https://community.element14.com/technologies/test-and-measurement/The electronic test and measurement group is intended to prove information on electronic test and measurement equipment, including thermal imaging technology, and also answer any questions you may have.en-USTelligent Community 12https://community.element14.com/technologies/test-and-measurement/b/blog/posts/cheap-active-oscilloscope-probeTue, 04 Aug 2026 15:58:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:187f2771-2c80-41a3-80a9-922b9bf619c1kk99During the last test of the Si5351 clock generator, I thought that it would be nice to compare measurement results between a passive probe to an active probe. I have found one based on a well-known design with usage of the high frequency BF998 FET transistor input stage. It is really cheap as for an active oscilloscope probe, and based on opinions on the network, it performs really well, especially up to the 500 MHz, which is the limit of my scope. I have bought one on eBay. The probe came with a SMA to BNC cable, SMA connector and 2pcs of golden-plated spring-loaded pins. This oscilloscope active probe has the following parameters: 100kHz - 1.5GHz bandwidth input capacitance 0.5pF input impedance 10Mohm gain -15dB +/-2.5dB (fits approx. 5:1 the probe voltage ratio) DC supply voltage 7V - 30V reverse supply voltage protection After soldering the pins, SMA connector and power supply wires, I was ready for a measurement of the clock from the output of the Si5351 generator. I have powered a probe at 12 V and changed the oscilloscope input to 50 Ohm. Here are the results of measurements for different frequencies: {gallery}Measurements 10 MHz clock 20 MHz clock 50 MHz clock 100 MHz clock 150 MHz clock There is real improvement in the quality of the measured signal. Here is a comparison of the measured 150 MHz signal with the SPL5050A passive probe, which has a bigger capacitance: to the same signal measured with active probe: Probably a similar improvement in that case could be achieved with the Z0 probe (low-impedance probe), when the high impedance of the probe is not required (e.g. for digital signals). This active probe meets my expectations. I need to think about a case for it and maybe change the power supply to a battery. Update 08.08.2026 I have found that a container for the iron tip will really fit the PCB with an active probe. The only things that required modification were to perform holes with proper free space for spring-loaded pins and enlarge holes for power supply wires. The holes for spring-loaded pins I performed with a thick needle. The holes for power supply wires were cut with wire cutters and finished with a scalpel. After inserting the PCB with an active probe, everything fitted very well. Below there are photos with the result of this modification: Now it is much easier to operate or hold it.siglentactive probemeasurementhttps://community.element14.com/technologies/test-and-measurement/f/forum/52325/first-impressions-multicomp-pro-handheld-oscilloscope/237610Fri, 31 Jul 2026 11:03:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:19440ab1-19ed-47ad-979c-38c136d1905fJan CumpsOne advantage of this model is that you can use the function generator and oscilloscope at the same time. set up the function generator and switch on the output switch to the oscilloscope and use it You can switch between the two user interfaces with the Mode button In this action photo: the device generates an input signal for a differential amplifier. The oscilloscope is used to monitor in- and output. the function generator is set to sinus, 1 kHz, 100 mVpp scope channel 1 measures that input scope channel 2 measures the output. It 'll often be easier to have a separate bench size generator and oscilloscope. In particular when you regularly want to change the signal. But this option has advantages too. Tiny footprint, can be used in the field. And isolated from other grounds when desired.https://community.element14.com/technologies/test-and-measurement/b/blog/posts/keithley-dmm6500-software-control-options-pt-3---vscode-tsp-toolkitSat, 25 Jul 2026 10:23:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:6116d178-1a54-4730-b1cc-7f445f731e1eJan CumpsFollow up on my road test of the Keithley Bench Digital Multimeter DMM6500. I proposed in my application to focus the review on instrument automation. In this post, the VSCode TSP Toolkit plugin. The plugin was released a few years after the road test. TSP TSP is one of the 2 scripting options for the Keithley DMM6500 (the other one is SCPI). It's using the programming language Lua. You can write scripts that automate anything you can do via the touch screen. It also has functions to manipulate that screen. And you can use any function that's available in Lua. The typical use is to write a script to automate instrument setup or to do a set of measurements. You can also write complete apps for the DMM. TSP Toolkit for VSCode Tektronix released version 1.5 of their VSCode TSP plugin. It supports TSP script development from the IDE, and gives you some remote control options. Development The look and feel is similar to developing for Python in VSCode. You set up a workspace, write scripts, and you can execute or debug them. If you also install a Lua plugin (such as Lua Helper), you get additional language support, such as syntax highlighting and code completion. Execute and Debug The plugin allows you to execute the code directly on your DMM. Text output and error messages are routed to the VSCode terminal window. Remote debug is also supported. You can load the script in the DMM6500's memory and then step through the code. Variables and watch expressions are supported. For both options, the DMM has to be reachable from your development PC. More on that in the next section. Remote options The plugin lets you connect to your instrument. This is not really an option. It's required to be able to do anything useful. The easiest way to connect, is when you know the VISA connect string of your instrument or its IP address. This version of the toolkit supports USB and tcpip connected devices. For this review, I connected a DMM6500 via USB, and used the connect string I retrieved from my NIVisa install: Once connected, you can execute and debug scripts as idicated above, but there are more options: update firmware from VSCode download the instrument's data buffers record actions done on the instrument and save them as a script retrieve system configuration send direct commands via the VSCode terminal What I didn't find: an option to permanently store scripts on the DMM's disk. This is supported by Lua commands, though. So you can use the VSCode terminal to store a script. Don't know TSP or Lua? Google AI does. Related Blog Software Control Options Pt 1 - TSP Script Builder, LabVIEW, Web Interface TSP Script Example - Measure Power How to Create a Bitmap for a Custom App Verify a µCurrent Manually Verify a µCurrent in an Automated Setup Measure Amp-Hours of a microcontroller with a µCurrent Trigger from External Trigger Input Trigger from External Trigger Input in LabVIEW Software Control Options Pt 2 - Test Commands with Communicator App to Hold Measurements Store Multiple Measurements Manually Keithley DMM6500: Script Example - Externally Triggered Measurements Keithley DMM6500: Software Control Options Pt 3 - VSCode TSP ToolkitRoadTestVS Codekeithleytspkeithley dmm6500