Introduction

to the

Oscilloscope
Agilent Technologies 54622D 100MHz Scope

Sometimes you want to see how

signals change with time

Electrical signals are invisible, unless you know how to look at them.

The Oscilloscope provides us glasses

2 Analog Channels Displayed

Horizontal Sweep (Time Base)

Soft keys

Vertical Amplitude

Triggering (Sweep) Controls

Run Control
Stop, Continuous, Single sweep

16 Input Channels of Digital Signals

16 of these !

Operation Controls

Floppy Disk

How do I turn it on?

Wait for a while as it goes through a self test.

Analog vs. Digital

Sometimes you want to know the analog details, other times

you just want to know the logical interpretation.
2 analog channels
16 digital channels

We'll Start with the Analog Section

See something quick and simple!

1) Reset all settings to default. Hit Save/Recall, then Default Setup.
2) Connect probe(s) to Probe Comp
Do this whenever
settings get
messed up

Here is what the probes look like

Push down on the top

part to expose the
little hook.

Experiment with Vertical and

Horizontal controls.
Adjust slowly to observe effect.

2 Analog Channels Displayed

What's this triggering stuff?

You want a repetitive signal to appear to stand still.
Normal Triggering
Runs only if it sees a signal that can trigger it.
If trigger level isn't set rightyou see nothing!
Auto Triggering
Free runs. Good for seeing if something is happening.
Auto Level Triggering
Runs so long as there is a signal.
If trigger level isn't set rightthe scope adjusts it for you!
(may not be such a good thing there is no free lunch)

Begin with Auto (free running) triggering,

then go to Normal
Press Mode/Coupling key
Cycle through modes with first Softkey

Auto triggering
(always see trace)

Normal triggering
(see trace when trigger
Condition is met)

Notes on Autoscale
(I dont recommend using Autoscale!)
Autoscale may work good on signals like this:
But it is not so good on signals like this!:
If you hit autoscale on a signal like the latter, you might get
something like this:
This is
noise

The signal you're

looking for is
actually here, but
it's way off scale

Recovering from Autoscale

Either:
Hit Autoscale, then undo Autoscale
or
Set gain to reasonable value (say 10 V per division)
Keep line visible
Move trigger level
to reasonable value

Fiddle knobs till you see what you want.

200 microseconds per division

1 volt per
division
trigger voltage

0 volts
(ground)
because of the little
symbol in the margin,
NOT because it's the
bottom of the trace!

Saving Display to Disk

Insert floppy disk
Press Utility key
Set up Print Configuration with Softkeys
Format tiff (bmp can be used also)
Print to: disk
Press Quick Print (Saved on disk with file name QFILE nn )

Remember when things get all messed up!

Start over by resetting all settings to default.
Hit Save/Recall, then Default Setup.

If things still aren't working POWER DOWN and restart the

COMPUTER.

Now you are an expert!

For additional details

and capabilities, go to
the manual. There
should be some lying
around, if not ask your
instructor.

Digital Addendum

Using the Digital Section

Enable one or both digital inputs

Disable analog display by double clicking buttons 1, 2.

After you're sure that you are seeing something

Set trigger to a digital channel (probably).

What you trigger on depends on what you're looking for. If you're

counting, trigger on D7. Why?