than two channels present humans with a common problem: none of us have enough hands to hold more than two oscilloscope probes in place. This is especially an issue when using an 8-channel oscilloscope such as the new PicoScope 6800E devices, so it was particularly important for Pico Technology to address it. […]
Pocketable RF signal source provides test signals with or without PC connection
The VSG2G5C RF Vector Signal Generator is a cost-effective pocketable USB-connected RF signal source with capabilities that provide standalone and PC-controlled functions comparable to full-size analog RF signal generators. Offering frequencies from 100 Hz to 1 MHz (low-band) and 100 MHz to 2.5 GHz (RF band) with a frequency resolution of 1 Hz, this handy […]
