Differential Attenuators - TiePie Handyscope HS4 DIFF-5MHz User Manual

A differential input is not referenced to ground, but both sides of the input are
"floating". It is therefore possible to connect one side of the input to one point
in the circuit and the other side of the input to the other point in the circuit and
measure the voltage difference directly.
Advantages of a differential input:
•
No risk of creating a short circuit to ground
•
Only one channel is required to measure the signal
•
More accurate measurements, since only one channel introduces a mea-
surement error
•
The CMRR of a differential input is high. If both points have a relative high
voltage, but the voltage difference between the two points is small, the volt-
age difference can be measured in a low input range, resulting in a high
resolution
3.1.1 Differential attenuators
To increase the input range of the Handyscope HS4 DIFF, it comes with a differ-
ential 1:10 attenuator for each channel. This differential attenuator is specially de-
signed to be used with the Handyscope HS4 DIFF.
For a differential input, both sides of the input need to be attenuated.
Figure 3.2: Differential input
Figure 3.3: Differential attenuator
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Introduction