We begin by looking at several of the most common pieces of lab equipment. The goal of this lab is to become not just acquainted with them, but to really become an expert user of oscilloscopes, functiongenerators and DMMs.
Complete Oscilloscope Tutorial Using a FunctionGenerator (in English) In this video, you'll learn how to use a FunctionGenerator with an Oscilloscope step-by-step.
Function generators and oscilloscopes often operate as complementary tools in electronics. A function generator provides a controlled test signal, whereas the oscilloscope visualizes the circuit’s response to that signal.
Oscilloscopes measures voltages as a function of time and displays the data on a graph. Functiongenerators create a changing voltage under some function of time (often it is a sine wave, although there are a number of other shapes we'll see below). Thus, these two are natural to pair together.
Set up a 1000 Hz sine wave of 2 volts peak-to-peak amplitude on the functiongenerator and feed this signal into CH1 of the scope and into the input of the divider circuit using a BNC cable, BNC-to-banana adaptor and jumper wires, as you did in the RC circuit exercise.
The difference between the two instruments sounds clear as day since an oscilloscope is specifically used to analyze signals and circuit behavior over time, while a functiongenerator is separate equipment that aids in analyzing circuit behavior by providing a signal source.
Click on the ruler in the bottom left of the screen and change the settings of the functiongenerator to observe how the oscilloscope automatically measures signal features such as frequency, period, and amplitude.
A function generator is an equipment to generate input functions for your circuit. It can generate sinewaves, square waves, triangular waves, modulated signals, and so on. An oscilloscope is an equipment to display the signals in the circuit. It can display multiple signals simultaneously.
To introduce the operation of an oscilloscope as a measuring instrument. To introduce the operation of a functiongenerator as a signal source. Have you ever found yourself troubleshooting a circuit, needing more information than a simple multimeter can provide?
While oscilloscopes and logic analyzers help you see and analyze signals, a function generator lets you create and output specific electrical signals. Think of it as your signal synthesizer.
