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Software to use PC as oscilloscope — Parallax Forums

Software to use PC as oscilloscope

ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
edited 2004-05-04 18:28 in General Discussion
In a message dated 5/4/2004 10:49:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
jhavins@e... writes:


> I am new to the Group and have searched the archives (briefly) for
> suggestions on software that might allow a PC to be used as an
> oscilloscope to aid with BASIC Stamp project development. Any
> recommendations?
>

Yes - take a look at the Optascope at Parallax. Great little tool !

Sid Weaver
256K of plugin EEPROM................
http://www.visualmuses.com/chipcircuit/index.html





[noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Comments

  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2004-05-04 12:46
    In a message dated 5/4/2004 10:49:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
    jhavins@e... writes:
    Hello to all!

    I am new to the Group and have searched the archives (briefly) for
    suggestions on software that might allow a PC to be used as an
    oscilloscope to aid with BASIC Stamp project development. Any
    recommendations?

    Or should I look at eBay to see what is available in a "stand
    alone" 'scope?

    Also, with either alternative, what speed (e.g., 100 Mhz, etc.) is
    adequate for viewing BASIC Stamp and related signals? And what
    probes would prove most useful?

    Thank you in advance for your courtesy. I am confident that the
    wisdom and experience of the Group will help me keep from blowing
    money on what might turn into a "doorstop!"

    Cheers!

    Bill
    You might want to check out www.jameco.com as well, they have a couple of
    different packages that will allow you to turn your PC into an O'scope



    Randy Abernathy
    4626 Old Stilesboro Road NW
    Acworth, GA 30101-4066
    Phone / Fax: 770-974-5295
    Mobile: 678-772-4113
    E-mail: cnc002@a...

    I furnish technical support, repair, and other related services for your
    industrial woodworking machinery. My background as Senior Service Engineer for the
    SCMI Group for nearly fifteen years with factory training, combines with my
    extensive background in electronics, mechanics, pneumatics, electrical and CNC
    machinery to offer you needed support for your machinery.


    [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2004-05-04 13:42
    Hello to all!

    I am new to the Group and have searched the archives (briefly) for
    suggestions on software that might allow a PC to be used as an
    oscilloscope to aid with BASIC Stamp project development. Any
    recommendations?

    Or should I look at eBay to see what is available in a "stand
    alone" 'scope?

    Also, with either alternative, what speed (e.g., 100 Mhz, etc.) is
    adequate for viewing BASIC Stamp and related signals? And what
    probes would prove most useful?

    Thank you in advance for your courtesy. I am confident that the
    wisdom and experience of the Group will help me keep from blowing
    money on what might turn into a "doorstop!"

    Cheers!

    Bill
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2004-05-04 16:03
    --- In basicstamps@yahoogroups.com, Newzed@a... wrote:
    > In a message dated 5/4/2004 10:49:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
    > jhavins@e... writes:
    >
    >
    > > I am new to the Group and have searched the archives (briefly)
    for
    > > suggestions on software that might allow a PC to be used as an
    > > oscilloscope to aid with BASIC Stamp project development. Any
    > > recommendations?
    > >
    >
    > Yes - take a look at the Optascope at Parallax. Great little
    tool !
    >
    > Sid Weaver
    > 256K of plugin EEPROM................
    > http://www.visualmuses.com/chipcircuit/index.html
    >
    >
    >
    > Check out the latest issue of Nuts and Volts...There is freeware
    available...Winscope.zip...at www.nutsvolts.com
    >
    > [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2004-05-04 16:27
    Some free o-scopes:

    <http://www.geocities.com/nlradiofm/winscope.htm>

    <http://polly.phys.msu.su/~zeld/oscill.html>

    and here's one that does real time Frequency Analysis:

    <http://www.relisoft.com/freeware/>

    look for "frequency Analyzer" link or just use this:

    <http://www.relisoft.com/freq.zip>

    These need a Windows PC & sound card and they work pretty darn good! [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    Vern

    --
    Vern Graner CNE/CNA/SSE | "If the network is down, then you're
    Senior Systems Engineer | obviously incompetent so why are we
    Texas Information Services | paying you? Of course, if the network
    http://www.txis.com | is up, then we obviously don't need
    Austin Office 512 328-8947 | you, so why are we paying you?" ©VLG




    billinjoplin said:
    > Hello to all!
    >
    > I am new to the Group and have searched the archives (briefly) for
    > suggestions on software that might allow a PC to be used as an
    > oscilloscope to aid with BASIC Stamp project development. Any
    > recommendations?
    >
    > Or should I look at eBay to see what is available in a "stand
    > alone" 'scope?
    >
    > Also, with either alternative, what speed (e.g., 100 Mhz, etc.) is
    > adequate for viewing BASIC Stamp and related signals? And what
    > probes would prove most useful?
    >
    > Thank you in advance for your courtesy. I am confident that the
    > wisdom and experience of the Group will help me keep from blowing
    > money on what might turn into a "doorstop!"
    >
    > Cheers!
    >
    > Bill
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
    > from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject and
    > Body of the message will be ignored.
    >
    > Yahoo! Groups Links
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2004-05-04 16:36
    Bill,

    Choices abound in the 'scope department, and I can only tell you my take.
    For digital electronics, the Optascope is a great value. It has some
    distinct limitations though. It is not very accurate at reading frequency,
    there can be some (I think) impedance matching issues with probes and so on.
    I really like the Optascope though, and use mine all the time. You can't
    find anything else like it for the price.

    I also have an old Tektronics 465M. This is a great old scope, although it
    only goes to 1 mHz. However, it is bullet-proof, has a built in calibrator,
    and can handle much higher voltages than the Optascope. The older Tek
    'scopes can be had for very little, I got mine for about $75. I would like
    to get a 100mHz 'scope though.

    So, for me, this combination works well, was very cheap to get into, and
    does about %75 of what I would like. When you consider the prices of the
    higher end 'scopes, it is a good compromise for the "financially challenged"
    like myself.

    HTH,

    Jonathan

    www.madlabs.info
    Original Message
    From: "billinjoplin" <jhavins@e...>
    To: <basicstamps@yahoogroups.com>
    Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 5:42 AM
    Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Software to use PC as oscilloscope


    > Hello to all!
    >
    > I am new to the Group and have searched the archives (briefly) for
    > suggestions on software that might allow a PC to be used as an
    > oscilloscope to aid with BASIC Stamp project development. Any
    > recommendations?
    >
    > Or should I look at eBay to see what is available in a "stand
    > alone" 'scope?
    >
    > Also, with either alternative, what speed (e.g., 100 Mhz, etc.) is
    > adequate for viewing BASIC Stamp and related signals? And what
    > probes would prove most useful?
    >
    > Thank you in advance for your courtesy. I am confident that the
    > wisdom and experience of the Group will help me keep from blowing
    > money on what might turn into a "doorstop!"
    >
    > Cheers!
    >
    > Bill
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
    > from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject and
    Body of the message will be ignored.
    >
    > Yahoo! Groups Links
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2004-05-04 17:36
    > Also, with either alternative, what speed (e.g., 100 Mhz, etc.) is
    > adequate for viewing BASIC Stamp and related signals? And what
    > probes would prove most useful?

    You could probably do everything you need to do with just a logic probe. The
    only times I've had to grab my scope was for serial (RS232 & I2C) & PWM and
    typically they ether work or they don't. (FYI: I spent over an hour once
    tweaking inop code before I realized that I was connected to the wrong pin!)

    --
    Enjoy,
    George Warner,
    Schizophrenic Optimization Scientists
    Apple Developer Technical Support (DTS)
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2004-05-04 18:28
    --- In basicstamps@yahoogroups.com, "billinjoplin" <jhavins@e...>
    wrote:
    > Hello to all!
    >
    > ...suggestions on software that might allow a PC to be used as an
    > oscilloscope to aid with BASIC Stamp project development...

    > Cheers!
    >
    > Bill


    Thank you to everyone who responded. Good suggestions! Now I have
    some homework to do to get this set up.

    Cheers!

    Bill
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