Pico Technology

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

1.  Tech Tip: Oversampling in PicoScope

Did you know that you can filter out noise from your signals and increase the effective voltage resolution of your oscilloscope with a technique called oversampling? This is built in to the PicoScope software and works with all Pico PC Oscilloscopes in the ADC-200, 2000 and 3000 Series.

Oversampling works by collecting at least twice as many samples as you requested, then replacing each group of two or more adjacent samples with the average value of that group. This process preserves the signal while rejecting noise, and can squeeze a few extra bits of resolution out of your converter. For example, in the presence of noise, an oversampling factor of four is typically equivalent to increasing the resolution of your converter by one bit, and a factor of sixteen is equivalent to two extra bits.

Normally, PicoScope sets up oversampling to get the best out of your oscilloscope so you don't have to worry about the details, but there are some adjustments you can make if you need to. In the PSW.INI file installed in the program directory, you can add two parameters called MaxOversample and MaxScopeOversample. MaxOversample applies to the ADC-200 series of converters, and MaxScopeOversample applies to the PicoScope 2000 and 3000 Series. For example, you can boost the resolution of a PicoScope 3224 or 3424 from 12 bits to 16 bits, under suitable signal conditions, by adding the line:

MaxScopeOversample=256

You can use other oversampling factors in the range 1 to 256. It is best not to use a higher oversampling factor than necessary, because this can slow down the refresh rate of the PicoScope display and can sometimes lead to 'aliasing'. There are more details in the reference manual included with your PicoScope software: click 'Help' and look for 'initialisation settings' and 'aliasing' in the index.

Finally, make sure that the 'Maximum samples per scope trace' setting in PicoScope under Settings | Options | Advanced is not too high. This setting multiplied by MaxScopeOversample must be less than the buffer size of the oscilloscope to enable PicoScope to oversample by the requested amount.

2.  PicoScope 2105 in the Press

The PicoScope 2104 and 2105 scope-in-a-probe PC Oscilloscopes are attracting a lot of attention in the electronics press. Alex Mendelsohn has just written an independent review for eeProductCenter, in which he describes the new PC Oscilloscopes in detail and points out numerous advantages, such as their low cost, ergonomic design and fast equivalent-time sampling.

Read Alex’s article on eeProductCenter’s website

Find out about the PicoScope 2104 and 2105 handheld oscilloscopes

3.  Automotive News

AUTOTEC 2006 Commercial Vehicle Show

Brno, Czech Republic
3-7 June 2006

Autotec is the International Fair of Utility vehicles, Parts, Accessories and Garage Equipment, and is one of the five most important fairs in the automotive industry included in the calendar of O.I.C.A, the International Association of Automobile Manufacturers. As the first motor show in the new EU member country, it has managed to attract an increased attendance of both foreign exhibitors and visitors.

Pico will be represented by UNIVER on Stand PAV A1-40.

MechanEx Mechanics Trade Show

Yorkshire Event Centre, Harrogate, UK
14-15 June 2006

MechanEx is a hands-on event featuring the very best in tools, diagnostics and the latest products from most major manufacturers. Designed for independent motor trade professionals, MechanEx 2006 is organised by Professional Motor Mechanic magazine. Pico will be exhibiting on stand D4, 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 coil-on-plug probe, 6-way universal breakout leads and the versatile FirstLook engine sensor.

New Real-Life Diagnostics article: “Misfire Most Severe”

In this month’s article in the Real-Life Diagnostics series, Nick Hibberd of Hibtech recounts how he solved the case of a misfire in a high-performance engine that was blowing smoke. The trouble code pointed to an injector problem, but Nick needed an automotive oscilloscope to find the exact, and surprisingly simple, cause of the fault.

Read all the Real-Life Diagnostics articles, free of charge and with no need to register.

New reference waveform: crankshaft and camshaft

This month we have added a new reference waveform to our library: a dual-trace crankshaft and camshaft waveform from a Fiat Coupe 2.0. The crankshaft waveform shows an obvious problem, indicating a damaged sensor, flywheel or crankshaft.

Browse our free library of automotive waveforms

Send us your waveforms!

We are grateful to you, our customers, for sending us your waveforms, and we encourage you to keep sending them, preferably as matching pairs of 'before repair' and 'after repair' examples. If you wish, we will identify you as the author of any waveforms that we publish.

Contact us by email

4.  Forthcoming Exhibitions and Training Dates

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

5.  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

6.  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.

7.  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 R5.13.9
• PicoScope Automotive R5.13.9
• PicoLog R5.13.9
• EnviroMon R5.13.7

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.)

8.  Back Issues of this Newsletter

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

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