Where's "v/div"?

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billw
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Where's "v/div"?

Post by billw »

Just an observation, but OK folks, I've been using scopes since the stone age (and probably being a little nit picky), but I've never seen a scope without "V/div" (volts per division) controls. I'm currently evaluating PicoScope 6 (using the 3404A), and that control just seems to be missing.

Now, I can see the "scale" option (shown in the red dashed box), but it's not quite the same thing, at least from a traditional scope function standpoint.

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Martyn
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Re: Where's "v/div"?

Post by Martyn »

Where it says"Auto" next to the channel letter in the top bar you can set the voltage range which, when divided by 10, gives you volts per div. Is that the adjustment you meant?
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billw
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Re: Where's "v/div"?

Post by billw »

Martyn wrote:Where it says"Auto" next to the channel letter in the top bar you can set the voltage range which, when divided by 10, gives you volts per div. Is that the adjustment you meant?
Yes, I saw that control, but this seems to be the scope's input scaling amplifier control. For example, say you have a 50Hz 1.5v pulse with 70Khz 100mV superimposed on top of the 50Hz pulse. What you want to look at the peak to peak levels of the 70Khz pulse close-up (not zoomed, retaining vertical resolution), on traditional scopes, you would dial in the scope to a vertical resolution of say 20mV/Div, then adjust the vertical position to see it (within it's obvious limits, of course).

The "scale" function kind of does that (2x, 3x, etc.), but the input voltage range does not. When using this, it causes the input to clip the input waveform to the limit of the input range (probably to protect the A/D circuitry from overload). You also see a red warning exclamation icon on the top left corner.

What I'm suggesting is that while having the ability to manually set the input voltage range is useful, a vertical "resolution" control (like the horizontal resolution control to set "time/div") is needed. Having a control to set the vertical "volts/div" would be such that when initially set, it forces the scope's input into it's AUTO mode, selecting the most appropriate input gain (before overload), then if desired, the user can manually set the input voltage range if needed to counter for example, peak pulses that may reduce the input range of the measurement too much.

alan
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Re: Where's "v/div"?

Post by alan »

Hi,

I think you are after the vertical position control so you can pull the signal you want to the middle of the screen and then use a more sensitive range?

If so then its in the channel optons - press the icon with the channel letter (A, B etc) and the down arrow. From here you can adjust the offset / position.

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