PicoScope 6 News

PicoScope 6, our PC Oscilloscope software, is being continually upgraded. The latest release, 6.0.12, has many small improvements behind the scenes, plus the following new features:

• New dedicated spectrum mode. In addition to being able to create a spectrum view of your scope data, PicoScope 6 now has a new dedicated spectrum analysis mode. There are two new buttons on the toolbar: Scope Mode and Spectrum Mode. Scope Mode is on by default, and works just like previous versions of PicoScope 6. Spectrum Mode is new, and gives you direct and effortless control of your scope as a spectrum analyser. In this mode you can now use the Auto Setup button, which will configure the spectrum view to show the first few harmonics of your signal, making setup much easier than before.
• Advanced triggering for PicoScope 3423/3223 and 3424/3224 scopes. Most of the advanced trigger types that we introduced for the PicoScope 5000 series scopes have now been added to the high-resolution scopes from the 3000 series. These scopes have a hardware resolution of 12 bits, which can be extended to an effective 16 bits with the Resolution Enhance feature in PicoScope 6.

Download your free copy of PicoScope 6 for Windows XP (SP2) and Vista

Questions and Answers

Here is a selection of the questions that have cropped up recently on our help desk and our support forum.

Q. How many spectrum bins does PicoScope 6 allow?
A. You can have up to 1 million spectrum bins in PicoScope 6. (By comparison, PicoScope 5 allowed up to 32,000.)

Q. I get a compile error when I use the PicoScope 5000 SDK. Any ideas?
A. Please check that you have the latest PicoScope 5000 User’s Guide. You should have version 3.0. The previous version had an error in the declaration of the

ps5000GetTimebase

function, for which we apologise.

Automotive News

Pico Mixmaster wins MOTOR Top 20 Tools award

MOTOR Magazine’s Top 20 Tools Award recognizes those tool and equipment manufacturers who, through innovative features on new products, help technicians diagnose and repair vehicles correctly — the first time. The continual development and improvement of such tools and equipment is essential so that automotive technicians can properly service today’s technologically advanced vehicles.

The Mixmaster secondary ignition signal mixer can produce a parade display of up to 12 cylinders using a single channel of an automotive oscilloscope. If you have a two-channel scope, the unit can display two engine banks separately, with up to six cylinders per bank. V8 and V12 engines can be tested using a standard two-channel or four-channel automotive oscilloscope. This equipment is also ideal for wasted-spark ignition systems and includes an "invert" switch to invert the negative signals.

Using two channels of the oscilloscope (three, with triggering), Mixmaster can split the display by banks and show both the power event and its corresponding waste event, making it the only product of its kind for use with two- or four-channel oscilloscopes. Mixmaster is battery-powered and conveniently portable, with a shockproof rubber case suitable for heavy-duty workshop use. It’s supplied with a set of four secondary ignition leads, three BNC leads to connect to the oscilloscope, an engine block ground lead and an illustrated manual in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish. Extra packs of four secondary ignition leads are also available.

Find out more about Mixmaster

PicoScope 6 Automotive now released

Our latest PC Oscilloscope software, PicoScope 6 Automotive, is now ready for mainstream use. The latest version has these new features:

Advanced triggering, to give scope experts even more control over when to capture waveforms. For example, you can use the dropout trigger to freeze the display when the engine stalls, even if you are away from the scope at the time.
Spectrum analysis, for advanced detection of vibration and instability in your engine. This feature opens up an entirely new chapter in PicoScope engine diagnostics.

Download your copy of PicoScope 6 Automotive

The Pico Automotive Waveform Library is growing

We are updating our automotive waveform library to the new PicoScope 6 format. With your help, we would also like to add new waveforms.

We will give a free copy of our collection of PicoScope Automotive waveforms to anybody who submits a new waveform that we use. We would prefer good and bad examples if you have them. Please contact us at support@picotech.com before sending your waveforms, so that we can advise you on exactly what information you need to send to us.

Low-cost leasing

Thanks to an arrangement with our preferred leasing company, Prolease, you can now lease equipment from us on low-cost, easy terms. All you need to do is choose a Pico product or list of Pico products worth a total of ˆ1000 or more, then contact our sales department to discuss leasing terms.

Example: a 4-channel Automotive Diagnostics Kit at £1225 + VAT, over a 3-year payback period, could cost you only £10.05 + VAT per week.

Send us an email at sales@picotech.com, call us on +44 (0)1480 396395, or use the contact address at the end of this newsletter. Leasing is available to UK customers only.

Events

Please visit Pico Exhibitions for the latest list of exhibitions and trade shows that Pico and its representatives will be attending.

We're hiring!

Thanks to our continuing success and growth Pico are always seeking talented people to join our company.

Please visit https://jobs.picotech.com/ to see our current vacancies. We look forward to hearing from you!

Software releases

Our latest software releases are available as free downloads. To check which release you are using, start the software and select Help > About.

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Contact details

UK Headquarters:
Pico Technology, James House, Colmworth Business Park, St. Neots,
Cambridgeshire, PE19 8YP, United Kingdom
Tel.: 01480 396395 (+44 1480 396395)
Fax: 01480 396296 (+44 1480 396296)

North America Office:
Pico Technology, 320 N Glenwood Blvd, Tyler TX 75702, United States
Tel:+1 800 591 2796 (Toll Free)

Asia-Pacific Office:
Pico Technology, Room 2252, 22/F, Centro, 568 Hengfeng Road, Zhabei District,
Shanghai 200070, PR China
Tel: +86 21 2226-5152

Email: sales@picotech.com