Pico Technology

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

1.  New PicoLog 1000 Series

The new PicoLog 1000 Series is a range of competitively priced, multi-channel, USB-powered data loggers designed to suit a wide range of general-purpose voltage, sensor and transducer logging applications. With up to 12-bit resolution and up to 1 MS/s sampling rate, these data loggers offer amazing value for money. The units feature up to 4 software-configurable digital output lines, a PWM control output, and a current-limited sensor excitation output. All this is in a compact, portable unit that simply plugs into the USB port of a standard Windows-based PC.

The PicoLog 1000 Series voltage data loggers contain everything needed for immediate use. The free, comprehensive PicoLog data logging software includes an SDK for customised programming. An external terminal board is available separately to allow easy connection of wires to the logger.

Features

• 16 unipolar 0 V to 2.5 V analog inputs (12 inputs on PicoLog 1012)
• 12-bit resolution (10-bit on PicoLog 1012)
• 4 configurable digital outputs (2 on PicoLog 1012)
• 1 PWM control output (PicoLog 1216 only)
• Up to 1 MS/s sample rate
• USB-connected and powered
• Current-limited sensor excitation output
• Windows XP and Vista (32 and 64-bit) compatible
• Includes API and examples for C/C++/C#, VB, LabVIEW VIs
• Includes terminal board and ready-to-go data logging software

Specifications above apply to the PicoLog 1216 except where otherwise stated.

The PicoLog 1000 Series is on sale now, priced at only £95 for the 12-channel PicoLog 1012 and £149 for the 16-channel PicoLog 1216.

Read more about the 1000 Series and order online

2.  New PicoScope 6.2.3 Beta

The latest beta release of PicoScope 6, the PC Oscilloscope software, has just emerged from Pico Labs. We have made a number of improvements to the usability of the program, as requested by you. The new version has these extra features:

• Home button. A new button on the toolbar to load your default settings.
• Auto-arrange axes. If you have lots of input channels, reference channels and math channels enabled, it can take time to move them around and scale them so that they are all clearly visible. This new command, available by right-clicking on a view, rearranges all the traces automatically so that none of them overlap.
• Undo zoom. It can be tricky to zoom in on exactly the area that you want to see. To make it easier, we have added an "undo" button that cycles through all the previous zoom and pan settings. This is ideal for quickly inspecting a feature in detail and then returning to the previous view.
• Editable rulers. You may have used the ruler legend, a box that shows the numerical values of each measurement ruler. Now you can edit those values to position the rulers exactly where you want them.
• AWG undo. You can now undo changes made in the Arbitrary Waveform editor.
• Thumbnails and shell extensions. To help you organise your waveform library, PicoScope data files saved by PicoScope 6.2.3 now appear as pictures in Windows Explorer when you are in “Thumbnail” view. You can also right-click on any PicoScope waveform file and convert it to an image, even an animated GIF, or update an old file to PicoScope 6.2.3 format.
• Command-line file conversions. If you have a collection of PicoScope waveforms, you can convert them to the new format, or to images, all in one call to picoscope.exe. Type picoscope /? in a command window for details.
• Windows 7. We’ve made some changes behind the scenes so that PicoScope will work in the successor to Windows Vista when it is officially released.

Go to Pico Labs and download the latest beta release now, free of charge.

3.  Express Delivery now only £10 on all UK web orders

From Spring 2009, we have reduced the cost of Express Delivery to all UK destinations from £15 to £10 when you order from our website.

Full terms and conditions

4.  Questions and Answers

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

Q. It says on your website that the PicoScope 4000 Series supports continuous streaming mode. I have a PicoScope 4424 running PicoScope 6.2.2.12 on Windows XP. Is there a way to activate streaming mode that doesn’t involve programming the scope via the API?

A. Streaming mode is used for the longer timebases in PicoScope 6. To set the timebase at which it switches from block to streaming mode, go to Tools -> Preferences -> Sampling -> Slow sampling transition. The longest timebase is approximately 30 minutes. Therefore, this is the longest unbroken stream of data that you can collect with PicoScope 6. Using the API, you can stream data indefinitely.

Q. Which of your scopes support Advanced Triggering?

A. Here is the complete list of scopes that support Advanced Triggering:
PicoScope 2205, 3224, 3424, 3223, 3423, 3425, 4224, 4424, 4223, 4423, 5203, 5204.

Q. The “Minimum Requirements” specifications for most of your products mention Windows XP SP2. Are these products compatible with SP3?

A. Yes. All Pico products with “Windows XP SP2” listed as a minimum requirement also work with SP3.

5.  Exhibitions

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

6.  Employment Opportunities

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

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

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.

7.  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 and R6.2.3 beta
• PicoScope Education: R6.2.2
• PicoScope 9000: R2.2.9 (new for April 2009)
• 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.)

8.  About this Newsletter

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9.  Contact Details

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