Handheld Oscilloscope

Calendar May 1, 2010 | Posted by admin

Handheld Oscilloscope

An oscilloscope is used to show what is happening to a voltage as time passes. For example, in your house, you have outlets to a 110 Volt sine wave. What that means is the voltage is swinging from a positive value (about 130 Volts because the 110 is a RMS value) to a negative value. Consequently, a time dependent picture of this voltage would look like a sine wave. I should note, most oscilloscopes aren’t built to tolerate such large voltages, but this is a useful example because most people have wall outlets.

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Digital Clamp Meter

Calendar April 29, 2010 | Posted by admin

Digital Clamp Meter

Clamp meters are one of my favorite measurement tools for two reasons. The first reason is that they are direct application of Ampere’s Law. Andre-Marie Ampere was a French physicist who laid very important foundations of electrodynamics, specifically about how electric currents produce magnetic fields. Many people learn about Ampere’s Law, but don’t ever directly see its implications. The second reason is clamp meters allow you to take current measurements without physically tapping into the current carrying line. All you have to do is clamp the meter around the line to get a reading.

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Cable Tester

Calendar February 26, 2010 | Posted by admin

Cable Tester

A cable tester is used to determine where a cable is going and whether or not and where the cable is interrupted. This type of device is commonly used in network troubleshooting. You can find affordable cable testers on the Internet, if you know where to look.

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