Agilent Technologies 42A, 54621D, 24A, 22A Use averaging to reduce noise on the displayed waveform

Making Measurements

To reduce the random noise on a signal

3Use averaging to reduce noise on the displayed waveform.

•Press the Acquire key, then press the Averaging softkey.

Averaging lets you average multiple triggers together to reduce noise and increase resolution. Averaging of multiple triggers requires a stable trigger. The number of triggers being averaged is displayed in the # Avgs softkey.

•Turn the Entry knob to set the number of averages (# Avgs) that best eliminates the noise from the displayed waveform.

The number of averages can be set from 1 to 16383 in increments of powers of 2. The higher the number of averages you set, the more noise reduction and resolution that will be accomplished.

# Avgs	Bits of resolution
1	8
4	9
16	10
64	11
256	12

When the number of averages is higher, more noise is removed from the display. However, the higher the number of averages, the slower the displayed waveform responds to waveform changes. You must compromise between how quickly the waveform responds to changes and how much you want to reduce the displayed noise on the signal.

128 Averages used to reduce noise

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