Oscilloscope Diagnostics Kit Quick Start Guide
Pico Technology
The first control is a button to select other options for the channel. The first drop-down
menu selects the range of signal that you are interested in measuring. If any custom
ranges are defined, these will also be displayed here. The second drop-down menu
selects either AC or DC coupling.
Additional information on the rest of the controls in the top toolbar can be found in the
help menu installed with the software.
On the bottom toolbar, the 'STOP/GO' buttons start and stop the capturing of waveforms.
(The spacebar has the same effect.) When you stop the oscilloscope, it will hold the last
waveform on the display.
The bottom toolbar also contains the controls for setting up the triggering conditions for
the oscilloscope. Triggering is used to select the moment when PicoScope starts to collect
data to display. This is usually at some fixed time before or after a trigger event. There is
only one set of trigger settings, which applies to all views.
A trigger event occurs when a specified channel crosses a voltage threshold (while rising
or falling). PicoScope can start collecting data immediately after the trigger event or at a
fixed time interval before or after the trigger event.
After PicoScope has collected a block of data and displayed it, it can either start looking
for the next trigger event (Auto and Repeat modes), or stop collecting (Single mode),
leaving the data after the trigger on the display.
2.5
Making your first measurement
We suggest that you first use the Oscilloscope Diagnostics Kit to capture the current and
voltage waveforms from the alternator. You will find this option in the Automotive
menu under Charging and Starting > Charging Circuits > Current / Volts. The
help page that appears automatically will show you how to connect the different parts of
the Oscilloscope Diagnostics Kit and give you a basic understanding of the kit.
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