Page 1 Tektronix TDS520A Manual Get Pricing & Availability at ApexWaves.com Call Today: 1-800-915-6216 Email: sales@apexwaves.com https://www.apexwaves.com/oscilloscopes/tektronix-inc/tds500/TDS520A...
Page 2 User Manual TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A Digitizing Oscilloscopes 070-8710-01 Please check for change information at the rear of this manual. First Printing: July 1993 Revised: November 1993...
Page 3 Instrument Serial Numbers Each instrument manufactured by Tektronix has a serial number on a panel insert or tag, or stamped on the chassis. The first letter in the serial number designates the country of manufacture. The last five digits of the serial number are assigned sequentially and are unique to each instrument.
Page 4 Tektronix, with shipping charges prepaid. Tektronix shall pay for the return of the product to Customer if the shipment is to a location within the country in which the Tektronix service center is located.
Page 5 German Postal Information Certificate of the Manufacturer/Importer We hereby certify that the TDS 520A, TDS 524A, TDS 540A, and TDS 544A Oscilloscopes and all factory-installed options complies with the RF Interference Suppression requirements of Postal Regulation Vfg. 243/1991, Amended per Vfg. 46/1992 The German Postal Service was notified that the equipment is being marketed.
Page 6 8444 AB Heerenveen The Netherlands declare under sole responsibility that the TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A Digitizing Oscilloscopes meet the intent of Directive 89/336/EEC for Electromagnetic Compatibility. Compliance was demonstrated to the following specifications as listed in the official Journal of the European Communities: EN 50081–1 Emissions:...
Page 8 070–8748–00) describes use of the video trigger option (for TDS oscilloscopes equipped with that option only). The TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, 544A, & 644A Reference (Tektronix part number 070–8711–01) gives you a quick overview of how to operate your digitizing oscilloscope.
Page 9 Welcome In the Getting Started and Reference sections, you will find various proce- Conventions dures which contain steps of instructions for you to perform. To keep those instructions clear and consistent, this manual uses the following conventions: In procedures, names of front panel controls and menu labels appear in boldface print.
Page 10: Table Of Contents
........3-38 TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 11 Table of Contents File System (Optional on TDS 520A & TDS 540A) ....3-55 Hardcopy ...........
Page 12 Safety Please take a moment to review these safety precautions. They are provided for your protection and to prevent damage to the digitizing oscilloscope. This safety information applies to all operators and service personnel. These two terms appear in manuals: Symbols and Terms statements identify conditions or practices that could result in damage to the equipment or other property.
Page 13 Safety Observe all of these precautions to ensure your personal safety and to pre- Specific Precautions vent damage to either the digitizing oscilloscope or equipment connected to it. Power Source The digitizing oscilloscope is intended to operate from a power source that will not apply more than 250 V between the supply conductors or between either supply conductor and ground.
Page 14: Getting Started
Getting Started...
Page 15: Product Description
500 Megasamples/second maximum digitizing rate (TDS 520A & 524A). Four-channel acquisition — the TDS 544A & 540A offer four full-featured channels; the TDS 520A & 524A offer two full-featured channels and two channels with limited vertical scale selections: 100 mV, 1 V, and 10 V.
Page 16 Product Description Getting Started...
Page 17: Start Up
1. Be sure you have the appropriate operating environment. Specifications for temperature, relative humidity, altitude, vibrations, and emissions are included in the TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A Performance Verification manual (Tektronix part number 070–8712–01). 2. Leave space for cooling. Do this by verifying that the air intake and ex- haust holes on the sides of the cabinet (where the fan operates) are free of any airflow obstructions.
Page 18 Start Up 4. Check that you have the proper electrical connections. The digitizing oscilloscope requires 90 to 250 VAC , continuous range, 47 Hz to 63 Hz, and may require up to 300 W. 5. Connect the proper power cord from the rear-panel power connector (see Figure 1-1) to the power system.
Page 19: Self Test
If the self test fails, call your local Tektronix Service Center. Depending on the type of failure, you may still be able to use the oscilloscope before it is serv- iced.
Page 20: Setting Up For The Examples
Setting Up for the Examples All the examples use the same setup. Once you perform this setup, you do not have to change the signal connections for any of the other examples. Remove all probes and signal inputs from the input BNC connectors along the lower right of the front panel.
Page 21: Example 1: Displaying A Waveform
Example 1: Displaying a Waveform In this first example you learn about resetting the digitizing oscilloscope, displaying and adjusting a waveform, and using the autoset function. All examples in the tutorial begin by resetting the digitizing oscilloscope to a Resetting the known factory default state.
Page 22 Example 1: Displaying a Waveform 2. Press the button directly below the Recall Factory Setup menu item. The display shows side menus along the right side of the screen. The buttons to select these side menu items are to the right of the side menu. Because an accidental instrument reset could destroy a setup that took a long time to create, the digitizing oscilloscope asks you to verify the Recall Factory Setup selection (see Figure 1-5).
Page 23 Example 1: Displaying a Waveform Figure 1-7 shows the display that results from the instrument reset. There are Display Elements several important points to observe: The trigger level bar shows that the waveform is triggered at a level near 50% of its amplitude (from step 4). The trigger position indicator shows that the trigger position of the wave- form is located at the horizontal center of the graticule.
Page 24 Example 1: Displaying a Waveform The display shows the probe compensation signal. It is a 1 kHz square wave Adjusting the of approximately 0.5 V amplitude. You can adjust the size and placement of Waveform Display the waveform using the front-panel knobs. Figure 1-8 shows the main VERTICAL and HORIZONTAL sections of the front panel.
Page 25 Example 1: Displaying a Waveform 1. To create an unstable display, slowly turn the trigger MAIN LEVEL knob (see Figure 1-9) first one direction, then the other. Observe what happens when you move the trigger level above the highest part of the displayed waveform.
Page 26 Example 1: Displaying a Waveform Figure 1-11: The Display After Pressing Autoset NOTE If the corners on your displayed signal look rounded or pointed (see Figure 1-12), then you may need to compensate your probe. The Probe Compensation section on page 3-110 explains how to com- pensate your probe.
Page 27: Example 2: Multiple Waveforms
Example 2: Multiple Waveforms In this example you learn how to display and control more than one waveform at a time. The VERTICAL section of the front panel contains the channel selection Adding a Waveform buttons. These are CH 1, CH 2, CH 3, CH 4, and MORE (Figure 1-13); on the TDS 620A &...
Page 28 Example 2: Multiple Waveforms 3. Press AUTOSET. 4. Press CH 2. The display shows a second waveform, which represents the signal on channel 2. Since there is nothing connected to the CH 2 input connector, this waveform is a flat line. There are several other important things to observe: The channel readout on the display now shows the settings for both Ch1 and Ch2.
Page 29 Example 2: Multiple Waveforms Ch2 Reference Indicator Side Menu Title Figure 1-14: The Vertical Main Menu and Coupling Side Menu Pressing a channel (CH) button sets the vertical controls to that channel. It Changing Controls also adds the channel to the display if that waveform is not already displayed. to Another Channel 1.
Page 30 Example 2: Multiple Waveforms Side Menu Title Figure 1-15: The Menus After Changing Channels Pressing the WAVEFORM OFF button removes the waveform for the current- Removing a ly selected channel. If the waveform you want to remove is not already se- Waveform lected, select that channel using the channel (CH) button.
Page 31: Example 3: Automated Measurements
Example 3: Automated Measurements In this example you learn how to use the automated measurement system to get numeric readouts of important waveform characteristics. To use the automated measurement system, you must have a stable display Displaying of your signal. Also, the waveform must have all the segments necessary for Automated the measurement you want.
Page 32 Example 3: Automated Measurements 5. If it is not already selected, press Select Measrmnt (main). The readout for that menu item indicates which channel the measurement will be taken from. All automated measurements are made on the selected channel. The Select Measurement side menu lists some of the measurements that can be taken on waveforms.
Page 33 Example 3: Automated Measurements Press here to remove menus from screen. Figure 1-17: Four Simultaneous Measurement Readouts The Measure menu lets you remove measurements you no longer want Removing displayed. You can remove any one measurement, or you can remove them Measurement all with a single menu item.
Page 34 Example 3: Automated Measurements General Purpose Knob Setting and Readout General Purpose Knob Icon Highlighted Menu Item with Boxed Readout Value Figure 1-18: General Purpose Knob Indicators There are several important things to observe on the screen: The knob icon appears at the top of the screen. The knob icon indicates that the general purpose knob has just been set to adjust a parameter.
Page 35 Example 3: Automated Measurements 1. Press Low Ref (side). 2. On the numeric keypad, press the 2, the 0, and the ENTER ( ) but- tons, which sets the low measurement reference to 20%. Observe that the rise-time value has changed. 3.
Page 36 Example 3: Automated Measurements The snapshot measurements do not continuously update. Snapshot executes a one-time capture of all measurements and does not update those measurements unless it is performed again. 2. Press Again (side) to do another snapshot and update the snapshot measurements.
Page 37: Example 4: Saving Setups
Example 4: Saving Setups This example shows you how to save all the settings of the digitizing oscillo- scope and how to recall the setup later to quickly re-establish the previously saved state. The oscilloscope provides several storage locations where you can save the setups.
Page 38: Recalling A Setup
Example 4: Saving Setups Figure 1-20: Save/Recall Setup Menu 7. Press one of the To Setup side menu buttons to store the current instru- ment settings into that setup location. Remember which setup location you selected for use later. There are more setup locations than can be listed at one time in the side menu.
Page 39 Operating Basics...
Page 40: Overview
Overview This section describes the basic concepts of operating the digitizing oscillo- scope. Understanding the basic concepts of your digitizing oscilloscope will help you use it much more effectively. The first part, At a Glance , quickly shows you how the oscilloscope is orga- nized and gives some very general operating instructions.
Page 41 Overview Operating Basics...
Page 42: At A Glance
At a Glance The At a Glance section contains illustrations of the display, the front and rear panels, and the menu system. These will help you understand and operate the digitizing oscilloscope. This section also contains a visual guide to using the menu system.
Page 43 At a Glance Front Panel Map — Measurement System, Right Side page 3-86 Color, page 3-12 (TDS 644A & TDS 524A) Display Modes, page 3-28 Cursor Measurements, page 3-17 Remote Communication, page 3-126 Hardcopy, page 3-59 Saving and Recalling File System, page 3-55 Waveforms, page 3-133 File System, page 3-55 (Optional Acquisition Modes,...
Page 44 At a Glance Rear Panel Map GPIB Centronics Connector RS-232 Connector Principal Power Switch, Connector (Optional on TDS 620A (Optional on TDS 620A page 1-3 page 3-126 & TDS 640A) & TDS 640A) Fuse, Serial Number Power Connector, Rear Panel Security page 1-3 page 1-3...
Page 45: Display Map
At a Glance Display Map When present, the general The value entered with purpose knob makes coarse the general purpose The acquisition Trigger position (T), adjustments; when absent, knob status, page 3-3 page 3-142 fine adjustments The waveform record icon Indicates position of vertical bar cursors in the waveform record,...
Page 46 At a Glance To Operate a Menu 1. Press front-panel menu button. (Press SHIFT first if button label is blue.) 2. Press one of these buttons to select from main menu. 3. Press one of these buttons to select from side menu (if displayed).
Page 47 At a Glance To Operate a Pop-Up Menu Press Press here to to display pop-ups. remove menus from screen. Press it again to make selection. Alternatively, press SHIFT first to make selection in the opposite direction. A pop-up selection changes the other main menu titles.
Page 48 (see page 3-12 ) Display Menu – Display (TDS 524A & TDS 544A) (see page 3-28) Display Menu – Display (TDS 520A & TDS 540A) (see page 3-28) Horizontal Menu (see page 3-68) TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 49 At a Glance Press these buttons: To bring up these menus: Hardcopy Menu (TDS 620A & TDS 640A) (see page 3-59) Hardcopy Menu (TDS 644A & TDS 524A) (see page 3-59) Main Trigger Menu – Edge (see page 3-34) Main Trigger Menu – Logic (see page 3-78) Main Trigger Menu –Pulse (see page 3-119)
Page 50 At a Glance Press these buttons: To bring up these menus: Utility Menu – Calibration see page ) Utility Menu – Config (see pages ) Utility Menu – Diagnostics see the Service manual) Utility Menu – I/O – GPIB (see page 3-126) Utility Menu –...
Page 51 At a Glance 2 12 Operating Basics...
Page 52: Triggering
Triggering This section describes the edge trigger of the main trigger system and ex- plores, in a general sense, the topic of triggering. This oscilloscope also has logic and pulse triggers in the main trigger system and a delayed trigger system.
Page 53 Triggering AC Line Voltage — this trigger source is useful when you are looking at signals related to the power line frequency. Examples include devices such as lighting equipment and power supplies. Because the digitizing oscilloscope generates the trigger, you do not have to input a signal to create the trigger.
Page 54 Triggering Automatic — this trigger mode (auto mode) lets the oscilloscope acquire a waveform even if a trigger does not occur. Auto mode uses a timer that starts after a trigger event occurs. If another trigger event is not detected before the timer times out, the oscilloscope forces a trigger anyway.
Page 55 To see how to set holdoff, see Mode & Holdoff on page 3-37. The minimum and maximum holdoff varies with the horizontal scale. See Holdoff, Variable, Main Trigger in the TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A Performance Verification Manual , Section 2 on Specification, Typical Characteristics for typical minimum and maximum values.
Page 56 Triggering The adjustable trigger position defines where on the waveform record the Trigger Position trigger occurs. It lets you properly align and measure data within records. The part of the record that occurs before the trigger is the pretrigger portion. The part that occurs after the trigger is the posttrigger portion.
Page 57 Triggering As mentioned earlier in this section there is also a delayed trigger system that Delayed Trigger provides an edge trigger (no pulse or logic triggers). When using the delayed time base, you can also delay the acquisition of a waveform for a user-speci- fied time or a user-specified number of delayed trigger events (or both) after a main trigger event.
Page 58: Acquisition
Acquisition Acquisition is the process of sampling the analog input signal, converting it into digital data, and assembling it into a waveform record. The oscilloscope creates a digital representation of the input signal by sampling the voltage level of the signal at regular time intervals (Figure 2-4). +5.0 V +5.0 V –5.0 V...
Page 59 Acquisition The digitizer can use the extra samples to perform additional processing, such as averaging or looking for minimum and maximum values. The digitizing oscilloscope creates a waveform record containing a user-spe- cified number of data points. Each record point represents a certain voltage level that occurs a determined amount of time from the trigger event.
Page 60 Acquisition If you focus on only one channel at the maximum possible real-time rate, the TDS 524A and TDS 620A oscilloscopes can acquire at 500 Megasamples/ second using both its digitizers, while the TDS 644A and TDS 640A oscillo- scopes can combine all four digitizers and acquire at 1 Gigasample/second. Depending on how many channels you are using and the speed of the time base, at some point the digitizing oscilloscope will not be able to get enough samples to create a waveform record.
Page 61 Acquisition Record Points 1st Acquisition Cycle 2nd Acquisition Cycle 3rd Acquisition Cycle nth Acquisition Cycle Figure 2-7: Equivalent-Time Sampling The oscilloscope takes a few samples with each trigger event and eventually constructs a waveform record using the samples from multiple acquisitions. That feature lets you accurately acquire signals with frequencies much higher than the digitizing oscilloscope real-time bandwidth.
Page 62: Acquisition Modes
Acquisition Table 2-1: Sampling Mode Selection — 100 ns/Div to 50 ns/Div (When Fit to Screen is Off) Instrument and 100 ns/Div 50 ns/Div Number of Channels TDS 544A & 540A, Real-time Real-time any 1 channel TDS 544A & 540A, Real-time Equivalent-time or any 2 channels...
Page 63 Acquisition Ground (GND) coupling disconnects the input signal from the acquisition. Input impedance lets you select either 1 M or 50 impedance. NOTE If you select 50 impedance with AC coupling, the digitizing oscillo- scope will not accurately display frequencies under 200 kHz. See Scaling and Positioning Waveforms , on page 2-25.
Page 64: Scaling And Positioning Waveforms
Scaling and Positioning Waveforms Scaling and positioning waveforms means increasing or decreasing their displayed size and moving them up, down, right, and left on the display. Two display icons, the channel reference indicator and the record view, help you quickly see the position of the waveform in the display (see Figure 2-8). The channel reference icon points to the ground of the waveform record when offset is set to 0 V.
Page 65 Scaling and Positioning Waveforms You can adjust the vertical position of the selected waveform by moving it up Vertical System or down on the display. For example, when trying to compare multiple wave- forms, you can put one above another and compare them, or you can overlay the two waveforms on top of each other.
Page 66 Scaling and Positioning Waveforms Aliasing When aliasing happens, you see a waveform with a frequency lower than the actual waveform being input or a waveform is not stable even though the light next to TRIG’D is lit. Aliasing occurs because the oscilloscope cannot sample the signal fast enough to construct an accurate waveform record (Figure 2-9).
Page 67 Scaling and Positioning Waveforms FastFrame You can define and enable FastFrame (also called “segmented memory”) on the TDS 600A. This feature lets you capture multiple acquisitions in the acquisition memory of a single channel. Figure 2-10 shows how FastFrame combines the desired captured records into one larger record. For example, FastFrame would let you store 10 records of 500 samples each into one record with a 5000 sample length.
Page 68 Scaling and Positioning Waveforms See Autoset , on page 3-10. For More Information See Delayed Triggering , on page 3-22. See Horizontal Control , on page 3-68. See Vertical Control , on page 3-147. See Zoom , on page 3-162. 2 29 TDS 620A, 640A, &...
Page 69: Measurements
Measurements The digitizing oscilloscope not only displays graphs of voltage versus time, it also can help you measure the displayed information (see Figure 2-11). Cursor Automated Readouts Measurements Graticule : 64.0 mV Ch 1 @: 32.0 mV Frequency 100 MHz Ch 1 Period 10 ns Cursors...
Page 70 Measurements The snapshot selection in the Measurement menu lets you display almost all of the measurements at once. You can read about snapshot under Snapshot of Measurements, on page 3-95. Automated measurements use readouts to show measurement status. These readouts are updated as the oscilloscope acquires new data or if you change settings.
Page 71 Measurements Tracking mode cursors operate in tandem: you move both cursors at the same time using the general purpose knob. To adjust the solid cursor relative to the dashed cursor, you push the SELECT button to suspend cursor tracking and use the general purpose knob to make the adjust- ment.
Page 72 Reference...
Page 73: Overview
Overview This section describes the details of operating the digitizing oscilloscope. It contains an alphabetical list of tasks you can perform with the digitizing oscilloscope. Use this section to answer specific questions about instrument operation. These tasks include: Acquisition Modes Probe Cal Autoset Probe Compensation...
Page 74 Overview Reference...
Page 75: Acquisition Modes
Acquisition Modes The acquisition system has several options for converting analog data into digital form. The Acquisition menu lets you determine the acquisition mode, whether or not to permit equivalent time sampling, and how to start and stop acquisitions. The digitizing oscilloscope supports five acquisition modes. Description of Modes Sample Peak Detect...
Page 76 Acquisition Modes Single Waveform Acquisition Samples Acquired in Four Acquisition Displayed Waveform Acquisition Intervals Mode Record Points Drawn on CRT Interval 1 Sample Uses first sample in interval Use for fastest acquisition rate. This is the default mode. Peak Detect Uses highest and lowest samples in two intervals Use to reveal aliasing and for glitch detection.
Page 77 Acquisition Modes Hi Res Mode In Hi Res mode, the digitizing oscilloscope averages all samples taken during an acquisition interval to create a record point. That average results in a higher-resolution, lower-bandwidth waveform. This mode only works with real-time, non-interpolated sampling. If you set the time base so fast that it requires real-time interpolation or equivalent-time sampling, the mode automatically becomes Sample, although the menu selection will not change.
Page 78 Acquisition Modes After each trigger event, the oscilloscope acquires data and then compares the min/max values from the current acquisition with those stored from pre- vious acquisitions. The final display shows the most extreme values for all the acquisitions for each point in the waveform record. Average Mode Average mode lets you acquire and display a waveform record that is the averaged result of several acquisitions.
Page 79 Acquisition Modes To bring up the acquisition menu (Figure 3-2) press SHIFT ACQUIRE MENU. Operation Acquisition Mode To choose how the digitizing oscilloscope will create points in the waveform record: Press SHIFT ACQUIRE MENU Mode (main) Sample, Peak Detect, Hi Res, Envelope, or Average (side).
Page 80 Acquisition Modes Figure 3-3: Acquire Menu — Stop After RUN/STOP button only (side) lets you start or stop acquisitions by toggling the RUN/STOP button. Pressing the RUN/STOP button once will stop the acquisitions. The upper left hand corner in the display will say Stopped and show the number of acquisitions.
Page 81 Acquisition Modes Limit Test Condition Met (side) lets you acquire waveforms until wave- form data exceeds the limits specified in the limit test. Then acquisition stops. At that point, you can also specify other actions for the oscillo- scope to take, using the selections available in the Limit Test Setup main menu.
Page 82: Autoset
Autoset The autoset function lets you quickly obtain and display a stable waveform of usable size. Autoset automatically sets up the front panel controls based on the characteristics of the input signal. It is much faster and easier than a manual control-by-control setup.
Page 83 Autoset Table 3-2: Autoset Defaults Control Changed by Autoset to Selected channel Numerically lowest of the displayed channels Acquire Mode Sample Acquire Repetitive Signal Acquire Stop After RUN/STOP button only Display Style Vectors Display Intensity — Overall If less than 50%, set to 75% (TDS 640A &...
Page 84 Color (TDS 524A & TDS 644A) The TDS 524A & TDS 644A can display information in different colors. The Color menu lets you choose palettes of colors and decide what colors to assign to what pieces of information. To bring up the Color menu: Operation 1.
Page 85: Color (Tds 524A & Tds 544A)
Color Choose Palette You can choose a palette of 13 colors from a menu of pre-set palettes. 1. Choose the starting palette by selecting Palette from the main menu. 2. Select one of the available palettes in the side menu. Choose from Nor- mal, Bold, Hardcopy Preview or Monochrome.
Page 86 Color ScrTxt Figure 3-5: Display Menu — Palette Colors 2. Select one of the 13 colors by pressing (repeatedly) Color in the side menu. 3. If you want to use the factory default for this color, press the side menu Reset to Factory Color.
Page 87 Color 3. If you want to assign the selected math waveform to a specific color, press Color and cycle through the choices. 4. If you want the selected math waveform to be the same color as the waveform it is based on, select Color Matches Contents. If the math waveform is based on dual waveforms, the math waveform will use the color of the first constituent waveform.
Page 88 Color Select Options To define what color to show where a waveform crosses another waveform: 1. Press the Options main menu item. 2. Select that you wish to use a special color to mark collision zones by toggling Collision Contrast in the side menu to ON. Restore Colors To restore colors to their factory default settings: 1.
Page 89: Cursor Measurements
Cursor Measurements Use the cursors to measure the difference (either in time or voltage) between two locations in a waveform record. Cursors are made up of two markers that you position with the general pur- Description pose knob. You move one cursor independently or both cursors in tandem, depending on the cursor mode.
Page 90 Cursor Measurements NOTE When cursors measure certain math waveforms, the measurement may not be of time, frequency, or voltage. Cursor measurement of those math waveforms that are not of time, frequency, or voltage is described in Waveform Math, which begins on page 3-159. There are two cursor modes: independent and tracking (see Figure 3-9).
Page 91 Cursor Measurements In FastFrame mode, the @ shows the time position of the selected cursor relative to the trigger point of the frame that the selected cursor is in. The shows the time difference between the two cursors only if both cursors are in the same frame.
Page 92 Cursor Measurements Position of Vertical Bar Cursors (Useful for Locating Cursors Outside the Display) Cursor Readout (Paired) Non-selected Cursor (Dashed Vertical Bar) Selected Cursor (Solid Vertical Bar) Figure 3-11: Paired Cursor Menu and Readouts Mode Select the cursor mode you want using the Mode menu item. 1.
Page 93 Cursor Measurements Time Units You can choose to display vertical bar cursor results in units of time or fre- quency. If you have Option 5 Video, you can also display the results in terms of video line number. Press CURSOR Time Units (main) seconds or 1/seconds (Hz) or, with Option 5, video line number (side).
Page 94: Delayed Triggering
Delayed Triggering The TDS 600A Series oscilloscopes provide a main time base and a delayed time base. The delayed time base, like the main time base, requires a trigger signal and an input source dedicated to that signal. You can only use delay with respect to the main edge trigger and certain classes of main pulse trig- gers.
Page 95 Delayed Triggering After Time waits the user-specified time, then waits for the next delayed trigger event, and then acquires. After Events waits for the specified number of delayed trigger events and then acquires. After Events/Time waits for the specified number of delayed trigger events, then waits the user-specified time, and then acquires.
Page 96 Delayed Triggering Pretrigger Record Posttrigger Record Delayed Runs After Main Delayed Trigger Waveform Record Main Trigger Point Main Trigger Source Time Delay Start Posttrigger Acquisition (From Horiz Menu) Delayed Triggerable By Events Delayed Trigger Waveform Record Main Trigger Point Main Trigger Source Delayed...
Page 97 Delayed Triggering Delayed Triggerable You must make sure that the Main Trigger menu settings are compatible with Delayed Triggerable. 1. Press TRIGGER MENU. 2. If Type is set to Logic, press Type (main) to change it to either Edge or Pulse as fits your application.
Page 98 Delayed Triggering The Source menu lets you select which input will be the delayed trigger source. 7. Press Source (main) Ch1, Ch2, Ch3 (Ax1 on the TDS 524A & TDS 620A), Ch4 (Ax2 on the TDS 524A & TDS 620A), or Auxiliary (not available on the TDS 524A &...
Page 99 Delayed Triggering NOTE When you set the Vertical SCALE smaller than 200 mV, the oscillo- scope reduces the Set to TTL or Set to ECL trigger levels below standard TTL and ECL levels. That happens because the trigger level range is fixed at center.
Page 100: Display Modes
Display Modes The digitizing oscilloscope can display waveform records in different ways. The Display menu lets you adjust the oscilloscope display style, intensity level, graticule, and format. To bring up the Display menu: Operation 1. Press DISPLAY to show the Display menu. 2.
Page 101 Display Modes Vectors has the display draw vectors (lines) between the record points. Dots display waveform record points as dots. Intensified Samples also displays waveform record points as dots. However, the points actually sampled are displayed in the Zone color (TDS 644A &...
Page 102 Display Modes Display Readout Readout options control whether the trigger indicator, trigger level bar, and current date and time appear on the display. The options also control what style trigger level bar, long or short, is displayed. 1. Press DISPLAY Readout (main).
Page 103 Display Modes Filter Type The display filter types are sin(x)/x interpolation and linear interpolation. For more information see the Concepts section, page 2-21. Press DISPLAY Filter (main) Sin(x)/x Interpolation or Linear Interpo- lation (side). NOTE When the horizontal scale is set to rates faster than 50 ns/div, or when using the ZOOM feature to expand waveforms horizontally, interpolation occurs.
Page 104 Display Modes XY format compares the voltage levels of two waveform records point by point. That is, the digitizing oscilloscope displays a graph of the voltage of one waveform record against the voltage of another waveform record. This mode is particularly useful for studying phase relationships. To set the display axis format: Press DISPLAY Format (main)
Page 105 Display Modes See Acquisition, on page 2-19. For More Information See Color, on page 3-12. See Measurements, on page 2-30. 3 33 TDS 620A, 640A, & 644A User Manual...
Page 106: Edge Triggering
Edge Triggering An edge trigger event occurs when the trigger source passes through a specified voltage level in a specified direction (the trigger slope). You will likely use edge triggering for most of your measurements. You can select the edge source, coupling, slope, level, and mode (auto or normal).
Page 107 Edge Triggering Figure 3-19: Main Trigger Menu — Edge Type Coupling To select the coupling you want: Press TRIGGER MENU Type (main) Edge (pop-up) Cou- pling (main) DC, AC, HF Rej, LF Rej, or Noise Rej (side). DC passes all of the input signal. In other words, it passes both AC and DC components to the trigger circuit.
Page 108 Edge Triggering Slope To select the slope that the edge trigger will occur on: 1. Press the TRIGGER MENU Type (main) Edge (pop-up) Slope (main). 2. Alternatives for slope are the rising and falling edges. Level Press the TRIGGER MENU Type (main) Edge (pop-up) Level (main)
Page 109 You can set holdoff from 0% (minimum holdoff available) to 100% (maximum available). See Holdoff, Variable, Main Trigger in the TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A Performance Verification Manual , Section 2 on Specifications, Typical Characteristics for typical minimum and maximum values.
Page 110: Fast Fourier Transforms
Fast Fourier Transforms Advanced DSP Math (optional on TDS 620A & TDS 640A), provides the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The FFT allows you to transform a waveform from a display of its amplitude against time to one that plots the amplitudes of the various discrete frequencies the waveform contains.
Page 111 Fast Fourier Transforms zontal scale for FFT math waveforms is always expressed in frequency per division with the beginning (left-most point) of the waveform representing zero frequency (DC). The FFT waveform is based on digital signal processing (DSP) of data, which allows more versatility in measuring the frequency content of waveforms.
Page 112 Fast Fourier Transforms Figure 3-21: Define FFT Waveform Menu 5. If the selected math waveform is not FFT, press Change Math Definition (side) FFT (main). See Figure 3-21. 6. Press Set FFT Source to (side) repeatedly until the channel source selected in step 1 appears in the menu label.
Page 113 Fast Fourier Transforms Hamming — Very good window for resolving frequencies that are very close to the same value with somewhat improved amplitude accuracy over the rectangular window. Hanning — Very good window for measuring amplitude accuracy but degraded for resolving frequencies. Blackman-Harris —...
Page 114 Fast Fourier Transforms Cursor Measurements of an FFT Once you have displayed an FFT math waveform, use cursors to measure its frequency amplitude or phase angle. 1. Be sure MORE is selected in the channel selection buttons and that the FFT math waveform is selected in the More main menu.
Page 115 Fast Fourier Transforms Figure 3-23: Cursor Measurement of an FFT Waveform 10. Press Function (main) Paired (side). 11. Use the technique just outlined to place the vertical bar of each paired cursor to the points along the horizontal axis you are interested in. 12.
Page 116 Fast Fourier Transforms The FFT Frequency Domain Record The following topics discuss the relation of the source waveform to the record length, frequency resolution, and frequency range of the FFT frequency domain record. (The FFT frequency domain waveform is the FFT math waveform that you display.) FFTs May Not Use All of the Waveform Record —...
Page 117 Fast Fourier Transforms FFT Time Domain Record = Waveform Record Waveform Record 10 K Zero Phase Reference FFT Time Domain Record = 10k Waveform Record > 10 K Zero Phase Reference Figure 3-24: Waveform Record vs. FFT Time Domain Record FFTs Transform Time Records to Frequency Records —...
Page 118 Fast Fourier Transforms Sample Rate FFT Length Where: F is the frequency resolution. Sample Rate is the sample rate of the source waveform. FFT Length is the length of the FFT Time Domain wave- form record. The sample rate also determines the range these frequencies span; they span from 0 to sample rate is often referred to as the Nyquist frequency or point.) For exam- ple, a sample rate of 20 Megasamples per second would yield an FFT with a...
Page 119 Fast Fourier Transforms Record Length Most often, you will want to use a short record length because more of the FFT waveform can be seen on screen and long record lengths can slow oscilloscope response. However, long record lengths lower the noise relative to the signal and increase the frequency resolution for the FFT.
Page 120 Fast Fourier Transforms Zoom always uses either sin(x)/x or linear interpolation when expanding displayed waveforms. To select the interpolation method: press DISPLAY Setting (main) Display (pop-up) Filter (main) Sin(x)/x or Linear (side), or if your oscilloscope does not have color, press DISPLAY Fil- ter (main) Sin(x)/x or Linear (side)
Page 121 Fast Fourier Transforms Nyquist Frequency Point Frequency Aliased Frequencies Actual Frequencies Figure 3-26: How Aliased Frequencies Appear in an FFT Considerations for Phase Displays When you set up an FFT math waveform to display the phase angle of the frequencies contained in a waveform, you should take into account the refer- ence point the phase is measured against.
Page 122 Fast Fourier Transforms For records with a 15 K length, set the trigger position to 33%. Use the horizontal position knob to move the trigger T on screen to the center horizontal graticule line. For records with 30 K, 50 K, or 60 K lengths (not all lengths are available for all TDS models —...
Page 123 Fast Fourier Transforms Windowing Process — The oscilloscope multiplies the FFT time domain record by one of four FFT windows before it inputs the record to the FFT function. Figure 3-27 shows how the time domain record is processed. The FFT windowing acts like a bandpass filter between the FFT time domain record and the FFT frequency domain record.
Page 124 Fast Fourier Transforms FFT Time Domain Record FFT Window FFT Time Domain Record After Windowing FFT Frequency Domain Record Figure 3-27: Windowing the FFT Time Domain Record You can often determine the best window empirically by first using the window with the most frequency resolution (rectangular), then proceeding toward that window with the least (Blackman-Harris) until the frequencies merge.
Page 125 Fast Fourier Transforms Window Characteristics — When evaluating a window for use, you may want to examine how it modifies the FFT time domain data. Figure 3-28 shows each window, its bandpass characteristic, bandwidth, and highest side lobe. Consider the following characteristics: The narrower the central lobe for a given window, the better it can resolve a frequency.
Page 126 Fast Fourier Transforms FFT Window Type Bandpass Filter -3 dB Bandwidth Highest Side Lobe 0 dB 0.89 -13 dB Rectangular Window 0 dB 1.28 –43 dB Hamming Window 0 dB 1.28 –32 dB Hanning Window 0 dB 1.28 –94 dB Blackman-Harris -100 Window...
Page 127 File System (Optional on TDS 620A & TDS 640A) The File Utilities menu, which comes with the Hardcopy, Save Setup, and Save Waveforms menus, gives you a variety of features for managing the floppy disk. The File Utilities menu lets you delete, rename, copy, print files, create a new Operation directory, operate the confirm delete and overwrite lock, and format disks.
Page 128 File System NOTE The amount of free space on the disk is shown in the upper right corner of the display. The digitizing oscilloscope shows the amount in K bytes. To convert the amount to bytes, you simply multiply the K bytes amount times 1024.
Page 129 File System Figure 3-30: File System — Labelling Menu Copy To copy a file or directory, turn the general purpose knob until it scrolls the cursor over the name of the file to copy. Then, press the side menu Copy button.
Page 130 File System The labelling menu should appear. Turn the general purpose knob or use the main-menu arrow keys to select each letter. Press Enter Char from the main menu to enter each letter. When you have entered the name, press the side menu OK Accept item.
Page 131: Hardcopy
EPS Mono and Color formats are compatible with Tektronix Phaser Color Printers, HPGL is compatible with the Tektronix HC100 Plotter, and Epson is compatible with the Tektronix HC220 Printer. 3 59...
Page 132 Hardcopy Before you make a hardcopy, you need to set up communications and hard- Operation copy parameters. This discussion assumes that the hardcopy device is already connected to the GPIB port on the rear panel. If that is not the case see Connection Strategies on page 3-63.
Page 133 Press HARDCOPY to print your hardcopy. While the hardcopy is being sent to the printer, the oscilloscope will display the message “Hardcopy in process — Press HARDCOPY to abort.” 3 61 TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 134 Hardcopy To stop and discard the hardcopy being sent, press HARDCOPY again while the hardcopy in process message is still on screen. To add additional hardcopies to the printer spool, press HARDCOPY again after the hardcopy in process message is removed from the screen. You can add hardcopies to the spool until it is full.
Page 135 (see page 3-59) gives you flexibility in choosing a hardcopy device. It Strategies also makes it easier for you to place oscilloscope screen copies into a desk- top publishing system. 3 63 TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 136 Send the data to a computer to print from there and/or to import into your favorite desktop publishing or other application package. Send your data to a floppy disk file (optional on the TDS 520A & TDS 540A) for later printing from a computer capable of reading the MS-DOS compatible floppy disk.
Page 137 Oscilloscope Figure 3-35: Connecting the Digitizing Oscilloscope and Hardcopy Device Via a PC If your controller is PC-compatible and it uses the Tektronix GURU or S3FG210 (National Instruments GPIB-PCII/IIA) GPIB package, you can operate this setup as follows: 1. Use the MS-DOS cd command to move to the directory that holds the software that came with your GPIB board.
Page 138 Hardcopy 5. Type: IBRDF <Filename>where <Filename> is a valid DOS file name you want to call your hardcopy information. It should be 8 characters long with up to a 3 character extension. For example, you could type “ibrdf screen1” . 6.
Page 139: Help
Help The on-line help system provides brief information about each of the digitizing oscilloscope controls. To use the on-line help system: Operation Press HELP to provide on-screen information on any front panel button, knob or menu item (see Figure 3-36). When you press that button, the instrument changes mode to support on-line help.
Page 140: Horizontal Control
Horizontal Control You can control the horizontal part of the display (the time base) using the horizontal menu and knobs. By changing the horizontal scale, you can focus on a particular portion of a Horizontal Knobs waveform. By adjusting the horizontal position, you can move the waveform right or left to see different portions of the waveform.
Page 141 Horizontal Control At the top of the display, the Record View shows the size and location of the Horizontal Readouts waveform record and the location of the trigger relative to the display (see Figure 3-38). The Time Base readout at the lower right of the display shows the time/division settings and the time base (main or delayed) being referred to (see Figure 3-38).
Page 142 Horizontal Control You also can select Delayed Runs After Main or Delayed Triggerable. For more information on how to use these two menu items, see Delayed Trigger- ing on page 3-22. Trigger Position To define how much of the record will be pretrigger and how much posttrigger information using the Trigger Position menu item: Press HORIZONTAL MENU Trigger Position (main)
Page 143 Horizontal Control You can also control whether changing the horizontal position setting affects all displayed waveforms, just the live waveforms, or only the selected wave- form. The Horizontal Lock setting in the Zoom menu determines which wave- forms the horizontal position knob adjusts whether zoom is on or not. Specifi- cally, it acts as follows: None —...
Page 144 Horizontal Control Figure 3-39: Horizontal Menu — FastFrame Setup FastFrame Interactions — Envelope, Average, and HiRes form the envelope or average following the last frame of the concatenated record. For example, if average or HiRes acquisition modes are selected and the frame count is 10, segments 1 through 10 will show sample or HiRes frames, and frame 11 will show the average of frames 1 through 10.
Page 145: Limit Testing
Limit Testing Limit testing provides a way to automatically compare each incoming or math waveform against a template waveform. You set an envelope of limits around a waveform and let the digitizing oscilloscope find waveforms that fall outside those limits (see Figure 3-40). When it finds such a waveform, the digitizing oscilloscope can generate a hardcopy, ring a bell, stop and wait for your input, or any combination of these actions.
Page 146 Limit Testing NOTE The template will be smoother if you acquire the template waveform using Average acquisition mode. If you are unsure how to do this, see Acquisition Modes on page 3-7. Once you have selected a source, select a destination for the template. 2.
Page 147 Limit Testing If you wish to create another limit test template, store it in another des- tination to avoid overwriting the template you have just created. If you wish to view the template you have created, press the MORE button. Then press the button corresponding to the destination reference memory you have used.
Page 148 Limit Testing If you want to send a hardcopy command when waveform data exceeds the limits set, toggle Hardcopy if Condition Met (side) to ON. You can set the hardcopy system to send the hardcopy to the file system (optional on the TDS 620A & TDS 640A). (Do not forget to set up the hardcopy system.
Page 149 Limit Testing Multiple Waveform Comparisons When comparing one or more waveforms, each against a common template or against its own template, consider the following operating characteristics: You should set Horizontal Lock to None in the Zoom side menu (push ZOOM and press (repeatedly) Horizontal Lock to None). With horizontal lock set as just described, the oscilloscope will reposition each waveform horizontally to move the first sample in the waveform record that is outside of template limits to center screen.
Page 150: Logic Triggering
Logic Triggering There are two classes of logic triggering: pattern and state. A pattern trigger occurs when the logic inputs to the logic function you select cause the function to become TRUE (or at your option FALSE). When you use a pattern trigger, you define: The precondition for each logic input —...
Page 151 Logic Triggering At the bottom of the display, the Trigger readout shows some of the key Logic Trigger parameters of the logic trigger (see Figure 3-42). Readouts Ch 1, 2, 3 Inputs = High, Don’t Care, High Ch 4 Input = Rising Edge Trigger Class = State Logic = OR...
Page 152 Logic Triggering Table 3-4: Logic Triggers Pattern State Definition Clocked AND If all the preconditions selected for the logic inputs are true, then the oscilloscope triggers. NAND Clocked NAND If not all of the preconditions se- lected for the logic inputs true, then the oscilloscope trig- gers.
Page 153 Logic Triggering Figure 3-43: Logic Trigger Menu Trigger When This menu item lets you determine if the oscilloscope will trigger when the logic condition is met (Goes TRUE) or when the logic condition is not met (Goes FALSE). (The True when less than and True when greater than menu items are only used for pattern logic triggering and are covered on page 3-83.) Press TRIGGER MENU...
Page 154 Logic Triggering Mode & Holdoff You can change the holdoff time and select the trigger mode using this menu item. 1. Press TRIGGER MENU Type (main) Logic (pop-up) Class (main) Pattern or State (pop-up) Mode & Holdoff (main) Auto or Normal (side). In Auto mode the oscilloscope acquires a waveform after a specific time has elapsed even if a trigger does not occur.
Page 155 Logic Triggering Define a Time Qualified Pattern Trigger You can also time qualify a pattern logic trigger. That is, you specify a time that the boolean logic function (AND, NAND, OR, or NOR) must be TRUE (logic high). You also choose the type of time qualification (greater or less than the time limit specified) as well as the time limit using the Trigger When menu selection.
Page 156 Logic Triggering Time Logic Function is TRUE Logic Function (AND) Becomes TRUE Logic Function Becomes FALSE and Triggers Acquisition Time Logic Function Must be TRUE Figure 3-44: Logic Trigger Menu — Time Qualified TRUE When you select State logic triggering, the oscilloscope uses channel 4 State Operations (Aux 2 on the TDS 620A &...
Page 157 Logic Triggering Define Logic To choose the type of logic function you want applied to the input channels: Press TRIGGER MENU Type (main) Logic (pop-up) Class (main) State (pop-up) Define Logic (main) AND, OR, NAND, or NOR (side). See Triggering , on page 2-13. For More Information See Triggering , on page 3-142.
Page 158: Measurement System
Measurement System There are various ways to measure properties of waveforms. You can use graticule, cursor, or automatic measurements. This section describes auto- matic measurements ; cursors and graticules are described elsewhere. (See Cursor Measurements on page 3-17 and Measurements on page 2-30.) Automatic measurements are generally more accurate and quicker than, for example, manually counting graticule divisions.
Page 159 Measurement System Table 3-5: Measurement Definitions (Cont.) Name Definition Delay Timing measurement. The time between the MidRef crossings of two different traces or the gated region of the traces. Fall Time Timing measurement. Time taken for the falling edge of the first pulse in the waveform or gated region to fall from a High Ref value (default = 90%) to a Low Ref value (default =10%) of its final value.
Page 160 Measurement System Table 3-5: Measurement Definitions (Cont.) Name Definition Period Timing measurement. Time it takes for the first complete signal cycle to happen in the waveform or gated region. The reciprocal of frequency. Measured in seconds. Positive Duty Timing measurement of the first cycle in the waveform or gated region. The Cycle ratio of the positive pulse width to the signal period expressed as a percentage.
Page 161 Measurement System The readout area for measurements is on the right side of the waveform Measurement Display window. You can display and continuously update as many as four measure- ments at any one time. When menus are displayed, the readouts appear in the graticule area.
Page 162 Measurement System To vary the source for measurements, simply select the other channel and then choose the measurements you want. Be careful when taking automatic measurements on noisy signals. You might measure the frequency of the noise and not the desired waveform.
Page 163 Measurement System Gated Measurements The gating feature lets you limit measurements to a specified portion of the waveform. When gating is Off, the oscilloscope makes measurements over the entire waveform record. When gating is activated, vertical cursors are displayed. Use these cursors to define the section of the waveform you want the oscilloscope to measure.
Page 164 Measurement System NOTE Cursors are displayed relative to the selected waveform. If you are making a measurement using two waveforms, this can be a source of confusion. If you turn off horizontal locking and adjust the hori- zontal position of one waveform independent of the other, the cursors appear at the requested position with respect to the se- lected waveform.
Page 165 Measurement System High Ref Mid Ref Low Ref Mid2 Ref 2. Press , or (side). High Ref — Sets the high reference level. The default is 90%. Mid Ref — Sets the middle reference level. The default is 50%. Low Ref —...
Page 166 Measurement System 2. Press Measure Delay to (side) repeatedly to choose the delay to wave- form. The choices are Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4 (on the TDS 644A & TDS 640A); Ch1, Ch2, Ax1, Ax2 (on the TDS 524A & TDS 620A); and Math1, Math2, Math3, Ref1, Ref2, Ref3, and Ref4.
Page 167 Measurement System Creating the Delay Measurement — Once you have specified the waveforms you are measuring between and which edges to use, you need to notify the digitizing oscilloscope to proceed with the measurement. Press Delay To (main) OK Create Measurement (side). To exit the Measure Delay menu without creating a delay measurement, press CLEAR MENU, which returns you to the Measure menu.
Page 168 Measurement System To use snapshot, obtain a stable display of the waveform to be measured. Pressing AUTOSET may help. 1. Press MEASURE SNAPSHOT (main). 2. Press either SNAPSHOT (main) or AGAIN (side) to take another snap- shot. NOTE The snapshot display tells you the channel that the snapshot is being made on.
Page 169: Probe Accessories
Ideally, the inductance is low enough that the resulting frequency is above the frequency at which you want to take measurements. For that purpose, the probes include several accessories to help reduce ground lead inductance. 3 97 TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 170 Probe Accessories 4 Inch Ground Lead Low-Inductance Ground Lead Figure 3-52: Signal Variation Introduced by Probe Ground Lead (1 ns/division) The following descriptions explain how to use many of the accessories that Standard Probe came with your probe. Figure 3-53 shows both standard and optional probe Accessories accessories and how they attach to your probe.
Page 171 Adapter (Optional) Slip-on Ground Lead (Standard) Alligator Clip Ground Lead (Standard) Retractable Hook Tip (Standard) Low Inductance KlipChip Spring Tip (Optional) (Standard) Low Inductance Ground Lead (Standard) Figure 3-53: Probe Accessories 3 99 TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 172 Probe Accessories Marker Rings The marker rings help you keep track of individual probes and signal sources when you have a complicated test setup. Use the marker rings whenever you want to identify a particular probe. Long Ground Leads Use long ground leads when a long reach is important and high-frequency information is not.
Page 173 Instructions for installing the probe tip-to-circuit board adapters are packaged with the adapters. For the best performance and ease of testing, Tektronix strongly recommends that you incorporate the probe tip-to-circuit board adapters (or the probe tip-to-chassis adapters described below) into your next design.
Page 174 Probe Accessories Probe-Tip-to-Chassis Adapter The probe-tip-to-chassis adapter makes your test point accessible without removing instrument covers or panels. It provides an easy-access, low-induc- tance test point anywhere on your circuit. The probe-tip-to-chassis adapter has the same low inductance properties as the probe-tip-to-circuit board adapter described previously.
Page 175 30 MHz may require using one of the low-inductance ground leads. Because of the length of the signal lead, the dual-lead configuration is also more susceptible to signal crosstalk than other tip configurations. Figure 3-54: Dual-Lead Adapter 3 103 TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 176: Probe Cal
Probe Cal This oscilloscope lets you compensate the entire signal path, from probe tip to digitized signal, to improve the gain and offset accuracy of the probe. By executing Probe Cal on a channel with its probe installed, you can optimize the oscilloscope capability to make accurate measurements using that chan- nel and probe.
Page 177 Probe Cal 1. Install the probe on the input channel on which it is to be used. 2. Power on the digitizing oscilloscope and allow a 20 minute warm-up before doing this procedure. 3. Press SHIFT UTILITY System (main) Cal (pop-up). 4.
Page 178 Probe Cal Figure 3-55: Probe Cal Menu and Gain Compensation Display 11. If the Probe Offset Compensation message is displayed, continue with step 15; otherwise, continue with step 12. 12. If the Compensation Error message is displayed, continue with step 13; otherwise continue with step 18.
Page 179 Probe Cal 19. If desired, repeat this procedure beginning at step 1 to compensate for other probe/channel combinations. But before you do so, be sure you take note of the following requirements: Remember to first low frequency compensate any passive probe you connect (see Prerequisites at the beginning of this procedure).
Page 180 Probe Cal Figure 3-56: Re-use Probe Calibration Data Menu If the Re-use Probe Calibration data? menu is displayed, you can choose one of the following options: Press OK Use Existing Data (side) to use the Probe Cal data last stored to compensate the probe.
Page 181 Probe Cal Table 3-6: Probe Cal Status Probe User Type Probe Connected Cal’d? Action Simple Interface Complex Interface Doesn’t Initialized Initialized Matter Power Initialized Initialized (probe data is retained) (probe data is retained) Power Can not detect different probe: Display Re-use Cal’d Probe: Pass Probe Calibration Data menu...
Page 182: Probe Compensation
Probe Compensation Passive probes require compensation to ensure maximum distortion-free input to the digitizing oscilloscope and to avoid high frequency amplitude errors (see Figure 3-57). Probe Compensated Correctly Probe Overcompensated Probe Undercompensated Figure 3-57: How Probe Compensation Affects Signals To compensate your probe: Operation 1.
Page 183 Probe Compensation 4. If you need to change the input impedance, press Coupling (main). Then toggle the side menu selection to get the correct impedance. 5. Press SHIFT ACQUIRE MENU Mode (main) Hi Res (side). 6. Adjust the probe until you see a perfectly flat top square wave on the display.
Page 184: Probe Selection
There are five major types of probes: passive, active, current, optical, and time-to-voltage probes. Most of these types are discussed here; see your Tektronix Products Catalog for more information. Passive voltage probes measure voltage. They employ passive circuit compo- Passive Voltage nents such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors.
Page 185 Probe Selection Low Impedance (Z ) Probes Low impedance probes measure frequency more accurately than general purpose probes, but they make less accurate amplitude measurements. They offer a higher bandwidth to cost ratio. These probes must be terminated in a 50 scope input.
Page 186 Probe Selection Active voltage probes, sometimes called “FET” probes, use active circuit Active Voltage elements such as transistors. There are three classes of active probes: Probes High speed active Differential active Fixtured active Active voltage measuring probes use active circuit elements in the probe design to process signals from the circuit under test.
Page 187 Current probes enable you to directly observe and measure current wave- Current Probes forms, which can be very different from voltage signals. Tektronix current probes are unique in that they can measure from DC to 1 GHz. Two types of current probes are available: one that measures AC current only and AC/DC probes that utilize the Hall effect to accurately measure the AC and DC components of a signal.
Page 188 Probe Selection Optical probes let you blend the functions of an optical power meter with the Optical Probes high-speed analog waveform analysis capability of an oscilloscope. You have the capability of acquiring, displaying, and analyzing optical and electrical signals simultaneously. Applications include measuring the transient optical properties of lasers, LEDs, electro-optic modulators, and flashlamps.
Page 189 Probe Selection Table 3-7 lists TDS 600A compatible probes classified by type. Probes by Type Table 3-7: TDS 600A Compatible Probes Probe Type Tektronix Model Description Passive, high impedance P6139A (std.) 10X, 500 MHz voltage P6101A 1X, 15 MHz Passive, SMD...
Page 190 Probe Selection Another way to classify probes is by application. Different applications de- Probes by mand different probes. Use Table 3-8 to select a probe for your application. Application Table 3-8: Probes by Application Telecommuni- Industrial Consumer/ High Energy Certification, cations &...
Page 191: Pulse Triggering
Pulse Triggering Pulse triggering can be very useful. For example, you might be testing a product with a glitch in the power supply. The glitch appears once a day. So instead of sitting by and waiting for it to appear, you can use pulse triggering to automatically capture your data.
Page 192 Pulse Triggering Table 3-9: Pulse Trigger Definitions Name Definition Glitch positive Triggering occurs if the oscilloscope detects positive spike widths less than the specified glitch time. Glitch negative Triggering occurs if the oscilloscope detects negative spike widths less than the specified glitch time.
Page 193 Pulse Triggering The pulse trigger menus let you define the pulse source, select the mode Operations Common (auto or normal), and adjust the holdoff. To bring up the Pulse Trigger menu: to Glitch, Runt, and Width Press TRIGGER MENU Type (main) Pulse (pop-up) Class (main) Glitch, Runt, or Width (pop-up) (see Figure 3-62).
Page 194 Pulse Triggering In Normal mode the oscilloscope acquires a waveform only if there is a valid trigger. (You can force a single acquisition by pressing FORCE TRIGGER.) 2. To change the holdoff time, press Holdoff (side). Use the general pur- pose knob or the keypad to enter the value in percent.
Page 195 Pulse Triggering If you select Set to 50%, you cause the digitizing oscilloscope to search for the point halfway between the peaks of the trigger source signal and set the trigger level to that point. When you select the pulse class Runt, the oscilloscope will trigger on a short Runt Operation pulse that crosses one threshold but fails to cross a second threshold before recrossing the first.
Page 196 Pulse Triggering Selected Trigger Bar at Upper Threshold Unselected Trigger Bar at Lower Threshold Runt Pulse Crosses First Threshold Only, Recrosses First Threshold Level, and Triggers Acquisition Figure 3-63: Main Trigger Menu—Runt Class Thresholds To set the two threshold levels used in detecting a runt pulse: 1.
Page 197 Pulse Triggering Regardless of the polarity setting, triggering occurs at the point the runt pulse recrosses its first threshold. When you select the pulse class Width, the oscilloscope will trigger on a Width Operation pulse narrower (or wider) than some specified range of time (defined by the upper limit and lower limit).
Page 198: Remote Communication
Device compatibility Status and event reporting Besides the base protocols, Tektronix has defined codes and formats for messages to travel over the GPIB. Each device that follows these codes and formats, such as the TDS 620A, TDS 640A, TDS 524A, & TDS 644A, sup- ports standard commands.
Page 199 GPIB Device Figure 3-64: Typical GPIB Network Configuration Cables — An IEEE Std 488.1–1987 GPIB cable (available from Tektronix, part number 012–0991–00) is required to connect two GPIB devices. Connector — A 24-pin GPIB connector is located on the oscilloscope rear panel.
Page 200 Remote Communication To set up remote communications, ensure that your oscilloscope is physically Operation cabled to the controller and that the oscilloscope parameters are correctly set. Plug an IEEE Std 488.2–1987 GPIB cable into the GPIB connector on the oscilloscope rear panel and into the GPIB port on your controller (see Fig- ure 3-66).
Page 201 Remote Communication GPIB Configuration Menu Figure 3-67: Utility Menu See Hardcopy, on page 3-59. For More Information See the TDS Family Digitizing Oscilloscopes Programmer Manual . 3 129 TDS 620A, 640A, & 644A User Manual...
Page 202: Saving And Recalling Setups
Saving and Recalling Setups You may want to save and reuse setups for many reasons. For example, after changing the setting during the course of an experiment, you may want to quickly return to your original setup. You can save and recall up to ten instru- ment setups from internal oscilloscope memory.
Page 203 Saving and Recalling Settings To store a setup to disk (optional on the TDS 620A & TDS 640A), press To File. Then use the general purpose knob to select the exact file from the resulting scrollbar list. Finally, press the side-menu Save To Selected File to complete the operation.
Page 204 Saving and Recalling Setups If the checksum calculation is unsuccessful, displays a warning message; if the checksum calculation is successful, displays a confirmation mes- sage. Running File Utilities To run file utilities (optional on the TDS 620A & TDS 640A), see the File System article on page 3-55.
Page 205: Saving And Recalling Waveforms
Saving and Recalling Waveforms You can store a waveform in any of the four internal reference memories of the digitizing oscilloscope. That information is retained even when you turn the oscilloscope off or unplug it. You can save any combination of different size waveform records.
Page 206 Saving and Recalling Waveforms Figure 3-69: Save Waveform Menu Deleting Waveforms You can choose the Delete Refs main menu item and then select the refer- ences you no longer need from the side menu (Delete Ref1, Delete Ref2, Delete Ref3, Delete Ref4, or Delete All Refs). Deleting All Waveforms and Setups You can remove all stored reference waveforms and setups using the feature called Tek Secure.
Page 207 Saving and Recalling Waveforms resulting scrollbar list. Only files with .WFM extensions are displayed. Finally, press from the side-menu To Ref1, To Ref2, To Ref3, or To Ref4 choices to complete the operation. Figure 3-70: More Menu Autosave (TDS 640A and 644A only) To use autosave, press Autosave (main) Autosave Single Seq ON (side).
Page 208: Selecting Channels
Selecting Channels The selected channel is the channel that the digitizing oscilloscope applies all waveform-specific activities to (such as measurements or vertical scale and position). Channel Readout The channel readout shows the selected channel in inverse video in the lower left corner of the display.
Page 209 Selecting Channels To selecting a channel: Operation Pressing CH 1, CH 2, CH 3 (AUX 1 on the TDS 620A & TDS 524A), or CH 4 (AUX 2 on the TDS 620A & TDS 524A) turns the channel on if it is not al- ready on.
Page 210: Signal Path Compensation
Signal Path Compensation This oscilloscope lets you compensate the internal signal path used to acquire the waveforms you acquire and measure. By executing the signal path com- pensation feature (SPC), you can optimize the oscilloscope capability to make accurate measurements based on the ambient temperature. Run an SPC anytime you wish to ensure that the measurements you make are made with the most accuracy possible.
Page 211 Signal Path Compensation Figure 3-73: Performing a Signal Path Compensation 3 139 TDS 620A, 640A, & 644A User Manual...
Page 212: Status
Status The Status menu lets you see information about the oscilloscope state. To operate the Status menu: Operation Press SHIFT STATUS Status (main) System, Display, Trigger, Waveforms, or I/O (side). Note: some oscilloscopes do not have a main Status menu. On these instruments, press SHIFT STATUS System, Display, Trigger, Waveforms, or I/O (side).
Page 213 Status To display the banner (firmware version, options, copyright, and patents): Banner NOTE Some TDS 644A oscilloscopes do not have a Status main menu with a banner. However, all instruments display the banner briefly at power-on. Press SHIFT STATUS Banner (main) (see Figure 3-75). Figure 3-75: Banner Display 3 141 TDS 620A, 640A, &...
Page 214: Triggering
Triggering Triggers determine when the digitizing oscilloscope starts acquiring and displaying a waveform. The TDS 600A has four types of trigger: edge, logic, pulse, and, with option 5, video. Although these triggers are unique, they have some common characteristics that can be defined and modified using the Trigger menu, buttons, and knob. This article discusses these common characteristics.
Page 215 Triggering To Set to 50% You can quickly obtain an edge or pulse trigger (except for the Runt class) by pressing SET LEVEL TO 50%. The oscilloscope sets the trigger level to the halfway point between the peaks of the trigger signal. You can also set the level to 50% in the Trigger menu under the main menu item Level if Edge or Pulse (except for Runt class) is selected.
Page 216 Triggering When READY is lighted, it means the digitizing oscilloscope can accept a valid trigger event, and the digitizing oscilloscope is waiting for that event to occur. When ARM is lighted, it means the trigger circuitry is filling the pretrigger portion of the waveform record.
Page 217 Triggering The trigger point indicator shows position. It can be positioned horizontally off screen, especially with long record length settings. The trigger level bar shows only the trigger level. It remains on screen, regardless of the horizontal position, as long as the channel providing the trigger source is displayed. Trigger Position Relative to the Display and Waveform Record Trigger Point Indicator Indicating...
Page 218 Triggering See the Option 05 Video Trigger Interface Instruction Manual , Tektronix part number 070–8748–00. 3 146 Reference...
Page 219: Vertical Control
Vertical Control You can control the vertical position and scale of the selected waveform using the vertical menu and knobs. By changing the vertical scale, you can focus on a particular portion of a Vertical Knobs waveform. By adjusting the vertical position, you can move the waveform up or down on the display.
Page 220 Vertical Control Vertical Readout Figure 3-79: Vertical Readouts and Channel Menu Coupling To choose the type of coupling for attaching the input signal to the vertical attenuator for the selected channel and to set its input impedance: Press VERTICAL MENU Coupling (main) DC, AC, GND, or (side).
Page 221 Vertical Control Bandwidth To eliminate the higher frequency components, change the bandwidth of the selected channel: Press VERTICAL MENU Bandwidth (main) Full, 100 MHz, or 20 MHz (side). Fine Scale Press VERTICAL MENU Fine Scale (main) to make fine adjustments to the vertical scale using the general purpose knob or the keypad.
Page 222: Waveform Differentiation
Waveform Differentiation Advanced DSP Math (optional on TDS 620A & TDS 640A), provides wave- form differentiation that allows you to display a derivative math waveform that indicates the instantaneous rate of change of the waveform acquired. Such waveforms are used in the measurement of slew rate of amplifiers and in educational applications.
Page 223 Waveform Differentation Derivative Math Waveform Source Waveform Figure 3-80: Derivative Math Waveform 5. Press Set Function to (side). Repeatedly press the same button (or use the general purpose knob) until diff appears in the menu label. 6. Press OK Create Math Wfm (side) to display the derivative of the wave- form you input in step 1.
Page 224 Waveform Differentation Figure 3-81: Peak-Peak Amplitude Measurement of a Derivative Waveform Cursor Measurement of a Derivative Waveform You can also use cursors to measure derivative waveforms. Use the same procedure as is found under Waveform Integration on page 3-155. When using that procedure, note that the amplitude measurements on a derivative waveform will be in volts per second rather than in volt-seconds as is indi- cated for the integral waveform measured in the procedure.
Page 225 Waveform Differentation When using the vertical scale knob to scale the source waveform, note that it also scales your derivative waveform. Because of the method the oscilloscope uses to scale the source waveform before differentiating that waveform, the derivative math waveform may be too large vertically to fit on screen —...
Page 226: Waveform Integration
Waveform Integration Advanced DSP Math (optional on TDS 620A & TDS 640A), provides wave- form integration that allows you to display an integral math waveform that is an integrated version of the acquired waveform. Such waveforms find use in the following applications: Measuring of power and energy, such as in switching power supplies Characterizing mechanical transducers, as when integrating the output of an accelerometer to obtain velocity...
Page 227 Waveform Integration 5. Press Set Function to (side). Repeatedly press the same button until intg appears in the menu label. 6. Press OK Create Math Waveform (side) to turn on the integral math waveform. You should now have your integral math waveform on screen. See Figure 3-82.
Page 228 Waveform Integration 6. Read the integrated voltage over time between the cursors in volt- seconds from the : readout. Read the integrated voltage over time between the selected cursor and the reference indicator of the math waveform from the @: readout. See Figure 3-83. Integral Math Waveform Source...
Page 229 Waveform Integration Read the integrated voltage over time between the X of the selected cursor and the reference indicator of the math waveform from the @: readout. Read the time difference between the long vertical bars of the paired cursors from the : readout.
Page 230 Waveform Integration Zoom Once you have your waveform optimally displayed, you may magnify (or reduce) it vertically and horizontally to inspect any feature you desire. Just be sure the integrated waveform is the selected waveform. (Press MORE, then select the integrated waveform in the More main menu. Then use the Vertical and Horizontal SCALE knobs to adjust the math waveform size.) If you wish to see the zoom factor (2X, 5X, etc.) you need to turn Zoom on: press ZOOM...
Page 231: Waveform Math
Waveform Math You can mathematically manipulate your waveforms. For example, you might have a waveform clouded by background noise. You can obtain a cleaner waveform by subtracting the background noise from your original waveform. This section describes the invert, add, subtract, divide, and multiply waveform math features.
Page 232 Waveform Math NOTE If your digitizing oscilloscope is equipped with Advanced DSP Math (optional on TDS 620A & TDS 640A), the menu item FFT will be at the same brightness as the menu items Single Wfm Math and Dual Wfm Math; otherwise, FFT will be dimmed. See pages 3-38, 3-150, and 3-154 for information on FFTs and other advanced math waveforms.
Page 233 Waveform Math Figure 3-85: Dual Waveform Math Main and Side Menus Dual Wfm Math 1. Select the sources with MORE Math1, Math2, or Math3 (main) Change Math waveform definition (side) Dual Wfm Math (main) Set 1st Source to and Set 2nd Source to (side). Enter the sources by repeatedly pressing the appropriate channel selection button.
Page 234: Zoom
Zoom At times, you may want to expand or compress a waveform on the display without changing the acquisition parameters. You can do that with the zoom feature. When you zoom in on a waveform on the display, you expand a portion of the Zoom and waveform.
Page 235 Zoom NOTE Although zoom must be turned on to control which waveforms zoom affects, the setting for Horizontal Lock affects which waveforms the horizontal control positions whether zoom is on or off. The rules for the three settings are listed in step 2. Only the selected waveform (the top one) changes size.
Page 236 Zoom Reset Zoom To reset all zoom factors to their defaults (see Table 3-10), press ZOOM Reset Zoom Factors (side). Table 3-10: Zoom Defaults Parameter Setting Zoom Vertical Position Zoom Vertical Gain Zoom Horizontal Position Tracking Horizontal Position Zoom Horizontal Gain Press ZOOM Off (side) to return to normal oscilloscope (non-zoom) opera- tion.
Page 237 Appendices...
Page 238: Appendix A: Options And Accessories
When Option B1 is ordered, Tektronix ships a service manual with the oscillo- scope. Option 1K: K420 Scope Cart With this option, Tektronix ships the K420 Scope Cart. The cart can help you transport the oscilloscope around many lab environments. Option 1M: 50,000 Point Record Length...
Page 239 The following options add to the services available with the standard warranty. (The standard warranty appears following the title page in this manual.) Option M2: When Option M2 is ordered, Tektronix provides five years of warranty/remedial service. Option M3: When Option M3 is ordered, Tektronix provides five years of warranty/remedial service and four oscilloscope calibrations.
Page 240 Option 2P: Phaser 200e Color Printer With this option, Tektronix ships a Tektronix Phaser 200e, 300 dpi, thermal transfer, color printer. It handles letter or A4 size Tektronix thermal paper and transparencies. It can handle laser copy (plain) paper with the ColorCoat Transfer Roll.
Page 241: Standard Accessories
161–0230–01 Probes, TDS 540A & TDS 544A (quantity four), P6139A (single unit) 10X Passive TDS 520A & TDS 524A (quantity two), 10X Passive Probe Accessories These are accessories to the standard probe listed previously (P6139A). Except for the probe-tip-to-circuit board adapter, they can also be ordered separately.
Page 242 P6009 Passive, high voltage probe, 100X, 1500 VDC + Peak AC. P6015A Passive high voltage probe, 1000X, 20 kVDC + Peak AC (40 kV peak for less than 100 ms). P6205 750 MHz probe bandwidth. Active (FET) voltage probe. TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 243 Appendix A: Options and Accessories P6204 Active, high speed digital voltage probe. FET. DC to 1 GHz. DC offset. 50 input. Use with 1103 TekProbe Power Supply for offset control. P6563AS Passive, SMD probe, 20X, 500 MHz P6046 Active, differential probe, 1X/10X, DC to 100 MHz, 50 input.
Page 244 The next four items below can only be used with the Compact-to- Miniature Probe Tip Adapter. Dual-Lead Adapter 015–0325–00 BNC-to-Probe Tip Adapter 013–0084–01 G.R.-to-Probe Tip Adapter, 50 017–0088–00 Bayonet Ground Assembly 013–0085–00 TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 245 Appendix A: Options and Accessories Accessory Software The following optional accessories are Tektronix software products recom- mended for use with your digitizing oscilloscope: Table A-6: Accessory Software Software Part Number EZ-Test Program Generator S45F030 Wavewriter: AWG and waveform creation S3FT400...
Page 246: Appendix B: Algorithms
Appendix B: Algorithms TDS 600A Digitizing Oscilloscopes can take 25 automatic measurements. By knowing how they make these calculations, you may better understand how to use your TDS 600A and how to interpret your results. TDS 600A Digitizing Oscilloscopes use a variety of variables in their calcula- Measurement tions.
Page 247 Appendix B: Algorithms 2. It splits the histogram into two sections at the halfway point between (also called 3. The level with the most points in the upper histogram is the value, High and the level with the most points in the lower histogram is the value.
Page 248 Appendix B: Algorithms — is the location of the end of the measurement zone (X-value). It is ( RecordLength – 1.0) samples unless you are making a gated measurement. When you use gated measurements, it is the location of the right vertical cursor.
Page 249 Appendix B: Algorithms MCross1 MCross3 (StartCycle) (EndCycle) MCross2 MidRef + (Hysteresis x Amplitude) MidRef MidRef – (Hysteresis x Amplitude) Figure A-1: MCross Calculations Waveform[<0.0 ... RecordLength–1.0>] — holds the acquired data. TPOS — is the location of the sample just before the trigger point (the time reference zero sample).
Page 250: Burst Width
Appendix B: Algorithms For details of the integration algorithm, see page A-19. Cycle Area Amplitude (voltage) measurement. The area over one waveform cycle. For non-cyclical data, you might prefer to use the Area measurement. If StartCycle = EndCycle then return the (interpolated) value at StartCycle . EndCycle CycleMean = Waveform...
Page 251 Appendix B: Algorithms For details of the integration algorithm, see page A-19. Delay Timing measurement. The amount of time between the MidRef and Mid2Ref crossings of two different traces, or two different places on the same trace. Delay measurements are actually a group of measurements. To get a specific delay measurement, you must specify the target and reference crossing polarities and the reference search direction.
Page 252 Appendix B: Algorithms Fall Time High HighRef LowRe Figure A-2: Fall Time Frequency Timing measurement. The reciprocal of the period. Measured in Hertz (Hz) where 1 Hz = 1 cycle per second. Period = 0 or is otherwise bad, return an error. Frequency Period = 1/...
Page 253 Appendix B: Algorithms Maximum Amplitude (voltage) measurement. The maximum voltage. Typically the most positive peak voltage. Examine all Waveform[ ] samples from Start to End inclusive, and set Max equal to the greatest magnitude Waveform[ ] value found. Mean The arithmetic mean for one waveform. Remember that one waveform is not necessarily equal to one cycle.
Page 254 Appendix B: Algorithms Negative Width Timing measurement. The distance (time) between MidRef (default = 50%) amplitude points of a negative pulse. MCross1Polarity = ‘–’ then NegativeWidth (MCross2 – MCross1) else NegativeWidth (MCross3 – MCross2) Peak to Peak Amplitude measurement. The absolute difference between the maximum and minimum amplitude.
Page 255 Appendix B: Algorithms If the target waveform leads the reference waveform, phase is positive; if it lags, negative. Phase is not available in the Snapshot display. Positive Duty Cycle Timing measurement. The ratio of the positive pulse width to the signal peri- od, expressed as a percentage.
Page 256 Appendix B: Algorithms HighRef 3. From , continue the search, looking for a crossing of . Update LowRef HighRef if subsequent crossings are found. If a crossing is found, it becomes the high rise time or . (Use linear interpolation if necessary.) RiseTime –...
Page 257 Appendix B: Algorithms W(t) is the sampled waveform is the continuous function obtained by linear interpolation of W(t) RecordLength A and B are numbers between 0.0 and –1.0 If A and B are integers, then: where s is the sample interval. Similarly, is approximated by where:...
Page 258 Appendix B: Algorithms If some samples in the waveform are missing or off-scale, the measurements Missing or will linearly interpolate between known samples to make an “appropriate” Out-of-Range guess as to the sample value. Missing samples at the ends of the measure- Samples ment record will be assumed to have the value of the nearest known sample.
Page 259 Appendix B: Algorithms MidRef MidRef For example, if is set directly, then would not change even if MidRef samples were out of range. However, if was chosen using the % choice from the Set Levels in % Units selection of the Measure menu, then MidRef could give a “CLIPPING”...
Page 260: Appendix C: Packaging For Shipment
The shipping carton must be constructed of cardboard with 170 kg (375 pound) test strength. 2. If you are shipping the digitizing oscilloscope to a Tektronix field office for repair, attach a tag to the digitizing oscilloscope showing the instrument owner and address, the name of the person to contact about the instru- ment, the instrument type, and the serial number.
Page 261 Appendix C: Packaging for Shipment A 24 Appendices...
Page 262: Appendix D: Factory Initialization Settings
Appendix D: Factory Initialization Settings The factory initialization settings provide you a known state for the digitizing oscilloscope. Factory initialization sets values as shown in Table A-7. Settings Table A-7: Factory Initialization Defaults Control Changed by Factory Init to Acquire mode Sample Acquire repetitive signal ON (Enable ET)
Page 263 Appendix D: Factory Initialization Settings Table A-7: Factory Initialization Defaults (Cont.) Control Changed by Factory Init to Delay trigger average # Delay trigger envelope # Delay time 16 ns Delay events, triggerable after main Delayed, delay by ... Delay by Time Delayed, time base mode Delayed Runs After Main Display clock...
Page 264 Appendix D: Factory Initialization Settings Table A-7: Factory Initialization Defaults (Cont.) Control Changed by Factory Init to Display variable persistence 500 ms Edge trigger coupling Edge trigger level 0.0 V Edge trigger slope Rising Edge trigger source Channel 1 GPIB parameters No change Hardcopy Format Unchanged...
Page 265 Appendix D: Factory Initialization Settings Table A-7: Factory Initialization Defaults (Cont.) Control Changed by Factory Init to Logic state trigger Ch4 (Ax2) input Rising edge Logic trigger input Channel 1 = H (high), (pattern and state) Channels 2 & 3 (Ax1) = X (don’t care) Logic trigger pattern time qualification Lower limit...
Page 266 Appendix D: Factory Initialization Settings Table A-7: Factory Initialization Defaults (Cont.) Control Changed by Factory Init to Pulse runt high threshold 1.2 V Pulse runt low threshold 0.8 V Pulse runt trigger polarity Positive Pulse trigger class Glitch Pulse glitch filter state On (Accept glitch) Pulse glitch width 2.0 ns...
Page 267 Appendix D: Factory Initialization Settings Table A-7: Factory Initialization Defaults (Cont.) Control Changed by Factory Init to Zoom state Zoom vertical (all channels) 1.0X Zoom vertical position (all channels) 0 divisions A 30 Appendices...
Page 268 Glossary...
Page 269 Glossary AC coupling A type of signal transmission that blocks the DC component of a signal but uses the dynamic (AC) component. Useful for observing an AC signal that is normally riding on a DC signal. Accuracy The closeness of the indicated value to the true value. Acquisition The process of sampling signals from input channels, digitizing the samples into data points, and assembling the data points into a...
Page 270 Glossary Automatic trigger mode A trigger mode that causes the oscilloscope to automatically acquire if triggerable events are not detected within a specified time period. Autoset A function of the oscilloscope that automatically produces a stable waveform of usable size. Autoset sets up front-panel controls based on the characteristics of the active waveform.
Page 271 Glossary Cycle RMS The true Root Mean Square voltage over one cycle. DC coupling A mode that passes both AC and DC signal components to the circuit. Available for both the trigger system and the vertical system. Delay measurement A measurement of the time between the middle reference crossings of two different waveforms.
Page 272 Glossary Gated Measurements A feature that lets you limit automated measurements to a specified portion of the waveform. You define the area of interest using the vertical cursors. General purpose knob The large front-panel knob with an indentation. You can use it to change the value of the assigned parameter.
Page 273 Glossary Holdoff, trigger A specified amount of time after a trigger signal that elapses before the trigger circuit will accept another trigger signal. Trigger holdoff helps ensure a stable display. Horizontal bar cursors The two horizontal bars that you position to measure the voltage parameters of a waveform.
Page 274 Glossary The value used as 0% in automated measurements (whenever high ref, mid ref, and low ref values are needed as in fall time and rise time measurements). May be calculated using either the min/max or the histogram method. With the min/max method (most useful for general waveforms), it is the minimum value found.
Page 275 Glossary A logic (Boolean) function in which the output of the OR function is complemented (true becomes false, and false becomes true). On the digitizing oscilloscope, that is a trigger logic pattern and state func- tion. A logic (Boolean) function in which the output is true if any of the inputs are true.
Page 276 Glossary Positive width A timing measurement of the distance (time) between two amplitude points — rising-edge MidRef (default 50%) and falling-edge MidRef (default 50%) — on a positive pulse. Posttrigger The specified portion of the waveform record that contains data acquired after the trigger event.
Page 277 Glossary Sample acquisition mode The oscilloscope creates a record point by saving the first sample during each acquisition interval. That is the default mode of the acquisition. Sample interval The time interval between successive samples in a time base. For real-time digitizers, the sample interval is the reciprocal of the sample rate.
Page 278 Glossary Trigger level The vertical level the trigger signal must cross to generate a trigger (on edge trigger mode). Vertical bar cursors The two vertical bars you position to measure the time parameter of a waveform record. The oscilloscope displays the value of the active (moveable) cursor with respect to the trigger and the time value between the bars.
Page 279 Index...
Page 280 CURSOR, 2-31 , 3-19 Peak Detect, 3-7 of FFT math waveforms, 3-43 DELAYED TRIG, 2-18 , 3-25 Repetitive Signal, 3-7 of integral math waveforms, 3-157 Ring Bell if Condition Met, 3-76 Index 1 TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 281 Index DISPLAY, 3-12 , 3-28 Channel, 3-136–3-137 , Glossary-2 Color, Color menu, 3-14 , 3-15 FORCE TRIG, 3-143 Readout, 2-6 , 3-136 Color, Display menu, 3-12 HARDCOPY, 3-55 , 3-61 , 3-128 Reference Indicator, 2-6 Compact-to-miniature probe tip HELP, 3-67 Selection buttons, 1-13 , 3-136 adapter, 3-102 , A-7 HORIZONTAL MENU, 2-18 , 3-23...
Page 282 Delete, File Utilities menu, 3-56 Date/Time Waveform, 3-29 On hardcopies, 3-62 XY, 3-32 Derivative math waveform, 3-150 To set, 3-62 YT, 3-32 applications, 3-150 derivation of, 3-150 DC coupling, 2-16 , Glossary-3 Index 3 TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 283 Index Display, Display menu, 3-28 File Utilities menu, 3-55 Confirm Delete, 3-58 Display, Status menu, 3-140 Copy, 3-57 Dots, 3-29 Factory initialization settings, Create Directory, 3-57 A-25–A-30 Delete, 3-56 Dots style, Display menu, 3-75 File Utilities, 3-55 factory, Saved setup status, 3-130 Dots, Display menu, 3-29 Format, 3-58 Fall time, 3-87 , Glossary-4...
Page 284 Hue, Color menu, 3-14 HARDCOPY button, 3-55, 3-61 , 3-92 3-128 HiRes acquisition mode, 3-72 Hardcopy if Condition Met, Acquire menu, 3-76 Histogram, Measure menu, 3-92 Hardcopy Interface, Optional RS-232/Centronic, A-2 Index 5 TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 285 Index Trigger MAIN LEVEL, 1-11 , 2-17 Vertical POSITION, 1-10 , 2-26 , 3-147 Vertical SCALE, 1-10 , 2-26 , 3-147 I/O, Status menu, 3-140 Main menu, Glossary-6 I/O, Utility menu, 3-60 , 3-128 Main menu buttons, 2-3 , Glossary-6 IC protector tip, 3-102 Main Scale, Horizontal menu, 3-70 Icons, 1-1...
Page 286 Set 2nd Source to, 3-161 Measurement Main Trigger, 2-10 , 3-34 , 3-80 , Set FFT Source to:, 3-40 Amplitude, 3-86 , Glossary-1 3-121 , 3-123 , 3-145 Area, 3-86 , Glossary-1 Index 7 TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 287 Index Set FFT Vert Scale to:, 3-40 OK Confirm Clear Spool, Hardcopy Persistence Palette, Color menu, menu, 3-62 3-13 Set FFT Window to:, 3-40 Set Function to, 3-160 OK Create Math Wfm, More menu, Phase, 3-87 , Glossary-7 Set Function to:, 3-151 , 3-155 3-160 Phase suppression, 3-50 Set operator to, 3-161...
Page 288 Runt, Main Trigger menu, 3-123 Ref1, Ref2, Ref3, Ref4, File, Save/ Recall Waveform menu, 3-134 Ref1, Ref2, Ref3, Ref4, Reference waveform status, 3-134 Reference levels, 1-19 , 3-92 Quantizing, Glossary-8 Index 9 TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 289 Index Serial number, 2-5 Single-Shot sampling, 2-20 Set 1st Source to, More menu, 3-161 Slope, Glossary-9 Set 2nd Source to, More menu, Slope, Delayed Trigger menu, 3-26 Safety, v 3-161 Symbols, v Slope, Main Trigger menu, 3-36 Set Function to, More menu, 3-160 Sample acquisition mode, 3-3 , Glos- Slope, Trigger, 2-17 sary-9...
Page 290 Port, 3-60 , 3-128 Types, 3-145–3-146 Video trigger, 2-14 RS232, 3-60 Video, 2-14 View Palette, Color menu, 3-13 Soft Flagging, 3-60 Width, 3-119 , 3-125 Software Setup, 3-60 Trigger Bar, 2-6 , 3-72 Index 11 TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A User Manual...
Page 291 Index Waveforms, Status menu, 3-140 Width, 1-18 , Glossary-6 , Glossary-8 Width trigger, 3-119 , 3-125 WARNING, statement in manual, v YT, Format, 3-31–3-33 Width, Main Trigger menu, 3-122 Waveform, Glossary-10 YT format, Glossary-10 Interval, Glossary-10 Window, 3-51 YT, Display menu, 3-32 Math, 3-159–3-161 Blackman-Harris, 3-41 , 3-51 , 3-54 Off priority, 3-137...

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