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 […]
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 […]
Bandwidth basics and fundamentals
Bandwidth has a variety of meanings in different contexts. In signal processing, it is the difference in frequency (Hertz) between the upper and lower limits in a continuous frequency band. In instrumentation, such as an oscilloscope, it is the range of frequencies above 0 Hz in which the instrument exhibits a specified level of performance. […]
Differences between stand-alone and scope-based spectrum analyzers
Most oscilloscope manufacturers also offer an extensive line of spectrum analyzers. There are similarities as well as differences between these two distinct instruments. The oscilloscope is optimized to display signals in the time domain, its default mode. Additionally, pressing Math>FFT, the same signal appears in the frequency domain. In the Tektronix MDO (mixed domain oscilloscope), […]
The ups and downs of oscillators in test equipment
Examine the low-frequency signal source in many kinds of test equipment and you are likely to find a harmonic oscillator. A harmonic oscillator typically consists of an amplifier that gets its input from its own output. A part of the output feeds back to input while the rest is an output signal. To support oscillations, […]
Checking power line quality with test instruments
The average homeowner probably doesn’t think about the quality of the electrical power coming out of household wall sockets. But that’s not the case for large industrial facilities where capacitive, inductive, and non-linear electrical loads can be large enough to distort the ac waveform. In those cases, electrical power quality becomes an important measurement. Electric […]
Understanding instrumentation for measuring total harmonic distortion
When discussing total harmonic distortion (THD), the fundamental of the wave in question is known as the first harmonic. Quantifying THD, therefore, begins with the second harmonic. Theoretically, the number of harmonics is limited only by some maximum frequency based on minimum quantum wavelength. In reality, however, we are interested in a relatively small number […]
Morse code, the first serial communication protocol
Today we tend to take for granted the fact that even PC-based oscilloscopes can automatically record and decode packets or frames sent via serial protocols such as 1-Wire, RS-232, and Ethernet. But back in olden times, the decoding of serial protocols was a job for humans. We are speaking, of course, of what was probably […]
The super-cold measurement science of superconductivity
Ordinary conductors such as copper and silver exhibit less resistance as the temperature drops. But even near absolute zero they still have some resistance. With true superconductivity, the resistance of certain materials drops to precisely zero when they hit a certain critical cold temperature. This type of superconductivity is a quantum mechanical process that involves […]
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