Scope Month is upon us, and we are right in the middle of it. I've entered in almost every day, since I really need a new scope, but for the time being, no luck. Oh well! Evey day, winners are picked, making some happy, and others jealous. However, the winners are announced in a video on YouTube, and there is always time for a quick tech tip or demonstration. From what I've seen, I'm really impressed by the InfiniiVision 1000 XSeries, but I still had some questions.
Oscilloscopes. Sooner or later, you'll need one. Prices vary from the amazingly cheap to the horrendously expensive, depending on your needs. I'm an educator, which means that I don't need the high end one (not yet, anyway). Which is good, educators aren't paid what you think they are.
As a lecturer and educator, I rely heavily on an oscilloscope to get my work done. I can draw things on a whiteboard (but I'll never be remembered as an artist), but some things you just can't draw, you need to see them. One thing that seems to stress students out is switch bouncing, and you really need to see it in action to understand it. And that needs a scope. My trusty TDS210 does indeed capture screenshots, but seriously, what PC has serial ports today? I press a button, and my Python script reads from a 57600 serial port to create a picture. To say this slows me down is an understatement. Those screen captures then go into a book, document or webpage. This is where I need something good, and this is, generally, not shown. So after a few days watching YouTube videos, I asked a question.
Hi, Daniel! (the name of the gentleman who is presenting this every single week day for an entire month). This is who I am, this is what I do. I'd really appreciate seeing some captures, do you have any?
I expected an answer, because he seems to spend half his day making videos and the other half answering just about every single comment made on said video. I expected a link, or something. I mean, he probably deserves a month off after Scope month, just to catch up on sleep. A simple answer would have sufficed. And a few minutes later (no, seriously, minutes), I get a ping on my phone. Answer to a YouTube comment. Sure, I can do that! Give me a while, and I'll get something to you. Well, thanks! It's Friday evening here in France, so no rush. Again, minutes later, I get an email. On my semi-pro email account. Not my GMail. From Daniel. Himself. Hey, I believe you are the person who asked for screenshots, here you go! Attached, two screenshots. Made especially for me. I was speechless. I mean, seriously, how does he do stuff this quickly?
So, here I am. If I need screenshots, then maybe others do too, so I'm sharing them here. I like what I see; the outputs are crystal clear, and I love the ground pointer (yes, details are important). Date and time, acquisition modes and settings are all there, and just look at those serial traces! (with parity errors, showing the reaction, even better!).
Anyway, Scope month continues, and I'm still entering in every day. Fingers crossed. However, you can enter too. Yeah, I know, more adversaries, and less chances for me to win, but still, go ahead and enter. Or maybe enter in for the roadtest (but read through the rules first. Important). KeySight have done an amazing job with Scope Month, and have spent a large amount of resources on this (time and money). Go ahead and have a look at their videos, they have some excellent tutorials.
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