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Integration, Integration, Integration. The Drive To Integrate More Bench Instruments Into The One Box

jmarrina

Hello Community,

My name is John Marrinan, and I'm your resistent expert on Oscilloscopes for the next few weeks. As an Field Application Engineer I see a huge range of uses for scopes in the modern world of technologoy and physics. If there are any questions you'd like to ask or comments on my posting I'd love to hear from you.


I recently started a discussion on how digital scopes are constanlty enabling T&M companies to improve feature/cost relationship in value scopes. Besides more features for less dollars, it’s important to recognize another key trend in oscilloscopes – integration of other functionality.  Likely many of you regularly use a spectrum analyzer, function generator, DVM, protocol analyzer, etc.  Today, you can add these functions into your oscilloscope.  Our recent MDO3000 mixed domain oscilloscope introduction is one example of that.  We call it the ultimate, integrated 6-in-1 oscilloscope but you can be the judge of that.  We’ve integrated a spectrum analyzer with performance specifications that rival a basic stand-alone spectrum analyzer, taken our popular AFG3000 function generator ASIC & code and integrated that in, along with many other features. 

 

The ultimate goal is to provide a bench-in-a-box.  Humorously, we’ve been asked when we’ll be adding a power supply to the MDO3000.  However, as you know, to get clean power supply signals requires a linear regulation supply, and those can be quite heavy not to mention wreak havoc on your circuits by introducing crosstalk.  I don’t anticipate we’ll be crossing that technological hurdle.  I guess you can’t please everyone…

 

But, I want to hear from you.  What features and functions would you like to see added?  What do you need for this to be your complete bench in a box?


Other Discussions:

So Much More For The Student, Hobbyist and Lab Bench. How Entry Digital Scopes Now Give A Raft Of Features

Parents

  • Hi John,

     

    I totally love DAB's idea about the speaking instruments, that would be a winner if it was properly implemented. Chances are, it's possible to add that feature in software alone.

     

     

    One thing that was probably on everyone's mind at one point or another, but is not that popular with manufacturers, is instrument extensibility through custom plugins. Offering the user a way to tap into the firmware via hardware plugins that define their own constraints and can add or modify signals, change the UI, redefine functionality, etc., would make for an epic line of scopes. If this feature would be well designed and flexible enough, it would encourage the development of tons of third party and DIY plugins and with that, increase the desirability of those scopes.

     

    Sure, the only incentive that manufacturers could offer for an upgrade, would be a new device with better specs, which means a different business model, but one where customers wouldn't feel like they're getting ripped off just to get that extra feature they need + some eye candy that was added in the new model. In the long run people might even chose to stick with the same manufacturer just because they already have lots of plugins for that specific line of scopes.

     

     

    About bench in a box... I think the MDO3000 series is a great MSO and I couldn't come up with anything else it needs. When it comes to scopes, the majority of people care only about the timing relationship between things and the various measurements they can make on the signals they're watching, so that's pretty much covered and the only thing that can be done to improve it is to make it a MDO4000 image

     

     

    Razvan

Reply

  • Hi John,

     

    I totally love DAB's idea about the speaking instruments, that would be a winner if it was properly implemented. Chances are, it's possible to add that feature in software alone.

     

     

    One thing that was probably on everyone's mind at one point or another, but is not that popular with manufacturers, is instrument extensibility through custom plugins. Offering the user a way to tap into the firmware via hardware plugins that define their own constraints and can add or modify signals, change the UI, redefine functionality, etc., would make for an epic line of scopes. If this feature would be well designed and flexible enough, it would encourage the development of tons of third party and DIY plugins and with that, increase the desirability of those scopes.

     

    Sure, the only incentive that manufacturers could offer for an upgrade, would be a new device with better specs, which means a different business model, but one where customers wouldn't feel like they're getting ripped off just to get that extra feature they need + some eye candy that was added in the new model. In the long run people might even chose to stick with the same manufacturer just because they already have lots of plugins for that specific line of scopes.

     

     

    About bench in a box... I think the MDO3000 series is a great MSO and I couldn't come up with anything else it needs. When it comes to scopes, the majority of people care only about the timing relationship between things and the various measurements they can make on the signals they're watching, so that's pretty much covered and the only thing that can be done to improve it is to make it a MDO4000 image

     

     

    Razvan

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