does automotive accessories have chips?

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astuntas
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does automotive accessories have chips?

Post by astuntas »

Dear support team,

I have two regular picotech scopes, one is 2000 series and another is 3000. I am thinking of purchasing a few things for automotive: current clamp PP264, ignition HV clamp PP178 and maybe COP pickup device PP338. Additionally of course I would order test leads, attenuators etc. For the beginning, this would be easier for me than to get the full automotive set, as I already have the scopes.
My question is next: does my above mentioned devices send a regular voltage signal to the scope, or are there a chip inside them, which makes a digital signal? Will they work with non-automotive pico scopes 2000 and 3000 series ? I am pretty sure they will, but I want to make sure before ordering these accessories.
Thank you for your help!

Martyn
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Re: does automotive accessories have chips?

Post by Martyn »

Yes they do give a voltage.

Which 2000 and 3000 series scopes do you have ?
Martyn
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astuntas
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Re: does automotive accessories have chips?

Post by astuntas »

I have 2205 and 3205.

Martyn
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Re: does automotive accessories have chips?

Post by Martyn »

The accessories will work with those scopes but please take care they are not designed for automotive use, they do not have the same input protection, and are only 8 bit so will not provide the same level of detail. For this reason neither scope will work with our automotive software.
Martyn
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astuntas
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Re: does automotive accessories have chips?

Post by astuntas »

I totally agree that automotive scopes are better with their 12 bit resolution and 32 M memory. But for now I hope I will be able to start with what I have with a few accessories.

May I ask about the input protection differences between regular and automotive scopes? Despite of input voltage limits and overload protection voltage, is there any more differences? Attenuator is necessary anyhow for some measurements like coils, which get like 400 V. Thanks in advance for your support.

Martyn
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Re: does automotive accessories have chips?

Post by Martyn »

The 4000 series automotive scopes are protected to +/-200V compared with the +/-100V of the normal T&M scopes. Using an attenuator will help, and will be needed for certain signals, although using a COP probe means you are not looking at the actual voltage so would not need an attenuator in this case.

Please note that using a T&M scope in an automotive environment may invalidate the warranty.
Martyn
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astuntas
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Re: does automotive accessories have chips?

Post by astuntas »

I see, thank you for your detailed answers.

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