Introduction to the Oscilloscope

• In the First Year laboratory the most important and complex piece of equipment to be used is the Neotronics OS-620 Dual Trace Oscilloscope. In this piece of software all of the important characteristic applications and features of the CRO will be explained, I could list all of the features mentioned in the manual provided by the manufacturer but I don't really understand all of them myself .
• The Oscilloscope is useful for making measurements in both the A.C. and D.C. domain. It allows us to view the input waveforms and hence verify their validity. (i.e if we expect a square wave but recieve a triangle wave it is obvious that our circuit is not functioning correctly).
• The device works essentially by plotting or tracing the amplitude of the input waveform against time on a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display. The waveform is plotted many times per second so it is important that the signal is in some way periodic so that the signal seen on the display remains static.
• For those that feel comfortable using an oscilloscope and only require help with a few specific problems a "clickable" schematic of the Oscilloscope is shown below, so you can just "click" on the area of the schematic that requires explanation.
• Now if you know very little about the CRO itself then it may be best to use the menu below to learn about the CRO from the beginning.

• The diagram above depicts only the control panel of the CRO the display is only partially drawn (on the left of the control panel) and can be viewed more closely by clicking here.

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Revised: Friday, 17 July 1998