Computerscope (1)

EE September 1986 COMPUTER- SCOPE-1 by R v Linden To help those many people whose workshop includes a computer but not an oscilloscope, this article presents a drive unit that enables the computer to be used as an oscilloscope. The idea of using a computer as an oscilloscope is based on the fact that it already has a viewing screen and that it can cope with graphics. All that is required, therefore, is a unit that stores the signal to be measured in a memory, after which the com- puter can read the memory and dis- play the data on the monitor. The article will be in two parts: this month the general layout and the complete circuit will be discussed, while part 2 will deal with the con- struction and the alignment. Block diagram The first section of the unit, i.e., the AC-DC switch, attenuator, and ampli- fier, consists of analogue circuits, although the first two are controlled by binary signals. An off-set may be added to the amplifier via a digital- to-analogue converter. The in...