Mixed-Signal Oscilloscopes cover 60MHz to 200MHz bandwidth

21st September 2014

Mick Elliott

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The redesigned PicoScope 3000D Series Mixed-Signal Oscilloscopes (MSOs) form a complete test system aimed at engineers working on a diverse range of embedded systems. The compact USB-connected devices boast two or four analogue channels and sixteen digital channels as well as a built-in arbitrary waveform generator.

The oscilloscopes are available with analogue bandwidths from 60 MHz to 200 MHz. Maximum digital input frequency is 100 MHz, equivalent to a data rate of 200 Mb/s (5 ns pulse width) on each channel. All models come with a USB 3.0 interface and are fully compatible with USB 2.0, giving high performance and fast update rates with both port types.

They display waveforms in a resizable window on a PC screen, giving an uncluttered space for multiple high-resolution analogue and digital traces. Waveforms can be saved, shared and analysed with a PC’s networking, storage and processing facilities instantly available.

The deep memory buffers of 128 to 512 megasamples, much larger than other scopes costing several times more, allow long captures even at fast real-time sampling rates of up to 1 gigasample per second. Hardware-accelerated data processing maintains smooth and rapid display updates even with very large capture sizes.

The oscilloscopes offer a comprehensive suite of advanced features as standard, including math channels, automatic measurements with statistics, spectrum analysis and colour persistence display mode.

Also built in are advanced digital triggering with pulse width, window, dropout, channel logic, digital pattern and other qualifiers, mask limit testing and alarms. Serial decoding supports SPI, I²C, I²S, RS-232/UART, CAN, LIN and FlexRay protocols on up to 20 analog and digital channels, even with a mixture of protocols at the same time.

All these features are included in the purchase price, not expensive optional extras as on many competing products. A free SDK is available for developing applications in popular programming languages such as C, Microsoft Visual Basic and Excel VBA, and National Instruments LabVIEW, with example code included.

The PicoScope 3000D Series MSOs are priced from £649 ($786 or €1071) for the 2-channel 60 MHz model. This includes all of the features mentioned above, plus analogue probes, digital test cable and clips, and a 5-year warranty.