Pico Communications PicoScope 2104, PicoScope 2105 manual Glossary

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PicoScope 2104 & 2105 PC Oscilloscope User Guide

5Glossary

AC/DC switch

To switch between measuring alternating current and direct current, select AC or DC from the control on the oscilloscope toolbar of the PicoScope software application. Choose the setting to suit the characteristics of the input signal.

Analog bandwidth

The input frequency at which the signal amplitude has fallen by 3 dB, or by half the power, from its nominal value.

Block mode

A sampling mode in which the computer prompts the PC Oscilloscope to collect a block of data into its internal memory before stopping the unit and transferring the whole block into computer memory. This is the best mode to use when the input signal being sampled contains high frequencies. Note: To avoid aliasing effects, the sampling rate must be greater than twice the maximum frequency in the input signal.

Buffer size

The size of the PicoScope PC Oscilloscope buffer memory. The unit uses this to store data temporarily, so that it can sample data independently of the speed at which it can transfer data to the computer.

Driver

A software application that controls a piece of hardware. The driver for the PicoScope 2000 Series PC Oscilloscopes is supplied in the form of a 32-bit Windows DLL. This is used by the PicoScope and PicoLog software to control the units.

ETS

Equivalent time sampling. The PicoScope 2104 and 2105 can collect data over a number of cycles of a repetitive waveform to give a higher effective sampling rate than is possible for a single cycle. Equivalent time sampling allows the oscilloscope to use faster timebases than those available in real-time mode.

Maximum sampling rate

A figure indicating the maximum number of samples the unit is capable of acquiring per second. Maximum sample rates are usually given in MS/s (megasamples per second) or GS/s (gigasamples per second). The higher the sampling speed of the oscilloscope, the more accurate the representation of the high-frequency details in a fast signal.

Oversampling

A method of increasing the effective resolution of a measurement by sampling faster than the required sampling rate, then averaging the extra samples. An oversampling factor of four increases the effective resolution by one bit, but this increased resolution comes at the expense of reducing the maximum sampling rate by the same factor.

PC Oscilloscope

A virtual instrument consisting of a PicoScope PC Oscilloscope and the PicoScope software application.

PicoLog software

This is a software product that accompanies all our oscilloscopes. It turns your PC into a data logger and chart recorder.

PicoScope 2000 Series

A range of low-cost PC Oscilloscopes that includes the PicoScope 2202 entry-level unit and 2104 and 2105 variants.

PS2100044-1.0

Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved.

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Contents PicoScope 2104 Table of Contents Overview Safety symbolsIntroduction IntroductionSafety warning FCC noticeCE notice Licence conditionsCompany details WarrantyTrademarks AddressProduct information Minimum system requirementsInput connector Installation instructionsChecking the installation Connectors and controlsSpecifications Driver error codes Technical referenceDriver Functions 1 ps2000closeunit2 ps2000flashled 3 ps2000gettimebase 4 ps2000gettimesandvalues 5 ps2000getunitinfo Information returned Example6 ps2000getvalues 7 ps2000lastbuttonpress8 ps2000openunit 9 ps2000readyPs2000runblock 11 ps2000runstreaming Ps2000setchannel Code Enumeration Range13 ps2000setets Ps2000settrigger 15 ps2000stopAdvanced features More on block modeSampling modes ETS Equivalent Time Sampling More on streaming modeTriggering Voltage rangesScaling 7 AC/DC operationOversampling Reading VoltageCombining oscilloscopes Using streaming mode Using different modesUsing block mode Using ETS modeGUI example Programming1 C Console exampleExcel Visual BasicDelphi Agilent VEETroubleshooting Software error codesGlossary Glossary PicoScope software Real-time continuous modeStreaming mode TimebaseIndex ETSIndex USBInterworld Electronics & Computers Inc