{"id":1099,"date":"2014-08-20T11:04:31","date_gmt":"2014-08-20T18:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.circuitspecialists.com\/blog\/?p=1099"},"modified":"2014-08-22T09:06:34","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T16:06:34","slug":"ten-measurements-using-an-oscilloscope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.circuitspecialists.com\/blog\/ten-measurements-using-an-oscilloscope\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Measurements Using an Oscilloscope"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"color: #000000;\">1)\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Measuring and Viewing Voltage Waveforms<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">You can measure and view either DC or AC signals up to the oscilloscope\u2019s BW using the standard voltage vs time mode of operation. Adjust the vertical setting to display the complete waveform and determine the value by counting the vertical divisions and multiplying by the vertical scale factor. Most <a title=\"digital storage oscilloscopes\" href=\"\/digital-storage-oscilloscopes\" target=\"_blank\">digital storage oscilloscopes<\/a> have a measurement menu that directly displays values without forcing you to count graticules.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">2)\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Measuring and Viewing Current Waveforms<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">You may view current values and waveforms using an external low-value shunt resistor. Use Ohm\u2019s law* to determine the correct scale multiplier for the measurement. The current shunt should be connected to the \u201clow\u201d side of the power.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">*I = E \/ R<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">3)\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Measuring Frequency<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">You can perform frequency measurements by displaying the signal waveform on the oscilloscope\u2019s screen and adjusting the horizontal time base value until you see at least one full cycle on the display. Measure the time value for one cycle and determine the frequency using the equation Freq = 1 \/\u00a0<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">time<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">4)\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Measuring Rise Time of a Pulse<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">You can determine the rise time of a pulse signal in a manner similar to frequency. Adjust the horizontal time base to display the rising edge of the pulse. Rise time is defined as the time between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">5)\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Measuring Capacitance<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">You can estimate capacitance using a simple RC circuit and noting the phase difference between applied and resultant voltage across the capacitor using both vertical channels of the oscilloscope. The phase difference is noted and the capacitance is calculated using the following formula (\u03b1 is the phase angle and Z is the impedance):<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">Capacitance = -1 \/ (2 x \u03c0 x\u00a0<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">frequency<\/span>\u00a0x Z x sin(\u03b1))<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">6)\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Measuring Amplifier Gain<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">You may measure the gain or amplification of a circuit using both channel one and channel two of the oscilloscope. You will monitor the input signal with one channel and the output signal with the other. The difference between the amplitudes of these two signals indicates the gain.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">7)\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Measuring Cable Length (TDR)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">You may use a simple Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) to determine the approximate length of a cable. A single fast-rising pulse from a pulse generator is simultaneously applied to the cable and the oscilloscope\u2019s vertical channel. The time required for the pulse to travel to the end of the cable and reflect back again is a factor of both the cable length and the cable\u2019s dielectric constant. The formula for measuring cable length is:<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">Length = (<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">velocity of propagation<\/span>\u00a0x\u00a0<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">time<\/span>) \/ 2<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">8)\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Measuring Differential Signals<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">You can measure differential signals, such as on a twisted pair cable, by using both of the <a title=\"oscilloscope's\" href=\"\/digital-storage-oscilloscopes\" target=\"_blank\">oscilloscope<\/a>\u2019s vertical channels simultaneously. Use the MATH operation CH1-CH2 if both vertical channels are set to the same scale factor.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">9)\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Measuring Signal Spectrum (FFT)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">You can use the MATH operation FFT to view a waveform in an amplitude vs frequency representation. This is a simplified spectrum analyzer-type measurement and is useful for determining the frequency components of a periodic signal.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">10)\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Measuring Duty-Cycle of a PWM Signal<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">You can determine the duty cycle of a PWM signal by displaying one complete cycle on the oscilloscope\u2019s screen, which will enable you to determine the width of the positive portion as well as the width of the negative portion. Then you calculate the duty cycle with the following formula:<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #000000;\">Duty cycle = (pulse high\u00a0\/ (pulse high + pulse low)\u00a0x 100%<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1)\u00a0Measuring and Viewing Voltage Waveforms You can measure and view either DC or AC signals up to the oscilloscope\u2019s BW<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","category-digital-storage-oscilloscope"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ten Measurements Using an Oscilloscope | Simply Smarter Circuitry Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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