Oscilloscope
Oscilloscopes display voltage signals as they vary over time. It is possible to determine the wave-form, frequency, amplitude and noise level of the input signals. Multiple inputs allow for measuring phase differences between signals. Thus, oscilloscopes are very useful to debug electronic circuits.
General Notes on Operation
This section is for notes on general operation, as well as tips and tricks for new and intermediate users.
X1/X10 attenuation
For new and intermediate users, all measurements should be taken in the X10 attenuation mode of your Probes and Oscilloscope. This protects the oscilloscope from accidental damage.
If you are getting implausible readings, check that probe and oscilloscope are set to X10 - for all connected channels.
Display
The oscilloscope screen consists of a grid of divisions and displays the measured electrical signals as an X-Y plot. The horizontal X-Axis represents the time and the vertical Y-Axis represents the voltage.
Common Mode Noise
A problem when measuring mains-powered devices is common mode noise (also called common mode interference, Gleichtaktstörung). German-speaking readers should watch Die größte Seuche der Elektrotechnik, providing an explanation of the phenomenon for beginners.
Common Mode Noise is mostly found in switching power supplies. Most modern AC-DC adapters such as laptop/phone chargers, 12V wall warts and more are so-called "switching" power supplies. Common mode noise emerges because it's impossible to perfectly seperate the primary (input) and secondary (output) sides of a switching power supply, allowing a small current to leak across it - and this leakage current can interfere with measurements or even destroy sensitive devices.
You can measure this - Take a multimeter in AC Voltage mode, a cheap switching power supply, and measure the voltage from the positive output terminal to something grounded, such as your body. For most switching power supplies, the multimeter will display between 20 and 200 Volts. This is common mode noise. Its current capacity is very low, less than 0.5 mA in most cases, so is only dangerous for sensitive electronics and measurement results, not humans.
It can help to connect the probe ground clip to a GND close to where you are measuring, or just to try a different GND connection around your board.
You can also try procuring a power supply that doesn't output any common mode noise.
Only take the following steps if your measurements are bogus, and you have confirmed your power supply is causing common mode noise. If you do the following steps and the oscilloscopes' ground clips touch a power rail, you will create a short circuit with destructive implications, a unnessecary risk for most common measurements.
To more radically dissipate common mode noise, you need to ground the output of your switching power supply - e.g. connect the output GND to the power plug PE.
For most measurements it is enough to do this locally, as the oscilloscope probe ground clips are on ground potential, but sometimes it might be nessecary to add a extra cable to connect the secondary (output) GND of your power supply to the grounding points around the E-Bench. This is more risky and should only be done if you are encountering high voltage interference on your measurements.
Rigol DS1102CD
| MachineInfoBox Rigol DS1102CD | |
|---|---|
| |
| Synonyms: | DE: Oszilloskop |
| Type: | Oscilloscope |
| Location: | Electronics Area |
| Access Requirements: | Read the Wiki Page |
| Status: | Working |
| Manual: | Cloudinary |
| Tutors: | |
We have a Rigol DS1022CD which was upgraded to a DS1102CD in order to increase the bandwidth.
Specs
The exact specs can be found in the manual, this is just meant to serve as a rough overview.
- Dual Channel, 100 MHz bandwidth
- Easy one-touch AUTO function
- Adjustable triggers: Edge, Video, Pulse width, Slope, Alternative, Pattern and Duration
- 16 optional digital channels
- 320x234 TFT LCD
- Digital filters: LPF, HPF, BPF, BRF
List of Accessories
coming soon
Siglent SDS814X HD
| MachineInfoBox Siglent SDS814X HD | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type: | Oscilloscope |
| Location: | |
| Access Requirements: | Read the Wiki Page |
| Status: | In Commissioning |
| Manual: | siglent.eu |
| Tutors: | |
The Siglent SDS814X HD is a four-channel digital storage oscilloscope featuring 12-bit vertical resolution and a 100 MHz bandwidth, designed for electronics development, debugging, and education.
Thanks to its high resolution, the SDS800X HD series provides improved signal fidelity compared to traditional 8-bit oscilloscopes, making it especially suitable for low-noise and mixed-signal measurements.
Key Features
- 4 analog input channels
- 12-bit ADC resolution
- 100 MHz bandwidth
- High-resolution capacitive touch display
- Serial bus decoding and triggering
- SCPI remote control support
Available Probes
Siglent PP510
This Oscilloscope came with 4 Siglent PP510 probes. You can find the user guide on siglentna.com
Serial Bus Decoding
The oscilloscope supports decoding and triggering for common serial protocols:
- I²C
- SPI
- UART
- CAN
- LIN
This allows direct analysis of digital communication signals without additional tools.
Controls & Connectivity
- capacitive touch screen for intuitive operation
- USB keyboard and mouse support
- two USB-A ports for input devices and storage media
- RJ45 Ethernet port for network connectivity
- remote control via web browser
Automation & Programming
The SDS814X HD is fully programmable using SCPI commands.
This enables automated measurements and data acquisition, for example using Python.
A detailed programming guide is available from Siglent.
Usage Notes
- suitable for analog and digital signal analysis
- ideal for embedded systems, microcontroller projects, and bus debugging
- not intended for high-frequency RF measurements beyond its bandwidth
Further Reading & Media
This tool is not ready for use yet since not all commissioning steps have been completed. The process is also tracked on GitHub. Feel free to contribute to making it usable, any help is very welcome!
| Task | comment | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Name the tool: | done | done |
| Take a picture | - | done |
| Find the manual as PDF | needed for all machines - add a link to the InfoBox or comment where you could not find it | done |
| Documentation | Specs can be found on siglent.eu. The most relevant should be mentioned on this page as well | done |
| Print QR-Code | use the MachineQR Factory | Done |
| Introduction | Oscilloscope Introduction, AI Suggestion available at Siglent SDS814X HD Introduction | pending |
| Security Check | to be done or witnessed by a manager | done |
| Test | to be done or witnessed by a manager | done |
| tool's name, owner and approx. value | provide to Johannes for inventorization | done |
| Last step: make it available | physically and in the wiki - then delete this template | done |
