Understanding Oscilloscope Functions
Slope and Level
The Slope and Level controls help to de
fi
ne the trigger. The Slope option (Edge
trigger type only) determines whether the oscilloscope
fi
nds the trigger point on
the rising or the falling edge of a signal. The
Trigger Level
knob controls where
on the edge the trigger point occurs.
Rising edge
Falling edge
Trigger level can be adjusted
vertically
Trigger can be rising or falling
Acquiring Signals
When you acquire a signal, the oscilloscope converts it into a digital form and
displays a waveform. The acquisition mode de
fi
nes how the signal is digitized,
and the time base setting affects the time span and level of detail in the acquisition.
Acquisition Modes
There are three acquisition modes: Sample, Peak Detect, and Average.
Sample.
In this acquisition mode, the oscilloscope samples the signal in evenly
spaced intervals to construct the waveform. This mode accurately represents
signals most of the time.
However, this mode does not acquire rapid variations in the signal that may occur
between samples. This can result in aliasing, and may cause narrow pulses to be
missed. In these cases, you should use the Peak Detect mode to acquire data.
(See page 22,
Peak Detect.
In this acquisition mode, the oscilloscope
fi
nds the highest and
lowest values of the input signal over each sample interval and uses these values
to display the waveform. In this way, the oscilloscope can acquire and display
narrow pulses, which may have otherwise been missed in Sample mode. Noise
will appear to be higher in this mode.
Average.
In this acquisition mode, the oscilloscope acquires several waveforms,
averages them, and displays the resulting waveform. You can use this mode to
reduce random noise.
Time Base
The oscilloscope digitizes waveforms by acquiring the value of an input signal
at discrete points. The time base allows you to control how often the values are
digitized.
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