Electronic instruments like oscilloscopes respond to electrical potential difference measured in volts. Some applications require the measurement of other physical characteristics like light or sound. Many instruments provide ways to use other sensors or transducers to convert non-electrical parameters into voltage and measure them. This gives the ability to use existing sensors or transducers with […]
Final Check: Tips on Troubleshooting Embedded System Serial Interfaces
Embedded system controllers use a host of serial data buses to communicate with other devices and sensors. Troubleshooting these buses has always been problematic. Going from an oscilloscope trace to a decoded message can be a cruel experience. Many designers resort to ‘bit counting’ in order to see the content of a serial data stream […]
Final Check: Power Rail Probes — Necessary Tools for Power Integrity Measurements
User expectations are calling for faster computers and handheld devices. Keeping these faster processors operating efficiently required lowering supply voltages. So, where in the past, 5 V supply buses operated with ±5 percent tolerance today’s low voltage processors require a much smaller tolerances on the order of ±1 percent. So, a 1.1 V bus has […]