Advanced display
PicoScope software dedicates almost all of the display area to the waveform. Using the display of your laptop or desktop the area is much bigger and of a higher resolution than with a traditional benchtop scope. This is a huge advantage when displaying 8 high-resolution channels.
With a large display area available, you can also create a customizable split-screen display, and view multiple channels or different views of the same signal at the same time. As the example opposite shows, the software can even show both oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer traces at once. Additionally, each waveform shown works with individual zoom, pan, and filter settings for ultimate flexibility.
The PicoScope software can be controlled by mouse, touchscreen or keyboard shortcuts.
High resolution offers 16x more detail
The PicoScope 4824 is a 12-bit oscilloscope that offers 16 times more vertical resolution than traditional 8-bit oscilloscopes (4096 vertical levels vs 256). The example shows how with a 12-bit oscilloscope (blue trace) you can zoom in to reveal details of the signal that are not visible on an 8-bit oscilloscope (black trace).
As well as the high vertical resolution, the 256 million sample buffer memory ensures a high horizontal resolution as well. You can collect long detailed captures without the sampling rate dropping.
Once you have seen high-resolution waveforms on a high-resolution PC monitor you will never want to use a traditional benchtop oscilloscope with its small display again.
As well as improved oscilloscope traces, high resolution offers big benefits when performing spectrum analysis offering an additional 20 dB dynamic range on the spectrum over 8-bit oscilloscopes. Signals that were previously hidden in the noise floor are now clearly visible and the spectrum becomes a powerful tool to track down the causes of noise.
Typical applications
The PicoScope 4824 mix of 8 channels, high resolution and deep memory makes it suitable for a wide range of applications that cannot be met by traditional benchtop oscilloscopes.
8 channels allows multiple power supply rails to be monitored at the same time, ideal for looking at power supply sequencing, balancing or quality. The high channel count allows the decoding of multiple different serial bus standards at the same time (CAN, LIN, FlexRay, I2C, SPI etc.)
12 bit resolution both for the oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer helps track down noise, analyze harmonics and measure distortion.
The 256 MS deep memory allows several seconds of capture at the full sampling rate (ideal for long captures of serial data or looking for glitches in power supplies). Managing all this data calls for some powerful tools, so zoom factors of several million are possible. Other tools such as the waveform buffer, mask limit test, serial decode and hardware acceleration work with the deep memory making the PicoScope 4824 one of the most powerful oscilloscopes on the market.
The compact size takes up little space on the bench and USB power makes the PicoScope 4824 ideal for those on the move. For the first time you can carry an 8 channel oscilloscope in your laptop bag!
Arbitrary waveform and function generator
The PicoScope 4824 has a built-in function generator (sine, square, triangle, DC level, white noise, PRBS and others) and arbitrary waveform generator.
As well as basic controls to set level, offset and frequency, more advanced controls allow you to sweep over a range of frequencies. Combined with the spectrum peak hold option this makes a powerful tool for testing amplifier and filter responses.
Trigger tools allow one or more cycles of a waveform to be output when various conditions are met such as the scope triggering or a mask limit test failing.
The 14-bit 80 MS/s arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) can be used to emulate sensor signals during product development, or to stress-test a design over a wide frequency range. AWG waveforms can be created or edited using the built-in AWG editor, imported from oscilloscope traces, or loaded from a spreadsheet.
More information on Arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) >>
FFT spectrum analyzer
The spectrum view plots amplitude against frequency and is ideal for finding noise, crosstalk or distortion in signals. The spectrum analyzer in PicoScope is of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) type which, unlike a traditional swept spectrum analyzer, can display the spectrum of a single, non-repeating waveform.
A full range of settings gives you control over the number of spectrum bands (FFT bins), window types, scaling (including log/log) and display modes (instantaneous, average, or peak-hold).
You can display multiple spectrum views alongside oscilloscope views of the same data. A comprehensive set of automatic frequency-domain measurements can be added to the display, including THD, THD+N, SNR, SINAD and IMD. A mask limit test can be applied to a spectrum and you can even use the AWG and spectrum mode together to perform swept scalar network analysis.
Signal integrity
Most oscilloscopes are built down to a price. PicoScopes are built up to a specification.
Careful front-end design and shielding reduces noise, crosstalk and harmonic distortion. Years of oscilloscope design experience can be seen in improved bandwidth flatness and low distortion.
We are proud of the dynamic performance of our products and, unlike most oscilloscope manufacturers, we publish our specifications in detail. The result is simple: when you probe a circuit, you can trust in the waveform you see on the screen.
High-end features as standard
Buying a PicoScope is not like making a purchase from other oscilloscope companies, where optional extras considerably increase the price. With our scopes, high-end features such as serial decoding, mask limit testing, advanced math channels, segmented memory, and a signal generator are all included in the price.
To protect your investment, both the PC software and firmware inside the scope can be updated. Pico Technology have a long history of providing new features for free through software downloads. We deliver on our promises of future enhancements year after year, unlike many other companies in the field. Users of our products reward us by becoming lifelong customers and frequently recommending us to their colleagues.
