Introduction to benchtop equipment and data acquisition  (Page 3/6)

1. Set the trigger mode to NORMAL.

2. Adjust the trigger level so that it is above the maximum voltage of the input signal. Notice that thetrace remains fixed and that the trigger status displayed at the top right of the display goes from Trig’d to Trig?. This indicates that the channel 1 input has not met the trigger level.

3. Now switch the trigger to AUTO mode. Notice how the signal rolls when the signal is not triggered (either toohigh or low).

• The SLOPE option selects which slope of the signal (rising or falling) will trigger the sweep.
• The SOURCE option determines the channel that provides the trigger signal.

Practice with trigger options

1. Configure the function generator to produce a triangular waveform output at about 1 kHz.

2. Set the normal trigger to work on the channel connected to the function generator.

3. Make adjustments to the triggering so that you get a stable display of the triangle wave. Do not use autotriggering.

4. Set the trigger slope to rising (arrow up).

5. Adjust the amplitude of the function generator to be 1 V peak-to-peak, Vp-p,.

6. Adjust the oscilloscope sensitivity using the controls we’ve introduced (do not use AUTOSET) so that the waveform is as large as possible. Adjust the time scale so that atleast two and no more than five complete cycles are displayed.

7. Experiment with the trigger LEVEL control. Notice how it sets the position of the waveform relative to thehorizontal trigger position changes as the trigger level is adjusted.

8. You should be able to move the starting point of the trace back and forth along the ramp in the triangularwave. Again notice how the indicator switches to Trig? when the level is set above or below the top and bottom of the waveform.This indicates that the scope is not triggering and therefore not actively sampling data.

9. Set the trigger slope to Falling (arrow down) and observe that the trace now begins (relative to thehorizontal trigger position) on the falling ramp of the wave.

2.6 the cursor button (refer to figure 2)

CURSOR can be used to display vertical (time) or horizontal (voltage) cursors on the display.

• Cursors can be adjusted using the knob to the left of the cursor button.
• The SELECT button changes which cursor is being adjusted. The solid line is the cursor that is currently selected.
• The values corresponding to the positions of the two cursors are displayed (next to the“@”icon), as well as their difference (next to the“∆”icon).
• Use the cursors to measure the peak voltage (Vp-p) and the period of your triangle wave.

Adjust the function generator to create a different waveform and experiment with cursors, triggers andscales.

2.7 the save/recall button (refer to figure 2)

Press the SAVE/RECALL button to bring up the Save/Recall menu.

• Under this menu, setup parameters and waveforms can be saved and recalled on the o-scope itself.
• The oscilloscope can save data to a floppy disk or to four internal references.
• Reference data can be analyzed like current data in the measurements and math menus.