Digital storage scopes advance: color display and data storage techniques make for more meaningful signal views and complex statistical measurement
Article Abstract:
When digital oscilloscopes began to replace analog ones, information about waveform stability that was shown by the varying intensity of waveform traces on an analog scope was lost, but new technologies developed for the digital storage oscilloscope (DSO) have now put back what was eliminated, and more. Color-grading techniques, for example, are used to represent the relative frequencies of the appearance of points that make up waveforms so that frequency ranges can be displayed in different colors. Moreover, statistical data from such displays is gathered into a statistical database that can be used to accomplish tasks that include the following: histogram analysis; testing to within set limits; and automatic measurements based on statistical techniques. Jitter and noise are mentioned as being easier to measure if a statistical database is used. Making pulse parameter and timing measurements on random data streams, called 'eye diagrams,' is also easier to accomplish.
Publication Name: IEEE Spectrum
Subject: Engineering and manufacturing industries
ISSN: 0018-9235
Year: 1992
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Instrumentation for nonscientists
Article Abstract:
Instrumentation designers use the latest semiconductor technologies to develop ever more accurate, sensitive and complex instruments, but the systems resulting are expensive and difficult to operate. The primary area of growth in the instrumentation market will be in devices for non-scientists, however. Instrument systems integrate sensors, data processing, communication, controls and user interfaces; examples of complex instrumentation systems are those in water-purification control systems, in a large racing sailboat, in an electric-utility monitoring system and in a magnetic levitation system. Such systems require a reduction in complexity to allow users unschooled in the nuances of instrumentation to use them effectively. The importance of communications standards to the instrumentation industry, particularly those of the IEEE, is discussed.
Publication Name: IEEE Spectrum
Subject: Engineering and manufacturing industries
ISSN: 0018-9235
Year: 1991
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Small-work projects: teamwork counts more than computer-based tools
Article Abstract:
Hewlett-Packard Co's Colorado Springs Div has used concurrent engineering (CE) since 1980, although the term was not used at that time. The division needed increased cooperation between its various functional areas as it tried to improve manufacturability and reliability. A continuous process improvement (CPI) philosophy had been adopted previously and served as the foundation for CE. An example of the benefits of CE at Hewlett-Packard is the 54600 oscilloscope, which was intended as a general-purpose 'personal' scope. This made cost a critical issue in its design and manufacture; the 54600 has a 100-MHz bandwidth and competes with inexpensive Asian-made units. The device was developed in about one-third of the time that would have been required without CE, and several complicating factors were dealt with successfully; these are recounted.
Publication Name: IEEE Spectrum
Subject: Engineering and manufacturing industries
ISSN: 0018-9235
Year: 1991
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