Discussions of the upcoming 5G technology sometimes focus on whether or not the millimeter-wave frequencies involved can damage human life. What gets less press is that radio frequency energy in other bands can be therapeutic. It can be useful to review a few of these uses to understand the beneficial role RF energy can play. […]
Testing transistors with a voltmeter
A bad transistor can sometimes be detected by its partly burned or distorted appearance, but more often there is no visible indication. One approach to troubleshooting is to substitute a known good component, but that is a costly way to go. Also, it is not reliable because an outside defective component can instantly destroy the […]
Will 5G make earth-bound radio telescopes impractical?
Though 5G is a promising technology, astronomers and Earth scientists are worried that 5G frequencies could interfere with the scientific use of previously quiet parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. The Federal Communications Commission recently came out with rules allowing experimental devices to use frequency bands between 95 GHz and 3 THz. Scientists see several problems […]
Signal acquisition in the Tektronix MDO3000 series oscilloscope
Most modern digital storage oscilloscopes have either two or four analog channels. One or two channels suffice for most work, but it is just good to know you have four, notwithstanding the substantial cost differential. As for the digital channel count, it is typically 16, handy when working on a parallel bus. All these digital […]
Measuring and abating jitter
Electronic noise results in spurious signals (spurs) or distortion in amplitude, frequency or both. Jitter refers to unwanted variation in frequency, particularly in digital pulses and typically in the clock signal. Timing disruptions negatively impact system performance, particularly in ADCs, where sampling occurs, and in DACs. We’ll discuss causes of jitter, its detection and measurement […]
How to measure CCD and CMOS image sensor qualities
Today, about 95% of all digital cameras use CMOS image sensors with the rest employing CCDs. From the standpoint of sensor outputs, the main difference between CMOS and CCD sensors is that each pixel in a CMOS sensor has its own readout circuit next to the photosensitive area. In CCDs, charge collected in individual pixels […]
Setting input parameters in the Tektronix MDO3000 oscilloscope
Input parameters in the Tektronix MDO3000 Series Oscilloscope are determined by the user. This is done by pressing one or more of the channel menu buttons, causing the horizontal channel menu to appear. Menu items are: • Scale – Fine, Offset, Position, Probe setup and Deskew • Coupling – ac or dc • Termination – […]
Basics of flat screens in test equipment
Flat-screen technology has become ubiquitous. It has almost completely replaced CRTs in test instruments as well as in other appliances. Unfortunately, flat-screen tech can be a bit confusing because of vendors that use their own trade names to refer to their specific type of flat display technology. Here, we’ll try to clear up some of […]
The rise, fall, and modern uses of CRT technology
A few decades ago, virtually all computer monitors, radar installations, TVs and oscilloscopes employed cathode ray tubes for the user’s visual interface. Today, except for a few educational models and replacements for radar installations, CRTs aren’t used as displays. (CRT material and process technologies are still common in the vacuum tube industry as a whole […]
Displaying digital data in the MDO3000 Series oscilloscope
An application module lets the Tektronix MDO3000 Series oscilloscope decode and trigger on any of the principal serial bus types. For a parallel bus, the MDO3MSO option is required. Serial bus types include Audio, CAN, LIN, FlexRay, I2C, SPI, MIL-STD-1553, RS-232, RS-422, RS-485 and UART. Digital data, serial or parallel, can be entered into B1 […]