Pico Technology

Here is your January 2010 Test and Measurement update from Pico Technology.

1. PicoScope 6000 Series Scopes About to Ship!

We started taking orders for the new high-performance PicoScope 6000 Series oscilloscopes in December, and the first batch is now being prepared for shipping. These really are the ultimate USB oscilloscopes, with a combination of features that can't be beaten by any other scope available today. We hope that you have read about them in the electronics press, but if not, here are the main points:

• 4 channels
• 350 MHz bandwidth
• 5 GS/s real-time sampling
• 1 GS (1 billion sample) buffer size
• Switchable 50-ohm/1-megohm inputs
• Built-in arbitrary waveform and function generator

The PicoScope 6000 Series is supported by the latest version of the PicoScope software (see next section), so if you are familiar with Pico oscilloscopes, you won’t have to learn a new user interface.

Read full details of the new PicoScope 6000 Series oscilloscopes

2.  New: Mask Limit Testing in PicoScope!

PicoScope 6.3.43 has a new mask limit testing feature, designed to aid debugging and production testing. This feature allows you to classify waveforms as correct or faulty according to their shape. You define the acceptable shape by drawing a mask, entering its coordinates manually, importing a file or copying an existing waveform. You then apply the mask to an input channel, and PicoScope highlights any parts of the input waveform that cross the mask. The program counts the number of failed waveforms, so that you can run unattended tests.

The new release of PicoScope also includes:

• serial decoding improvements, with new auto setup function
• support for the new PicoScope 6000 Series
• built-in probe definitions for WPS500X pressure transducer
• various bug fixes

We have also published numerous minor updates to our software and drivers over the last two months.

Maintenance updates to support PicoLog 1000 Series data loggers:

• PicoScope and PicoLog R5.20.9
• PicoScope R6.2.14
• PicoLog 1000 SDK R6.2.20

Other updates:

• EnviroMon R5.21.4 (added Italian support)
• PicoScope 9000 R2.2.15 (added Russian support)

Download any of these software updates from our website now

3.  Using PicoScopes in MATLAB

You can control a PicoScope oscilloscope in MATLAB using the driver software that we supply. A MATLAB user has published a guide to doing this using the PicoScope 2205, along with an example program. You can adapt this method for use with any PicoScope oscilloscope.

Read “interface to Picoscope analyzer” by Doekle Yntema on the mathworks.com website:

4.  Pico in the T&M World Awards

Pico products are among the finalists for two of this year’s T&M World awards. The PicoScope 9211 sampling PC oscilloscope has been nominated for Best in Test, and the PicoScope 3000 Series oscilloscopes with built-in waveform generators have been nominated for the Test of Time award. You can vote once in each category, so please visit the T&M World website and show your support for Pico.

• Vote in the Best in Test award nominations (oscilloscopes)
• Vote in the Test of Time award nominations

5.  Questions and Answers

Here is a selection of the questions that have cropped up recently on our support forum and elsewhere:

Q. Will the PicoScope oscilloscopes work with the new netbooks as opposed to full laptops or PCs? Is there a list of approved or unapproved ones?

A. We have used PicoScope oscilloscopes and software on a range of netbooks without any problems. Netbooks typically have less powerful CPUs and graphics chips than full-sized computers, so the waveform update rate is likely to be lower, but all other functions should work normally.

Q. I have PicoScope 6. Is there any setting to tell the application you are using a x1 or x10 probe so that the amplitude scale is displayed correctly?

A. Yes. You just need to click on the Channel Options button to the right of the AC/DC coupling drop-down menu. In the “Probe” box you will find “x1” and “x10” probes listed.

6.  Events

For the latest information about upcoming exhibitions, please see our “Training and Exhibitions” page.

7.  Employment Opportunities

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

• Automotive Technical Specialist
• Development Engineer - Analogue Hardware
• Development Engineer - Hardware

Find more details of these positions and complete an online application form

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.

8.  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:

To download the latest software please visit the software downloads page

See Software Releases - New Features for a list of recent changes and additions to the software.

9.  About this Newsletter

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

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10.  Contact Details

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