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Oscilloscope basics
While a multimeter shows an instant voltage level or an average voltage level, an oscilloscope is
capable of displaying voltage levels over a period of time. Voltage is displayed vertically (X-axis)
versus time (Y-axis).
Oscilloscopes can be used to for applications such as:
Looking at the shape of a signal. •
Measuring the amplitude and frequency of a signal.•
Measuring the time between to events.•
Looking for anomalies such as clipping, noise, distortion, •
spikes, ripple, etc…
Analog versus digital:
There are two basic types of oscilloscopes: analog and digital scopes.
Each type has its typical applications, advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of digital
scopes is that they are able to capture and store events for further study. They are also more user
friendly, as they require less setup in order to show a picture of your signal. For our experiments, we
will use a digital scope.
Waveforms:
An oscilloscope will mainly display and measure waveforms. A wave is a pattern that repeats over
time, e.g. the waves of the sea. One cycle or period of a wave is the part of the wave that repeats
itself. When shown on the screen of an oscilloscope, it is called a waveform. There are many differ-
ent waveforms. A couple of them will be used in our experiments:
Sine waves:1. A typical example: The AC power grid
Full-wave rectifi ed AC:2. The output of a full wave diode rectifi er
Half-wave rectifi ed AC3. : The output of a half-wave diode rectifi er
DC voltage:4. Yes, oscilloscopes can also measure DC
Sawtooth waveform:5. In this case: ripple
Square wave:6. The board features a simple two-transistor oscillator which produces a square wave
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ach t
e has its t
analog oscilloscope
Digital oscilloscope
Oscilloscope basics
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