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And the period is the reciprocal of that (number of seconds each repeating waveform takes). Frequency and period - Frequency is defined as the number of times per second a waveform repeats.
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In general a scope can measure both time-based and voltage-based characteristics: In addition to those fundamental features, many scopes have measurement tools, which help to quickly quantify frequency, amplitude, and other waveform characteristics. There are also controls to set the trigger on the scope, which helps focus and stabilize the display. A signal (the yellow sine wave in this case) is graphed on a horizontal time axis and a vertical voltage axis.Ĭontrols surrounding the scope's screen allow you to adjust the scale of the graph, both vertically and horizontally - allowing you to zoom in and out on a signal. Direct Current (DC)Īn example of an oscilloscope display.
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Anatomy of an O-Scope - An overview of the most critical systems on an oscilloscope - the screen, horizontal and vertical controls, triggers, and probes.Oscilloscope Lexicon - A glossary covering some of the more common oscilloscope characteristics.Basics of O-Scopes - An introduction to what, exactly, oscilloscopes are, what they measure, and why we use them.It's broken down into the following sections: This tutorial aims to introduce the concepts, terminology, and control systems of oscilloscopes. They allow you to see electric signals as they vary over time, which can be critical in diagnosing why your 555 timer circuit isn't blinking correctly, or why your noise maker isn't reaching maximum annoyance levels. O-scopes are an important tool in any electrical engineer's lab.
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