Equipment Page for Electrical Engineering Students

Please see room Bannan 218 for equipment not listed here.

Oscilloscope to PC Connection Software

Agilent IntuiLink Data Capture Program

Agilent IntuiLink is the connectivity software that provides convenient access to instruments within Microsoft Windows.

Setup Agilent IntuiLink Data Capture Program

Oscilloscope Manuals

Electrical Engineer BSEE Degree Osc2

Agilent 54603B    Manual   |   Website
Agilent 54645D    Manual   |   Website
Agilent 54621A    Manual   |   Website

Oscilloscope How to Hints Corner

This Application Notes contains a variety of hints to help you understand and improve your troubleshooting skills and use of oscilloscopes.

Best of 8 Hints for Making Better Oscilloscopes Measurements
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Hint 1 - Tracking down elusive glitches
Hint 2 - Analyze harmonic distortion using FFTs
Hint 3 - Verifying PWM dead time in motor controllers
Hint 4 - Use holdoff to stabilize complex digital waveforms
Hint 5 - Troubleshooting infrequent events
Hint 6 - Using arbitrary waveforms for bit-error testing
Hint 7 - Correlating software and analog outputs in a CAN controller
Hint 8 - A quick, easy way to troubleshoot mixed hardware/software prototypes

8 Hints for Better Scope Probing
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Hint 1 - Passive or active probe?
Hint 2 - Probe loading check with two probes
Hint 3 - Compensate probe before use
Hint 4 - Low current measurement tips
Hint 5 - Make safe floating measurements with a differential probe
Hint 6 - Check the common mode rejection
Hint 7 - Check the probe coupling
Hint 8 - Damp the resonance

8 More Hints for Making Better Scopes Measurements
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Hint 1 - Don't forget to check that probe
Hint 2 - A quick, easy way to troubleshoot mixed hardware/software prototypes
Hint 3 - Using scopes to measure noisy signals
Hint 4 - Getting intimate with your noise
Hint 5 - Looking for EMI and EMC noise sources with your scope probe
Hint 6 - Taking a look at eye patterns
Hint 7 - Custom graticules work for any scope
Hint 8 - How much of the time is my signal on?

Integrated Debugging- A New Approach to Troubleshooting Your Designs with Real-Time Oscilloscopes
Some of the typical analysis software that runs on the oscilloscopes are eye pattern, jitter analysis, compliance test procedures, and protocol decode. These tools are used in different ways to debug and analyze design problems.

How to Debug, Decode, Trigger Low-Speed Serial Buses such as CAN, SPI, I2C RS232-RS485

Video Presentation
PDF Version
Application Notes

General Questions

What is the difference between Run/Stop and Single on the front panel?

When the Single key is pressed on the front panel, the current acquisition is cleared and the scope acquires its full deep memory on a single acquisition on the next trigger event. The important fact is that the full deep memory will be filled on one trigger. Note that if only one scope channel is on, 4 MB will be acquired. If two scope channels are on, 2 MB will be acquire on each channel. After the single acquisition, the scope will STOP with the red LED of the Run/Stop coming on. When doing single shot work, it is highly recommended that the SINGLE key be pressed.
A different sequence will occur when the Run/Stop key is pressed. If the scope is stopped (red LED is on), the scope will start to run. If the scope is running and the Run/Stop key is pressed, the scope will halt. Current acquisition data is not cleared; the scope simply halts. The scope's full deep memory may not be filled, with the scope storing only 1 MB of data per channel. If a second trigger occurs quickly enough after the Stop key is pressed, the scope will execute a "deep stop", acquiring another MB of data bringing the memory depth to its max. href="http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent">
It is for this reason that we recommend the use of the SINGLE key when doing single acquisition as it will assure that the full deep memory is utilized.

Why do I see more noise on my oscilloscope when a probe is connected?

TheThe typical noise floor of a digitizing oscilloscope is a few millivolts peak-to-peak. You can measure the noise floor of your oscilloscope by disconnecting all cables and probes from the inputs and changing the volts per division setting to the lowest possible value. Set the scope to Auto trigger and you will see a baseline of the scope's internal noise.
All currently shipping Agilent scopes have an "Auto Probe" feature that automatically identifies connected probes. When a probe is connected, the scope changes its attenuation setting so that it correctly displays the voltage coming from the probe. For example, a typical passive probe has a 10:1 attenuation ratio, which means that the probe divides the signal by a factor of 10 before presenting it to the scope. The scope compensates for this attenuation by multiplying the input signal by a factor of 10. href="http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent">
SinSince the oscilloscope cannot distinguish between the external signal and the internal noise floor, the noise floor is also multiplied by the attenuation factor. Therefore with a 10:1 probe connected to a scope channel you can expect the noise floor to increase by a factor of 10. For this reason it is best to use a 1:1 probe, an active probe, or a simple coaxial cable to view low voltage signals.

How do I check for phase difference between two channels?

Reading Phase Difference Between Two Channels

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