Customize your scope
Staff -- Test & Measurement World, 5/1/2004
EDITORS'
CHOICE
Ease of use ranks high on the list of desirable oscilloscope features. So, Tektronix focused on usability in the TDS5000B, a series of six Windows-based scopes that let you customize their user interfaces. You can create custom user screens that provide easy access to features you often use, and in cases where several engineers share a scope, each can save his or her custom configuration and recall it by touching the dedicated "MyScope" button and selecting the setup file.
To create a custom window, just drag and drop scope functions into your window. Because the scope stores each window as a file, you can easily make backups or send your windows to others using a TDS5000B scope. In addition, these scopes feature text-sensitive help; just connect a mouse and right click and then scroll through the help menus.
Features added to the TDS5000B not found in the TDS5000 series include limit testing, user-definable units on channel and math waveforms, and e-mail on event. You also get an IEEE 488 controller, which lets the scope control other instruments in an ATE system. The TDS5000B Series consists of six two-channel and four-channel models with bandwidths ranging from 350 MHz to 1 GHz.
Base price: $7900-$15,990, depending on bandwidth and channels. Tektronix, Beaverton, OR. 800-426-2200, request code 1303; www.tektronix.com.
