Information

LONG RECORD LENGTHS
Record length is the number of points in a complete waveform record.
A scope can store only a limited number of samples so, in general,
the greater the record length the better.
What you need
 Time captured = record length/sample rate. So, with a record length of 1 Mpoints
and a sample rate of 250 MS/sec, the oscilloscope will capture a signal 4 ms in
length.
 Today’s scopes allow you to select the record length to optimize the level of detail
needed for your application.
 A good basic scope will store over 2,000 points, which is more than enough for a
stable sine-wave signal (needing perhaps 500 points). But to find the causes of timing
anomalies in a complex digital data stream you should consider, for example, a DPO
(Digital Phosphor Oscilloscope) with a record length of 1 Mpoints or more.
 To search for infrequent transients such as jitter, runt pulses and glitches, select
at least a mid-end scope that combines long record length with a high waveform
capture rate.
Since an oscilloscope can store only
a limited number of samples, the
waveform duration (time) will be inversely
proportional to the oscilloscope’s
sample rate. Time Interval =
Record Length / Sample Rate
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12 THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING AN OSCILLOSCOPE
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CONTENTS
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CONTACT
INTRO
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