Power Supply Design: Load Step Response with a SIGLENT DC Electronic Load
April 3, 2020
Building a power supply that can handle various loads without oscillating can be a challenge. Computational models and computer simulations can help get your design headed in the right direction, but physical testing is essential to proving the performance of your design. One method of quickly determining stability is to use a load step response. … Continued
Analyzing GSM Radio Protocol with a Siglent SDS2000X Plus Oscilloscope
March 10, 2020
Two SIGLENT users, Karel and Simon Sotek, email2@avanaconsulting.de recently took a SIGLENT SDS2354X Plus oscilloscope and investigated a GSM cell phone signal. Here is their report: We took a retired Siemens A36 cellphone to learn the capabilities of this new Siglent scope. Available documentation and medium-density PCB of the selected A36 made the signal probing … Continued
Programming Example: SDS Oscilloscope save a copy of a screen image via Python/PyVISA
February 26, 2020
Here is a brief code example written in Python 3.4 that uses PyVISA to pull a display image (screenshot) from a SIGLENT SDS oscilloscope via USB and save it to a drive on the controlling computer. NOTE: This program saves the picture/display image file to the E: drive, which may or may not exist on … Continued
Programming Example: SDS Oscilloscope screen image capture using Python over LAN
March 14, 2019
Here is a brief code example written in Python 3.4 that uses a socket to pull a display image (screenshot) from a SIGLENT SDS1000X-E scope via LAN and save it to the local drive of the controlling computer. NOTE: This program saves the picture/display image file in the same directory that the .py file is … Continued
Bode Plot of a filter using an oscilloscope and function generator
February 26, 2019
A Bode plot is a method of graphically displaying the frequency response of a system or device-under-test (DUT). Commonly, the magnitude and phase response of the device are plotted with respect to frequency using a shared horizontal frequency axis as shown in the example below: By showing both the magnitude and phase information on … Continued
SDS FFT performance on low frequency signals
February 26, 2019
Like many modern oscilloscopes, the SIGLENT SDS series feature FFT math functions that calculate frequency information from the acquired voltage vs. time data. FFT stands for Fast Fourier Transform, and is a common method for determining the frequency content of a time-varying signal. Converting time domain data to the frequency domain makes measuring characteristics like … Continued
Programming Example: List connected VISA compatible resources using PyVISA
February 19, 2019
PyVISA is a software library that enables Python applications to communicate with resources (typically instruments) connected to a controlling computer using different buses, including: GPIB, RS-232, LAN, and USB. This example scans and lists the available resources. It requires PyVISA to be installed (see the PyVISA documentation for more information) *** #Example that scans a … Continued
Programming Example: Using VXI11 (LXI) and Python for LAN control without sockets
October 8, 2018
In an effort to meet the demands of remote monitoring and control, modern test instrumentation is leveraging more communications busses and than ever before. Each type of bus can also have numerous layers that can be utilized for specific advantages. The VXI bus and subsequent software drivers form a convenient software API that can make remote control … Continued