Oscilloscope

Use

The first thing you should do to set up the oscilloscope is plug it in and turn it on. It will take some time to initialize itself, so you don't spend as much time waiting. The next thing you should do is turn whatever circuitry you're analyzing off, so it isn't damaged. With this done, you can start setting up the probes. Each probe connects to one of the four channels in the bottom right of the scope. Each probe has the main probe for the signal and an alligator clip for ground. If you only connect one ground, all the probes will reference that ground. Be sure to avoid shorting multiple pins with the alligator clip. When you have everything hooked up, you can enable and disable the appropriate channels using the numbered buttons above the probe ports.

Once the probes are in, you can start viewing output by pressing either the "Run/Stop" or "Single" buttons in the top right. You can adjust the voltage scale for each channel with the dial above each channel toggle, and you can adjust the channel location on the display using the dial below the toggles. You can change the time scale and delay using the two dials in the top left. The dial in the dark gray rectangle above channel 1's dial is the multipurpose dial used to navigate through menus. The dial diagonally up and to the right from that controls the trigger level, which sets the voltage that a channel must reach to trigger a capture when running in "Single" mode.

Oscilloscopes are very complex tools with a lot of features even most EEs don't know how to use. This section takes you through some of the basics, but, like most things, practice is the only thing that will make you proficient with it. Also keep in mind that all oscilloscopes are different, so, to ensure you don't damage them, don't apply information you know about our scope to others.