Pico Macom PSW044-2.0 manuale d’uso

Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PicoScope 6.0 User Guide PSW044-2.0 PC Oscilloscope Software[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide I Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 Table of Contents .............................................................................................1 1 Welcome .............................................................................................2 2 Version 6.0 update ..............[...]

II Contents Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 ...................................................................................................47 3 Channel Setup toolbar ...................................................................................................48 4 Customization dialog ...............[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 1 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 1 Welcome Welcome to PicoScope, the PC Oscilloscope software from Pico Technology Limited. With a scope device from Pico Technology, PicoScope turns your PC into a powerful PC Oscilloscope with all the features and performance of a bench-top oscilloscop[...]

Version 6.0 update 2 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 2 Version 6.0 update PicoScope 6.0 is a major new release of PicoScope, Pico Technology's software for PC Oscilloscopes. Higher performance • Faster capture rates, making it easier to see fast-moving signals • Faster data processing • Better supp[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 3 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 3 Introduction PicoScope is a comprehensive software application for Pico Technology PC Oscilloscopes. Used with a scope device from Pico Technology, it creates a virtual oscilloscope, spectrum analyser and multimeter on your PC. PicoScope 6.0 supports [...]

Introduction 4 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 3.1 Legal statement The material contained in this release is licensed, not sold. Pico Technology Limited grants a licence to the person who installs this software, subject to the conditions listed below. Access The licensee agrees to allow access to this softwar[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 5 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 3.2 Contact information Address: Pico Technology Limited The Mill House Cambridge Street St Neots Cambridgeshire PE19 1QB United Kingdom Phone: +44 (0)1480 396395 Fax: +44 (0)1480 396296 Office hours: 09:00 to 17:00 Mon-Fri Technical support email: supp[...]

Using PicoScope for the first time 6 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 4 Using PicoScope for the first time We have designed PicoScope to be as easy as possible to use, even for newcomers to oscilloscopes. Once you have followed the introductory steps listed below, we hope that you will soon become a PicoScope [...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 7 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 5 PicoScope and oscilloscope primer This chapter explains the fundamental concepts that you will need to know before working with the PicoScope software. If you have used an oscilloscope before, then most of these ideas will be familiar to you. If not, [...]

PicoScope and oscilloscope primer 8 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 5.2 PCO basics A PC Oscilloscope (PCO) is an oscilloscope that consists of a scope device and a PC running a special software program. Oscilloscopes were introduced long before digital computers existed, and were self-contained electronic ins[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 9 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 5.4 Capture window A capture window shows a block of data captured from a single scope device . When you first open a capture window it contains one scope view , but you can add more views by clicking Add view in the Views menu . The screen shot below s[...]

PicoScope and oscilloscope primer 10 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 5.5 Custom probes A probe is any connector, transducer or measuring device that you connect to the input channel of your scope device . PicoScope has a built-in library of common probe types, such as the x1 and x10 voltage probes used with m[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 11 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 5.7 Measurements table A measurements table contains the automatic measurements that you have instructed PicoScope to make on a particular view. You can add, delete or edit measurements from this table. To add a measurement Click the Add Measurement bu[...]

PicoScope and oscilloscope primer 12 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 5.8 Oversampling Oversampling is a technique of capturing samples n times faster than the requested sampling rate, then replacing each group of n adjacent samples with the average of that group. If the signal contains a small amount of noise[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 13 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 5.9 Post-trigger arrow The post-trigger arrow appears temporarily while you are setting up a post-trigger delay, or dragging the trigger marker after setting up a post-trigger delay. ( What is a post-trigger delay? ) The left-hand end of the arrow indi[...]

PicoScope and oscilloscope primer 14 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 5.11 Scope view A scope view is one view of the data belonging to a capture window . Each capture window opens with a single view, but you can add more views by using the views menu . Similar to the screen of a conventional oscilloscope, a s[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 15 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 5.13 Time rulers The time rulers measure time on a scope view or frequency on a spectrum view (if available). In the scope view above, the two white squares on the time axis are the time ruler handles . You can drag these from the bottom left corner to[...]

PicoScope and oscilloscope primer 16 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 5.14 Trigger marker The trigger marker shows the level and timing of the trigger point. The height of the marker on the Y axis shows the level at which the trigger is set, and its position on the X axis shows the time at which it occurs. You[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 17 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 5.15 Signal rulers The signal rulers are to help you measure signal levels with respect to ground, or signal differences, on a scope view . In the scope view above, the two coloured squares to the left of the vertical axis are the ruler drag-handles . [...]

PicoScope and oscilloscope primer 18 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 5.16 Windows, views and viewports PicoScope's display area contains one or more capture windows . Each one corresponds to a block of data captured from a scope device . The simplest case is a single scope device that produces a single c[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 19 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6 Menus Menus are the quickest way to get to PicoScope's main features. The Menu bar is always present at the top of the PicoScope main window, just below the window's title bar. You can click any of the menu items, or press the Alt key and t[...]

Menus 20 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.1 File menu Click File on the Menu bar . Create New Scope Window . This command is equivalent to the New Capture Window button on the Capture Windows toolbar . If PicoScope has not yet found a scope device, it will first open the Open Device dialog to ask you which s[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 21 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.1.1 Save As dialog The Save As dialog allows you to save your waveforms and settings to a file in various formats. To open it, go to the File menu and click "Save As". Type your chosen file name in the "File name" box, and then se[...]

Menus 22 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 Text (Tab delimited) (*.txt) Stores waveforms as a text file with tab-separated values. The values are the same as those in the CSV format. Bitmap Image (*.bmp) Stores the graticule , rulers and waveforms in Windows bitmap format. The image is 800 pixels wide by 600 pi[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 23 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.2 Edit menu Click Edit on the Menu bar . Copy as Image. Copies the active view to the clipboard as a bitmap. You can then paste the image into any application that accepts bitmap images. Copy as Text. Copies the data in the active view to the clipboa[...]

Menus 24 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.3 Help menu Click Help on the Menu bar . What's This? Select this item, then click on a toolbar button to see a brief help message on that button. The toolbar must be docked - that is, attached to the main window - to work with What's This? Reference Manual[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 25 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.4 Measurements menu Click Measurements on the Menu bar . Add measurement . Adds a row to the measurements table , and opens the Edit Measurement Dialog . You can also find this button on the Measurements toolbar . Edit measurement . This takes you to[...]

Menus 26 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.4.1 Add / Edit Measurement dialog This dialog allows you to add a measurement of a waveform to the selected capture window , or edit an existing measurement . PicoScope automatically refreshes the measurement every time it updates the waveform. If this is the first m[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 27 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.5 Tools menu Click Tools on the Menu bar . Custom Probes: Opens the Custom probes dialog, which allows you to define new probes and copy, delete, move and edit existing ones. Preferences: Opens the Preferences dialog , which contains various options [...]

Menus 28 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 Built-in probes. The built-in probes are supplied by Pico Technology and do not change unless you download an authorised update from us. As a safeguard, PicoScope does not allow you to edit or delete these probes. If you want to modify one of them, you can copy it to y[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 29 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.5.2.1 Create New Custom Probe dialog This dialog introduces you to the process for creating a new custom probe. To open it, c lick the New Probe button in the Custom Probes dialog . How to use the dialog Click Next to continue to the Probe Output Uni[...]

Menus 30 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.5.2.2 Edit Existing Custom Probe dialog This dialog introduces you to the process for editing an existing custom probe. Get here by clicking the Edit button in the Custom Probes dialog . How to use the dialog Click Next to continue to the Probe Output Units dialog , [...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 31 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.5.2.3 Probe Output Units dialog This dialog follows the Create new Custom Probe dialog . It allows you to choose the units that PicoScope will use to display the output of your custom probe . How to use the dialog To choose a standard SI unit, click [...]

Menus 32 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.5.2.4 Scaling Method dialog This dialog follows the Probe Output Units dialog . It allows you to define the characteristic that PicoScope will use to convert the probe's voltage output to a measurement on the display. How to use the dialog If you do not require [...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 33 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.5.2.4.1 Lookup-table Scaling dialog This dialog allows you to enter a look-up table to calibrate a custom probe. You can get here by clicking the Create a Look-up Table button or Edit the Lookup Table... button in the Scaling Method dialog . Editing [...]

Menus 34 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.5.2.5 Range Management dialog This dialog follows the Scaling Method dialog . It allows you to override PicoScope's automatic range-creation feature for custom probes. In most cases, the automatic procedure will be ideal. How to use the dialog If you select Let [...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 35 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.5.2.6 Manual Ranges Setup dialog This dialog appears when you select the Advanced option in the Range Management dialog and then click Next >. It allows you to create ranges manually for your custom probe. How to use the dialog If you wish, you ca[...]

Menus 36 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.5.2.6.1 Edit Range dialog This dialog allows you to edit a manual range for a custom probe. You can get here by clicking the Edit or New Range buttons in the Manual Ranges Setup dialog . Automatic mode If you leave the " Automatic " radio button pressed, th[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 37 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 The range utilisation bar This diagram at the bottom of the dialog represents the relationship between the scaling and the hardware input range of the scope device . • Green - The section of the input range that is used by the scaled range. This shou[...]

Menus 38 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.5.2.7 Custom Probe Identification dialog This dialog follows the Range Management dialog . It allows you to enter text to identify the custom probe. How to use the dialog Click Back to return to the Range Management dialog (or the Manual Ranges Setup dialog if you ch[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 39 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.5.2.8 Custom Probe Finished dialog This dialog follows the Custom Probe Identification dialog . It displays a summary of the custom probe that you have just set up. How to use the dialog Click Back to return to the Custom Probe Identification dialog [...]

Menus 40 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.5.3 Preferences dialog This dialog allows you to set miscellaneous options for the PicoScope software. Click one of the tabs on the screen shot below to learn more. Where to find it Click the Preferences command in the Tools menu on the Menu bar . 6.5.3.1 General dia[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 41 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.5.3.2 Performance dialog The performance settings limit the speed at which PicoScope captures data from the scope device. T he other PicoScope settings, the type of scope device and the speed of the computer will all affect whether this limit can act[...]

Menus 42 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.6 Toolbar menu This menu lists the toolbars and allows you to display or hide each one. Where to find it Right-click on any toolbar or on the background of the toolbar area. The Customization dialog has a similar menu on its Toolbars page . How to use it Click one of[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 43 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 6.7 Window menu Click Window on the Menu bar . The commands in this menu instruct PicoScope to arrange the capture windows within its main window. Tile Horizontal: Arranges the capture windows in a grid that fills the main window, making the capture wi[...]

Toolbars 44 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7 Toolbars A toolbar is a collection of buttons and controls with related functions. The Measurements toolbar , for example, looks like this: Toolbars are normally stored, or docked, in rows at the top and bottom edges of the window, but you can drag them to new loc[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 45 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.1 Buffer Navigation toolbar The Buffer Navigation toolbar allows you to select one waveform from the buffer of stored waveforms. The waveform buffer When you click the Start button , PicoScope clears the waveform buffer and then adds a new waveform e[...]

Toolbars 46 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.2.1 Open Device dialog When PicoScope is not sure which scope device to use, it displays a list of all the units attached to your computer and allows you to select which one to use. Where to find it PicoScope always tries to locate the correct scope device to use [...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 47 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.3 Channel Setup toolbar The Channel Setup toolbar controls the settings for each vertical input channel . The screen shot below shows the toolbar for a four-channel scope device , but different scope devices may have different numbers of channels. Ea[...]

Toolbars 48 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.4 Customization dialog The Customization dialog allows you to customize the toolbars . Click on one of the tabs in the screen shot below for more information on the relevant page of the dialog. Where to find it Right-click on any toolbar or on the toolbar backgrou[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 49 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.4.1 Customization Toolbars page The Toolbars page of the Customization dialog allows you to make the toolbars visible or invisible. Checkboxes: Tick or clear the checkboxes to make each toolbar appear or disappear. New: Create an empty toolbar, with [...]

Toolbars 50 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.4.2 Customization Commands page The Commands tab of the Customization dialog allows you to add commands to, or remove them from, the toolbars . To add a command, select its category from the Categories list, then drag it from the Commands list to the appropriate t[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 51 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.4.3 Customization Options page The Options tab of the Customization dialog controls the appearance of the Toolbars . Always show full menus. PicoScope can hide the least-used commands in its menus to save space. Tick this box if you do not want it to[...]

Toolbars 52 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.5 Help toolbar The Help toolbar gives you access to "What's This?" help and the reference manual that you are now reading. What's This? Help . Click this button, then click a toolbar control or button to see a short description. Use it only on [...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 53 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.7 Scope Setup toolbar The Scope Setup toolbar controls the time-related settings of your oscilloscope. It normally looks like this: Standard controls Timebase control . When the active view is a scope view, this sets the time represented by a single [...]

Toolbars 54 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.8 Signal Generator toolbar The Signal Generator toolbar allows you to set up your scope device 's test signal output. If the scope device has no test signal output, this toolbar will not appear. Signal Generator . The "E" on this control stands for [...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 55 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 How to use it Signal On: Tick this box to enable the signal generator. Frequency: Type in this box or use the spin buttons to select the frequency. If the scope device has a frequency sweep generator, then this box will set the start frequency of the s[...]

Toolbars 56 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.9 Start / Stop toolbar The Start / Stop toolbar allows you to start and stop the selected scope device (the scope device whose scope view is currently in focus ). The Start button is highlighted if the selected scope device is sampling; otherwise, the Stop button [...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 57 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.10 Triggering toolbar The Triggering toolbar tells the scope device in the selected capture window when to start capturing data. Trigger Mode . None : PicoScope acquires waveforms repeatedly without waiting for specific events. Auto : PicoScope tries[...]

Toolbars 58 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.11 Zooming and Scrolling toolbar The Zooming and Scrolling toolbar allows you to move around a scope view . There is a keyboard shortcut for each button. Normal Selection tool (Ctrl+S or Escape). This button turns the pointer into a standard arrow that you can use[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 59 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 7.12 Demo Signals toolbar The Demo Signals toolbar allows you to set up test signals, so that you can experiment with PicoScope when no scope device is connected. To use this feature, close PicoScope, unplug all scope devices and then restart PicoScope[...]

How to... 60 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 8 How to... This chapter explains how to achieve some common tasks. How to... Change to a different scope device Use rulers to measure a signal Measure a time difference Move a view 61 61 62 62[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 61 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 8.1 How to change to a different scope device Close PicoScope Unplug the old scope device Plug in the new scope device Restart PicoScope PicoScope will detect that the scope device has changed and will immediately start using the new scope device. If t[...]

How to... 62 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 8.3 How to measure a time difference Find the time ruler handle (the small white square in the bottom left corner of the scope view ). Drag the ruler handle to the right. A time ruler (vertical broken line) will appear on the scope view. Release the ruler handle wh[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 63 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 9 Reference This is where you can find detailed information on the workings of PicoScope. Measurement types Trigger timing Keyboard shortcuts Glossary 9.1 Measurement types The Edit Measurement dialog allows you to select one of a range of measurements[...]

Reference 64 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 Injector Duration: The duration of the fuel injector pulse, as battery current flows through the injector coil. Low Pulse Width: The amount of time that the signal spends below its mean value. Maximum: The highest level reached by the signal. Minimum: The lowest le[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 65 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 9.2 Trigger timing (part 1) The pre-trigger time control and post-trigger delay control functions are described individually under " Triggering toolbar ", but the interaction between the two controls is also important to understand. Here is a[...]

Reference 66 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 9.3 Trigger timing (part 2) " Trigger timing (part 1) " introduced the concepts of pre-trigger delay and the post-trigger delay . This diagram below shows how they are related. The pre-trigger delay positions the capture window in relation to the trigger [...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 67 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 9.4 Keyboard shortcuts You can activate all of PicoScope's functions using the menu system, but some functions also have keyboard shortcuts . These can save time on tasks that you repeat often. Ctrl-C Copy the current view to the Windows clipboard[...]

Reference 68 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 9.5 Glossary AC coupling. In this mode, t he scope device very low signal frequencies below a few hertz. This allows you to use the full resolution of the scope to measure a.c. signals accurately, ignoring any d.c. offset. You cannot measure the signal level with r[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 69 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 Index . .bmp files, saving 21 .csv files, saving 21 .gif files, saving 21 .png files, saving 21 .psdata files, saving 21 .pssettings files, saving 21 .txt files, saving 21 A AC mains power 41 AC volts measurement 63 Access 4 Add Measurement dialog 26 A[...]

Index 70 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 Frequency measurement 63 G General dialog 40 Glossary 68 Graticule 9, 14 H Hand tool 58 Help menu 24 Help toolbar 52 High pulse width measurement 63 Horizontal axis 14 I Image, saving as 21 Injector duration measurement 63 Introduction 3 K Keyboard shortcuts 67 L Legal[...]

PicoScope 6 User Guide 71 Copyright 2006 Pico Technology Limited. All rights reserved. PSW044-2.0 Rise time measurement 63 Rising edge button 57 Rising rate measurement 63 Ruler legend 13 Rulers handles 14 time 14 voltage 14 S Sales email address 5 Save As 20 dialog 21 Save file 20 Scaling Method dialog 32 Scope Setup toolbar 53 Scope view 14 Selec[...]

Pico Technology Ltd The Mill House Cambridge Street St Neots PE19 1QB United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1480 396 395 Fax: +44 (0) 1480 396 296 Web: www.picotech.com PSW044-2.0 25.7.06[...]