Rigol DS8034-R 350MHz, 5GSa/s Compact Oscilloscope (2024)

FAQs

How good of an oscilloscope do I need? ›

Generally, a scope with a rise time of 1 nanosecond or less will be sufficient for most purposes. If you need to capture high-speed signals, such as those associated with digital devices, you may need a scope with a rise time of 0.5 nanoseconds or less. The frequency of a signal determines the rise time.

System bandwidth determines an oscilloscope's fundamental ability to measure an analog signal - the maximum frequency range that it can accurately measure. ∎ Entry level scopes will often have a maximum bandwidth of 100 MHz. They can accurately (within 2%) show the amplitudes of sine-wave signals up to 20 MHz.

In general, it is recommended that you use an oscilloscope with bandwidth at least two times the highest frequency component in your signal. Oscilloscopes are commonly used for measuring rise time of signals such as digital pulses or other signals with sharp edges.

Accuracy is not regarded as important for most oscilloscopes. You can make measurements within a few per cent (most DSOs quote 3% to 5% DC accuracy) but for accurate measurements you have to reach for a multimeter. With precision oscilloscopes, however, accurate measurements are possible at full speed.

While it is tempting to purchase a used or refurbished oscilloscope from the cheapest reseller, there is a high chance that you will end up with a faulty or miscalibrated product.

Bandwidth — to measure the 12 MHz signal, we need an absolute minimum of 12 MHz, but this will give a very distorted signal so a scope with at least 50 MHz bandwidth would be sensible.

We believe that 20MHz is adaquate for most automotive diagnostics. Please be aware that there are many scopes on the market with much lower bandwidths which will not be able to display fast signals at all.

Analog oscilloscopes often have high-resolution displays, allowing engineers to observe and analyze signals with greater accuracy and detail. Compared to digital oscilloscopes, analog oscilloscopes are often less expensive, making them a more cost-effective solution for many applications.

If you want to measure a 50 MHz signal, a 200 MHz oscilloscope will give you plenty of bandwidth to clearly display your signal without attenuation and filter distortion but not so much that it adds high frequency noise content to your measurement.

In practice

Therefore, the bandwidth of the scope should be much higher than the frequency of the signal to be measured. For example, when a motor is controlled with a 20 kHz square wave, a minimum bandwidth of 200 kHz is needed, but 500 kHz is better. Always make sure that the probe's bandwidth is high enough.

Is an 8 bit oscilloscope enough? ›

The 8-bit ADC in an oscilloscope provides a good balance between acquisition speed and amplitude accuracy for signals with frequencies in the hundreds and TTL voltage levels on the order of 0 to 5 V. For this type of signal 8-bit resolution is usually sufficient.

Frequency Counters vs. Oscilloscopes and Other Devices. Other instruments like oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and frequency meters (like old analog-style needle gauges) can also measure frequency. However, what sets frequency counters apart is their extremely high accuracy and precision.

Do not exceed the stated voltage. Always set the scale to its maximum setting before changing any inputs, to prevent overdriving the oscilloscope. Avoid damage by being prepared with some idea of the signal level to be connected with the oscilloscope. Overdriving the inputs can damage the front-end components.

Some oscilloscopes have built-in multimeters like the Fluke 120B ScopeMeter, giving you both numbers and pictures. In many cases, these kinds of oscilloscopes can replace a multimeter.

By scaling the signal to fill as much of the screen as possible, it is possible to take advantage of the oscilloscope's full bits of resolution. Bits of resolution is essentially a signifier of how precise an ADC is capable of being. The higher the bits of resolution, the more vertical levels the ADC is able to detect.

This means, for the highest bandwidth signals, up to the bandwidth limit of the scope, use the 50 Ohm input impedance setting. This will give the highest bandwidth measurement and lowest noise level.