ociliscope

Status
Not open for further replies.

danielsmusic

New Member
the other day i wondering what i could use as a ossilascope.
i just hit me when i was on my computer, on windows xp there is that sound recoder program that shows what the sound would look like virtualy.
if you make a simple circuit that scales any voltage down to 5v and plug it into the mic input of your computer you hav a occilascope that will only cost £10 at the most (unless of course you blow up your computer)

would it work or is this so stupid it mite as well go in the bin?
 

If you search on google you will find many such 'oscilloscopes', which provide scope type software for a PC - the main problems are extremely limited frequency response, and lack of DC coupling. But they can be very useful, even with their limitations.

A quick google found this at the top of the list https://polly.phys.msu.su/~zeld/oscill.html. If you search further you can even find suitable 'front ends' to add to your sound card.
 
wow i should of looked first, it will probly be good if you want to see what waveform a siganal is as long as the freq is not too high.
 
danielsmusic said:
wow i should of looked first, it will probly be good if you want to see what waveform a siganal is as long as the freq is not too high.
Click to expand...

Basically you're looking at 20Hz to 20,000Hz, but it can be useful, particularly as it has obvious simple storage properties.
 
danielsmusic said:
i will probobly use it, i will never generate 20Mhz anyway.
Click to expand...

20KHz, not 20MHz - but because of the bandwidth limitations the useable frequency will be less than that. Bear in mind that if you input a 10KHz squarewave the third harmonic (which is a very significant proportion of the signal) will be at 30KHz, well above the maximum frequency.
 
I might have a go at something like that myself. (Just need some spare time). I bet "Ociliscope" and "ossilascope" didn't return many search results.... What about "Ohsillyscoop" or "asillowscowp". I'm wondering how many different combinations you had to try before you found anything.. Just out of interest, how old are you?

 
The 20kHz limitation of an oscilloscope on a pc means that a square or triangle wave of 2kHz or higher will have rounded edges and slow rise and fall times.

I was about 18 when I built my kit 'scope. 42 years later I still use it nearly every day.
I souped it up a little over the years. I added a Cmos Schmitt-trigger IC for awesome triggering, a very linear horizontal sweep circuit and horizontal and vertical amps with much higher bandwidth and better linearity. It still has some of its original vacuum tubes (valves), because its power transformer supplies a very high voltage. :lol:
 
audioguru said:
I was about 18 when I built my kit 'scope. 42 years later I still use it nearly every day.
Click to expand...

Is building a kit oscilloscope feasibe? :shock: I mean, would I get something useful for less money than an off-the-shelves entry-level model? You got me intrigued!

I had assumed this to be either impractical or too expensive to be worth the trouble... I'm gonna do the required Googling on this but in the meantime, any pointers?
 

The thing is to look at the type of date he suggested!.

In the 'olden days' kits could be quite practical and reasonably priced, because ready built items were seriously expensive.

One of the best (if not THE best?) was Heathkit, and they did a fair range of kit oscilloscopes (and everything else you can imagine!), Heathkits weren't cheap, but they were absolutely beautiful kits to built. I've only ever built one, it was in 1971 or 1972, and it was a stereo FM tuner, no IC's then, everything was discrete including the stereo decoder. It wasn't for me, a guy paid me to build it for him - he had bought the kit and bottled out :lol:

I'd love to build some other Heathkit gear :cry:
 
My breadboard is a Heathkit , had it for years and is still going..
its got +5V & plus & minus 12V
 
My 'scope isn't a Heathkit, but it has the front bezel and CRT's mu-metal shield from them.
They even had a very complicated colour TV kit. Today, the few remaining kit companies sell mostly toys.
Simple 'scopes from the orient are cheap now.
 
Nigel Goodwin said:
The thing is to look at the type of date he suggested!.
Click to expand...

Damn I wish I was born 2 decades earlier!... I missed all the good Led Zeppelin *and* Heathkit years. Not to mention, smoking was still cool, gas cheap, the Canadian dollar worth $1.50US and Celine Dion wasn't singing yet... :evil:

:lol:
 
That Heathkit 'scope is a lot older than mine, but they are similar.
It is nearly as old as Celine Dion's husband.
It's too bad the muzeum doesn't have prices.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…