new to oscilloscopes

[Guest]

I'm new to the use of oscilloscopes, so i was curious; can an oscilloscope measure if something is producing an electrical current and if so what type of information would the scope give me. Oh, one more thing, if any one can sugest some reading material that will help me out it would much appreciated.

[Autonerdz]

The scope itself simply measures voltage over time. There are a wide range of probes and sensors that convert many other types of measurement into voltage. These allow the scope to measure amperage, pressure, vacuum, pulses, temperature, PH and on and on......

I use scopes in automotive application. Using an inductive amp probe can show you so much information so much faster when used with a scope. You can see brush contact in an electric motor (like a fuel pump). You can see injectors and other control solenoids move. You can verify primary drive to an ignition coil. You can do relative compression testing based on starter current draw. When used with voltage on the circuit under test, it becomes even more powerful, allowing you to tell the difference between a bad driver, and a poor connection. I could go on and on...

There is a ton of stuff to read right here on this site. When you are done with that, if you are interested in automotive application, there is a lot of stuff at http://www.autonerdz.com.

We distribute and provide support for Pico's automotive line in North America and have customers on five continents.

[Guest]

Thanx, I will check out the web site.