Gallery: Interesting instruments on display at PCIM Europe

A differential scope with power electronics in mind

Pico Technology out of New Zealand also makes scopes that depend on a PC for their display and user controls. The firm used PCIM to highlight its model 4444 (about $1,300 in the U.S.) which features four differential inputs, handy when high voltages are involved. The maximum input range at full scale is ±50 V (±1,000 V CAT III using the PicoConnect 442 probe), and the maximum common-mode range is also ±50 V (also ±1,000 V with the PicoConnect 442 probe). You can set the scope to measure at resolutions of 12 or 14 bits. An additional feature is deep capture memory (up to 256 million samples shared by the active channels), allowing long captures without lowering the sampling rate. The scope can sample at speeds of up to 400 MS/sec with 12-bit resolution. Pico’s Paul Allen, seen here, also pointed out that the firm provides decoding software for numerous communication protocols — even one called ARINC 429 for commercial aircraft – free, though several other scope makers charge extra for such capabilities.