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Registered Member #1733
Joined: Thu Oct 02 2008, 03:17PM
Location: Hamilton, ON, Canada
Posts: 100
Hey Guys.
I have seen sound card scopes (software/hardware) on the net, and I have some questions.
Do they use the speaker output or mic input for the probe? Will "any" soundcard suffice? I have a USB headset that I damaged the cord on. I got it replaced, but was wondering if it would be capable of working as a sound card O-Scope.
I also came across Pocket PC O-Scopes that use the internal sound card as the scope. I have several PPC handhelds at my disposal, so I'm thinking of trying these out too.
Registered Member #2390
Joined: Sat Sept 26 2009, 02:04PM
Location: Milwaukee Wisconsin
Posts: 381
I actually have two pc based scopes. One i like, the other is fairly useless. The best luck i have had is with the better USB models. They are optically isolated so you don't damage your pc. They also have the cool function of an audio or signal generator output. Its just a little box that the probes plug into. Small fairly inexpensive and so far reliable. I also have a 2ghz fluke scopemeter and the USB job seems to keep up just fine. Rise time, fall time, and all the usuals. Auto trigger works great to. Look on ebay, or if you want a cheap one that you don't have to worry about American Science and Surplus has one for 200 bucks that does everything. Even comes with 10:1 probes! I would stay away from the sound card type unless you don't care if your computer slowly gets killed. At least thats my opinion. Maby someone else can help a bit more.
Registered Member #30
Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706
The original post specifically asked about soundcard oscilloscopes, which are pretty much useless for any serious work. The reason being that soundcards use sigma-delta ADCs.
Registered Member #1733
Joined: Thu Oct 02 2008, 03:17PM
Location: Hamilton, ON, Canada
Posts: 100
Hey Steve - Doc. electrons is not entirely off his mark when talking about USB based scopes... The device I want to test is a USB headset with the soundcard inline. So I guess it's a little of both...
I do own a real scope. 60MHz analog Tektronix. These PC-based scopes are "just for fun."
Registered Member #2390
Joined: Sat Sept 26 2009, 02:04PM
Location: Milwaukee Wisconsin
Posts: 381
My apologies Steve. Guess i wasn't as clear as i maby should have been. The scope i referred to as "fairly useless" was a PCI card type. IE; soundcard. Only trying to help, sorry if i was a bit off topic. Also, my unit does not use sigma-delta ADCs. Guess i was thinking more about the topic of non traditional o-scopes.
Registered Member #2390
Joined: Sat Sept 26 2009, 02:04PM
Location: Milwaukee Wisconsin
Posts: 381
Try this it may help a little more! If a sound card is used, frequency response is usually limited to the audio range, and DC signals cannot be measured without hardware modification. The number of inputs is limited by the number of recording channels and the inputs can handle only audio line-level voltages (usually ~1 Vpp) without the risk of damage. Hope that is closer to topic..
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Non-traditional O-Scopes
