PC scopes are multifunction instruments

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Feb 7, 2008

Pico Technology reckons its latest PC oscilloscopes offer serious performance and excellent value for money.

Each new model in the PicoScope 2000 series is an oscilloscope, spectrum analyser, signal generator and arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) all in one unit, making it extremely versatile and economical.

Unbeaten for functionality and price, with bandwidths up to 25MHz and sampling rates up to 200Msample/s, each of the new scopes has a compact footprint of 100 x 135mm, making them small enough to fit easily into a laptop or travel bag.

The new PicoScope 2000 series scopes have two BNC input channels, a third BNC for a signal generator and arbitrary waveform generator output, and a USB port.

Power is taken directly from the PC, and the scopes use the full USB 2.0 bandwidth of 480Mbit/s to achieve rapid display updates without compromising accuracy and detail.

All PicoScope PC oscilloscopes are supported by the same fully functional version of PicoScope 6 for Windows, which makes the most of the PC's processing power, storage, graphics and communications.

The familiar Windows interface and controls make the software easy to learn and operate, and convenient for everyday use.

PicoScope owners can download software updates, feature extensions and improvements that will remain free of charge for the lifetime of the product.

They can also contact Pico's technical specialists for support by web, e-mail, phone or Skype, at no extra charge.

PicoScope 6 can save data in a range of formats including CSV text, PNG and BMP images and Matlab binary files.

Drivers and examples are included for LabView, C, C++, Delphi and Visual Basic for integration into custom applications.

Alan Tong, Managing Director of Pico Technology, explains: "We've packed an amazing amount of performance into these little scopes".

"We think that the combination of high speed, built-in signal generator and attractive price will make them perfect for field service engineers and in education, as well as appealing to traditional scope users".

The new PicoScope 2203, 2204 and 2205 PC oscilloscopes are available from local distributors, or direct from Pico Technology, priced from GBP 159 to GBP 300 plus VAT and delivery.