How to Use an Oscilloscope - Mega Guide

Everything you need to know to become an oscilloscope PRO
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Agenda:
0:00 What is an oscilloscope
1:30 How to get started using an oscilloscope
1:48 Oscilloscope Probes
2:16 Oscilloscope Signal Scaling
2:27 Oscilloscope Auto Scale button
4:26 Oscilloscope Probe Calibration
5:09 Oscilloscope Measurements
8:06 Oscilloscope Triggering
12:03 How to Capture Signals With an Oscilloscope
15:05 Oscilloscope Acquisition Modes
16:24 Waveform Analysis with an Oscilloscope
18:02 Additional Learning
18:44 Keysight University Live Winners
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Learn tips & tricks, hear from industry experts, and get a sneak peek at never-before-seen test gear. You could also win more than $300,000 in oscilloscopes, RF, and bench equipment - you don’t want to miss this!
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Twitter: @DanielBogdanoff:
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More about Keysight oscilloscopes:
bit.ly/SCOPES
Check out our blog:
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The digital storage oscilloscope we used:
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Today we’ll explore how to use an oscilloscope. By the end of this you and your trusty oscilloscope will be equipped to tackle whatever crazy test challenges come your way.
An oscilloscope visually shows you what’s happening electrically at the tip of your probe with respect to ground. It’s kinda like a camera, but for electricity. Once you can see your signal, you can make measurements, debug your device’s behavior, and characterize your device’s performance.
Oscilloscopes come in all shapes and sizes. When you start using an oscilloscope the first thing you should do is press “default setup" which will get rid of any weird settings leftover from the last user who didn’t watch this video and just started pressing buttons hoping it would work.
Then, connect your oscilloscope to your device with a probe. Most oscilloscopes, or “scopes,” come with a set of passive probes. These aren’t just a wire, there’s actual circuitry inside that helps make the signals pretty. This clip goes to earth ground [the ground clip] to give your scope a measurement reference. It’s important to remember that this is a ground connection and should only be connected to ground. Nothing else.
Once everything is connected, you’ll hopefully see something on the screen. Odds are, it’s not going to be quite what you want to see, so you can change it. The easiest way to change it is with the auto-scale button.
Oscilloscopes have four main controls that change what you see. The first two control horizontal scaling, and horizontal position. The horizontal axis represents time, and we can change the scale and the and offset using the corresponding knobs [horizontal scale and delay]. Notice that the screen has “divisions” on it to give us an idea of our signal’s parameters.
The other two main controls handle vertical scaling and vertical offset per channel. [horizontal knobs] Most oscilloscopes have more than one input, or channel, and you can independently set each channel’s voltage (or current) per division [vertical channel knobs]. You can play with the vertical and horizontal settings until you’re happy with what you can see. Oscilloscopes have more than one channel so you can see multiple signals at once.
The first time you connect a probe to a scope channel, you need to impedance match the probe and the scope. It’s easier than it sounds. Connect to the probe cal ports [probe comp ports], and get the signal on screen. Good thing we know how to do that now. We want to see a nice, square shape here, this is a little off. So, I’ll use the provided adjuster and tweak this until the edge looks sharp, meaning our scope and probe are impedance matched and this transmission line is happy. Fancy probes don’t do this. Instead, they get full S-parameter characterization from the factory. The scope reads the s-parameter information from the probe and compensates automagically. It’s super cool.
Now that my probe is compensated, and we can connect to our device.
To make measurements, hit the measurement button.
#oscilloscope #oscilloscopes #electronics #electricalengineering #computerengineering #howtouseanoscilloscope #oscilloscopetutorial #oscilloscopegettingstarted #rigoloscilloscope #keysightoscilloscope #tektronixoscilloscope #OscilloscopeClass #KeysightUniversityLive #Keysightoscilloscopes

[@KeysightLabs]

Yay oscilloscopes! Register for Keysight University Live & see today's winners here ► bit.ly/KULive2

[@ZennExile]

+1 fix it with flex tape

[@waltperko8389]

I tried. I watched most of the videos, eventually clicked on the two "enter" buttons below the scrolling comment field when I realized I needed to do that to actually enter ... but sadly, I didn't win anything. My L'Robotorium shop really needs a proper test bench with a multiple output d.c. and a.c. bench supply, a good DMM and oscilloscope. Function generator would be a plus, but I don't know how much use it would get.

[@txtechtalk]

Wow! A corporate channel that doesn't suck and actually makes helpful content! Even a drop of comedy injected in there, what's not to love!

[@KeysightLabs]

Thanks!

[@txtechtalk]

@@KeysightLabs KU live has been amazing so far, hope to see more form you guys 〰️

[@mikepettengill2706]

It is so rare to see someone so perfectly suited and skilled to all of the tasks that they are executing simultaneously. Daniel Bogdanoff is seamless and 100% effective. It is hard to imagine that he is paid what he is worth to Keysight. Raise time! (the edit I made was to replace 'This guy' with his NAME, for crying out loud.)

[@KeysightLabs]

Aw, thank you! -D

[@rustedfriend]

I agree, normally when someone gets salesy and over the top with puns (Side note: "O-silly-scope" Daniel, if you work that one into your next video I will drive to your house and give you $5 or let you pet a kitten or some other vaguely equivalent reward) it usually feels extremely insincere and is an immediate turn off. I've noticed a lot of business owners do it because it works at trade shows with other businessy people, But Daniel seems to actually care about getting the information across and not just sell, that's just a convenient byproduct :p

[@arashghasemi]

You deserve to win the big fancy scope

[@mikepettengill2706]

@@arashghasemi as much as I like that idea Arash, I think that one belongs with someone who would make better use of it. I am thinking of getting the little one with some of my tax return though.

[@oppouser3503]

@@KeysightLabs 0 0b

[@matschgo22]

"Auto Scale" - the forbidden but delicious fruit

[@SophiaAstatine]

The only forbidden fruit to be enjoyed harder than Eve allegedly did those apples.

[@TheMicahPerson]

I love your editor's treatment of this video, especially the sound effects 😂

[@StreuPfeffer]

Whooouuoo..... AHHHHH :D

[@dr.zarkhov9753]

I was going to say the same thing. They're getting better and better.

[@qddk9545]

I HATE them !!

[@JNouveau]

Ah yes! set my oscilloscope to parkour mode

[@ShaunakDe]

Last time I was this early, the voltage was still overshooting.

[@nolesnieckus4615]

Imagine having a professional enough setup to have a good oscilloscope other than the one you found in a local dump store that you had to fix.

[@mikepettengill2706]

I have a Japanese tube based mini scope that I bought at a tech swap meet for $20. The dang thing still worked the last time I used it. One of these things would change my life.

[@Broken_Yugo]

I've never had one nice/new enough where how to use it was more complex than the usual safety precautions and "screw with the knobs and switches until you get a picture".

[@ansible9340]

The story is exact opposite if you have eevblog dumpster In it you can find 100k+ oscilloscope

[@nolesnieckus4615]

@@ansible9340 Damn you and your lucky location. :)

[@nolesnieckus4615]

@MichaelKingsfordGray My local dump had a store that sold things

[@haierpad5669]

Its amazing how much scopes have evolved since green CRT ones. They are my favourite tools.

[@johnsummers7389]

Thank you Daniel for providing such good and clear and easy to understand information. It's been 30 years since I knew all these things and am grateful for the re-education.

[@davidmmcmillan7214]

12:04 "Capture Siganls". Great stuff. I've been following the Keysight Live event the past couple years and I have enjoyed every year. The team offers quality content and hardware. Hope to work with the team in the near future.

[@movax20h]

This is gold. Best video about Oscilloscopes ever. I even learned one or two new tricks and important stuff.

[@jp_engineer]

I missed the live event, but I still came to watch ... I'm looking forward to more. The way the content is exposed is fun and fluent!

[@L2.Lagrange]

The 'measure voltage with one probe, and current with another and then multiply them to plot power' is some big brain stuff. I'll have to try that tomorrow.

[@timothykellogg9257]

Wow, things certainly have improved a bit from the days when I inherited my dad's 10-21 Heathkit O'scope (200 kHz) back in the early 70's. I use portable Tektronix 'scopes (100 MHz) as an F-4 and later F-18 Radar Tech, and then as an Electronics instructor while in the military (80's and 90's). I currently own a Leader LBO-508A (20 MHz) 'scope. My New Year's Resolution for this year 2022, is to clear the junk of my electronics bench (lots of things I had plans on "fixing" over the years and never got around to it) and see about getting a 200 Mhz (or better) digital scope with a few more bells and whistles, hence my watching your video. I know what you mean about people just pushing buttons and turning dials on the scope, students used to do that all the time when I was teaching. The "Auto Scale" button looks like it will be a big help in that area. I liked that you injected some humor into your presentation, that helps ease the tension of people trying to learn the new concepts. Keep up the good work.

[@h3llh0und00]

Keysight Labs guy: "One of life's greatest disappointments is we can't see electricitiy" Electroboom:"I beg to differ... I have seen it, tasted it and felt it, you mereley adopted electricity; I was born in it, molded by it. "

[@KeritechElectronics]

Cool overview of what you can do with modern good quality digital scopes. I kinda wish some features were around in the old analog days, haha! I learned all electronics on analog test equipment and still use it in my electronics repair and construction work. 3:50 setting the device to the maximum range when you have no idea what value you'll be measuring, and then getting closer and closer is THE way you do it with any non-autoranging meter or scope.

[@davidkaribe6259]

Love this. Exactly what I was looking for. Great summary on triggering. I never used the Single button, now I know I needed it.

[@sanjursan]

Daniel, as you hyped the opening of the Keysight University, I admit that I had my doubts. This video forces me to humbly apologize and atone for my sins. You sir, are the real deal. Your deep and expansive knowledge and understanding of scopes is immense. You easily enthusiastically (contagious! watch out you will want to buy) cover more in under 20 minutes than I have learned about scopes in 10 years. I just cut back to only owning 10 scopes, two Hp's, 3 Teks, and others, so I must know a little bit. I think this video is by far the best one ever made on scopes. Not even close.

[@KeysightLabs]

Wow, thank you!

[@goofheesakkers1810]

this is the most in-depth video i have ever seen, awesome!

[@taysirm7192]

Great video, and I thank all those responsible for these entertaining and informative videos 💡

[@taysirm7192]

18:52 I attended the video until the last minute.

[@artursmihelsons415]

I'm have a habit from analog scope times - always calibrating scope and probe before actual measurements.. Because, I can't be sure, that daughter didn't touch my scopes fine adjustments knob.. 😂 And if circuit is fully unknown, I always started with higher voltage range when using scope or multimeter.. But yeah, analog scope takes time to calculate, what's on screen.. Best things from analog scope experience - if you used analog scope, you better understand digital scope.. Anyway, DSO has more options to make job easier.. 👍 Great tips for beginners!

[@nheng6913]

Daniel, if I were a PM I'd run away from cameras but you are perfect for this. You bring life to what could be pretty dry material. And you are a great help to your customers ... one of Keysight's best assets ! The other Keysight personalities are MUCH cuter though.

[@KeysightLabs]

Thank you!

[@BoHolbo]

Nice touch with the “siganls” overlay at 12:05. (Assuming it was completely intentional. 😏)

[@LiyangHU]

Not that anyone in parkour mode noticed. I single-shot captured it.

[@ElectricGeckos]

This is a lot to take in at the moment, but I'll keep it in mind for when I'm learning how to use one in my class.

[@complex_variation]

I love these videos thanks Daniel and Keysight!!!

[@angelo3926]

Amazing content guys! I feel like this was made for me precisely!!! Really informative and hilarious. Beautiful!

[@KeysightLabs]

Thank you!

[@robholbert8188]

Nice, coming from using older o-scopes, it's nice to see all the measurement features in the newer scopes, sweet!

[@DarkNemesis25]

this was low-key hilarious, i learned a ton!

[@NeoFireRaziel]

Amazing, amazing channel! Congrats! Useful information in a very funny way! No boring at all, the "cool side" of being a "nerd" (with all the respect of the world of course, I'm a "nerd" and I'm proud of that!). Best regards!

[@Electronics-Rocks]

Well I am still using my Hameg (Rohde & Schwarz) from 1986 so good old Analogue. I am here to drool and bring back memories of working with a digital scope as currently working in heavy industries.

[@AlexG-lk6vp]

I remember when you had to manually stabilize and scale waveforms. I will never go to a competition with an analog scope again 😂

[@robertconklin3322]

Great tutorial, thank you

[@davidv6959]

You triggered some serious scope envy here. First scope I used was a Tek 535 and the last was a Tek 465B before I moved into management. I’m retired now but still have a 465B, just in case. This analog scope from the 70’s had the equivalent of “Default Setup” when your trace went missing: Beam Find.

[@sebastianjuara]

thank you very much for sharing your knowledge!

[@peerfunk]

very cool tutorial, I really liked that you didn't push your own products and company too hard, well done!

[@KeysightLabs]

Thanks!

[@BozhidarKurtev]

Amazing presentation!

[@KeysightLabs]

Thank you!

[@cptsmoke0001]

Great video, I only have cheap ebay oscilloscope but it does the job for troubleshooting my radio controll hobby.

[@MrPeteArt]

Amazing options!!

[@tech29X]

Keysight University, I feel smarter already! Keysight-U for a better you. Keep on probing!

[@pssh23]

@Keysight Labs Thank You Daniel.! and #KeysightLabs for listening me out and in response to first day LIve podcast. This guide is something basic+ for many freshers, However i'm asking for more advance tutorials & it would be much great! And That #Electroboom background Yyyyeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! is awsome.

[@jimnolimit]

Excellent video, great information. Good job, thank you.

[@KeysightLabs]

Thanks!

[@lunacyworks]

Thanks nice info, love some of the newer math functions and triggers.

[@SkyhawkSteve]

You get extra points for explaining "trigger holdoff". I had used scopes for a long time before I stumbled across the purpose of that little knob (back when scopes had knobs...). also... nice 330 ohm shirt!

[@mscir]

The S parameter compensation is brilliant. Great review, thank you.

[@arnavbadhe1278]

I love this guy in a good way

[@attackaffection5444]

No gay! Jk sorry

[@Veptis]

Only ever "worked" with an analog scope. But I really want one because I feel like it could help me troubleshoot some cameras and understand more about them.

[@RobeenaShepherd]

Now that image Daniel tweeted with all the little hands makes so much more sense 😂

[@navadeep.ganesh]

Woah! This is superocol, never knew this much about scopes.

[@demetriusdemarcusbartholom8063]

Thanks! Fun video

[@Metalhead-4life]

Great info! So many nice features on the keysight scopes. Hope I win one!

[@saloalvStuff]

Idk why but the "Ooh" at 3:40 getting perfectly cut of by the jumpcut made me crack up. The cut made for perfect comedic timing

[@EddyKeuninckx]

Good, thanks!

[@jsbaltimore3405]

I’m brand new to Scopes. I bought one to troubleshoot Quadrature Encoders. It would be awesome if someone like you make a video teaching us how to do specific tests like that rather than general videos. Would make it easier for beginners like myself.

[@MrWaalkman]

So which scope did you get? I have a couple of Rigols, an old school HP scope board for my old school logic analyzer, a Tek, and possibly another (haven't seen it for years). Probably the last time that I used a scope in anger was on an 80's vintage quad encoder that some idiot (me) blew up. The scope told me that it was still trying to be an encoder, which meant only part of the encoder was damaged (???). I opened it up and sure enough, the encoder itself was reverse polarity protected, while the add on board (this one designed for voltage as the output) was not. A couple of new line drivers later, and a P-Channel MOSFET for reverse polarity protection and we were back in business. How to protect your circuit: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6OlXnmGmNtkesU

[@demeterferenc8466]

thank s for the presentation

[@seeker4430]

3:37 the 'ooh' and 'aah's are hilarious

[@uwezimmermann5427]

0:55 "along comes the oscilloscope" made my day!

[@alexiekola]

Thankx Daniel!!!

[@peterporkolab2800]

This scope is so WOW!

[@AliAlkhtib]

V.good contents and v.good quality, thanks 😊.

[@KeysightLabs]

Thanks!

[@cognetic]

Okay Daniel is getting way too good at these videos. Very entertaining.

[@KeysightLabs]

Thanks!

[@RahulSharma-oi4es]

HI , loved this scope

[@danishdart]

Learning so much.

[@juannavarro8497]

I remember learning how to use an oscilloscope back in highschool... an analog one. It was HELL. Once I started working and put my hands on our digital one in the lab, I was able to actually understand it and use it properly in half an hour. My teachers back in school were like "digital ones are nice, but if you can't understand these analog ones, you won't be able to work with the digitals either".Yeah... sure. Nice info and tips on these!

[@KeysightLabs]

Thanks! I agree that analog ones are not a great way to learn these days.

[@Kirillissimus]

The thing is that with an analog scope you need to know what you are doing first and only then to opetate the knobs while digital ones allow you to quickly get at least something on the screen first and then to figure things out by going from there. They are just much more forgiving,much more intuitive and they are overall much better for beginners. Their only downside is the price - you can almost never get them used for the price of an old analog one.

[@Bianchi77]

Cool info, thanks :)

[@thiagoennes]

Best one so far :)

[@mineown1861]

I liked the oohs , I loved the aahs . Infotaining and timely too , count me in with the trial and error crowd . I aah'd several times during the segue into triggering .

[@rodrigoparizotto]

Great video! Funny with a lot of tips.

[@sebastianjuara]

love your videos!

[@KeysightLabs]

Thanks!

[@bparker86]

keysight labs rocks im glad i found this channel!!!!!!

[@conradh7659]

Whoa... too much info! I have to watch this again... and again... and again.... and then maybe I might be an oscilloscope master! Haha. Great video Daniel!!!!

[@KeysightLabs]

Thanks! It's definitely a lot to take in

[@markgreco1962]

I love my Keysight scope. I also love my vintage HP equipment

[@mikegage3326]

Awesome video. Good info. to learn how to use a scope made after the 1980's. :). Very well done!!

[@naveenshankar2096]

Thats impressive!

[@deviljelly3]

Excellent

[@LordGryllwotth]

I only have used analogue oscilloscopes. I want to capture current burst, and a digital one with triggers like this keysight would be nice. I have signed up. I really hope I win. Last great gear I got was a stereo microscope found in the trash that previous had been used in a fish oil pill factory. The fish oils are gone, but I haven't cleaned the open optics like prisms yet. It's perfect for controlling solder joints. The scale inside is from 3cm to 3mm (in the full view).

[@Turbochargedtwelve]

I do my electronics lab work in crayon which is to say I work in the automotive/ industrial space. Accordingly I have a ubiquitous rigol ds1054z for what I’ve needed it to do it works just fine.

[@salahalatai8255]

thanks

[@Vahe.Caliskan]

Thanks for the "hands-on" introduction to the scope :-)

[@Dukefazon]

It's weird that Keysight is a million/billion dollar company (judging by the scope prices) and they produce videos like this where in 2 minutes I had more laughs then on a regular comedy youtube video. 12:03 - TYPO!

[@KeysightLabs]

We like to keep it fun!

[@christophermarin3231]

I subscribed and liked your video, and the next scene to your video was a bunch of hands on your fingertips asking us to like and subscribe. I was today years old when I learned I had a weird phobia of extra hands where there shouldn't be any. And now I'm going to Google to find out the name of my newly adopted phobia. This explains why tears of the Kingdom terrified me during certain moments

[@KeysightLabs]

😅 I promise it's not a regular bit!

[@terrypitt-brooke8367]

I heartily concur with Mr. Pettengill! Two minutes in, I thought: this guy is worth every penny they pay him and double that!

[@TheAstronomyDude]

Woah that protocol decode function is seriously useful! And the touch screen is so pretty. Can you pinch to zoom like on a phone?

[@stevefriedl3983]

I have a DSOX1204G-200, and the protocol decode changed my life.

[@KeysightLabs]

The 6000 X-Series does multi-touch input, it's pretty cool

[@ShawnHymel]

Awesome work, Daniel! I think you're going to win that golden scope after all ;)

[@KeysightLabs]

Haha, congrats on your vid hitting 1M!

[@benjaminchaves6047]

This guy is amazing

[@KeysightLabs]

Thanks!

[@vertujoe2886]

an informative video, many thanks. now the question is how to touch control on my CRT scople.

[@KeysightLabs]

Just press harder

[@westn4931]

@@KeysightLabs

[@benjaminbadrakh1644]

5:45. Old analog scopes had a delayed time base knob where you can accurately measure frequency. I believe one of you old HP scopes had one. Maybe the old HP scope in the background of Daniel's Lab...

[@benjaminbadrakh1644]

Some oscilloscopes had cursors. Like the Tek 2445 which is an analog scope with cursors.

[@edwardrichardson-lee297]

protocol decoding seems pretty neat

[@cougar1861]

Excellent. Especially liked "runt pulses."

[@victorbarroscoch]

Hi Daniel! Very informative video. I did not know you could blow up the the front-end by having the vertical scale gain too high. Also: How can we get one of those Keysight mugs??

[@yngndrw.]

Will the Bode plot / frequency response analyzer be released for the 2000 X-Series? It's available on the 1000 X-Series but not the 2000 X-Series for some reason.

[@cesarizidoro1]

Great!!!

[@sdr9682]

My favourite scope tip. First try and build one (a great learing experience) But for actual measurements, buy one!

[@StigDesign]

This was Really funn and Great to watch :D i dont have a scope, i wish tho 1 or 2 channel :) the one at scool i used was similar to yours, i think it was 3 channel in maby from 2015-2016 model the time i was at the school :D

[@dr.zarkhov9753]

Wow...that was pretty information dense for certain. Hahaha. Nice video.

[@bonamin]

This is great. I think my oscilloscope does nothing shown in this video. hahahaha I started tinkering with electronics last year and just 2 days ago I ordered my first oscilloscope. But it's a small and really affordable USB one, to see if I can use it at all first. I've heard that they are pretty useful. That being said, I couldn't spend 700$+ for my first scope. Cause that's what scopes from Keysight cost in my country sadly. If however I find this tool useful and worth having a good one, I think I'm going to buy one from Keysight. These devices have good reputation for being of great quality.

[@supreethly]

love the presenter! He's a gem!

[@matteovinci83]

great overview, ps: where did you get your shirt from, love it!

[@travism9376]

Touch Screen 😍 I would love one of those have entered.

[@dandelczeg8499]

finaly after work i made the osciloscope!

[@stevewheeler6672]

I'm using a TDS2024, and I have to do protocol analysis for SPI and I2C by hand, so to speak. I'd love a scope that did that for me. It would be so much less tedium.

[@Kirillissimus]

Doing manual decoding of SPI is easy, for UART it is tedious, for I2C it is even more tedious, for CAN it is just a pain, and for USB it is so much wasted time and effort that I would not even bother unless I am absolutely desperate. If you debug serial lines getting any modern scope with built in peotocol decoding is absolutely worth it. I got my old russo-chineese Aktakom replaced with an R&S 2k last year and I am extremely happy to have it. Modern low to mid range scopes are so much better than what was available even 10 years ago that there is just no contest. Even cheaper options from Rigol are absolutely great in comparaison and the Keysight from the video is just lightyears ahead of an old TDS2024 in almost every respect.