Oscilloscope training circuit?

[MrZwing]

Hello

I'm wondering if there any schematics or finished Training circuit's to be able to train reading values on oscilloscopes?
Primarly for an analoge one, i am about to start learning but about it, but i learn faster by doing it practilly then just readin it in theory.

/MrZwing

[Rerouter]

The top sticky is a well made video showing what each control does, and most of the beginner traps,

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/oscilloscope-training-class-%28long%29/

The probe compensation output on most older scopes alone can let you understand the basic vert and horizontal divisions and the trigger amplitude, 

[Simon]

put your finger on the probe end and you will get a more or less clean 50Hz mains pick from the air, your best bet for an anlogue scope is to build a few oscillator circuits, a simple 555 timer circuit could provide a signal to play around with, making the frequency and duty variable is not too difficult and the net is full of diagrams.

[MrZwing]

i was thinking in the line of training circuits though the few iv'e seen are pretty much that but a compackt form of it.

[Simon]

Well basically you need to establish the sort of signals you will be working with and replicate that type so that you become familair with measuring them.

[Shock]

Something like this for $10 will give you lots of experience looking at signals.
It's a mini variable signal generator. As well as the output you can probe all over the board if you like looking at different signals.

Will require a 5VDC power source to get it going.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321497693136

[paul18fr]

as a beginner, I plan to performe such tests ... when I'll have a scope (in a near furtur I hope)

From my point of view, it's much more fun to build your own generator (square, sine - and probably triangle / I've not had a look to the later yet), with a 555 timer for example (you can easily find schematics on the net): you can change resistors values, capacitors ones, etc. ...

Paul

[Simon]

Something like this for $10 will give you lots of experience looking at signals.
It's a mini variable signal generator. As well as the output you can probe all over the board if you like looking at different signals.

Will require a 5VDC power source to get it going.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321497693136

What does that circuit actually do ? I don't understand the "data inputs" reference, is it just an ADC, or is is making signals, it sounds like it outputs square waves and then low pass filters them to get the sine wave.

[nowlan]

Velleman make an trainer kit.


I think the DDS kit on ebay would take you further. Once you have some signals, you can look at bridge rectifiers, and amplifiers. Much more satisfying.

Otherwise, there are some classic square to triangle circuits which you can trace the signal through. I cant find the exact circuit im after however. Thought it could do sine also?

Finally 555 time will give you square wave, and can be adapted to do pwm signals. Perhaps just get another pwm generator on ebay along with dds would be best.

Learning to use an oscilloscope isnt that hard. There are only 2 axis, time and voltage.

[jpb]

Rigol have the DS6000 demo board for scopes which produces lots of different signals but is quite expensive (163 euro or $218 from Batronix).


http://www.batronix.com/pdf/Rigol/UserGuide/DS6000DemoBoard_UserGuide_EN.pdf

I think some other scope manufacturers produce similar products.

[paul18fr]

concerning 555 timer and sine signal, I was mistaken (but I'm a newby  )

I was confused with 741 op-amp .... from Mims's notebooks

[paul18fr]

finally I remembered where I saw it for creating sine wave with a 555 timer:
http://www.talkingelectronics.com/te_interactive_index.html

(but I've never tested it yet)

[Simon]

As I said above, low pass filter a square wave and you get a sine or something close.

[Stonent]

Your whole home is likely filled with training circuits.  Start taking apart low powered devices that you don't use that much and start poking around.  Ideally get ones with external power so you know everything inside is safe to poke at.  In the case of things like TV set top boxes, VCRs, DVD Players, they tend to build the power supply as a separate board or cut a long groove or make it very obvious where they end and the digital circuitry begins.

[MrZwing]

I must thank everyone who has contribued to this thread so far, got alot of good tips and ill be looking on each and every one of them. and probably try them all... well except that really expensive test board.

having a ok generator like the E-bay one to experiment with the oscilloscope is a nice thing and also building my own as a training projekt and test it on an oscilloscope is a great idea.

MrZwing

[liquibyte]

I built this to test whether or not my scope was working right.  The circuit works and the scope does too.

[MrZwing]

I built this to test whether or not my scope was working right.  The circuit works and the scope does too.

seams like a nice circuit i'll add it to my lists to build in the near future.
thank you for sharing it.

/MrZwing

[liquibyte]

Here's a crappy fuzzy picture of how I fit it on some perfboard.

[Simon]

You can of course still get (mostly on ebay and probably chinese copies) the once very popular ICL8086, 0.001Hz -300KHz signal generator chip, square, sine and triangle all at once.

I just came across one in a box of bit's a fellow forum member gave me, when i was in school these used to cost like £20, now much less on ebay.

[tautech]

Simple.  Nice.
 liquibyte can you also put the Frequency of operation in your post?

[liquibyte]

Simple.  Nice.
 liquibyte can you also put the Frequency of operation in your post?

I honestly have no idea.  I wanted to see if I could get waveforms at a low voltage on a scope that one of the members here sent me in a trade.  I had no idea if the scope was any good so searched out a simple signal generator and this is one of the simple ones that came up.  I just cobbled it together from stuff I had and even had to go to RS to get a 555 as I didn't have one.

[tautech]

Simple.  Nice.
 liquibyte can you also put the Frequency of operation in your post?

I honestly have no idea.  I wanted to see if I could get waveforms at a low voltage on a scope that one of the members here sent me in a trade.  I had no idea if the scope was any good so searched out a simple signal generator and this is one of the simple ones that came up.  I just cobbled it together from stuff I had and even had to go to RS to get a 555 as I didn't have one.

Likely it can be calculated an a 555 calculator.
Nice little circuit for the novice, plenty of points to probe for functional understanding and straight forward to build.
Could easily be modified include a "limited" frequency adjustment too.

[MrZwing]

You can of course still get (mostly on ebay and probably chinese copies) the once very popular ICL8086, 0.001Hz -300KHz signal generator chip, square, sine and triangle all at once.

Is it the ICL8036 you mean? and is it an IC since when i put in ICL8086 on ebay it won't show any results. and who was the original manufacurer of it?

thank you for your tip.

/MrZwing

[paul18fr]

@MrZwing
another one:
http://www.eleccircuit.com/function-generator-by-ic-1458/

[Simon]

You can of course still get (mostly on ebay and probably chinese copies) the once very popular ICL8086, 0.001Hz -300KHz signal generator chip, square, sine and triangle all at once.

Is it the ICL8036 you mean? and is it an IC since when i put in ICL8086 on ebay it won't show any results. and who was the original manufacurer of it?

thank you for your tip.

/MrZwing

You are probably right, it's made by intersil and if you google the part a datasheet is still available and a FAQ sheet. I think it was quite something in it's day and it's cost was probably what stopped it surpassing the 555