"USER-FRIENDLY" IS THE WATCHWORD FOR TODAY'S OSCILLOSCOPES.
Recent advances in oscilloscope technology have proceeded at a very rapid pace. Almost across the board these advances have been beneficial. In these "high-tech" units, manufacturers have held out the promise of a scope loaded with every feature under the sun. And from auto setup to menu select capabilities, every function is shown to be accessible at the touch of a button. But a true reading of a scope's user-friendly potential cannot be obtained until the scope is applied to an actual project.
Only at that point can it be determined how much time it will take to gain full use of the oscilloscope.
A new unit may allow work to proceed without a hitch. But where things haven't gone smoothly, situations similar to this have been reported. Turn on the new unit and a menu immediately appears. Should horizontal display, triggering, channel coupling, or another of the many alternatives listed be chosen? Triggering is chosen, but then a sub menu is displayed. Now a decision has to be made among trigger source, trigger coupling, trigger slope, etc. Okay, trigger source is opted for and set. Now, if information from another menu is needed, trigger source must be exited and the needed menu brought up. With all this going on, the engineer may be come distracted from the task at hand - the close observation of waveforms on the screen.
This potential for confusion points up exactly why careful examination has to be made when equipment is advertised as user-friendly. A closer look may reveal that sophisticated, menu-driven scopes are not always the easiest to operate. A new scope that builds and improves on controls that are already being used efficiently may turn out to be the most user-friendly. Toward this end, a number of features have been developed that improve the efficiency and precision of conventional oscilloscopes. Among these features are cursors with digital readouts, auto ranging, and relative hold-off, to name a few.
CURSORS WITH DIGITAL READOUTS -- A QUANTUM LEAP IN EFFICIENCY
One user-friendly breakthrough, in terms of both speed and accuracy, has been the development of cursors.
Whereas older scopes required counting graticule di visions, cursors now allow measurements to be displayed digitally. Cursors supply readouts such as time, voltage, frequency, and phase, ) plus time and volt age difference ratios. Time difference ratio is ideal for per forming phase shift measurement. With voltage difference ratio, the measurements of waveform overshoot can be made. The cursors make measurement of waveform parameters more consistently accurate.
On-screen read outs provide a constant reminder of operating conditions and keep a record of these settings in waveform photographs. Many important settings are displayed, including TV field/line setting, which expands the oscilloscope to video-related applications.
AUTO RANGING AIDS TIME BASE SELECTION
Of great help is a scope that offers both auto ranging and alternate time base. Auto ranging selects from 22 possible time base settings to display an optimum number of cycles. This is an other feature that makes an oscilloscope a bit more user-friendly. Alternate time base allows observation of both the main and the delay time base, so that the expanded portion of the waveform can be simultaneously compared with the original.
ANOTHER FEATURE TO CONSIDER CAREFULLY -- DOES THE WARRANTY HAVE TEETH?
Another factor that needs to be examined just as closely as those mentioned previously is the warranty. In competing for market share, longer and more extensive warranties are offered every year. Before basing a decision only on warranty, though, consider its true value if the equipment is not reliable.
Remember, no warranty can make up the cost of a scope that's out for repairs for 4 to 6 weeks, or more. That's why even more important than the actual wording of a warranty is the reliability that's built into every oscilloscope. Ideally, of course, no piece of equipment should ever break down. But if a unit needs repair, it's important to know who provides the fastest turnaround time in the industry.
Now there is an oscilloscope whose user-friendly format includes all the features discussed earlier, plus many more.
This unit, introduced by Leader Instruments Corporation, is the 100 MHz CRT readout with cursors, Model 2100R. The unit is easy to use and also incorporates these additional features: TV full-line selection, alternate triggering, and relative hold-off. This and every other Leader product come with an iron clad 2-year warranty, which is backed by a return rate of less than 1% during the warranty period and a very rapid turnaround time. In other words, the 2100R offers a complete oscilloscope package.
For more information or Leader's full-line catalog, call toll free: 1 800 645-51 04. In NY call 516 231-6900. Or write Mike Hoyer at Leader Instruments Corporation, 380 Oser Avenue, Hauppauge, NY 11788.
100 MHz CRT readout -- Model 2100R from Leader Instruments Corporation.
Also see: FLUKE-PHILIPS