Changes

Seriously though, you won’t learn how to properly set triggers, display signals, or troubleshoot problems if you rely heavily on the AUTOSET button. Though the oscilloscope may look complicated, it’s not hard to understand once you get to know it. For the purposes of this certification, the AUTOSET button is off-limits, so you can save yourself the seven years’ bad luck.

Seriously though, you won’t learn how to properly set triggers, display signals, or troubleshoot problems if you rely heavily on the AUTOSET button. Though the oscilloscope may look complicated, it’s not hard to understand once you get to know it. For the purposes of this certification, the AUTOSET button is off-limits, so you can save yourself the seven years’ bad luck.

One of the first things we need to understand about the oscilloscope is what it’s actually showing on the display screen. The display is set up like a standard Cartesian coordinate system. (you know, a graph...){{#evu:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIlNIVXpIns|graph}}

One of the first things we need to understand about the oscilloscope is what it’s actually showing on the display screen. The display is set up like a standard Cartesian coordinate system. (you know, a graph...){{#evu:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz2mmM-kN1I|graph}}

[[File:Oscilloscope Controls.jpg|400px|thumb|right|Oscilloscope Controls]]

[[File:Oscilloscope Controls.jpg|400px|thumb|right|Oscilloscope Controls]]

The units of the graph tell us a lot about what we are looking at. The y-axis is voltage, and the x-axis is time. So, an oscilloscope will show—in real time—how a voltage signal is changing over time. One key skill we need to learn when using the oscilloscope is to manipulate the scales of the x-axis and y-axis so that you can see the voltage signal clearly and meaningfully on the oscilloscope’s display.

The units of the graph tell us a lot about what we are looking at. The y-axis is voltage, and the x-axis is time. So, an oscilloscope will show—in real time—how a voltage signal is changing over time. One key skill we need to learn when using the oscilloscope is to manipulate the scales of the x-axis and y-axis so that you can see the voltage signal clearly and meaningfully on the oscilloscope’s display.