Pico Technology

Here is your monthly Test and Measurement update from Pico Technology.

1.  New Products! PicoScope 2104 and 2105 PC Oscilloscopes

The PicoScope 2104 and 2105 are the new hand-held additions to our PC Oscilloscope range. The PicoScope 2105 converts any laptop or desktop PC with USB support into a powerful oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer and meter without the need for additional probes or power supplies, yet is only slightly larger than a conventional oscilloscope probe.

The PicoScope 2105 is suitable for a wide range of trouble- shooting tasks on analogue and digital circuits. It has a 100 megasample per second real-time sampling rate, a repetitive signal sampling rate of 2 gigasamples per second thanks to digital equivalent-time sampling, and a 25 MHz analogue bandwidth. The instrument has eight input voltage ranges from ±100 mV to ±20 V, and overvoltage protection to ±50 V. The USB interface and plug-and-play software make installation easy, and you can set up, start and stop the unit by pressing a single pushbutton. An entry-level version, the PicoScope 2104, is also available to suit less demanding applications.

The PicoScope 2104 and 2105 PC Oscilloscopes are supplied with the PicoScope oscilloscope software and PicoLog data logging software, a 32-bit driver with fully documented programming interface, and example programs in C, Visual Basic, Delphi, LabVIEW and VEE. The software is compatible with Windows 98SE, ME, 2000 and XP.

More information on PicoScope handheld oscilloscopes

2.  Tech Tip: Using Persistence Modes in PicoScope

PicoScope, our PC oscilloscope software, has a number of display modes that provide more than just a real-time view of your waveforms. You can select these modes in the Scope Options dialog, which you open by choosing Settings | Options or pressing the F5 key. Two modes in particular are useful for spotting transients and glitches: Analog Intensity mode and Digital Color mode. Both of these modes work best with the trigger set to Repeat.

Analog Intensity mode simulates the persistence of the phosphor on the screen of an analogue oscilloscope. New traces are drawn at full intensity, and then fade away as they get older. Stable, repetitive signals are continually redrawn in the same place and therefore remain at full intensity, while transients fade away quickly, allowing you to distinguish them from the main signal. With persistence set to “Infinite”, you can also use this mode to evaluate eye patterns and jitter.

Digital Color mode is a variation on Analog Intensity mode that uses varying colour instead of varying intensity. Newer waveforms appear as hotter colours, making it much easier to see the difference between stable signals and transients.

More technical tips

3.  New in Automotive Real-Life Diagnostics: Knock Sensor Fault

Nick Hibberd, of Hibtech Auto-Electrical Diagnostics, uses a PicoScope Automotive Oscilloscope to track down a faulty knock sensor. Along the way, he explains how these sensors work and how to get the best out of your oscilloscope.

All our articles are fully illustrated with waveforms, diagrams and photographs, and are available free of charge with no registration needed.

Read the latest automotive tutorials

4.  New Automotive Waveforms: FirstLook Sensor

When you buy a PicoScope Automotive Oscilloscope Kit, you get not only a high-performance PC oscilloscope, but also a lifetime of technical support and free access to our growing library of waveforms and technical articles. This month, we have waveforms captured using the FirstLook Engine Diagnostic Sensor from the exhaust pipe and fuel pressure regulator of a Nissan Micra, and from the inlet manifold of a Ford RS Turbo. This remarkable sensor, available from Pico, offers a fast and accurate method to diagnose automotive engine problems such as burnt valves, bad injectors and other performance problems without major disassembly of the engine.

• Visit our automotive waveform library
• Find out more about the FirstLook Engine Diagnostic Sensor

5.  Training: Engine Management Diagnostics using PicoScope

11 to 12 April 2006
Kingston College, London, UK

This month we are holding another of our training courses for owners of the PicoScope Automotive Oscilloscope Kit.

On the first day you will learn the basic working principles of engine management systems, component testing and system diagnostics using oscilloscopes. The day will be split between theory and practical demonstrations in a workshop using the Pico Automotive Oscilloscope Kit. On the second day you will continue to explore practical examples of diagnostic work with the oscilloscope. You will also build up your understanding of electrical and mechanical faults and the engineering significance of voltage signals.

By the end of the course you will be certified by Pico Technology to use the Pico Automotive Oscilloscope Kit and PicoScope oscilloscope software specifically for advanced automotive diagnostic applications. You will then know how to run diagnostics on most of the common automotive sensors.

Find out more about Pico automotive training courses

6.  Automotive Trade Show, Birmingham, UK

Hall 1, NEC
25-27 April 2006

Visit us at ATS, Britain’s fastest-growing and most successful automotive trade-only event, which includes CVS, the Commercial Vehicle Show. Pico will be exhibiting at stand 1921, where our automotive specialists will be present to answer your technical questions. Visit us to see our latest automotive products, including our two-channel, four-channel and commercial-vehicle Automotive Oscilloscope Kits, and accessories such as the versatile FirstLook engine sensor.

More details on the Automotive Trade Show

7.  Forthcoming Exhibitions and Training Dates

Full details of upcoming exhibitions and training dates can be found on the exhibitions page.

8.  Pico Technology’s 15th Anniversary — Tell Us Your Story

Pico is now in its 15th year, so we are looking forward to celebrating our anniversary in a few months’ time. In our publicity for this event, we plan to focus on our commitment to supporting our older products; in fact, our latest software still works with our very first PC Oscilloscopes and Data Loggers.

If you have owned and used a Pico product for ten years or more, and would like us to publish your story, please contact us by email

9.  Custom Solutions for Pico Data Loggers

You may be thinking of buying a Pico Data Logger, but need expert help to integrate our software with your application or to design a signal conditioner to interface the logger to your sensor.

If so, then Innovatronics Ltd may well be able to help with a custom solution tailored to your needs. With over seven years’ experience working with Pico equipment, our in-depth knowledge and high quality solutions may be exactly what you need to fulfil your requirements.

Feel free to contact Innovatronics to discuss your project and receive a no-obligation quote for a solution to your problem.

10.  Employment Opportunities

Due to our continuing growth, we have vacancies for the following positions:

• Digital Hardware Engineers
• Analogue Hardware Engineers
• Applications Software Engineers

We look forward to hearing from you if you want to be part of a growing company at the leading edge of test equipment design.

View full details of all our current employment vacancies

11.  Latest Software Releases

As soon as we release new software, it is made available for FREE download from our website. To check which version you are using, start the software (PicoScope, PicoLog or EnviroMon) and select HELP | ABOUT.

The current releases are:

• PicoScope R5.13.7
• PicoScope Automotive R5.13.7
• PicoLog R5.13.7
• EnviroMon R5.13.6

To download the latest software please visit the software downloads page

(Note: the above web page also contains a link to our 'what's new' page which describes recent changes and additions to the software.)

12.  Back Issues of this Newsletter

Back issues of this newsletter are available online at http://www.picotech.com/maillist.html

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