Sound Card Oscilloscope

Turn your computer's sound card into an oscilloscope to measure

circuit.
https://youtu.be/5s-zocXvk2I

An oscilloscope, or o-scope, is the best friend of an electronics

enthusiast, be they professional or hobbyist. While a digital
multimeter can help you measure steady state and RMS (Root-MeanSquare) voltages, the o-scope can not only measure peak-to-peak
voltages, but more importantly provide timing information on your
signal.
For instance, have you ever been working with an Arduino
controlling a servo motor that has to have just the right pulse width
modulation in order to spin clockwise instead of counter-clockwise?
During your programming, you may have wondered just how close
the pulse width was to what was needed. With an o-scope you can
measure these pulses. When dealing with analog signals, you can use
an o-scope to see how close you are to the frequency you need or
measure what frequency you need to filter. With so many digital
electronic projects, timing between signals is extremely important.
Therefore, having an o-scope is essential.
However, price can be an obstacle. Entry-level scopes can start off at
a few hundred dollars. From there, higher-end scopes can end up
into the tens of thousands. However, did you know that you
probably have all you need to make your own oscilloscope? In fact,
you are probably reading this on a device that has the essential parts
needed. All other parts are probably in your parts bin.

In essence, an o-scope is a data acquisition box that records the

voltage from your circuit. Another device on your computer already
does this: the sound card. The main differences are the level of
voltage each can handle, and how fast they sample the
voltage (more on that later). Since the sound card on your computer
can only handle a small amount of voltage (around +/- .6V to .8V)
you need to scale it down. Building your own scope probes
accomplishes: allowing input of higher voltages and scaling the
voltage down so the sound card can handle it.
The steps below outline how to build such a probe. The probe being
built here is used with the line input of a sound card. Line inputs
typically accept stereo inputs, therefore this probe will have two
channels. If youre thinking of using the mic input on your system,
you will want to build just one channel as mic inputs typically are
mono. After the build, Ill show you some comparisons of this oscope to a lab-grade model and discuss some limitations.

Much of this project is adapted

fromhttp://homediyelectronics.com/projects/howtomakeafreesoun
dcardpcoscilloscope, and the software can be
found http://www.zeitnitz.de/Christian/scope_en.

PARTS
/
TOOLS
4.7k Ohm Resistor, 1/4 or 1/2 watt resistor (2) RadioShack
#271-312

Mini Test Clip AdaptersRadioShack #270-372

Hexagonal Control KnobRadioShack #274-415

Perfboard Double-sided, or, use 2 regular perfboards to make

your own double-sided perfboard (see Step 2).

Hookup wire Optional, for making double-sided perfboard

(Step 2)
Hookup wire Optional, for making double-sided perfboard
(Step 2)
Hookup wire Optional, for making double-sided perfboard
(Step 2)
Hookup wire Optional, for making double-sided perfboard
(Step 2)

Print Project
STEPS

PROJECT STEPS VIEW ALL

1. Schematic Overview

2. TIP: Make a Double-Sided Perfboard

3. Layout Components

4. Connect the Audio Cable

5. Mount Components to Board

6. Complete the Clips

7. Install Software

8. Software Use 60Hz Comparison

9. Software Use 1kHz Comparison

10. Software Use 10kHz Comparison

11. Software Square Wave and FFT

Step #1: Schematic Overview

The o-scope schematic is really simple. The 4.7k ohm resistor

(R1) connects directly to the probe and therefore the point you
are measuring on your circuit.

From there the signal goes through a 1M ohm potentiometer

(R2), which allows you to adjust how much voltage is getting to
your sound card.
NOTE: The resistor and potentiometer values were selected to
target measurements 10V. In fact, with these values you can
probably go as high as 30V without worrying about too much
current.
The two diodes (D1 & D2) are placed back-to-back to help
protect the line input of the sound card by clipping the
incoming signal if it gets over about .7V. The 4.7k ohm resistor
(R1) also helps to limit the current the diodes see, thus
protecting them too.
Note: If you need to look at higher voltages, I would
recommend a secondary divider to feed into this circuit. Along
with these components, you will need a stereo audio cable, clip
leads, and a perfboard to mount everything on.
IMPORTANT: This project is designed for a double-sided
perfboard (that is a perfboard with copper pads on both sides).
If you don't have one, don't worry. Check out the next step for
a TIP on how to make your own!

Step #2: TIP: Make a Double-Sided Perfboard

If you don't have a perfboard with copper pads on both sides,

you can easily make one. Take any two identical perfboards and
put them back-to-back, so that the copper pads are on the
outside.
You could glue the perfboards together (I recommend a spray
glue if you go this route) or, alternatively, you could use the
properties of the perfboard to hold it together. That is, you
could solder them together!
Use solid-core 22AWG wire cut to length to create a "frame"
around the perimeter of the perfboard's columns and rows (see
image 2). Run the wires on one side and solder them on the
backside to create a solid, immovable double-sided perfboard
with copper pads on both sides.
All of the perfboard holes will lineup nicely now (image 3). Even
with the frame, with this size perfboard there are 644 holes
available.

Step #3: Layout Components

Start by placing the largest components, the potentiometers,

on the board to determine the overall size needed. Then cut
the board to size and arrange the rest of the major components
to see a rough layout.
Here you see that both potentiometers and the 4.7k ohm
resistors are placed. Then look for the best area to put the
diodes. Mark where the leads of the potentiometers are on the
board so they can be referenced later.

Step #4: Connect the Audio Cable

Cut the audio cable to the length you need for your desktop or
laptop setup. Next strip out the three different wires from the
cable itself. One will be a stranded wire set without any
insulation, this is the ground connection. The other two, both
insulated, will be channel 1 and channel 2 of the input.
Stripping the insulation from the channel carrying wires can be
tricky as they are incredibly small.

Note: A handy trick is to take your soldering iron and burn off
the insulation to the length you need and tin the leads at the
same time. Don't forget to wipe off the tip of your iron
afterward.
Next mount the wires to your board using the potentiometer
reference points as guides. The connection of the channels will
be to the center lead of the potentiometers. The ground can be
taken off to the side and secured in multiple places as you will
have multiple connections going to ground.

Step #5: Mount Components to Board

Connect the black wire, ground, to the far left (from the top
perspective) lead on the potentiometer and the 4.7k ohm
resistor to the far right lead. To do this, push scrap leads up
from the bottom of the board through the holes nearest the
reference points marked earlier.
Each potentiometer has the three connections. In the photos,
from left to right, are ground to sound card from 4.7k

ohm resistor. To mount the potentiometers to the board, use

drops of hot glue.

Lastly, connect the two diodes per channel between the ground
and sound card connections. Remember, one diode goes anode
to ground, the other goes cathode to ground.

Step #6: Complete the Clips

Solder 18 gauge wire to the clip leads. For a two-channel oscope setup make a total of three wire and clip combinations:
two for the signal lines using red wire and one for ground line
using black wire.
After connecting the clip leads, connect the other end of the
wire to the appropriate place on the perfboard. The ends of

the red wires are signal wires and they attach to the 4.7k ohm
resistor (opposite the potentiometer connection). The black
wireattaches to the ground rail on the perfboard.

The perfboard and wire solder joint needs some sort of strain
relief so you don't pull the wires out accidentally. A well-placed
drop of hot glue on each of the three wire-to-board junctions
does the trick. Hot glue is such great stuff!
At this point, the electronics and hardware portion of the
project is complete. However, you might want to add an
enclosure and some nobs to the potentiometer.

Step #7: Install Software

Download and install the software

from http://www.zeitnitz.de/Christian/scope_en. To install,
simply double-click on the .exe file and follow the dialog box
prompts.
Note: Sadly, the Sound Card O-Scope software is only available
for Windows machines; in all my searches I was unable to find a
Mac version. (Perhaps I should write one for my Mac and send
it out!)

Step #8: Software Use 60Hz Comparison

The features in the software are surprisingly robust. Not only

does it provide support for two-channel (if available from your
hardware) input, but also FFT measurement, cursors, X-Y plots,
and a signal generator!
Note: Image one shows the output of a non-DIY bench o-scope,
whereas image two and three show the output of the Sound
Card O-Scope.
Both the bench o-scope and the Sound Card O-Scope can easily
handle a 60Hz sine wave. Cursors are available for both time
and voltage measurements. However, since voltage is not
calibrated to your resistor divider, it will not be an indication to
how much voltage is actually on your circuit. The software does
provide a calibration point for this if you want to input it.
Look closely at the third image and you will see that the sine
wave peaks are flattening out a bit. This occurs when you turn

the potentiometer up too much and the diodes start

conducting. It's typically called waveform clipping. If you notice
waveform clipping, simply dial back the potentiometer until the
waveform is corrected i.e. peaks of the sine wave are not
flattening out.
Step #9: Software Use 1kHz Comparison

At 1kHz the Sound Card O-Scope still works well.

Note: The Sound Card O-Scope even displays what frequency it
measures, which is handy for verification.

Step #10: Software Use 10kHz Comparison

However, at 10kHz, the Sound Card O-Scope approaches its

limits. Notice how the signal is jagged with angular sloping
it's a good sign of a sampling issue.
O-scopes are limited by two main specifications:
Bandwidth, or how wide a frequency range they can measure
effectively. The lab-grade scope in this case has a 200MHz
bandwidth, meaning it can measure from 0 to 200MHz very
well. The bandwidth of the sound card is much lower: about 20
15kHz. Anywhere out of this range and measurements get
sloppy.
Sample Rate The lab model here has a sample rate of 2GS/s!
The sound card in your computer is only around 44kS/s. So, you
see why faster waveforms may not be captured as well. In
essence, the sample rate is how often the system measures the

voltage. So, a lab model can measure up to 2 billion times per

second while the sound card model does it 44 thousand times.
You may think this really negates the use of this DIY tool. Not
so! In many hobbyist circuits 14kS/s is more than fast enough
to measure your pulse widths and frequencies. As your circuits
get faster and faster, you can worry about buying a lab model.
Step #11: Software Square Wave and FFT

For a lot of hobbyist projects, like the servo motor mentioned

already, you are going to be measuring square waves. Not to worry,
this software does very well at that with minimal degradation of
signal at lower (<10kHz) speeds.
In addition, the software has other features that are really helpful
some I already mentioned. A particular favorite of mine is the FFT
function, because that's something I use often.
Overall this project will give you a great tool for use in your
electronics work. As a beginning o-scope it has some great features
and can help your work out immensely! All with a price that won't kill
your tool budget for months to come.