You need to test, we're here to help.

You need to test, we're here to help.

21 October 2015

Analyzing Pulse-Width Modulation Signals

Persistence display provides a quick-and-dirty view of a PWM signal
Figure 1: Persistence display provides
a quick-and-dirty view of a PWM signal
Pulse-width modulation (PWM), a favorite technique for achieving analog ends through digital means, finds application in all kinds of end systems. Motor control might be the number-one application, but PWM turns up in telecommunications, audio systems and amplifiers, and any number of other uses. Armed with a capable oscilloscope, one can thoroughly analyze and understand the behavior of PWM circuits.

14 October 2015

Determining an RF Burst's Envelope

Demodulation is one method of determining the envelope of an RF burst
Figure 1: Demodulation is one method
of determining the envelope of an RF burst
There aren't many wireless environments more complex than that of the electronic-warfare arena. Spread-spectrum clocking, frequency hopping, jamming, you name it: It's an RF jungle out there, and signals intended for electronic-warfare applications demand precision instrumentation and skilled hands for test and measurement purposes.

01 October 2015

Taking Best Advantage of Oscilloscopes' Long Memory

Figure 1: Maintaining the maximum sample rate over more
timebase settings is possible with long memory
Two very important considerations when choosing a digital oscilloscope are the length of the acquisition memory and the amount of RAM available for processing of the raw data. Note that acquisition memory and RAM are not the same things, but they are still both important. The amount of acquisition memory often determines the fidelity with which an oscilloscope can record a signal. But that's only the first step; it's the instrument's processing horsepower is the key to finding signal abnormalities and characterizing circuit performance.