TEST & MEASUREMENT HANDBOOK
Work-at-home tools: PC-based instruments address demanding applications TREVOR SMITH | PICO TECHNOLOGY TEST & MEASUREMENT
Advanced technology now lets budgetpriced instrumentation handle tasks once requiring specialized and pricey test gear.
WITH A LARGE SEGMENT of engineers and researchers working at home or away from their lab during the pandemic, there is a large incentive to troubleshoot designs and validate performance using systems that are both precise and that stay within a limited budget. That is one reason why there is growing interest in PC-based systems such as PicoScopes that are able to capture and display complex waveforms that are the heartbeat of nextgeneration electrical and electronic technologies. They address many challenges with mathematical waveform analysis tools, decoding of popular serial communication protocols, and mixed-signal capabilities that span analog/ digital, serial/parallel, high-speed (to 1 GHz) and high-
With dimensions of 245x192x62 mm (9.7x7.6x2.5 in), the 6000E Series oscilloscopes Pico PC-based instruments fit easily on any workbench.
resolution (to 16-bit) technologies. Total cost of ownership of PicoScope PC-based instruments compares favorably with conventional benchtop instruments through free software updates provided throughout the lifetime of the products. Further, an advantage of the PCbased approach is that new PC and display technologies can be swapped in as they become available, upgrading instrument performance. It is useful to review what kind of accuracy this sort of equipment can provide. Pico data loggers enable multichannel recording of scientific and engineering parameters such as temperature (to 0.015°C accuracy), voltage (to 0.1% accuracy and 24-bit resolution), current, force, strain,
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DESIGN WORLD — EE NETWORK
6 • 2020
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