Physics307L:People/DePaula/Notebook/070829

Set Up

I begin with a function generator, oscilloscope, and 2 BNC cables. With these tools I was ready to begin my descent into the world of the oscilloscope. I started by plugging in the function generator, and oscilloscope to the wall socket. Next I connected the output of my function generator (FG from here on out) to my Oscilloscope. After turning on both machines, and selecting English as my preferred language, although doing the entire lab in Spanish sounded intriguing, I noticed a whole lot of nothing happening on the oscilloscope display. I started messing around with knobs and still had no understanding on how to operate this mysterious machine, so I decided to read the 'directions' and labels.

Basic Waveform Measurement

For my first test frequency I chose 100 Hz because it looked quite clean and highly measurable on the display. Professor Koch helped me obtain this test frequency by explaining to me what each label on both the FG and Oscilloscope meant in layman's terms. By messing with the Volts/Div knob, I settled on a scale of 500mV per grid unit. Using the triggering mechanism I focused the trigger on the rising edge of Channel 1, and adjusted the Volts/Div knob until the wave occupied most of the display. I did this to obtain a higher level of accuracy. The amplitude of my first test frequency measured by comparison to the grid underneath, was 1400mV. Next I learned from Professor Koch how to manipulate the cursors to give me a detailed measurement of both amplitude (Voltage) and Time. Using this method I recorded a value of 1.31V (1310mV) for amplitude.