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PicoScope User Guide

1. PicoScope User guide Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 I PicoScope User Guide Table of Contents WE lane EE E 1 What is PicoScope EEEEEEEEEEEEEERREEEEEEEEEEEEEEERREEEESEEEEEEEEEERREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEREEEEEEEH 3 2 Why use PicoScope een 3 3 Screen layout snnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnennnannnnnnnnnnnvnnnannnnnnnnnnnnennnane 4 4 Display area ssronnnvvnnannnnnnnnnnnnvnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnennnnnnnnnne 4 5 Customisation EEN 5 6 Exporting data ENEE 5 7 Safety sernnennnnnnnnnnnnnnnennnnennnnnnnnunnnnnanannnnnnneunnennnnunnnnnannunennnsnunnnnnanunnnnnavene 5 8 Legal information snnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnennnnsnnnnne 6 9 Company details rrrrnnnnnnnnvnnnnnnnnnnannnnennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnannnnnnnannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnusene 7 2 Instrument windows ENER ENEE REENEN REENEN ENNEN RENE ENEE E 8 1 Introduction i i sscaskasss ankenaasensenanana akan nvanv ERR E EES EEER ER EEEREE E EE REESEN 8 2 Oscilloscope snnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnennnnnennnnnnnnnnennnannnnnnnnnnnnennnnne 9 3 Spectrum analyser ee ENNEN 11 ET TZ 13 5 XY oscilloscope xrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnannnnnnnnnnnnnnnannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnenn 14 6 Composite WiNdow EEN 15 7 Triggering sssonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnennennnnn
2. 45 PicoScope User Guide Threshold The threshold used for frequency and pulse width measurement is normally calculated automatically This option can be used to specify a horizontal ruler to use as the threshold The options are Automatic Calculate the threshold automatically Xruler Use the X ruler as the threshold Oruler Use the O ruler as the threshold Aggregate cycles When this box is checked the computer aggregates the values for all cycles in the trace This gives a better current value but may give a misleadingly small variation for minimum maximum and standard deviation If the box is unchecked checked the statistics are updated for each individual cycle rather than for the aggregate of all cycles in a trace The default is to use the aggregate Max harmonic for THD Some spectrum measurements for example THD calculate values using a fundamental frequency and its harmonics This field selects the highest harmonic to be used for these calculations For example if Max Harmonics is set to Third only the second and third harmonics will be considered for THD calculations Use dB This is used as the default value for the Use dB field for spectrum measurements Error action This specifies what action is to be taken if a measurement is outside the alarm limits The options are as follows None No action taken Beep Audible alarm signal Stop Measuring stopped PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005
3. 43 PicoScope User Guide 5 3 4 Measurement list dialog box From the Settings menu select Measurements Measurement list E ch Frequency Whole trace ch Cycle time Whole trace ch B Crest factor Between cursors Add Edit Delete Options Help ve EES BS The Measurement list dialog box displays a list of measurements to be displayed on the oscilloscope window Add To add a new measurement click on the Add button The computer will display the Measurement details dialog box Edit To edit an existing measurement either double click on one of the measurements in the measurement list or select a measurement then click on the Edit button In either case the computer will display the Measurement details dialog box Delete To delete an existing measurement select the measurement then click on the Delete button The measurement will be removed from the list Options This button opens up the Measurement options dialog box PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 44 5 3 5 Measurement options dialog box From the Measurement list dialog box select Options IC x m Scope options Statistics Default source whole trace DI M Current value EE re Average Gerd Automatic Standard deviation IV Aggregate cycles Maximum Minimum Spectrum options IT Pass fail No of Default source fat peak v readings
4. 61 PicoScope User Guide 5 9 Meter configuration 5 9 1 Meter Options From the Settings menu select Options x Title Meter IV Single parameter Cancel Turn off to display multiple Help parameters in a window This dialog box controls the options for the active meter window Title This field is used to specify the title for the meter window Single parameter A meter window can work in two ways single parameter and multi parameter In the simplest mode the meter window displays a single parameter measured on one channel When you select Meter Parameter the computer goes straight to the Meter Parameter dialog box for the single parameter In the more advanced mode you can display a number of parameters from more than one channel in the same window The computer displays the parameter name value and units for each parameter one parameter per line When you select Meter Parameter the computer first displays the Meter Parameter List dialog box for the window When you pick New or Edit the computer shows a dialog box in which you can enter details for the selected parameter PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 62 5 9 2 Meter Parameter List From the Settings menu select Parameters Turn off the single parameter option on the Meter Options dialog box Meter Parameter List x Parameters ch DC Volts
5. Channel This specifies which channel to measure data from Function This specifies which function to use The options are DC volts The DC component or average input voltage AC volts The RMS AC voltage note this excludes any DC component dB AC volts converted to dB Frequency Frequency of the AC component in Hz Range This specifies the input voltage range to use If you have defined any custom ranges for example for a pressure sensor these ranges will also appear in the option list Display a bar graph When this option is checked the computer displays a bar graph showing the current reading for this meter parameter PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 64 5 10 Composite setup 5 10 1 Composite Options From the Settings menu select Options Composite Options i x Layout Overlay views W x Scrolling Auto select v Y Scrolling Auto select DI Cancel Help This dialog box is used to specify the options for the active composite window Layout The instrument windows displayed within the composite window appear in a number of layouts amp Overlay Useful if you wish to compare before and after versions of two traces taken with the same measurement and scaling parameters amp Side by side Compare two traces with the same amplitude amp One on top of another Useful to compare the X time or frequency axis for
6. MaxSOTFiles 100 The maximum number of files to be collected using the save on trigger option MaxSpectrumOversample 1 The maximum number of readings to take for each sample in spectrum analyser mode It applies to all products capable of oversampling ADC 200 212 216 and PicoScope 2000 3000 Series oscilloscopes While oversampling in spectrum analyser mode is useful for reducing the effects of noise it should be used with caution as it also attenuates signals at the top end of the frequency range Patches f0 2 Whether any patches are to be enabled in the converter driver routine for example to allow for unusual printer ports Do not change this unless instructed to do so by Pico technical support Port 1 The LPT port to use for parallel port products Valid port numbers are 1 2 and 3 Numbers 101 to 104 are reserved for Pico USB Parallel Port adapters Samplebar Yes Whether a sampling bar trigger controls and Run Stop button are to be displayed at the bottom of the screen SaveUncompressed No Whether or not files over 4 KB in size should be compressed SlowHoldoff 1000 When the oscilloscope is running at a second or more per scan in standard mode this specifies the time in milliseconds to wait on completion of a scan before starting the next scan SpectrumFilterFactor 16 The rate at which the spectrum filter is updated The larger the number the slower the update TraceWidth 1 The width of the oscilloscope trace in p
7. 14 Exporting to a word procesSor ENEE 70 15 Exporting to a spreadsheet EEN 70 16 REMOVING an offset REENEN 71 17 Selecting x10 probes erererererrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnrnrrrnnnnnnnennnnnnnnnennnennnnnnn 71 18 Switching to ETS mode annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 71 7 Technical reference ccicscscsccccccscscscscscccscscnccssesensssenennnensnnnnsanannsnsancnnsneenenenennne 72 1 Introduction genge eskeENSSENRSSN ANNE ENKEN SSES ENN ENER NEEN ENEE ENNER E NEE NeeN 72 2 Dynamic Data Exchange ee REENEN 72 3 Initialisation settings xxxxnnnnnnnrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nn nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 72 4 File and clipboard formats 2xnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 75 5 Signal conditioner files rrnnnnnnnvvnnnnnnnnnnnnnvvvnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 76 6 Test menus eusaeeuSESSRSSRSNRARNESENEE ENER auaina SNE AER EE EENERENRS NR SEKEA EES SE SEN EA ENNER 76 7 Glossary sserr0nnnnnnnnnnannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnannnnnnnennnnnnnnunnnnnanennnnnnnnunnnnnnnunnennaneunenner 78 Index seasmmammmmemmdem ik dj k l db 82 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 PicoScope User Guide 1 Introduction 1 1 What is PicoScope PicoScope is a software application enabling you to use your PC to display voltage waveforms Used in conjunction with a Pico Technology oscilloscope PicoScope becomes a power
8. Alarm Limits These are the minimum and maximum alarm limits If the measured value goes outside this range the alarm action specified in the Measurement options dialog box will be taken Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 47 PicoScope User Guide 5 4 5 4 1 Custom range settings Custom range list From the Settings menu select Custom Ranges Custom range list d x 200 370 C 40 80 C 5 20Pa Use this dialog box to maintain a list of custom ranges These are useful for displaying the results from nonstandard probes transducers and sensors The custom ranges appear after the voltage ranges in the ADC Channels dialog box The text box displays the list of custom ranges Add This button opens a dialog box enabling you to add a new custom range Edit To edit an existing range highlight the range in the list and then click on this button Delete To remove an existing range highlight the range in the list then click on this button Note To use these custom ranges they should be selected from Channels dialog box or the control bars PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 48 5 4 2 Edit custom range From the Custom range list dialog box select a custom range then click on Edit x Conditioner None v Sensor None be Scaling 45 m scaled 16 20 00 2000 600 p M
9. Language For specifying the converter type and printer port Display Langua e SS For specifying the language to be used mr Display Scope For choosing from various display options for example display timestamp and notes Colours For specifying the trace colours and trace width Exit This menu option enables you to exit from the program Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 25 PicoScope User Guide 4 3 4 4 Edit menu Copy as Text This menu option copies the data for the active window to the clipboard in text format This is useful if you wish to transfer the data to a spreadsheet for analysis You can simply copy the data once or create a DDE link so that the data is updated continuously in the target application Copy as Text Copy as Graph Copy measurements Duplicate view Copy as Graph This menu option copies the data for the active window to the clipboard in graphical format exactly as it appears on the screen This is useful if you wish to transfer the data to a Word Processor or graphical package so that you can incorporate the data from the window into a document Copy measurements This menu option copies the data for any measurements selected in the active window in text format as tab separated values This is useful if you wish to transfer the data to a spreadsheet Duplicate view This menu option creates a new window
10. i UU Max harmonic for THD Fifth pe IV Use dB Cancel Error action Beep v Help This dialog box allows you to specify a number of options that apply to all measurements Statistics These check boxes select the statistical values to be displayed at the base of the oscilloscope trace The following check boxes are available amp Current value The most recent measurement Average Average of all measurements since reset amp Standard deviation The standard deviation since reset Maximum The maximum since reset Minimum The minimum since reset amp Pass fail The text Fal is displayed if the measurement is out of alarm limits No of readings This specifies the number of readings to be used to update the statistics The displayed values are updated continuously until the specified number of readings is reached After this the statistics freeze and an asterisk is displayed next to the average The statistics are reset if any parameter changes or if data collection is restarted by clicking on the start button Default source There are two default source fields one for oscilloscope measurements and one for spectrum analyser measurements When a new measurement is added the appropriate value is used as the default data source See the information on the Measurement details dialog box for a list of the possible options Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5
11. you can check this box to make PicoScope work exactly the same Unlike a normal oscilloscope PicoScope displays actual times across the screen and has rulers to measure time intervals so it is not necessary to count grid lines If you do not normally use an oscilloscope you may find it easier to leave this box unchecked so that PicoScope lets you specify the scope timebase in terms of the time per complete scan Default button This button returns all the settings in the Scope Options and Scope Advanced Options dialog box to their defaults Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 57 PicoScope User Guide 5 6 3 Scope Timebase From the Settings menu select Timebase x Time div 100 nsfdiv DI x multiplier x1 v Help This dialog box is used to set the timebase the X axis for the active oscilloscope window These functions are duplicated on the oscilloscope toolbar Time div or Time sweep If you checked Scope timebase is time per division in the Scope Advanced Options dialog box the timebase field is labelled Time div and controls the time interval between the grid lines of the oscilloscope equivalent to the time per division used on conventional oscilloscopes The screen is ten divisions wide so the total time is 10x the time per division If you turned off Scope timebase is time per division the timebase field is labelled Time sweep and controls t
12. 16 3 Instrument toolbars ensgasasssssakekgkeke kk NEEN EERESESEREEERE EE EEES EES EES 17 1 Introduction EEN 17 2 Defaulttoolbar egen eseu en VNe NEES Na NN SANS EENE SNE kne EENS re aka sam 17 3 Oscilloscope toolbar es 18 4 Spectrum analyser toolbar een 19 5 Meter toolbar rsrsrsrsrs oeaan anaa a aaa NENNEN NENNEN 20 6 XY oscilloscope toolbar REENEN 21 7 Composite window toolbar ee NENNEN 22 8 Sampling and trigger toolbar ENEE 22 4Menus ee 23 TI 2 TT dl TE 23 2 File TE TWEET ax seedepeveteestaxeees 23 3 Edit menu 5 iatnsavinre metrene cecse ts aAa edda 25 4 Settings menu E EEEEEEEEERREEEEREEEEEEEEEEEREEEEEEEEEEEEEEERREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEREEEEESEEEEEER 25 LTE TE TN 27 6 Window menu 28 7 Help menu sserrnnnnnnnnnanannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnunnnnnanennnnnnnnunnnnnnnannennaneuneneer 28 8 Keyboard shortcuts REENEN 29 5 DEG DOXES J SS 30 PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Contents T General esssueaueessueagg eseu ak gege ANE SEN AANEREN ANEREN a e 30 2 Channel configuration xxnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn aan nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 34 3 Measurement Setup xsrrrnnnnnnnnnnannnnnnnnnnnnnn annan nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 39 4 Custom range settings ssssrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 47 5 ADC Setup sr00nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
13. 64 9 14 Product description 3 Project notes 32 PSC files 48 PSS file 23 psw ini 72 Pulse width 39 R Removing a ruler 67 Removing an offset 71 Repositioning a ruler 67 Risetime 39 Rising rate 39 Ruler adding 66 Ruler removing 67 Ruler repositioning 67 Ruler settings 11 14 Rulers 9 S Safety 5 Sampling and trigger toolbar Sampling status 22 Saturation 53 Save 23 Save As 23 Save on trigger 30 Save on trigger option Save settings 4 23 Save uncompressed option 72 Scaling 67 Scan time 40 Scope advanced options 55 Scope options 53 Scope timebase 57 Scope timebase is time per division 55 Selecting x10 probes 71 Set trigger 22 Settings 30 Settings changing 68 Setup 5 23 SFDR 40 Shortcuts keyboard 29 Side by side option 15 64 Signal conditioner 48 Signal conditioner files 76 Signal generator 33 SINAD 40 Slow sampling 4 22 16 72 9 55 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 85 PicoScope User Guide SNR 40 Spectrum analyser 3 8 Spectrum analyser button 17 Spectrum analyser measurement facilities 40 Spectrum analyser timebase 59 Spectrum analyser toolbar 11 19 Spectrum analyser window 11 Spectrum options 11 16 58 Spreadsheet exporting to 70 Standard tests 5 Start and stop sampler 22 Start stop sampling 22 Stop after trigger 16 30 Sweep mode 33 Switching to ETS mode 71 T Techn
14. Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 9 PicoScope User Guide Printing and exporting You can print out the contents of windows or write them to the clipboard or to files in graphical or text form 2 2 Oscilloscope The oscilloscope window in PicoScope contains the PC oscilloscope When the oscilloscope window is active the Oscilloscope toolbar is displayed at the top of the screen PicoScope for Windows C PICO myfile psd i Oj x ay File Edit Settings View Window Automotive Help 18 x aL Al xh ms div ll v AfAuto z ac ll v B Auto z ac gt x1 D mY af y OPER E EE EE PTE EE EEE EEE MAE SE EE 42 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ms 10Nov2003 11 40 z E Running Trigger None 200 JS VP Timebase The Scope Timebase dialog box controls the time interval across the oscilloscope display Like a conventional oscilloscope it is normally specified as a time per division There are ten divisions across the screen so the total time interval is ten times the timebase If you are not accustomed to using a conventional oscilloscope you may find it easier to specify the timebase as a time per scan see the Scope Advanced Options dialog box You can zoom in using the toolbar or the mouse Channels For multi channel oscilloscopes you can select which channels to display on the oscilloscope With two channels each channel has a separate axis an
15. Most sections contain only one part but data sections usually contain two or more There are four types of data section amp Single channel fast section type 1 amp Double channel fast section type 2 amp Single channel slow standard chart recorder modes section type 3 amp Meter section type 4 For a single channel data block amp Part 1 contains information about how the data was collected amp Part 2 contains an array of 2 byte ADC readings amp Part 3 contains an array of 4 byte times A two channel data block will be the same except that Part 3 will contain data for channel B and Part 4 will contain the channel B times SCOPE TXT file The same format is pasted onto the clipboard Column 1 is the time usually in microseconds or nanoseconds Column 2 is the voltage in either millivolts or volts If there is more than one channel the times and voltages for channel 1 appear first then the times and voltages for channel 2 appear below et cetera This is because readings for different channels may be collected at different times SPECTRUM TXT file The same format is pasted onto the clipboard Column 1 is the frequency in Hz or kHz and Column 2 is the power in volts or dB PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Technical reference 76 7 5 7 6 Signal conditioner files PicoScope and other software from Pico Technology is supplied with a set
16. a pressure or acceleration sensor this is how to make PicoScope display the trace scaled in the appropriate units 1 Select Settings from the main menu 2 Select Ranges from the settings menu 3 Click on the Add button on the Custom range list dialog box 4 Either select the Pico signal conditioner and sensor or type in the millivolt and scaled values See Edit custom range for more details The new custom range will appear after the voltage ranges in instrument toolbars and dialog boxes PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Common tasks 68 6 7 Changing the footer on printed graphs The standard footer for PicoScope contains the program name and contact details for Pico You can replace the standard footer with one of your own by editing the Initialisation settings 1 Use a text editor like notepad exe 2 Open win ini from the windows directory on the C drive 3 Find the section headed PicoScope for Windows 4 Add aline Footnote lt the footnote text that you want gt 5 Save win ini 6 Restart PicoScope 6 8 Changing settings 1 Use the mouse to click on the window that you want to change 2 Select Settings from the main menu 3 Select the sub menu item containing the features that you want to change See also the information on the Settings menu You can also change the most important settings for the active window using the instrument toolbar displayed at the top
17. from sensors for example pressure or acceleration the custom ranges will appear here and you must select them to use them Multiplier When the Y multiplier is set at off the computer displays the full voltage range within the boundaries of the instrument window If you change the Y multiplier to x1 the computer initially displays the full voltage range but also displays a scroll bar You can use this scroll bar to move the trace up or down away from other traces If you change the Y multiplier to x2 the computer displays only half of the voltage range but at double magnification The scroll bar now controls which portion of the voltage range is displayed Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 39 PicoScope User Guide 5 3 5 3 1 5 3 2 Measurement setup Introduction The measurement facilities in PicoScope enable useful oscilloscope and spectrum analyser readings to be taken automatically and in real time This reduces the amount of manual data processing you need to do once your data has been collected Oscilloscope To find out what oscilloscope measurement facilities are available see the list below For information on how to add a measurement facility to be included at the foot of an oscilloscope trace go to the Measurement details dialog box Frequency The reciprocal of the duration of one cycle High pulse width The duration over which the signal is a
18. of psc files that contain scaling information on a wide range of sensors The Edit custom range dialog box offers a choice of the sensors in these files You can add your own scaling information by creating additional psc files that will be used automatically by PicoScope Test menus If you have a number of standard tests that you carry out regularly you can add a menu to select the settings for these tests by name You can also use this facility to add a menu of example files that show what particular signals look like To add a test menu it is necessary to create a test menu file The facility to create this file is not built into PicoScope it is necessary to use a text editor like Notepad or a word processor When the selected language is English PicoScope looks for a test file called TEST044 INI For other languages replace the 044 with the telephone dialling code for the required language eg 049 for German The test file is in the standard Windows INI file format Simple example A very simple file looks like this General Menu Examples Path c Examples Noise noise psd Distortion distort psd The Menu line in the General section specifies that a sub menu labelled Examples should be placed on the PicoScope main menu The Examples section says what options should appear in the Examples sub menu When a menu option is selected the specified psdor pss file is loaded For example if you
19. only check box then click the OK button 5 To print all windows click the All views checkbox 6 Click the OK button 6 14 Exporting to a word processor This explains how to export the data or measurements for the active window in text format to the clipboard so that you can paste a picture of the window into a word processor document 1 Use the mouse to click on the window that you want to copy 2 Select Edit from the main menu 3 Select Copy as Text or Copy measurements 4 Start the word processor program 5 Select Edit 6 Select Paste You can also export data in graphical format by selecting File Save As and save the file in WMF Windows Meta file format 6 15 Exporting to a spreadsheet This explains how to export the data for the active window in text format to the clipboard so that you can perform further analysis on the data 1 Use the mouse to click on the window that you want to copy 2 Select Edit from the main menu 3 Select Copy as Text 4 Go to the spreadsheet 5 Select Paste from the Edit menu If you want the information in the spreadsheet to be updated automatically each time PicoScope collects new data select Paste Link or Paste Special rather than Paste as this creates a DDE link between the applications When you transfer data to another application via the clipboard this writes only the data that is currently visible a maximum of about 1000 values If you wish to transfer all data select Save As from t
20. ruler PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 40 5 3 3 Spectrum analyser This section describes the measurements available on spectrum analyser windows and the concepts involved in spectrum measurements Most measurements are based on a data source The source for measurements on the spectrum analyser window can be defined as any one of the following At peak Position of the highest amplitude signal At X Position of the X cursor AtO Position of the O cursor O to X Position of both cursors intermodulation distortion only For each measurement the data source can be specified Ratio measurements can be displayed as percent or dB this can be specified for each measurement The default values for the data source and percent dB can be specified in the Measurement options dialog box For harmonic analysis the harmonics are integer multiples of the data source The band number of the nth harmonic may be adjusted by n 2 bands to take account of rounding of the data source to the nearest band The number of harmonics to include can be specified in the Measurement options dialog box If the specified number of harmonics is not available within the selected frequency range any measurements that require the harmonics will be left blank Ideally if an FFT were performed on a perfectly pure sine wave the frequency display would show only an infinitely thin spi
21. several signals maximum four windows amp Two by two Display up to four windows in a square amp Automatic Select whichever format is appropriate based on what the windows have in common X Scrolling Y Scrolling The windows within the composite can be scrolled using the scroll bars of the original windows or using a scroll bar for the composite window The latter is particularly useful when using the Overlay or One on top of another formats For each axis it is possible to select whether to use the scroll bar of the original or the composite window or to automatically select Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 65 PicoScope User Guide 5 10 2 Composite windows or views From the Settings menu select Views Composite views OK Cancel dg This dialog box is used to select the instrument windows or views that will be included in a composite window The list box shows the titles of all windows the ones that are currently included in the composite window are highlighted To add or remove a view or window from the composite use the mouse to left click on the window title PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Common tasks 66 6 2 Common tasks Adding a custom range Custom Ranges are used to display a trace in units of your choice For example to display the output of a p
22. than one channel there are two modes available to you Chop mode and Alternate mode Voltage range Oscilloscopes from the ADC 100 series have a number of input voltage ranges You can either specify an input voltage range or select Auto which means the oscilloscope will automatically adjust the voltage range to suit the input signal Note Auto mode does not give good results with trigger signals that occur only once as PicoScope does not know in advance what range to use If you add custom ranges to scale the input from sensors for example pressure or acceleration the custom ranges will appear here You must select them to activate them Y axis multiplier When a Y multiplier is set at off the computer displays the full voltage range over the height of the window If you change the Y multiplier to x1 the computer initially displays the full voltage range but also displays a scroll bar at the left or right of the window You can use this scroll bar to move the trace up or down to move it away from other traces If you change the Y multiplier to x2 or above the computer displays only half of the voltage range but scaled to twice normal size The scroll bar now controls which portion of the voltage range is displayed Coupling You can switch oscilloscopes from the ADC 200 series between AC and DC using this drop down menu or you can use the controls on the instrument toolbar Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All r
23. that all data is before the trigger Use equivalent time sampling ETS This option enables ETS Checking this option is the same as selecting ETS from the Trigger drop down box in the sampling and trigger toolbar at the bottom of the scope window Enabling ETS adds some faster timebases to the timebase list in the oscilloscope toolbar usually there are three extra timebases that are two five and ten times faster than the fastest standard timebase Select one of these timebases if you want higher time resolution and your signal is periodic and highly repeatable A signal that varies from one period to the next will give spurious results with ETS Some oscilloscopes do not support ETS in which case this option is disabled Auto trigger after If auto trigger is disabled PicoScope will be left waiting indefinitely for the event This locks up the computer except if you are using an oscilloscope from the ADC 200 or PicoScope 2000 or 3000 series If it is enabled PicoScope triggers after the specified period of time even if no trigger event occurs Note If you turn off auto trigger when using a product other than an oscilloscope from the ADC 200 or PicoScope 2000 or 3000 series PicoScope locks the computer until a trigger event occurs If PicoScope does become stuck click on the Stop button in the Sample and trigger toolbar then press F9 16 bit applications or F10 82 bit applications to cancel the trigger Save on trigger Wh
24. value is R 256 G 256 B where R G and B are the eight bit colour coordinates Converter 10 The type of converter to use DefaultMaxScopeSamples 2500 The value that MaxScopeSamples is set to when Default is selected in the Scope Advanced Options dialog box DisplayNotes Yes Whether any notes are to be displayed at the bottom of an instrument window DisplayTime Yes Whether the time and date are to be displayed at the bottom of the instrument window DisplayTrigger Yes Whether triggering controls are displayed in the sampling bar ForceDevice Allows the opening of ADC 212 50 ADC 212 100 ADC 200 50 and ADC 200 100 data files without the unit connected Allowable values 50 100 Language 044 The language the program should use It is the international dialling code corresponding to the country associated with the language MaxOversample 16 The maximum number of readings to take for each sample in oscilloscope mode for the ADC 200 212 216 For PicoScope 2000 and 3000 series oscilloscopes see MaxScopeOversample No other products allow oversampling PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Technical reference 74 MaxScopeOversample 16 The maximum number of readings to take for each sample in oscilloscope mode Applies only to PicoScope 2000 and 3000 series oscilloscopes For ADC 200 212 216 products see MaxOversample No other products allow oversampling
25. with repetitive signals Note that ETS should not be used for one shot or non repetitive signals When accessed using the ETS option in the sampling and trigger toolbar some new faster timebases are added to the instrument toolbar Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 11 PicoScope User Guide 2 3 Spectrum analyser The spectrum analyser window in PicoScope contains the spectrum analyser instrument When the spectrum analyser window is active the Spectrum analyser toolbar is displayed at the top of the screen PicoScope NONAME PSD E l0 x Zu File Edit Settings View Window Help ll x av fl0 0mHzv la zl tfenav fauto lag zl 2 chBr auto fac gt xl 40 50 60 70 5 17Aug2005 10 58 Running Trigger None z z 200 The spectrum analyser window uses a FFT to convert a set of samples taken at fixed time intervals into a distribution showing the amount of energy in each of a number of frequency bands up to a maximum frequency The maximum frequency is half the frequency corresponding to the sampling rate Like all digital signal analysis tools PicoScope may give misleading results due to aliasing Where possible PicoScope uses oversampling to reduce aliasing effects Maximum frequency PicoScope collects data to display a spectrum up to a certain maximum frequency You can then display the spectrum for any range of frequencies up to thi
26. with the same settings as the active window then stops the old active window If you then create a composite containing the contents of old and new windows you can overlay the two traces so that you can compare the current trace with the old trace Settings menu Timebase This menu option enables you to set the timebase for the following facilities amp Oscilloscope amp Spectrum analyser amp XY oscilloscope Timebase Channels Trigger F4 Options FS Notes F6 Measurements Signal Generator F7 Custom Ranges Probes D Offset null Channels This option is used to select the channels for the active window PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Menus 26 Trigger This option is used to set the parameters for the trigger event Options This menu option enables you to specify the various options for the active window The options depend upon the type of window Each of the following facilities has a separate window and therefore a separate set of options amp Oscilloscope amp Spectrum analyser Meter XY oscilloscope amp Composite Notes This option can be used to enter some brief notes that will be displayed on the active window Measurements This option is used to specify a number of measurements to be displayed at the bottom of the oscilloscope trace Signal Generator This menu opti
27. your product for the first time PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Introduction 6 1 8 Legal information The material contained in this release is licensed not sold Pico Technology Limited grants a licence to the person who installs this software subject to the conditions listed below Access The licensee agrees to allow access to this software only to persons who have been informed of these conditions and agree to abide by them Usage The software in this release is for use only with Pico products or with data collected using Pico products Copyright Pico Technology Limited claims the copyright of and retains the rights to all material software documents etc contained in this release You may copy and distribute the entire release in its original state but must not copy individual items within the release other than for backup purposes Liability Pico Technology and its agents shall not be liable for any loss damage or injury howsoever caused related to the use of Pico Technology equipment or software unless excluded by statute Fitness for purpose No two applications are the same Pico Technology cannot guarantee that its equipment or software is suitable for a given application It is your responsibility therefore to ensure that the product is suitable for your application Mission critical applications This software is intended for use on a computer t
28. zero As power is proportional to the square of the voltage this formula can also be expressed as 20 x log10 voltage voltage_zero_db There are a number of possible values for the zero dB voltage We have chosen to use 1 volt peak 0 707 V RMS Another measure is with respect to 0 776 V RMS 1 mW into 600 ohms This is sometimes called db m See Initialisation settings for information on how to change the zero dB level ETS Equivalent Time Sampling This facility offers a higher effective sampling rate when used with repetitive signals which some products support Note ETS should not be used for one shot or non repetitive signals Note ETS is used only in oscilloscope windows When you access this function from the trigger sample bar some faster timebases are added to the instrument toolbar See under ETS on the Trigger Setup topic for more details FFT Fast Fourier Transform This is a process that converts a set of values equating to time into a set of values equating to frequency PicoScope uses this technique to generate the spectrum analyser window Function This specifies which function to use The options are as follows amp DC volts The DC component or average input voltage amp AC volts The RMS AC voltage This excludes any DC component amp dB AC volts converted to dB with respect to 0 776 V Equivalent to dB m amp Frequency Frequency of the AC component in hertz Maximum frequency Thi
29. 5 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Instrument toolbars 20 3 5 Meter toolbar The meter toolbar appears when the meter window is active For multi parameter windows the current parameter is marked with an asterisk a cht gt Dc vots esv pc gt ch 1 D Channel Selects the channel 1 2 3 or 4 that the meter will measure The number of channels available depends on the oscilloscope variant that you are using pc Volts D Function AC volts DC volts decibels or hertz 5 Y v Voltage Range The maximum voltage that the oscilloscope will measure without error A warning symbol BB will appear if the input exceeds this voltage Tip Set the range just above the maximum voltage you expect to measure Setting it unnecessarily high will reduce the accuracy of your measurements Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 21 PicoScope User Guide 3 6 XY oscilloscope toolbar The XY oscilloscope toolbar appears when the XY oscilloscope window is active av 200 ps Auto oc ot auto oc ort 200 us Timebase The time between display updates X Channel x Auto Range The voltage range that corresponds to the width of the screen A warning symbol I will appear if the input exceeds this voltage Tip Set the range just above the maximum voltage you expect to measure Setting it unnecessarily high w
30. 9 Maximum displays per second 51 Maximum frequency 19 Maximum frequency settings 11 Measurement details 39 46 Measurement facilities 39 Measurement list 25 43 Measurement options 44 Measurements 3 9 25 Measurements displaying 69 Menus 23 27 28 Merge 23 Meter 3 8 Meter button 17 Meter options 13 61 Meter parameter 63 Meter parameter list 62 Meter toolbar 20 Meter window 13 Minimum 39 Multiplier setup 34 38 PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Index 84 N New 23 New composite 27 New meter 27 New scope 27 New spectrum 27 New XY scope 27 Notes 32 Number of spectrum bands 58 O Offset removing 71 Offset null 25 One above another option Open 23 Open next 23 Open previous 23 Opening an instrument window or view 69 Options 25 Oscilloscope 3 8 Oscilloscope configuring 68 Oscilloscope button 17 Oscilloscope measurement facilities 39 Oscilloscope settings 9 16 Oscilloscope timebase 57 Oscilloscope toolbar 9 18 Oscilloscope window 9 Overlay 64 Overlay views option 15 Oversampling options 72 Overvoltage 18 Overvoltage warning P PC oscilloscope 9 Peak to peak 39 Persistence 53 Phase offset option 72 PicoScope 3 PicoScope 2000 3000 Series settings 37 Print 23 Printed graphs changing footer 68 Printer port selection 50 Printing 32 Printing the contents of a window 70 Probe settings 25 Probes 47 71 15
31. 9 46 Aliasing 11 Analog intensity 53 Application window 4 Auto setup 18 Auto trigger after 30 Autoselect 2x2 square option 15 Autoselect option 15 Axis scaling changing 67 B Bar graph 63 Beep on trigger 30 Blackman window 11 Block mode 9 55 C Changing axis scaling 67 Changing settings 68 Changing the footer on printed graphs 68 Channel settings 9 25 30 34 35 36 37 38 Chart recorder 55 Chart recorder mode 9 Clipboard 5 Clipboard colour option 72 Colour settings 23 52 Composite 3 14 60 Composite options 64 Composite window 8 15 Composite window settings 15 Composite window toolbar 22 Composite windows or views 65 Configuring your ADC 68 Contact details 7 Converter settings 23 Converting data files to text 69 Copy as graph 25 Copy as text 25 Copy measurements 25 Coupling 36 37 Crest factor 39 Current Filtered 53 Current Unfiltered 53 Custom range adding 66 Custom range list 47 Custom range settings 14 Custom ranges 5 13 25 Customisation 5 Cycletime 39 D Data 5 Data files converting to text 69 DC voltage 39 DC voltage display 13 DDE 5 72 DDS file 49 Decibels display 13 Default toolbar 17 Delay after trigger 30 Digital colour 53 Direction settings 30 Display a grid 55 Display area 4 Display axis scaling 55 Display current sampling status 22 Display datestamp in views 51 Display Mode 53 58 Display notes in views 51 Display pref
32. Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 46 5 3 6 Measurement details dialog box From the Measurement list dialog box select a measurement then click on Edit Measurement details i x Measurement Frequency DI Source whole trace DI Channel cha v ch A v VV Use dB Alarm Limits Min Hz v Cancel Max Help This dialog box allows you to specify the details for one measurement Measurement This selects the type of measurement required Full lists of measurement types are provided for the Oscilloscope and Spectrum analyser windows Source This specifies the part of the trace to use for the measurement Rulers if specified must be vertical The options for an oscilloscope measurement are amp Cycle at O ruler The cycle in which the O ruler falls amp Cycle at X ruler The cycle in which the X ruler falls amp Between cursors The area between the cursors amp Whole trace The entire trace The options for a spectrum measurement are At Peak The peak frequency the strongest signal AtO The frequency of the O ruler AtX The frequency of the X ruler Channel This specifies the channel to use for the measurement For most parameters a single channel is required For phase angle two channels must be specified Use dB This is used only for spectrum measurements If checked the result is displayed in dB otherwise it is displayed in percent
33. To operate the signal generator in its simplest mode type in a frequency in the text box labelled Frequency H the frequency entered is not available PicoScope will automatically choose the nearest frequency either higher or lower Note When you use PicoScope in conjunction with an oscilloscope from the ADC 200 series the signal generator works up to 250 kHz with the 3204 3205 3206 oscilloscopes the signal generator works up to 1 MHz To use sweep mode click the Active tick box in the Sweep Mode section of the dialog box and enter a frequency in the Stop Frequency Hz text box The value you enter must be higher than the initial frequency you entered in the Frequency text box Next if required click the Dual Slope and Repeat Signal in combination or singly In dual slope mode when the signal reaches the stop frequency it starts moving back towards the start frequency If dual slope mode is not selected once the stop frequency is reached the signal immediately jumps back to the initial frequency Finally enter your increment size and time in the text boxes labelled Increment and ms respectively then click the OK button Notes On oscilloscopes from the ADC 200 and 3204 3205 3206 series the signal generator shares a connector with the external trigger input It is not possible therefore to use the signal generator and the external trigger at the same time although there is the option of triggering from the signal generator Os
34. V Display view bar at top of window IV Display sampling bar at bottom of window This dialog box contains a number of options which affect how all windows are displayed Maximum displays per second This controls the display update rate The higher the number the more frequently PicoScope collects data and updates the screen At high update rates the computer may be so busy that it is difficult to use other applications or even to control PicoScope Display notes in views If you check this option the computer displays any notes that you have entered for a window at the bottom of the window This may be inconvenient in a small window Notes always appear on print outs Display datestamp in views If you check this option the computer displays the time and date that data was collected at the bottom of the window This may be inconvenient in a small window The timestamp always appears on print outs Display view bar at top of window You can select whether or not to have the instrument toolbar displayed at the top of the screen It is useful to turn off the instrument toolbar if you wish to use PicoScope within a small window or you wish to prevent operators from changing the settings Display sampling bar at bottom of window You can select whether or not to have the sample bar displayed at the bottom of the screen It is useful to turn off the sample bar if you wish to use PicoScope within a small window or you wish to prevent oper
35. You can turn this grid off if you feel that it obscures important features of the data Spectrum Timebase From the Settings menu select Timebase xl Max frequency 25000000 OK Cancel gt multiplier D v pre Za EE This dialog box is used to set the maximum frequency for the spectrum analyser This function is duplicated on the spectrum analyser toolbar Max frequency The maximum frequency controls the sampling rate of the data collected for spectrum analysis This in turn determines the highest frequency that the spectrum analyser can display Note The lower the maximum frequency the longer it takes to collect enough data to display a spectrum At very low maximum frequencies this may affect the response time of your computer to keyboard input X multiplier When the X multiplier is 1 the computer displays the entire frequency range across the full width of the window If you change the X multiplier to x2 the computer displays only half of the frequency range but twice as big It also displays a scroll bar across the bottom of the window which you can use to control the frequency range that is displayed PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 60 5 8 5 8 1 5 8 2 XY scope configuration XY Options From the Settings menu select Options xi Title xv Scope Accumulate successive cycles A Cancel IV Display a grid IV Di
36. a Y multiplier is set at off the computer displays the full voltage range over the height of the window If you change the Y multiplier to x1 the computer initially displays the full voltage range but also displays a scroll bar at the left or right of the window You can use this scroll bar to move the trace up or down to move it away from other traces If you change the Y multiplier to x2 or above the computer displays only half of the voltage range scaled to twice normal size The scroll bar now controls which portion of the voltage range is displayed Coupling You can switch PicoScope 2000 and 3000 series oscilloscopes between AC and DC using this drop down menu or you can use the controls on the instrument toolbar PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 38 5 2 5 DrDAQ From the Settings menu select Channels CI Trace Channel Range Multiplier pH v Volts v Off v B Temp e Volts v Off C Light Volts hd Off S Cancel OK kj Ek D M Volts DI Di zs Help Alternate This dialog box enables you to select which input channels to display in the active window and to set the input voltage ranges Channel DrDAQ can collect data from four channels in PicoScope If you collect data from more than one channel you can optionally use Alternate mode Range By default this is set to Volts If you add custom ranges to scale the input
37. ace You can either save these changes by clicking on Ok or you can revert to the original settings by clicking on Cancel Note These functions are not available on the Oscilloscope toolbar Title This is used to set the title for the active window It appears on the title bar of the window and on printed reports Display Mode You can display data in several formats some based on single cycles of data and others on multiple cycles The following two single cycle display modes are available amp Current Unfiltered This is the default display mode All the points of the current cycle are displayed without any filtering being done amp Current Filtered This involves use of a simple filter to help remove high frequency noise from the active trace In multi cycle display modes previous cycles affect how the active cycle is displayed For example a particular section of a trace may be displayed in a different colour depending on how often cycles pass over each other You can reset the results so far by clicking on the Stop button then the Start button Below is a list of all the multi cycle modes PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 54 amp Average The average of all cycles since you started This is useful for removing random noise from the active trace amp Min max amp average A shaded area showing the minimum and maximum of all cycles since you s
38. aces or print out the contents of more than one window on the same page PicoScope for Windows Composite Lg 10 x ay File Edit Settings View Window Help 18 x Y NGS E e seks ss bessa sales ha H H 155H 10Nov2003 11 15 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 10Nov2003 11 15 You can control what combination of window data is displayed in the composite window and in what order it is displayed The following options accessed from the Layout drop down list in the Options menu in Settings are available for the composite window amp Auto select Select whichever format is appropriate based on what the windows have in common amp Overlay views Useful if you wish to compare two versions of traces taken with the same measurement and scaling parameters amp Side by side max 2 Allows you to compare two traces with the same amplitude amp One above another max 4 Useful if you need to collate the X time or frequency axis for several signals The maximum amount of window data you can display is four sets 2x2 square max 4 Display up to four sets of window data in a square PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Instrument windows 16 2 7 Triggering For oscilloscope and spectrum analyser windows it is possible to specify a trigger event for collecting the block of data The block of data can be collected immediately after the trig
39. amples is 2500 This option enables you to set the maximum number of samples If you select a larger number you will see more when you zoom in If you select a smaller number the display will be updated more frequently The computer may also be able to use the average of a number of readings for each sample which will result in a smoother trace ETS oversample This specifies the amount of oversampling to use when PicoScope is running in ETS equivalent time sampling mode If for example PicoScope needs to display 10 cycles interleaved and the oversample is set to 3 PicoScope will collect 30 cycles and then display the best 10 A higher oversample gives more uniformly spaced samples but takes longer to collect ETS update speed This has two options fast and slow For slow each display is made up of fresh data whereas in fast mode only 1 oversample cycles will be new data For example if oversample is 3 the display will be updated three times as fast in fast mode but only 1 3 of the points will be updated each time PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 56 Slow sampling When the time per scan is more than one second the computer can work in one of three ways amp Standard The oscilloscope collects data and displays it while scanning After one complete scan the display resets and a new scan is started Because sampling is controlled by the computer gap
40. an change many of these preferences using the Setup option on the File menu but Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 73 PicoScope User Guide there are a number of additional options which you can change only by editing psw ini directly using a text editor such as Notepad Be sure to close PicoScope before editing the psw ini file otherwise your changes may be overwritten when you exit PicoScope PicoScope no longer uses the win ini file to store its settings Preferences in psw ini Values shown below are the default settings AccumulateLimit 0 When the accumulate option is selected this defines the number of traces to accumulate before blanking the screen and starting again AllowEarlyTrigger No In slow sampling mode the computer normally waits until it has collected a complete scan of data before waiting for the next trigger If 21 lowEarlyTrigger is setto Yes it will restart collecting if a new trigger occurs before the previous scan has completed ClipboardMono No Some applications cannot print embedded graphs which contain colour If you wish to use he clipboard to transfer graphs to an application which does not print them correctly set ClipboardMono to Yes Colourd 16777215 The colour of one of the display components where the digit following Colour is in the range 0 to 7 for background grid text rulers and channels A to D in that order The
41. ated trace Measurements PicoScope can take over 20 different measurements using either the whole trace the section between the cursors or the cycle around one cursor You can select any combination of measurements and specify alarm limits error limits for each measure The current value and various statistical measures mean standard deviation etc are displayed underneath the trace Slow sampling When the time per scan is more than a second the computer can work in three ways amp Standard mode It collects and displays the data for a complete scan then starts again collecting and displaying the data for another complete scan amp Chart recorder mode It collects data continuously and displays the most data for the most recent scan interval Note Chart recorder mode is not compatible with trigger modes other than None amp Block mode It collects a block of data no display update during collection and then displays the whole block at once There is no limit to the maximum number of samples and there will not be gaps while the display is updated Note In standard and chart recorder modes the sampling is controlled by the computer and the maximum it can collect is one sample per millisecond In addition there may be gaps in the sampling while the display is updated See also Configuring your oscilloscope ETS Some products support ETS Equivalent Time Sampling This offers a higher effective sampling rate when used
42. ators from changing the settings PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 52 5 5 4 Colour settings From the File menu select Setup then Colours Colour settings gt Background Trace Grid Trace B E i Ruler a Trace D ES Cancel Trace thickness Help This dialog box enables you to select the colours for the various components in an instrument window This facility may be especially useful on laptop computers if the default colours do not display very clearly To change the colour of a component click a block of colour adjacent to a component name A dialog box will open in which you can select a new colour Note On oscilloscope windows trace colours are used for both the Y axis scale and the trace Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 53 PicoScope User Guide 5 6 5 6 1 Oscilloscope configuration Scope Options From the Settings menu select Options Scope Options Title Scopd Be i OK ees Analog intensity DI Persistence 5seconds zl Cancel E da Saturation Ir 0 50 100 Help Advanced gt gt gt This dialog box is used to set a number of optional features for the active oscilloscope window If the oscilloscope is running whilst this dialog box is active you can use the Preview button to apply the effects directly to the tr
43. bove a certain set threshold Low pulse width The duration over which the signal is below a certain set threshold Duty cycle The ratio of the time above the threshold to the duration of one complete cycle expressed as a percentage Cycle time The time taken for one complete cycle DC voltage The average voltage during one complete cycle AC voltage This the RMS sum of the reading minus the DC voltage for one complete cycle Peak to peak The difference between the maximum peak and minimum peak Crest factor The ratio of the peak voltage to the RMS voltage Minimum The minimum value recorded Maximum The maximum voltage recorded Rise time The time taken to go from 20 of peak amplitude to 80 of peak amplitude Fall time The time taken to go from 80 of peak amplitude to 20 of peak amplitude Rising rate The slew rate calculated using the two samples either side of the threshold on arising edge expressed as Rising rate Vn Vn 1 Tn Tn 1 Falling rate The slew rate for the two samples either side of the threshold on a falling edge expressed as Falling rate Vn Vn 1 Tn Tn 1 Voltage at X ruler The computer identifies the samples immediately before and after the horizontal ruler then interpolates the voltage at the ruler point Voltage at O ruler See Voltage at X ruler Time at X ruler The time in the current cycle at which the trace crosses the vertical cursor Time at O ruler See Time at X
44. cale the input from sensors for example pressure or acceleration the custom ranges will appear here and you should select them here if you want to use them Y axis multiplier When a Y multiplier is set at off the computer displays the full voltage range over the height of the window If you change the Y multiplier to x1 the computer initially displays the full voltage range but also displays a scroll bar at the left or right of the window You can use this scroll bar to move the trace up or down to move it away from other traces If you change the Y multiplier to x2 or above the computer displays only half of the voltage range but twice as big The scroll bar now controls which portion of the voltage range is displayed PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 36 5 23 ADC 200 series From the Settings menu select Channels x Channels Ce Channel only C C Channel B only a Both channels alternate Help Both channels chop Channel 4 Channel B Voltage range Auto v Auto v Y axis multiplier fort D Off v Coupling ac Me ac v This dialog box enables you to select which input channels to display in the active window and to set the input voltage ranges Channels With an oscilloscope from the ADC 200 series you can collect data from a single channel or from a pair of channels If you want to collect data from more
45. cation Eg Excel or Quattro Pro Select Paste link or Paste Special from the Edit menu Click on the place in the spreadsheet where the data is to be placed The oscilloscope data appears in the spreadsheet The data is updated every few seconds NOOR WDM Another alternative is to type into a spreadsheet cell the text necessary to create a link To do this it is necessary to know the Application Topic and Item which defines the data that you require These are as follows Application Psw Topic View1 for first view View2 for second view etc Item Text Here are some examples Excel Psw Viewl Text Quattro Pro ddelink Psw Viewl Text There are a number of restrictions on the DDE functions available amp Graphical DDE export is not supported amp Composite views do not export text so cannot be used for DDE amp The Excel formula PLW Current Value supports only one cell so is of limited use use the Excel macro supplied with the software Initialisation settings When you first run PicoScope it creates a file called psw ini in its working directory and uses it to hold information about the preferences you set when running the program If you wish to use a number of different sets of preferences for example to use different converters you can do so by creating a number of copies of PicoScope each saved in a separate directory Each copy of PicoScope will use the psw ini file in its own directory You c
46. ch B Frequency New Param Cancel i Edit Delete Help EE ES ES This dialog box is used to add new parameters and to edit or delete existing parameters At the left of the window is a list of the currently specified parameters At the right of the window are a number of buttons which enable you to add edit or delete parameters New To create a new parameter click on the New button The computer will display the Meter Parameter dialog box containing the default settings Edit To edit an existing parameter move the highlight to the parameter entry that you wish to change and click on the Edit button The computer will display the Meter Parameter dialog box containing the default settings Delete To remove an existing parameter from the list move the highlight to the parameter entry that you wish to change and click on the Delete button Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 63 PicoScope User Guide 5 9 3 Meter Parameter From the Settings menu select Parameters then click on the New button E Tile Background Noise T Channel Sound zl Cancel Function DC signal zl Help d ki This option is used to alter the settings for a meter parameter Title This specifies the name that will appear next to the reading for a parameter This option does not appear if Single Parameter has been selected from the Meter Options dialog box
47. cilloscopes from the ADC 200 series provide only fixed frequency square wave signals The PicoScope 3204 provides variable frequency square wave signals The PicoScope 3205 and PicoScope 3206 models provide square sine and triangle wave signals with optional frequency sweep PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 34 5 2 5 2 1 Channel configuration ADC 1 1 22 From the Settings menu select Channels d Trace Channel Range Multiplier ma be br efr fe for 3 o for fe fr 3 Cancel ii Help l Alternate This dialog box enables you to select which input channels to display in the active window and to set the input voltage ranges Channel The ADC 11 22 can collect data from four channels If you want to collect data from more than one channel use Alternate mode Range This is generally set to volts If you add custom ranges to scale the input from sensors for example pressure or acceleration the custom ranges will appear here and you must select them here if you want to use them Multiplier When a Y axis multiplier is set to Off the computer displays the full voltage range over the height of the window If you change the Y multiplier to x1 the computer initially displays the full voltage range but also displays a scroll bar at the left or right of the window You can use this scroll bar to move the trace up or down to move it a
48. cted a block of data and displayed it PicoScope can either start looking for the next trigger event or stop collecting leaving the data after the trigger on the display Trigger enabled When this box is checked PicoScope only collects data when the specified trigger conditions occur If the box is not checked it displays data continuously Channel This selects which channel is to be used as the trigger input Note On oscilloscopes from the ADC 200 series and the 3204 5 6 oscilloscopes the external trigger is the same connector as the signal generator so you cannot use both functions at the same time unless of course you wish to trigger from the signal generator Direction The trigger direction can be either rising or falling When rising is selected the trigger event occurs when the voltage rises across the trigger threshold Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 31 PicoScope User Guide Threshold This shows the voltage in mV or in the units of the active window that the trigger channel must cross in order for a trigger event to occur Delay after trigger This controls the time delay as a percentage of the scan time between the trigger event and the start of collecting data A negative delay means that the computer will show data that was recorded before the trigger event For example 50 places the trigger event in the middle of the collected data and 100 means
49. d PicoScope will load psunoise psd then it will display topic 20000 from the specified help file c psu hlp When the Distortion example is selected PicoScope will load distort psd then it will run notepad exe to display distort txt In Windows 95 you can specify start distort txt andit will then start the correct program for a t xt file PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Technical reference 78 7 7 Glossary AC DC switch The AC DC switches for ADC 200 and PicoScope 2000 and 3000 series oscilloscopes operate under software control rather than manually When you are using an ADC 200 or PicoScope 2000 or 3000 series oscilloscope one two or four AC DC combo boxes appear on the instrument toolbar Note Changing the AC DC switch settings in one instrument window will also change the settings in all the other instrument windows that are running Aliasing When you take aset of samples from an input signal any frequency in the input signal which is above the Nyquist frequency half the sampling rate appears to be at a frequency below the Nyquist frequency This phenomenon is called aliasing For example with a frequency of 20 000 samples per second the Nyquist frequency is 10 000 Hz If the input signal contains a component at 11 000 Hz it will appear at 9 000 Hz It is easy to check for aliasing by changing the sampling frequency real signals will stay at the sa
50. d each trace and its axis are displayed in a different colour Voltage range If you use PicoScope with oscilloscopes from the ADC 100 ADC 200 or PicoScope 2000 and 3000 series it is possible to adjust the input voltage range The Auto option is useful if you are switching between different but consistent signals If the input voltage exceeds the chosen range an overvoltage warning symbol will appear on the voltage axis PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Instrument windows 10 You can also add custom ranges so that the values are displayed in some other oscilloscopes for example pressure or acceleration AC DC If you use PicoScope with oscilloscopes from the ADC 200 and PicoScope 2000 and 3000 series the AC DC switches are software selectable Grid PicoScope displays a 10x10 grid You can turn this grid off if it obscures important information select Settings Options Advanced and untick the Display a grid tick box Rulers You can add either horizontal or vertical rulers to the graph using the mouse buttons PicoScope reports the exact position of each ruler and the difference between two rulers on the same axis Display types The oscilloscope window can show you various combinations of the current data the minimum maximum and average of successive cycles It can accumulate successive cycles on the screen Note that it is not possible to print out an accumul
51. e AC DC or On Off status of any channel Timebase The length of time represented by each division grid square horizontally X Multiplier A horizontal scaling factor Use it to zoom in after capturing data You can also zoom in using mouse zooming hold down the Ctrl key whilst drawing a vertical line downwards with the mouse The program will select a zoom factor between x2 and x200 according to the length of the line To zoom out to x2 hold down the Ctrl key and draw a vertical line upwards with the mouse When you are zoomed in you can scroll left and right by dragging the scrollbar or by holding the Ctrl key and pressing the left and right arrow keys Range The maximum voltage that the oscilloscope will measure without error A warning symbol B will appear if the input exceeds this voltage Tip Set the range just above the maximum voltage you expect to measure Setting it unnecessarily high will reduce the accuracy of your measurements AC DC select ADC 200 and PicoScope 2000 and 3000 series oscilloscopes only This selects the coupling circuit used in the oscilloscope s input Tip Set to DC if you need to measure the absolute value of a voltage Set to AC if you only want to measure the amplitude of a signal such as its peak to peak value without regard to its absolute DC value Y Multiplier A vertical scaling factor Use it to zoom in after capturing data See Channel A The number of channels available depe
52. e resumes data collection Timebase The timebase control allows you to adjust the value of the time interval across the oscilloscope display If you select Scope timebase is time per division in the Scope Advanced Options dialog box the display works like a normal oscilloscope There are ten divisions across the screen so the total time interval is ten times the timebase Trigger channel This is for selecting the channel to be used as the trigger input Trigger delay This allows you to control the time delay between the trigger event and the start of data collection There is a number and a time units field You can type in a new value for the number or adjust its current value using the up and down arrows Trigger direction Use this to select the direction in which the signal crosses the trigger event threshold The trigger directions are as follows amp Rising Triggers when the trigger channel signal rises past the trigger threshold amp Falling Triggers when the signal falls past the threshold Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 CN PicoScope User Guide Trigger mode You use this to select the trigger mode The trigger modes are as follows amp None No trigger event so it collects and displays data continuously amp Auto Starts collecting when a trigger event occurs or after the auto trigger time whichever is sooner amp Repeat Starts collecting only whe
53. ech com PSW044 v1 5 9 9 05
54. en this box is checked PicoScope saves the data to disk each time a trigger event occurs This is useful if you wish to record all occurrences of an event which happens only occasionally You can then use the Open Next Open Previous menu options to look at each of the saved files Note To prevent accidental filling of your disk with data files there is a limit of 100 save on trigger files per session To change this limit see Initialisation settings Stop after trigger When this box is checked PicoScope stops collecting once it has collected one block of data after a trigger event Beep on trigger If this box is checked the computer will make an audible alert on a trigger event PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 32 5 1 2 Print dialog box From the File menu select Print ox Printer Acme Printer zl m Print Selection OK a Current view only Cancel Help Multiple pages for zoomed views No of Copies 1 Setup FREE This dialog box enables you to print either the active window or all windows To print the active window select the radio button adjacent to Current view only then click OK To print all windows select the radio button adjacent to All views then click OK If you are using the X multiplier function to increase the extent of the X axis select the radio button adjacent to Multiple pages for zoomed views This
55. ennnnn 50 6 Oscilloscope configuration 2xannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 53 7 Spectrum analyser configuration xxxxnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 58 8 XY scope configuration EEN 60 9 Meter configuration ssssnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnen 61 10 Composite Setup ssssssrsernnnrrrsennnnnnnnnneennnnnnnnnnnnennnennnnnnneennnennnnnnne 64 6 CoMmMmon tasks EEE AE ennnen 66 1 Adding a custom range rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnrrnnennrenenennnnnnn 66 2 Adding a ruler e EEEEEEEEEERREEEEREEEEEREEERREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEREEEEEREEEEEEEEERREEEESEEEEEEn 66 3 Repositioning a ruler xrrrnnnnnnnnnrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn aan nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 67 4 Removing a ruler sxsnnnnnnnnnnnnnnannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnr 67 5 Adding a test menu rrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 67 6 Changing axis scaling EEN 67 7 Changing the footer on printed graphs ENEE 68 8 Changing settings seannnnnnnnnnnannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnenr 68 9 Configuring your oscilloscope EEN 68 10 Converting data files to text EE 69 11 Opening an instrument window OF view rrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 69 12 Displaying measurements REENEN 69 13 Printing the contents of a WiNdow rrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 70
56. erences 23 51 Display sampling bar at bottom of window 51 Display settings 11 Display types 9 Display view bar at top of window 51 Displaying measurements on the oscilloscope or spectrum analyser 69 DrDAQ settings 38 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 83 PicoScope User Guide Dual slope 33 Duplicate view 25 Duty cycle 39 Dynamic Data Exchange 72 E Early triggering option 72 Earth 5 Edit custom range 48 Edit DrDAQ custom range 49 Edit menu 25 Equivalent Time Sampling 9 Error action 44 Error limits 9 ETS 9 ETS mode 71 ETS oversample 55 ETS update speed 55 Exit 23 Exporting data 5 Exporting to aspreadsheet 70 Exporting to a word processor 70 F Falling rate 39 Falltime 39 Fast Fourier Transform 11 FFT 11 40 File and clipboard formats 75 File formats 5 File menu 23 Footer 68 Footnote option 72 Frequency 39 Frequency display 13 Function 20 G Gain 40 Grid 9 Grid settings 11 14 Ground 5 H Harmonics 40 Helpmenu 28 Holdoff option 72 Horizontal zoom 18 21 IMD 40 Infinite persistence 53 Initialisation settings 72 Instrument 8 Instrument toolbar 17 Instrument window 3 4 9 11 13 14 15 Instrument window opening 69 Interference 5 K Keyboard shortcuts 29 L Language preferences 23 50 Legal information 6 M Main toolbar 4 Max harmonic for THD 44 Max samples per scope trace 55 Maximum 3
57. everal ways amp By accessing Setup in the File menu amp By adding a menu of standard tests or examples amp By adding custom ranges in units other than volts For example you might want to use pressure units 1 6 Exporting data You can use the standard Windows clipboard to export data from PicoScope to other applications If you want to export PicoScope data to a word processor you will probably require the data to be in graphical format so it appears in your document as a picture For spreadsheet export you should use text format so that you can later manipulate the data You can use dynamic data exchange to continuously update the data in another application The easiest way to do this is to select Paste link from the Edit menu of the target application When you use the clipboard to copy text data it copies only the data that is displayed This will be affected by the X multiplier and by the maximum number of points that can be displayed If you wish to transfer all readings to another application use the Save As option in the File menu and save the contents of the active window as a text file You can also use the Save As option in the File menu to save the contents of the active window in graphical format as a WMF JPG or BMP file 1 7 Safety We strongly recommend that you read the general safety information in your installation guide and also the product specific safety warning in the product manual before using
58. ful tool for recording processing and displaying a wide range of measurements The software provides four types of display amp Oscilloscope amp Spectrum analyser Meter XY oscilloscope These displays can be used singly or using the composite window feature in any combination 1 2 Why use PicoScope Used in place of a number of expensive and bulky items of test equipment PicoScope saves you money and keeps your workbench clear for important projects Switching between instruments is easy as the PicoScope instruments are entirely software controlled all you need to do is use a mouse to point and click and the Pico Technology oscilloscope stays running all the time These are some of the features supported by PicoScope amp Auto ranging On screen display of voltages and times amp Printing saving and restoring of traces amp Custom measuring ranges PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Introduction 4 1 3 1 4 Screen layout The PicoScope application window is divided into the following three areas amp Display area Used to display the instrument windows containing the data read from the oscilloscope amp Instrument toolbar Located at the top of the screen this provides the most commonly used controls for the active instrument window Each instrument window has its own toolbar and controls amp Sample toolbar Positioned along the bottom of the window th
59. ger event or it can be a specified delay expressed as a percentage of the scan time after the trigger event A negative trigger delay means that part or all of the data block is before the trigger event The trigger event occurs when the signal level for the specified channel crosses a threshold It is possible to select whether the event is a rising or a falling as it crosses the threshold The following diagram shows a rising trigger event with a delay of 20 PicoScope for Windows C PICOYmyfile psd i Ioj x Ki File Edit Settings View Window Automotive Help 18 x SOx msaiv Ali z af 500 mv z oc z fort Blon fac ott V If the trigger event occurs only once it is useful to be able to stop immediately after collecting the data for the trigger event You can do this by checking the Stop after trigger option in the Trigger dialog box or by setting the trigger mode to Single in the Sampler and trigger toolbar Note If you turn off auto trigger when using a product other than an oscilloscope from the ADC 200 and PicoScope 2000 and 3000 series PicoScope locks the computer until a trigger event occurs If PicoScope does become stuck click on the Stop button in the Sampler trigger toolbar then press F9 16 bit applications or F10 32 bit applications to cancel the trigger If a particular event only occurs very occasionally it is useful to leave PicoScope running with the Save on trigger opt
60. hat may be running other software products For this reason one of the conditions of the licence is that it excludes use in mission critical applications for example life support systems Viruses This software was continuously monitored for viruses during production but you are responsible for virus checking the software once it is installed Support If you are dissatisfied with the performance of this software please contact our technical support staff who will try to fix the problem within a reasonable time If you are still dissatisfied please return the product and software to your supplier within 28 days of purchase for a full refund Upgrades We provide upgrades free of charge from our web site at www picotech com We reserve the right to charge for updates or replacements sent out on physical media Trade marks Windows and Excel are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation Quattro is a registered trademark of Corel Corporation Pico Technology Limited DrDAQ and PicoScope are internationally registered trademarks Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 7 PicoScope User Guide 1 9 Company details Address Pico Technology Limited The Mill House Cambridge Street St Neots Cambridgeshire PE19 1QB United Kingdom Phone 44 0 1480 396 395 Fax 44 0 1480 396 296 Sales sales picotech com Technical Support support picotech c
61. he Window menu and on minimised instrument windows One of the windows in the display area is the active window the bar at the top of the window is highlighted You can switch between windows using the methods common to most Windows applications For example to activate a window click its title bar You can change the settings for data collection or display for any window but you must first activate it The commonly used settings for the active window are displayed on the instrument toolbar at the top of the display To inspect or change the remaining settings access the Settings menu on the menu bar Zoom multipliers Some instrument windows allow you to zoom in on a small area of the display by setting the multiplier for X or Y axis or both to a value other than one With the multiplier switched off PicoScope shows you all of the data in the window With the multiplier set to x1 PicoScope initially shows you all of the data but you can move the data up and down with the scroll bar provided This is useful if you wish to separate two traces with similar voltages With the multiplier set to x2 PicoScope shows you only half of the data but the scroll bar enables you select which half you can see You can also control X axis zooming using the mouse see under oscilloscope toolbar and XY oscilloscope toolbar for details Time date and notes The computer adds the date and time to each window and you can also add notes of your own
62. he File menu and save the file in TXT format Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 71 PicoScope User Guide 6 16 Removing an offset When you are working at low input voltages there may be a small offset on the ADC input You can remove this offset until you exit the program by carrying out an Offset Null as follows 1 Disconnect or short the input on the appropriate channel 2 Select Settings from the menu bar 3 Select Offsets from the Settings menu 4 Select the channel that you wish to offset null 5 Any offset will be automatically removed from all traces and meter readings 6 17 Selecting x10 probes You can tell PicoScope that you are using a x10 oscilloscope probe PicoScope then displays all voltages ten times higher The range selections do not change but traces and meter readings will be scaled correctly 1 Select Settings from the main menu 2 Select Probes from the Settings menu 3 The computer shows a menu of x1 x10 for each channel 4 There is a tick next to the currently selected option for each channel 5 Check the option for chA x10 or chB x10 You can use the same method to use a x20 or x100 oscilloscope probe If the fixed attenuation options are not sufficient for your application you can set up PicoScope for use with probes of any type by creating a custom range Safety note you should use an isolated oscilloscope probe if you wish to work with or
63. he total time interval for a scan X multiplier If you set the X multiplier to 1 the computer displays all of the data that it has collected across the full width of the window If you change the X multiplier to x2 the computer displays only half of the data but twice as big It also displays a scroll bar across the bottom of the window which you can use to control which portion of the data is displayed PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 58 5 7 5 7 1 Spectrum analyser configuration Spectrum Options From the Settings menu select Options Spectrum Options x Title Spectrum i X scale Linear DI Cancel Y scale de DI Help Window Blackman a No of spectrum bands 256 bed Display mode Normal Z IV Display a grid This dialog box controls a number of optional features of the active spectrum analyser window Note These functions are not available on the spectrum analyser toolbar X scale The X axis represents frequency You can display the frequency either in linear or in logarithmic form Y scale On the spectrum analyser display the Y axis represents the power at a specified frequency The power can be expressed either as volts RMS or as dB Window PicoScope performs an analysis on a short block of samples The cutting of this block from the data stream can introduce distortion which produces side lobes on spectru
64. ical reference 72 Test menu adding 67 Test menus 76 THD 40 Threshold 30 Time at O ruler 39 Time at X ruler 39 Time per division option 72 Time per scan 60 Timebase 18 21 57 Timebase is per division 57 Timebase settings 9 11 14 25 Trigger channel 22 Trigger delay 22 Trigger direction 22 Trigger enabled 30 Trigger event 30 Trigger mode 22 Trigger setup 16 25 30 Trigger threshold 22 Two by two 64 U Update rate option 72 Use ETS 30 User interface 4 V View opening 69 View menu 27 Voltage at O ruler 39 Voltage at X ruler 39 Voltage range 20 Voltage range settings Voltage range setup W What is PicoScope 3 win ini 72 Window menu 8 28 Windowing 11 Windows 8 meter 13 oscilloscope 9 spectrum analyser 11 Word processor exporting to 70 X X axis scaling 11 X multiplier 18 19 22 X multiplier settings 57 X scrolling 64 XY oscilloscope 3 8 XY oscilloscope options 14 60 XY oscilloscope timebase 60 XY oscilloscope toolbar 14 21 XY oscilloscope window 14 Y Y axis multiplier setup Y axis scaling 11 Y multiplier 18 21 22 Y scrolling 64 Z Zero dB level 72 Zoom horizontal 9 11 14 34 35 36 37 38 35 36 37 18 21 PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Pico Technology Ltd The Mill House Cambridge Street St Neots PE19 1QB United Kingdom Tel 44 0 1480 396 395 Fax 44 0 1480 396 296 Web www picot
65. ights reserved PSW044 v1 5 37 PicoScope User Guide 5 2 4 PicoScope 2000 3000 Series From the Settings menu select Channels x Channels Ze Channel A only C Channel B only Both channels alternate Help Both channels ch Sree ae E Channel A Channel B Trace Channel Range Multiplier Voltage range Auto v Auto DI A cht DI Auto v fi DI Y axis multiplier fort DI Off Se B ch2 DI E Coupling Jac v AC C ES z Auto H a H F D ch4 DI fi DI Help Alternate These dialog boxes enable you to select which input channels to display in the active window and to set the input voltage ranges Channels You can collect data from a single channel or from two or more channels If you want to collect data from more than one channel there are two modes available to you Chop mode and Alternate mode Voltage range The oscilloscopes have a number of input voltage ranges You can either specify an input voltage range or select Auto which means the oscilloscope will automatically adjust the voltage range to suit the input signal Note Auto mode does not give good results with trigger signals that occur only once as PicoScope does not know in advance what range to use If you add custom ranges to scale the input from sensors for example pressure or acceleration the custom ranges will appear here You must select them to activate them Y axis multiplier When
66. ill reduce the accuracy of your measurements DC AC DC Select ADC 200 and PicoScope 2000 and 3000 series oscilloscopes only This selects the coupling circuit used in the oscilloscope s input Tip Set to DC if you need to measure the absolute value of a voltage Set to AC if you only want to measure the amplitude of a signal such as its peak to peak value without regard to its absolute DC value Off v Multiplier The horizontal scaling factor Set to Off when capturing data then change to zoom in You can also zoom in using mouse zooming hold down the Ctrl key whilst drawing a vertical line downwards with the mouse The program will select a zoom factor between x2 and x200 according to the length of the line To zoom out to x2 hold down the Ctrl key and draw a vertical line upwards with the mouse When you are zoomed in you can scroll left and right by dragging the scrollbar or by holding the Ctrl key and pressing the left and right arrow keys Y Channel Y ato sl Range The voltage range that corresponds to the height of the screen See X Channel for more details DC AC DC Select See X Channel Off v Multiplier The vertical scaling factor Set to Off when capturing data then change to zoom in PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Instrument toolbars 22 3 7 3 8 Composite window toolbar The composite window toolbar appears when the composite wind
67. in value 5 Max value 20 Cancel Units Pa Help You use this dialog box to add or edit a new custom range Note When you use DrDAQ there is a different dialog box For your information the signal conditioner information is derived from the Signal conditioner files You can create a user PSC file for sensors that you wish to use regularly See the signal conditioner help for more information about these files or any other aspect of signal conditioners Using a signal conditioner 1 Select the appropriate conditioner the Sensor box will then show a list of sensors for the selected conditioner 2 Select a sensor the computer fills in the minimum and maximum value and the units for this sensor 3 You can if required alter the minimum and maximum values if you are using only part of the range For example Pt100 goes from 200 C to 370 C But you may wish to display 0 to 100 C You can even create two Pt100 custom ranges one for 0 to 100 and another for 0 to 200 if required Using your own sensor Leave the conditioner and sensor set to None 2 Type in pairs of raw and scaled values in the edit box For example if you are using a pressure sensor that produces 0 mV at 0 bar and 2000 mV at 100 bar type in 00 2000 100 3 The min and max values will be updated as you enter the values For a sensor with a linear output you should enter two pairs of values the minimum and the maximum If the sensor has a non
68. indow Close all This menu option close all windows leaving the display area empty Help menu Index This menu option takes you to the index of this manual Index Fi Contents Using help About Contents This option takes you to the contents page of this manual Using help This option leads to an explanation of how to use Windows help About This option shows details about the PicoScope program and the driver you are currently using Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 29 PicoScope User Guide 48 Keyboard shortcuts Key Function Explanation PgDn Open next When you have used the save on trigger option to save a series of waveforms this command lets you step forward through the series PgUp Open previous Step backward see Open next F1 Help index View the PicoScope online help index F2 Timebase Set up the scope timebase spectrum timebase or XY timebase F3 Channels Select and configure the input channels F4 Trigger Set up the trigger F5 Options Set miscellaneous options for the current view F6 Notes Type a note to appear in the current view F7 Signal Generator Set up the signal generator if your oscilloscope has one F9 Run stop all Pause or resume sampling in all non frozen windows F10 Run stop all As above Space Run stop all As above Ctrl F4 Cl
69. ion set Each time a trigger event occurs the data is written to a sequence numbered file You can later examine the data using the page up and page down keys to take you through the sequence of recorded events The same trigger settings apply to all instrument windows Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 17 PicoScope User Guide 3 Instrument toolbars 3 1 Introduction The instrument toolbars are displayed at the top of the main window just underneath the menu bar Which instrument toolbar is displayed depends on which instrument window is currently active 3 2 Default toolbar The default toolbar appears when there are no active windows Av Click this button to open a new oscilloscope window L Click this button to open a new spectrum analyser window Gi Click this button to open a new meter window PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Instrument toolbars 18 3 3 Oscilloscope toolbar The oscilloscope toolbar appears when the oscilloscope window is active d fi ms div xl v Channel A OR DC xi e Channels B C D Ol xhi msaiv ffa zl afato zfpocz jor cfort pcz for Bjort pc gt off D Djort gt pc gt fort D Auto Setup The program searches for signals on all enabled channels and adjusts the timebase and ranges accordingly It does not change th
70. is menu option creates a new XY oscilloscope window New Composite This menu option creates a new Composite window If there are four windows or fewer in the display area all the windows are added to the composite Run stop all This menu option starts or stops data collection on all windows that are not frozen You can also do this by pressing the space bar or by using the mouse to click on the Run Stop button at the bottom left of the window Run stop view This menu option starts or stops the active window If the window is currently frozen it both thaws and starts the window Freeze thaw one This menu option freezes or thaws the active window When a window is frozen it is stopped and will not start even if the Run Stop button is pressed Clear This menu clears the active window This means that it eliminates the data while leaving the settings the same Close This menu option closes the active window PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Menus 28 4 6 4 7 Window menu Tile This menu option arranges all of the windows so that they are equally spaced over the main window Cascade Arrange Icons Close all w 1 Scope Cascade This menu option arranges all of the windows so that only the title bar of each window is visible Arrange Icons If you have several windows displayed as icons this menu option arranges the icons along the bottom of the main w
71. is toolbar shows the current sampling status and provides controls for triggering PicoScope C Picoymyfile psd i JO x Ag File Edit Settings View Window Automotive Help l8 x PII Waters spo sl v e infor ee a 1 6 1 2 0 8 0 4 0 4 0 8 1 2 1 6 2 0 Running Trigger Repeat DI ch A D Rising D 52000 Geng 50 P Display area The display area is the central area of the screen It can contain a number of instrument windows each showing test data in a different way You might want to repeatedly use the same set of instrument windows To save a particular window arrangement you can choose any of the following options amp Save to a data file This will have a file extension of PSD You can then re load the file to see the data again amp Save to a setup file This will have a file extension of PSS You can then re load the file to use the same settings but without the data Read in more data using the same settings amp Use the Save settings function The next time you run PicoScope it will start up with the same windows and settings loaded amp Save the data for a particular window in TXT format suitable for importing into Excel and WMF JPG and BMP format suitable for importing into desktop publishing Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 5 PicoScope User Guide applications 1 5 Customisation You can customise PicoScope in s
72. ixels UpdatesPerSecond 20 How often the instrument windows will be updated For ADC 200 212 216 and PicoScope 2000 3000 series oscilloscopes this value can be increased for better performance For slower products a high update rate may slow down keyboard input and make the computer difficult to use Viewbar Yes Whether a control bar for the active window is to be displayed at the top of the main window ZeroDb 707000 The level in microvolts that the meter and spectrum analyser should use for zero dB Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 75 PicoScope User Guide 7 4 File and clipboard formats PSD and Pss files The file formats for these two files are the same except that a PSs file contains no measurement data Please note that PicoScope will compress files larger than 4 KB If therefore you are saving a file with the intent of importing it into another application ensure that you have set the SaveUncompressed flag inthe ini file to No A file is made up of a number of sections in the following format The header is 8 bytes long and contains the following information amp Owner amp Section type amp Section number amp Number of part The only useful items are the section type and the number of parts Each part is preceded by a 32 bit byte count which specifies the length of the remainder of the part i e the length excluding the byte count
73. ke at the fundamental frequency of that sine wave In reality the frequency information tends to get spread out by the finite number of FFT points and end effects which leads to a broadening of the spike The measurement calculations will use expected values for the spread These will be a function of the number of points and the window type Another effect of the FFT process is to lump all the components which are varying more slowly than the entire sampling period into a band labelled as DC This can lead to a false impression of the actual DC value The measurement calculations deal with this by ignoring the first spread bands Frequency This displays the peak frequency of the data source Amplitude This displays the peak amplitude of the data source Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 41 PicoScope User Guide Total power This displays the total power of the entire spectrum Calculated by taking the root of the sum of each RMS value squared Total power sqrt sum value THD Total Harmonic Distortion This is the ratio of the harmonic power to the power at the datum In the following equation V1 is the RMS value at the datum frequency and V2 V5 are RMS values at the harmonics V AV EV V THD 20log z 1 THD Noise Total Harmonic Distortion Noise This is the ratio of the harmonic power plus noise to the fundamental power THD N values will almost a
74. linear response you should enter more pairs of values 4 Type in the units bars in this case Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 49 PicoScope User Guide 5 43 Edit DrDAQ custom range From the Custom range list dialog box select a custom range then click on Edit Edit DDAQ custom range x Input channel Vokago Input value Scaled value Pair 1 4 Par2 16 en II Scaled Pa units Cancel Help You use this dialog box to add or edit a custom range for a DrDAQ sensor g Note You can also create custom scalings for DrDAQ by creating a DDS file see the DrDAQ help file for more information 1 Select the input channel that you wish to scale 2 Type in pairs of raw and scaled values in the edit box For example if you are using a pressure sensor that produces 0 mV at 0 bar and 2000 mV at 100 bar type in 00 2000 100 3 For a sensor with a linear output you should enter two pairs of values the minimum and the maximum If the sensor has a non linear response you should enter more pairs of values 4 Type in the units pascal in this case PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 50 5 5 5 5 1 5 5 2 ADC setup ADC Selection From the File menu select Setup then Converter ADC Selection x ADC Type ADC 212 Printer port LFT1 Cancel Help You use
75. lways be greater than the THD values for the same signal THD Noise can be expressed as sum of squares of RMS values excluding datum pe RMS value of datum SFDR Spurious Free Dynamic Range This is the ratio of the amplitude of the datum point normally the Peak Frequency component and the frequency component with the second largest amplitude call it SFDR frequency The component at the SFDR frequency is not necessarily a harmonic of the fundamental frequency component For example it might be a strong independent noise signal SINAD Signal to Noise and Distortion Ratio This is the ratio in decibels of the signal plus noise plus distortion to noise plus distortion SINAD 20 os RMS value of datum aq sumof squaresof allRMS components except datum Note Hanning or Blackman windows are recommended because of their low noise SNR Signal to Noise Ratio This is the ratio in decibels of the mean signal power to the mean noise power r RMS value of datum SNR 20 el sum of squares of all values excluding datum and harmonics Note Hanning or Blackman windows are recommended because of their low noise PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 42 IMD Intermodulation Distortion This is a measure of the distortion caused by the nonlinear mixing of two tones When multiple signals are injected into a device modulation or nonlinea
76. m peaks This effect can be reduced by multiplying the block of data by a set of factors which rounds oft the ends of the data This technique is known as windowing PicoScope supports several different windowing methods No windowing algorithm is guaranteed to eliminate all end effects but switching between two methods can give a clue to whether a particular peak is a side lobe or a genuine peak A rectangular window is generally best for estimating an exact frequency whereas a Blackman window is often best for minimising side lobes No of spectrum bands A fast fourier transform divides up a signal into a number of frequency bands More bands gives higher resolution but it is necessary to collect and process more data This reduces the display update rate and reduces effectiveness when dealing with impulse type signals You can select between 128 and 4096 frequency bands in powers of two Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 59 PicoScope User Guide 5 7 2 Display mode You can display the following traces amp Current The spectrum for the current cycle Average A moving average of successive cycles useful for removing random noise and Peak Displays the maximum of all cycles since the start reset by stop restart Useful for plots of swept sine Display a grid The computer normally shows a grid corresponding to the scale points of the power and frequency axes
77. me frequency whereas aliased signals will move It is possible to reduce the effects of aliasing by taking several readings for each sample oversampling then applying a digital filter to attenuate signals above the Nyquist frequency Note This is only possible when the sampling rate is well below the maximum sampling rate at which the ADC can operate Alternate mode If the event you are observing is repeated you can use alternate mode This enables PicoScope to take blocks of readings alternately from one channel to the other at full speed Channel This is for specifying from which channel to measure data Channel A B This is for specifying an input voltage range If you select Auto the ADC will automatically adjust the voltage range to suit the input signal Selecting off will turn a channel off Chop mode The computer takes a reading from one channel and then a reading from the other channel This is useful for events that occur only once and you wish to see the same event in both channels The disadvantage of chop mode is that the sampling rate on two channels is half the sampling rate with one channel Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 79 PicoScope User Guide dB Decibels The decibel is a unit of power ratio The decibel value can be expressed as 10 x log10 power power zero db If you work this out when power power_zero_db you will find that the dB value is
78. n a trigger event occurs After displaying the data it waits for the next trigger event amp Single Starts collecting only when a trigger event occurs and stops after displaying the data amp ETS This enables equivalent time sampling not available with all products If you select None the remaining trigger options are shaded Note If you select Repeat or Single when using an oscilloscope not belonging to the ADC 200 or PicoScope 2000 or 3000 series PicoScope locks the computer until a trigger event occurs If PicoScope does become stuck click on the Stop button in the sample bar then press F9 16 bit applications or F10 32 bit applications to cancel the trigger Trigger threshold This shows the voltage in mV that the trigger channel must cross in order for a trigger event to occur You can type in a new value for the trigger threshold or adjust the current value using the up and down arrows Note The trigger threshold is acted upon immediately The minus sign on its own is not valid if you want a negative trigger delay type in a number followed by the minus sign X multiplier When the X multiplier is set at 1 the computer displays the collected data across the full width of the window If you change the value of the X multiplier to x2 the computer magnifies the data to double its original size and displays a scroll bar across the bottom of the window You use this to scroll through different portions of the data N
79. ndows 2 Open a DOS box 3 Go to the directory containing the files that you wish to convert to text 4 Type in the following command psw t run psd This command will convert any psd data file with run as the first three letters into the corresponding run txt Opening an instrument window or view Using the main menu 1 Select View from the main menu 2 Select the type of view or window that you wish to create oscilloscope spectrum analyser or meter XY oscilloscope composite Using buttons on the instrument toolbar Av for oscilloscope window for spectrum analyser window for meter window Displaying measurements You can display a number of measurements frequency rise time etc at the bottom of the oscilloscope or spectrum trace To do this Open up an oscilloscope or spectrum analyser window Select Measurements from the Settings menu Click Add On the Measurement details dialog box specify the details for the measurement Click OK Click Options On the Measurement options dialog box select the statistics that you require average standard deviation etc Click OK Click OK zl OO oh PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Common tasks 70 6 13 Printing the contents of a window 1 Use the mouse to click on the window 2 Select File from the main menu 3 Select Print from the sub menu 4 To print the active window click the Current view
80. nds on the oscilloscope variant you are using Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 19 PicoScope User Guide 3 4 Spectrum analyser toolbar The spectrum analyser toolbar appears when the spectrum analyser window is active fy LI 3 10 0 MHz X xl 7 tfcha Auto DI DC D 2 Off Lan mY oc xl 10 0 MHz x Spectrum 1 1 ch a gt Auto bi Spectrum 2 See Spectrum 1 Maximum Frequency The frequency at the right hand end of the frequency scale X Multiplier A horizontal scale factor Use to zoom in on captured data Channel The input channel that Spectrum 1 represents The number of channels available depends on the oscilloscope variant that you are using Range The maximum voltage that the oscilloscope will measure without error A warning symbol will appear if the input exceeds this voltage Tip Set the range just above the maximum voltage you expect to measure Setting it unnecessarily high will reduce the accuracy of your measurements AC DC Select ADC 100 200 and PicoScope 2000 and 3000 series oscilloscopes only This selects the coupling circuit used in the oscilloscope s input Tip Set to DC if you need to measure the absolute value of a voltage Set to AC if you only want to measure the amplitude of a signal such as its peak to peak value without regard to its absolute DC value PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 200
81. near high voltages 6 18 Switching to ETS mode Some products support ETS Equivalent Time Sampling mode This offers a higher effective sampling rate when used with repetitive signals Note that ETS should not be used for one shot or non repetitive signals 1 Open anew oscilloscope window 2 Set the trigger mode to Auto 3 Set the trigger parameters so that the oscilloscope is triggering correctly 4 Set the trigger mode to ETS note this will not be available if your product does not support ETS 5 Adjust the timebase to take advantage of the higher effective sample rate PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Technical reference 72 7 1 7 2 7 3 Technical reference Introduction The following sections detail more advanced configuration settings and specifications Dynamic Data Exchange Dynamic Data Exchange DDE is a way of transferring data between Windows programs so that when data changes in one application it is automatically updated in another application PicoScope for Windows acts as a DDE server by making available a number of pieces of information Topics which other applications when acting as DDE clients can request This communication is called a DDE link The easiest way to set up a link is to use the clipboard Here is a step by step guide Open an oscilloscope window and start it running Select Copy as text from the Edit menu Go to the client appli
82. of the main window 6 9 Configuring your oscilloscope 1 Select the File Setup Converter dialog box from the main menu 2 Use the ADC Type drop down menu to set the type of oscilloscope you are using 3 Set the Port This should be the port to which the oscilloscope will be connected 4 Click on the OK button Is it set up correctly ADC 200 and PicoScope 3204 3205 3206 1 Connect the Signal Generator External Trigger output to Channel A 2 Select Settings Signal Generator 3 Check the Enable box and enter a frequency of 1000 Hz 4 Create an oscilloscope window select 1 ms div 5 You should see a square wave with one square per division Is it set up correctly other ADCs 1 Create a meter window for DC volts and then connect the ADC to a battery Check that the voltage is correct 2 Create an oscilloscope window then connect an oscilloscope probe and touch the probe with your finger You should see a small 50 Hz or 100 Hz waveform on the oscilloscope window Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 69 PicoScope User Guide 6 10 6 11 6 12 Converting data files to text To convert a single file to text 1 Select File Open from the main menu 2 Select the file that you wish to convert 3 Select File Save from the main menu 4 Change the file type to Text file t xt 5 Enter a filename 6 Click on OK To convert several files 1 Close PicoScope for Wi
83. om Web site www picotech com PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Instrument windows 8 2 1 Instrument windows Introduction The core components of PicoScope are the instrument windows amp Oscilloscope window A PC oscilloscope with all of the features of a modern storage oscilloscope amp Spectrum analyser window Displays power at each of a range of frequencies amp Meter window Displays DC voltage AC voltage frequency or dB amp XY oscilloscope window Displays one channel against another for instance to produce Lissajous figures or for phase analysis amp Composite window Displays the contents of up to four other windows within a single composite window Multiple windows You can have several windows open in the display area though PicoScope will run slowly if you have too many If PicoScope gets too cluttered you can easily close down individual windows or close all windows from the Window menu Alternatively you can rearrange the windows or minimise them then reinstate them when you need them If you have more than one instrument window it is worthwhile changing the title of the windows to indicate what type of data they contain you can set the title using the Options dialog box for the window for example the Scope Options dialog box The title appears on the bar at the top of the instrument window on print outs of instrument windows in t
84. on is used to set the signal generator frequency if you are using an oscilloscope from the ADC 200 or PicoScope 2000 or 3000 series Custom Ranges This option is used to define alternative ranges so that traces can be displayed in some units other than volts Probes This group of menu options enables you to specify whether you are using x1 x10 x20 or x100 probes If you select x10 the range selections on the instrument toolbar do not change but all displayed values are multiplied by 10 Offset null When operating at the most sensitive input voltage ranges there may be a small offset perhaps a few millivolts on the voltage readings To remove this offset disconnect or short the input for a channel select this option and then select the channel PicoScope measures the voltage on the channel and then removes this offset The offset is not stored so it is necessary to repeat this procedure each time you start PicoScope Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 27 PicoScope User Guide 4 5 View menu New Scope This menu option creates a new Oscilloscope window New Scope New Spectrum New Meter New XY scope New Composite Run stop all lt space gt Run stop view Freeze thaw one Clear Close Ctrl F4 New Spectrum This menu option creates a new Spectrum analyser window New Meter This menu option creates a new Meter window New XY scope Th
85. ose Close the current view Ctrl Left Scroll left Scroll waveform left in oscilloscope and XY oscilloscope views when horizontally zoomed Ctrl Right Scroll right See Scroll left Ctrl Mouse Horizontal zoom Zoom horizontally by drawing vertical line with mouse For downward line zoom factor varies from x2 to x200 depending on length of line For upward line zoom factor is set to x2 PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Dialog boxes 30 5 5 1 5 1 1 Dialog boxes General Trigger setup From the Settings menu select Trigger x IV Trigger enabled OK Channel cha Cancel Direction Rising Help Threshold 5 mv Delay after trigger 30 minus for pre trigger da Use equivalent time sampling ETS Auto trigger after Hoer ms J Save on trigger I Stop after trigger T Beep on trigger The trigger facility allows you to specify a point in time when PicoScope will begin collecting data for display This is usually at some fixed time before or after a trigger event The current settings for the trigger apply to all windows ie there is not a separate set of trigger settings for each window A trigger event occurs when a specified channel crosses a voltage threshold rising or falling PicoScope can start collecting data immediately after the trigger event or at a fixed time interval before or after the trigger event After PicoScope has colle
86. ote 1 You can change the Y multiplier to expand the voltage range Note 2 If you set the X multiplier to a value of x10 or above it may be worthwhile increasing the max samples per scope trace value Note 3 In the XY Scope display the X multiplier acts on the input voltage selected for the X channel not on the timebase Y multiplier When the Y multiplier is set at 1 the computer displays the full voltage range within the boundaries of the instrument window If you change the Y multiplier to x1 the computer initially displays the full voltage range but also displays a scroll bar You can use this scroll bar to move the trace up or down away from other traces If you change the Y multiplier to x2 the computer displays only half of the voltage range but at double magnification The scroll bar now controls which portion of the voltage range is displayed Note You can change the X multiplier to expand the time axis or in the XY oscilloscope window the horizontal voltage axis PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Index 82 Index A AC voltage 39 AC voltage display 13 AC DC switch 9 18 19 21 Accumulate option 72 Accumulate successive cycles ADC 3 4 33 ADC configuring 68 ADC selection 50 ADC 100 series settings 35 ADC 11 22 settings 34 ADC 200 series settings 36 Adding a custom range 66 Adding aruler 66 Adding atest menu 67 Aggregate cycles 44 Alarm limits
87. ouse Voltage range If you use PicoScope with oscilloscopes from the ADC 100 ADC 200 PicoScope 2000 or 3000 series you can adjust the input voltage range The Auto option is useful if you are switching between different but consistent signals You can also add custom ranges so that the values are displayed in other units such as pressure or acceleration units If the input voltage exceeds the chosen range an overvoltage warning symbol will appear on the corresponding axis Accumulate If the waveform you are displaying is periodic with only minor fluctuations you can select Accumulate successive cycles This is a tickbox on the Options menu in Settings The computer then draws new traces on top of the old ones so that any unusual traces for instance glitches and missing pulses stand out Grid By default PicoScope displays a 10x10 grid You can turn this grid off if it obscures important information Rulers You can add either horizontal or vertical rulers to the graph using the mouse buttons PicoScope reports the exact position of each ruler and the difference between two rulers on the same axis Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 15 PicoScope User Guide 2 6 Composite window The composite window allows you to display the contents of up to four instrument windows at any one time in the same window This is particularly useful when you want to compare screen tr
88. ow is active ed a sla zl vfor xixi v X multiplier for composite window WO RB Y multiplier for composite window Sampling and trigger toolbar The sampling trigger toolbar provides three main functions amp Start stop sampling amp Display current sampling status amp Set trigger el Stopped Trigger Repeat D ch A D Rising 300 Smy 50 el Start and stop sampling Stopped Sampling Status Repeat z Trigger Mode ch A gt Trigger Channel Rising E Trigger Direction 300 Ge Trigger Threshold so Trigger Delay Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 23 PicoScope User Guide 4 Menus 4 1 Introduction The following menus are accessible from the menu bar see below in PicoScope File Edit Settings View Window Help lks File Edit Settings View Window Automotive Help 4 2 File menu New This menu option clears the display area Open Merge Save Save as Open next PgDn Open previous PgUp Print Save Settings Setup L Exit Open This menu option closes all display windows and then opens a data or setup file If you open a data file the settings and data are copied from the file and the data is displayed If you open a setup file only the settings are recovered No data is displayed until you start PicoScope running Merge This menu option reads in saved data from previo
89. peak value of successive cycles Windowing PicoScope performs an analysis on a relatively short block of samples The cutting of this block from the data stream can introduce distortion which produces side lobes on spectrum peaks This effect can be reduced by multiplying the block of data by a set of factors which rounds oft the ends of the data This technique is known as windowing PicoScope supports several different windowing methods no windowing algorithm is guaranteed to eliminate all end effects but switching between two methods can give a clue whether a particular peak is a side lobe or a genuine peak For general use we recommend the Blackman window Select a window type using the Spectrum Options dialog box Grid PicoScope displays a 10x10 grid You can turn this grid off if it obscures important information Ruler You can use the mouse buttons to add a ruler to the spectrum analyser window The computer displays the frequency at the current ruler position and the amplitude of each trace at that frequency Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 13 PicoScope User Guide 2 4 Meter The meter window contains the meter an instrument that displays readings in real time in any of the following units amp DC volts AC volts dB Hz If you add one or more custom ranges the meter can also display values in some other units for example pressure or accelera
90. r mixing of these two signals can occur For input signals at frequencies f1 and f2 the two second order distortion signals will be found at frequencies f3 f1 f2 and f4 f1 f2 IMD is expressed as the dB ratio of the RMS sum of the distortion terms to the RMS sum of the two input tones IMD can be measured for distortion terms of any order but the second order terms are most commonly used In the second order case the intermodulation distortion is given by IMD 20 10g where F3 and F4 are the amplitudes of the two second order distortion terms at frequencies f3 and f4 defined above and F1 and F2 are the amplitudes of the input tones at frequencies f1 and f2 as marked by the frequency rulers in the spectrum window For reference the third order terms are at frequencies 2F1 F2 2F1 F2 F1 2F2 and F1 2F2 Note Hanning or Blackman windows are recommended because of their low noise An FFT size of 4096 or greater is recommended in order to provide adequate spectral resolution for the IMD measurements Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth The amplitude at the second third fourth fifth or sixth harmonic Gain The ratio of the power in channel A to the power in channel B at the reference point This is used to check the gain of an amplifier Scan time The time it took to record the data currently displayed Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5
91. ressure sensor in pascal Non linear sensors can also be mapped to new units of measure PicoScope reads in a table of values supplied by the user and interpolates data automatically To add a Custom Range 1 Choose the menu option Settings Custom Ranges 2 Fill in the scaling look up table and other details in the Edit custom range dialog box 3 Select the custom range from the control bar shown below PicoScope for Windows File Edit Settings View Window Help ell Wald zg staiv lat als 20Pa ac fon Off Waiting for ADC Trigger None gt E Adding a ruler To add a vertical ruler 1 Move the mouse to the approximate position for top of the ruler 2 Press and hold down the left mouse button while dragging the mouse downwards 3 PicoScope draws a vertical ruler 4 Move the mouse left or right to set the required position 5 Release the left mouse button To add a horizontal ruler 1 Move the mouse to the approximate position for the left hand end of the ruler 2 Press and hold down the left mouse button while dragging the mouse to the right 3 PicoScope draws a horizontal ruler 4 Move the mouse up or down to set the required position 5 Release the left mouse button Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 67 PicoScope User Guide 6 3 6 4 6 5 6 6 If there are two Y axes pressing the left mouse button associates a horizontal ruler
92. s is for controlling the sampling rate of the data collected for spectrum analysis It determines the highest frequency that the spectrum analyser can display Note The lower the maximum frequency the longer it takes to collect enough data to display a spectrum At very low maximum frequencies this may affect the response time of your computer to keyboard input PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Technical reference 80 Range This allows you to specify an input voltage range or select Auto so that the oscilloscope will automatically adjust the voltage range to suit the input signal If you have defined any custom ranges these will appear in the list of options after the voltages Sampling status This window indicates whether PicoScope is collecting data You can click on the Stop Go button or press the space bar to start or stop collecting H the computer detects that no ADC is connected a message will appear here When you plug in the ADC and turn on power if required the status will change to Stopped Stop Go button The Stop Go button to the left of the sample bar has a dual purpose When PicoScope is collecting data the button displays the word Stop If you click on it data collection is stopped When PicoScope has stopped collecting data because the Stop button or some trigger event has been activated the button displays the word Go If you click on it PicoScop
93. s limit The higher the frequency however the wider the interval between spectrum frequencies Set the maximum frequency using the Spectrum Timebase dialog box or the Spectrum analyser toolbar Note PicoScope needs to collect a large contiguous block of data for spectrum analysis If you specify a very low maximum frequency this will take a long time to collect for some products PicoScope prevents normal Windows operation during this data collection Y axis scaling On the spectrum display the Y axis represents the power at a specified frequency The power can be expressed either as volts RMS or as dB Set the Y axis scaling using the Spectrum Options dialog box X axis scaling The X axis represents frequency You can display the frequency either in linear or in logarithmic form Set the X axis scaling using the Spectrum Options dialog box PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Instrument windows 12 Voltage range The spectrum display may give confusing results if the signal exceeds the input voltage range under most circumstances we strongly advise using the Auto voltage range If the signal is variable or intermittent it may be advisable to use an oscilloscope window to determine the maximum required voltage range and then fix the spectrum voltage range at that level Display type In addition to displaying the current spectrum you can also display the average or the
94. s may appear in the data whilst the display is being updated The maximum sample rate in this mode is one sample per millisecond amp Chart recorder The oscilloscope collects data and displays it during the scan After a complete scan the display scrolls to show the most recent data Because sampling is controlled by the computer gaps may appear in the data whilst the display is being updated The maximum sample rate in this mode is one sample per millisecond Note Chart recorder mode is only compatible with trigger modes amp Block mode The oscilloscope collects data and displays it after the scan Gaps in the data due to display updates are therefore eliminated The sample rate can be greater than one per millisecond therefore the number of samples per scan may be increased Display a grid The computer normally displays a 10x10 grid on the oscilloscope window You can turn this off if it obscures important information Display axis scaling The computer normally displays the voltage along the Y axis and the time along the X axis You can turn this off if you would like to have all of the window used for the trace itself Note If you make the window very small by resizing it the scale will no longer be displayed Scope timebase is time per division On a conventional analog oscilloscope the screen has a 10x8 grid and the timebase knob sets the time interval for one division of the grid If you are familiar with this way of working
95. select Distortion the computer will load a file called distort psa from the specified test directory in this case C Multilayer menus If no filename is specified PicoScope creates a sub menu for the option The following example contains two sub menus Examples Amplifier CD player Amplifier Noise noise psd Distortion distort psd CD player White Noise white psd PSU noise psu psd Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 77 PicoScope User Guide Documentation You can associate each menu option with either a document of some sort or with a topic in a help file PicoScope will display the specified help topic or document if you click on the Test button on the help menu If Aut oShow is set to Yes it will also display the information as soon as the test menu option is selected The following example shows how to do this General Menu Examples Path c AutoShow Yes Help exam044 hlp Examples Noise noise psd 10000 PSU Noise psunoise psd 20000 psu hlp Distortion distort psd notepad exe distort txt A numeric item after the filename indicates that PicoScope should display a help topic any other item is treated as a command line In the above example when the Noise menu option is selected PicoScope will load noise psd then it will display topic 10000 from the default help file c exam044 h1p When the PSU noise menu option is selecte
96. splay axis scaling Help This dialog box sets a number of optional features for the active XY oscilloscope window that are not controlled by the XY oscilloscope toolbar Title This sets the title that will appear on the active window s title bar and on printed reports Accumulate successive cycles If you set PicoScope to trigger in Repeat or Auto modes it is easy to miss unusual events If you check this option PicoScope draws each new trace without erasing the previous trace This helps you to see variations between traces or the occasional unusual trace Display grid The computer normally displays a 10x10 grid on the oscilloscope window You can turn this off if it obscures important information Display axis scaling The computer normally displays the voltage along the X and Y axes You can turn this off if you would like to use all of the window for the trace itself The voltage scales are not displayed if the window is too small XY Timebase From the Settings menu select Timebase x Time per scan 200 ps DI Cancel Help This dialog box controls the timebase for the active XY scope window Time per scan The time per scan field sets the time interval between refreshes of the XY display You should select a timebase slightly longer than the cycle time of your signal This function is duplicated on the oscilloscope toolbar Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5
97. tarted with a trace showing the average As with average this removes random noise from repetitive signals In addition this also gives an indication of the level of noise of a signal Min max amp current A shaded area showing the minimum and maximum of all cycles since you started with a trace showing the current data This mode is ideal for measuring the time jitter of signals such as clock waveforms amp Digital colour This mode a type of persistence mode is ideal for spotting intermittent glitches in digital signals The area of the trace that has the highest population density is red whereas the area with the lowest population density is blue Digital colour mode does not decay over time amp Analog intensity This mode emulates the phosphor display of a conventional analog oscilloscope and is useful for displaying complex analog signals such as video waveforms and analog modulation signals The area of the trace that has the highest population density is the strongest colour The area with the lowest population density and or a high slew rate low rise time fall time is the lightest colour Persistence This option is available in both analog intensity and digital colour modes The word persistence in this context refers to the length of time a trace remains on the screen The following options are available in the drop down list amp No Persistence Only the current trace is displayed This may be useful in analog in
98. tensity mode if you have a very large number of samples 500 ms 1 second 5 seconds 15 seconds 30 seconds 60 seconds Infinite persistence Saturation This option is available in both analog intensity and digital colour modes The saturation control bar is used to adjust the colour coding applied to the population This can reveal more detail contained in areas where the population density is lower A 0 saturation level will show only the most densely populated areas as the hottest or boldest colours while the 50 saturation level shows the upper half of the population range as the hottest or boldest colour Advanced gt gt The Advanced gt gt button opens the Scope Advanced Options dialog box Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 55 PicoScope User Guide 5 6 2 Scope Advanced Options From the Settings menu select Options then click on the Advanced gt gt gt button Scope Advanced Options i x Maximum samples per scope trace 2500 Sea pply ETS oversample 2 5 3 SE elp ETS update speed Fast DI Slow sampling gt 100ms div Standard IV Display a grid IV Display axis scaling V Scope timebase is time per division Max samples per scope trace The computer can collect many more samples per scan than can be displayed on the screen You can then zoom in on a small part of the trace to examine it in more detail The default number of s
99. this dialog box to select the type of oscilloscope and the port you have connected it to If you are using an oscilloscope from the PicoScope 2000 or 3000 series you do not need to specify the port ADC Type A drop down list of all the compatible oscilloscopes PicoScope supports one oscilloscope at a time Printer port This option is enabled only for parallel port oscilloscopes Select the physical port to which the oscilloscope will be connected from the drop down list default LPT1 parallel port amp One of the three standard printer ports LPT1 LPT3 amp One of the four Pico USB parallel ports USB PP1 USB PP4 Note On Windows NT 2000 XP computers the LPT number may not be as expected If LPT1 does not work try LPT2 or 3 Language Preferences From the File menu select Setup then Language x Cancel Help Language French DI Enalish This field enables you to select the language that PicoScope will use for dialog boxes and the electronic manual If you change this parameter it will take effect for new dialog boxes but not for menus on the screen Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 51 PicoScope User Guide 5 5 3 Display Preferences From the File menu select Setup then Display Display Preferences x Maximum displays per i i Cancel second Help IV Display notes in views IV Display datestamp in views I
100. tion The meter window comes in two forms The simplest form displays a single number and an optional bar graph The number is one parameter measured on one channel for example AC volts on channel A 2 49V 08Dec2003 16 10 The more advanced form of meter window displays a set of numbers These can be a selection of parameters from a selection of channels An asterisk indicates the active parameter DC Volts 2 49V Decibels 10 58dB DC Volts 2 49V 08Dec2003 16 00 Note When you use the oscilloscope in standard or chart recorder mode with a timebase of less than 200 ms div meter readings are not updated PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Instrument windows 14 2 5 XY oscilloscope When the active window is an XY oscilloscope the XY oscilloscope toolbar is displayed at the top of the screen L PicoScope for Windows C YPICOYmyfile psd ol sl Wi File Edit Settings View Window Help x av 200 ps zl X auto gt ac vi Jot sl Y auto ac fort sl 2 0 1 6 1 2 ee 0 8 a 0 0 a 0 4 0 8 1 2 1 6 219 8 6 A 2 0 2 4 6 8 Fi 15Aug2002 13 20 el Stopped Trigger Single D ch A D Rising D 200 Smy o e Timebase The XY Timebase controls the time interval for each scan Ideally it should be a little longer than a single cycle of the signal that you wish to observe You can zoom in using the toolbar or the m
101. us instrument windows and leaves any existing windows in the display area open Save This menu option saves the contents of the display area in the same file as last time If the contents of the display area has not been saved yet it asks for a filename PSW044 v1 5 Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved Menus 24 Save As This menu option asks for a filename and then writes the contents of the display area or the active window to a file If you save the contents of the display area in a setup file only the settings are stored If you save the contents of the display area to a Data file both settings and data are stored You can also save the contents of the active window as a text file txt or as a wmf jpg or bmp image Open next Open previous When you use the Save on trigger option PicoScope saves tests in sequentially numbered files Once you have read in one file in a sequence you can use the Open Next Open Previous options to load the next or the previous file in the sequence Print This menu option is used to print the contents of the active window or all windows If you select all windows the contents of each window is printed on a separate page Save Settings This menu option saves the current arrangement of windows in the display area to a special file called settings pss This will be loaded automatically next time you run PicoScope Setup Converter Converter
102. way from other traces If you change the Y multiplier to x2 or above the computer displays only half of the voltage range but twice as big The scroll bar now controls which portion of the voltage range is displayed Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 35 PicoScope User Guide 5 22 ADC 100 series From the Settings menu select Channels x Channels i Ce Channel only GER C Channel B only Cancel Both channels alternate Help C Both channels chop Channel Channel B Voltage range Auto DI Auto DI Y axis multiplier fort DI Off v Coupling De z ac v This dialog box enables you to select which input channels to display in the active window and to set the input voltage ranges Channels With an oscilloscope from the ADC 100 series you can collect data from a single channel or from a pair of channels If you want to collect data from more than one channel there are two modes available Chop mode and Alternate mode Voltage range oscilloscopes from the ADC 100 series have a number of input voltage ranges You can either specify an input voltage range or select Auto which means the ADC will automatically adjust the voltage range to suit the input signal Note Auto mode does not give good results with trigger signals that occur only once as PicoScope does not know in advance what range to use If you add custom ranges to s
103. will print a trace with a high sampling rate one that extends beyond the limits of an oscilloscope window in its entirety on multiple A4 pages With the multiplier set to x2 you will find the trace takes up 2 pages with the multiplier set to x5 you will find the trace takes up 5 pages and so on To print a magnified section of the trace leave the radio button unselected 5 1 3 Notes dialog box From the Settings menu select Notes Project notes go here Cancel Help This dialog box enables you to add some notes to the active window The notes will be displayed at the bottom of the window and will appear on printed reports Each window can have its own set of notes You must enable this facility in the Display Preferences dialog box Copyright 2005 Pico Technology Limited All rights reserved PSW044 v1 5 33 PicoScope User Guide 5 1 4 Signal generator From the Settings menu select Signal Generator a Je Enabled Frequency 5 Hz v m Wwavefom r Sweep Mode C Sine Active e Square I Repeat Signal IT DualSiope C Tr angle g Stop Frequency Hz 1 Fz z Increment 0 1 Hz every 0 ms OK Cancel Help og This dialog box allows you to adjust the frequency waveform and sweep settings of the signal generator The settings available vary depending on which oscilloscope you are using To turn on the signal generator click the Enabled tick box
104. with the left axis and pressing the right mouse button associates a horizontal ruler with the right Y axis A small coloured box appears at one end of the ruler to show the axis with which it is associated You cannot associate a ruler with the third or fourth channel of a four channel oscilloscope You can add up to two cursors if you add more cursors each new cursor will replace the oldest one PicoScope will display the current positions of the cursors labelled x and o If the two cursors are on the same axis PicoScope will also display the difference xo between the positions of the two cursors Repositioning a ruler Once a ruler is positioned you can move it using the arrow keys To re select a ruler so that you can move it left click on it Removing a ruler 1 Left click on the ruler you wish to remove 2 Press the Delete key Adding a test menu If you have a number of standard tests that you carry out regularly you can add a menu to select the settings for these tests by name You can also use this facility to add a menu of example files that show what particular signals look like To add a test menu it is necessary to create a test menu file The facility to create this file is not built into PicoScope instead you need to use a text editor like Notepad or a word processor See Test menus for more details Changing axis scaling If you connect a sensor that measures in units other than volts for example

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