70009 Parallax Inc, 70009 Datasheet - Page 10

• Manufacturer Part Number: 70009
• Description: BOOK UNDERSTANDING SIGNALS
• Manufacturer: Parallax Inc
• Type: Signal Analysisr

Specifications of 70009

• Style: Book
• Title: Understanding Signals
• Contents: Guide to Generate, View and Measure Wave Forms
• Product: Microcontroller Accessories
• Lead Free Status / RoHS Status: Not applicable / Not applicable
• Other names: 70009PAR

Figure 1-2 provides an example of 1 ms (millisecond) of time, read from left to right. To
accomplish this, the oscilloscope samples the input signal, or waveform, at a very specific
rate called the sample rate. The OPTAscope has a maximum sample rate of one million
samples per second, (1Ms/s) when using one channel, half that when using both channels
at once. The sample rate is the limiting factor that determines the maximum signal
frequency that the OPTAscope can capture and display. This means that, with the
OPTAscope, you can view any sine wave with a frequency of 60 kHz or less. Square
waves can be viewed if they are 100 kHz or less. In either case, using the Zoom feature
produces nice waveform images even at these extreme speeds.
HOW DOES AN OSCILLOSCOPE WORK?
We have said that digital oscilloscopes sample and record signals, and then display these
signals for viewing. Functionally, this is very similar to a simple datalogger. The
difference between the two is that dataloggers record data all of the time, but
oscilloscopes may be triggered to store data at particular times.
Figure 1-2:
OPTAscope 1Ms/s
example.
Here is an example
of the output of the
OPTAscope. It is
displaying the
characteristics of
two signals during
the same period of
1 ms.
This dual signal
display ability
allows you to see
what the signals
look like and their
relationship to each
other - very
important in some
applications.