operate'n an oscilloscope

[kevinsatterfield]

[kevinsatterfield]

Now its get'n kewl....I can see the peek + voltage and the peek - voltage, how many seconds it stays on on how many seconds it stays off....

[Nick]

Yes all those settings are important to reading your wave and I will try to address them one by one. I have never worked with that scope so I can only answer certain aspects (but most scopes do the same thing anyway). I underlined key terms you should know.


clarity -- those waves should be crystal clear maybe the width of the line is 1 to 2mm I think at most. If there not look for a control that might say ‘focus’ and fiddle with it.


volt/div -- As you figured out is how many volts you want to be divided per square.


sec/div -- Remember that the little dot that moves across the screen (for lack of correct terminology) is controlled by this, BUT when you set it (say 1ms/division) it takes that little dot 1ms to cross one of those little squares on the screen (Im not talking about the wave here Im talking about those squares that have been printed on the screen (anyway I think you get it )).
For example,



A square wave (of say 5 volts) takes up half a square (on the screen) and for the other half of the square (on the screen) it is a zero. You have the sec/div set to 2ms which means that the square wave has an on time for 1ms and an off time of 1ms. This means the duty cycle is 50%(its on for half the time and off for half the time). You can now calculate the frequency because frequency is measured in hertz which is cycles per second, and you take that 1ms on time and multiply it by how ever many milliseconds there are in a second (I think its 10^3 but I don't remember).


Slope -- I'm not actually sure what this function does but I have a feeling its to do with if you have two different frequencies, one on channel A and one on B, it will show you a slope and form that you know the phase difference. Or if there is a button called 'XY' that might do it as well but remember this is my best guess.


hold off -- This is like a fine tuning of the sweep speed similar to 'var sweep' but it directly affects the trigger.


Ok I think that’s a good chunk of the important stuff. Stay away from channels 3 and 4! They are useful for certain applications but will get a beginner confused. Stick with channels A and B they are the ones that count. The other two have some special functions but shouldn’t be relied on for measurements. They (channels 3 and 4) are sometimes related to the trigger to do other effects. Once you get a clear understanding of your scope you might find that they provide features you may want to use. Just for the records I have never used the other channels (other than A and B) and I also don’t know very much about them. Good Luck!

[kevinsatterfield]

Thanks a big o bunch there Nick !! This is really exciting for me for learnning how to use a scope was someth'n I thought I'd never do but now it seems like the path is there....ehhh I can still see some stumps ahead but this is fun ...thanks again.....
Im on a search now to learn how to hook up a cell and tune it in on a standing wave at 12v.....The reason its so fustrating to me is not knowing wat will tear this scope up .......It may be really easy to learn and not break anything but in my years of run'n heavy equipment I know all to well how easy it is to break someth'n down by simply not knowing wat button does wat so im probably more cautious than I shuld be....this little piece of equipment is someth'n i dont wanna break....lol
Like now I dont know where to hook th eprobe up on a single cell and see wats happenning .....Im thinking i shuld hook the cell up and just touch the probe to the cathode but I dont know so im off on a search....Thanks Again!!!!

[mrbreau]

I found this some time ago and it helped me out a lot. Practice and learn your Oscilloscope without turning yours on.

http://www.virtual-oscilloscope.com/hel ... wheel.html

Warren
..

[kevinsatterfield]

[ElectroGasMan]

[kevinsatterfield]

[ElectroGasMan]

[kevinsatterfield]

[kevinsatterfield]

[Looking In]

kevin, It will have to be sent in from What I have read. Cost approx 100.00 to 150.00. Is there someone local?

[kevinsatterfield]

Tanks Rich , it ended up be'n a component change I forgot to do.

[Looking In]

Great job, Hate to see you spend the money. You got a great deal on that scope.

[kevinsatterfield]