Pico Technology

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

1.  EnviroMon Update

A new beta release of the EnviroMon software, R5.21.1, is now available for download from Pico Labs. This release has two new features to make it easier to use:

• Easy setup wizard - you can now see all your devices at a glance and easily change their settings
• Built-in maintenance commands - you can now change converter addresses and update your logger firmware without leaving EnviroMon

Download EnviroMon R5.21.1 now, free of charge.

2.  New PicoScope 5 and PicoLog 64-Bit Releases

We’ve released new beta versions of PicoScope 5 and PicoLog that run on the 64-bit editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista as well as on the 32-bit editions. On 64-bit machines the software supports only USB devices. As usual, our updates are free of charge.

Download PSW and PLW R5.20.5 from Pico Labs.

3.  PicoScope 6.2.2 Just Released

PicoScope 6.2.1 has emerged from beta testing and, after a few slight tweaks, is now available as the fully supported release 6.2.2. There are numerous performance and reliability improvements as well as the following new features:

• Reference waveforms. Now you can display stored waveforms alongside live traces on the PicoScope screen. You can apply all the same functions to them as you can to live waveforms, such as automatic and manual measurements, scaling and offset, and exporting to a file. Reference waveforms are especially useful for production testing and diagnostics, where they allow you to compare waveforms from the equipment under test with known good waveforms.
• XY view. XY view plots one channel against another on the screen. This plot could be the I-V curve of a component such as a capacitor, inductor or diode, or a Lissajous figure showing the phase difference between two periodic waveforms. XY view is also capable of more advanced operations such plotting a math channel against a reference waveform, or plotting multiple channels on the Y axis against a single channel on the X axis.
• Rapid trigger mode. This is available on our newest scopes, beginning with the PicoScope 4000 and 5000 Series. It allows the scope to capture multiple waveforms in its buffer memory with the minimum of ‘dead time’ — as little as 1 microsecond — between captures. This means that you can capture a sequence of intermittent events with less risk of missing one while the trigger is being re-armed.
• Arbitrary waveform editor. The arbitrary waveform generator has been upgraded. Now, as well as loading arbitrary waveforms from text files, you can create, modify and save them using the new graphical AWG editor.
• Vista 64-bit support. Previous versions of PicoScope supported XP 32-bit and Vista 32-bit, which until recently were installed on most desktop and laptop PCs. PicoScope 6.2.2 now also supports Vista 64-bit, which is becoming increasingly common on new PCs.
• Extended language support. The full program can be installed in English, German or Spanish. Menus and dialogs can also be displayed in Dutch, Hungarian, Italian or Simplified Chinese.

Download PicoScope 6.2.2 now, free of charge.

4.  Press Round-Up

Pico products appear regularly in product reviews, scientific journals and engineering reports. Here are just a few examples that we noticed recently.

Investigating the safety of electroacupuncture with a PicoScope (BMAS)

When researchers began to design an experiment to measure the currents flowing through the body during electroacupuncture, safety was their main concern. They chose the PicoScope 3425, a four-channel differential oscilloscope, as their measuring instrument because its inputs are isolated from the power supply ground and so it eliminates the hazard of using grounded mains-powered equipment. The 12-bit resolution of the PicoScope 3425 is ideal for detecting small signal fluctuations and its high input impedance of over 10 MO makes it compatible with sensitive instrumentation such as electroacupuncture recording needles.

In this experiment, the PicoScope 3425 was used to record the applied voltage across a pair of stimulating electrodes and the induced voltage across a pair of recording electrodes. The scope’s floating inputs prevented any current leakage between the two sets of electrodes. The results were compared against the safety guidelines published by the British Medical Acupuncture Society.

Loudspeaker Voice-Coil Temperatures (Stereophile magazine)

This article describes how a Pico ADC-212 was used to monitor the resistance of a speaker voice coil while the speaker was being driven. The author was investigating changes in the resistance of the coil, due to heating, that caused distortion and power loss. The PicoLog software allowed him to create a chart of resistance over a period of time and then to print the results for publication.

Many of our customers are still happily using their ADC-212s, but if you are thinking of repeating this experiment we suggest that you use one of our newer oscilloscopes, such as a PicoScope 4000 Series model. The 12-bit resolution of these scopes makes them ideal for audio work.

Read Hot Stuff: Loudspeaker Voice-Coil Temperatures by Keith Howard.

Heat Losses In A Cook Pot at Constant Temperature (Aprovecho Research Center)

Pico data loggers are a popular choice for gathering energy efficiency data in the field, thanks to their portability, low power consumption and cost-effectiveness. In this application, a Pico TC-08 thermocouple data logger was used to compare the thermal performance of different types of cooking pot used in a typical third-world kitchen. The results may help cooks to use less fuel and create less pollution.

The TC-08 is a handy device that lets you collect data from 8 low-cost thermocouples. As it’s powered from the USB port, you don’t have to carry around an extra power supply, and it's so small and light that you can easily carry it in your laptop bag. The software supplied can display its own charts or can export results to Excel for further analysis.

Read Heat Losses In A Cook Pot at Constant Temperature (322 kB PDF) by Dr Alan Berick.

5.  Questions and Answers

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

Q. In PicoScope 6, is it possible to see previous waveforms that were captured using the Repeat trigger mode?

A. Yes, the waveform buffer does exactly that. In the control area at the top of the PicoScope window is a box containing a number, with blue arrow buttons on either side. The number shows you how many waveforms are in the buffer. Once you have captured enough waveforms using the Repeat trigger, click the Stop/Start button to stop capturing. Now you can click the blue arrow buttons to scroll backwards and forwards through the buffer. The number of waveforms that you can store in the buffer depends on the scope settings and on how much buffer memory the scope has.

Read the “Waveform Buffer” page in the “Using and Understanding Oscilloscopes” section of our website.

Q. I understand that the ADC-11 has single-ended inputs, but is it possible to do pseudo-differential data acquisition? That is, record simultaneously on 2 different channels and then subtract one from the other in a Picolog or Excel spreadsheet?

A. Yes, this can easily be done in PicoLog by adding a calculated parameter (A-B for example) that will appear as an extra channel. This function is in the menu under Settings --> Calculated Parameters.

6.  Exhibitions

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

7.  Employment Opportunities

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

• Development Engineer - Analogue Hardware
• Development Engineer - FPGA/VHDL Design
• 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:

• PicoScope 5: R5.20.3 and R5.20.5 beta
• PicoScope 6: R6.2.2
• PicoScope Education: R6.2.2
• PicoScope 9000: R2.2.8
• PicoLog: R5.20.3 and R5.20.5 beta
• EnviroMon: R5.20.0 and R5.21.1 beta

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.)

9.  About this Newsletter

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10.  Contact Details

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