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Exercise:
Objective:

DSO Function Generator Exercise, Course 870293

Demonstrate the ability to capture, measure and analyze electronic waveforms
using the VAS 5051B DSO

Congratulations. You have successfully completed the DSO WBT 870294. The next step is to complete the
DSO Function Generator Exercise. The purpose of this exercise is to give you hands on experience using the
DSO based on what you learned previously.

In order to complete this exercise, you need a VAS 5051B and

an Elenco Electronics FG-500 1Mhz Function Generator. It is
essential that you purchase the FG-500 because you will not be
able to answer all of the questions in the final assessment
unless you use the FG-500 to complete this exercise.
The Elenco Electronics FG-500 1Mhz Function Generator can
be purchased on-line from one of the following sources (you may
be able to locate additional on-line sources as well):

http://techedu.com
http://www.tequipment.net
http://electronickits.com

On the home page for one of the above sites, type FG-500 in the search field. There are two versions
available, the FG-500 (factory assembled version) and the FG-500K (kit version) We strongly recommend
that you purchase the FG-500 assembled version and not the FG-500K kit version because it requires
soldering and assembly.
Once you have the 5051B and the FG-500, youre ready to perform the exercise! Continue to the next page.

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Note: Do not try to rush through this

exercise! Remember that this is a
learning process. Try to see how
accurately you can complete it, not how
quickly. Take your time and make sure
that you understand each step before
proceeding.
1. To start, configure the FG-500 as
follows:
Make sure that the FG-500 has a
good battery.
Turn the Coarse Frequency knob to
10.
Turn the Fine Adj. Frequency knob to
the left (counter-clockwise) until it
stops.
Turn the Amplitude knob to the left
(counter-clockwise) until it stops.
Make sure that the On/Off switch is
in the OFF position. It will be turned
on in a later step.
The Sine/Triangle switch will not be
used in this exercise, so it can
remain in either position.

2. Start the VAS 5051B DSO by selecting:

Test Instruments
Go To
DSO
3. Connect the DSO to the Function
Generator as follows:
Connect the DSO 1 red lead to the
yellow banana jack labeled Square
Wave.
Connect the DSO 1 black lead to the
black banana jack labeled GND.

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4. The first waveform is a relatively slow

(low frequency) signal. To properly view
this waveform, Draw Mode must be
used.
Select the Measuring Mode button.
Select the Draw Mode button.
Deselect the Measuring Mode
button.

5. Turn the Function Generator ON. You

should see a waveform that is similar to
the one at left. If the DSO screen does
not look like this:
Make sure that the battery in the FG500 is OK.
Go back to the beginning of the
exercise and read each step
carefully.
There are two things wrong with this
waveform:
The waveform is displaying above
the top of the screen (arrow). A
waveform should never display
above or below the top or bottom of
the screen.
The individual pulses of the
waveform are so compressed that
they are unreadable.
To remedy these problems, the DSO
must be configured to display the
waveform properly, which you will do
in the next steps.

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6. To make the waveform fit the screen,

the voltage division must be changed:
Select Channel A.
Since the waveform needs to be
smaller, the voltage division must be
made larger.
Select the voltage division
arrow until the Channel A
voltage division displays 5 V/Div.
Deselect Channel A.
The waveform now fits the screen.

7. To make the induvidual pulses of the

waveform visible, the time division must
be changed:
Since the pulses need to be wider,
the time division must be smaller.
Select the Time/Div. arrow
until the time division displays
0.5 s/Div.

8. Now take a few moments to experiment

with how the voltage and time division
buttons alter the appearance of the
waveform. First change the voltage
division and then the time divsion up
and down while observing the changes
to the waveform. When finished return
them to their previous settings:
5 V/Div.
0.5 s/Div.

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9. Notice that the height of the waveform

only occupies about 25% of the screen.
While this is perfectly acceptable, it may
be possible to make it taller. To do this,
the zero point of the waveform must be
changed.
Select the Channel A button.
Move the slider down to the first
division above the bottom of the
screen as shown at left.
Now press the voltage division
arrow until the voltage division for
Channel A displays 2 V/Div.
Deselect the Channel A button.

10. The waveform is now looking good, but

there still one problem: The green
Channel B waveform (DSO 2) is in the
middle of our waveform, which could
make it hard to read. Two things can be
done to remedy this:
Move Channel B to the bottom of the
screen (similar to how Channel A
was moved previously).
Turn Channel B off, which removes it
entirely.
11. Lets do both.
Select Channel B.
To move Channel B, move the slider
to the bottom of the screen as shown
at left. Now the Channel B waveform
doesnt interfere with the Channel A
waveform.
To turn Channel B off entirely, select
the Channel button, then select OFF.
This removes the waveform, and
may be the best choice for our next
step, measuring pulse width.
Deselect the Channel button.
Deselect the Channel B button.

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Pulse
Width

12. Before proceeding, lets review the

names for the parts of a waveform.
Knowing the parts of a waveform will
help you perform the following steps.

High
State
Leading
Edge
Trailing
Edge

Please refer to the Automotive

Electrical Signals Glossary for more
information.

Low
State

Period

Cursor 1

13. Now measure the amplitude of the high

and low signal states.
Select the Freeze Frame button.
Select the Cursor 1 button.
Tap the screen to move the cursor to
approximately the middle of one of
the high state pulses as shown at
left.
The high state amplitude can be
found in the box labeled Channel A
Amplitude. Write the amplitude
below.
____________________________
Tap the screen to move the cursor to
the middle of one of the low state
pulses.
The low state amplitude can now be
found in the box labeled Channel A
Amplitude. Write the amplitude
below.
____________________________
Ignore the number in the box labeled
Time.
Deselect the Freeze Frame button.

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14. Next, measure the pulse width of the

signal.
Select the Freeze Frame button.
Select the Cursor 1 button.
Move Cursor 1 to the left of the
leading edge of one of the pulses
and then use the Cursor button to
move it to the right until the box
labeled Channel A Amplitude starts
to increase. You arent worried so
much about the amplitude other than
to see where it begins to increase.
This is the point where the signal
turns on.
Ignore the number in the box labeled
Time.
Go to the next step.

Cursor 1

Cursor 2

15. Select Cursor 2.

Move Cursor 2 to the left of the
trailing edge of the same pulse and
then use the Cursor button to
move it to the right until the voltage
display labeled Amplitude Diff. A
starts to decrease. Again, you arent
worried about the amplitude other
than to see where it begins to drop.
This is the point where the signal
turns off.
The box labeled Time Difference is
the pulse width of the signal. Read
the pulse width and write it below.
____________________________

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16. While the previous waveform had a low

frequency, the next waveform has a high
frequency. Start by resetting the DSO to
its default values. The easiest way to do
this is to exit and restart the DSO.
Select Go To
Select Exit
Select Test Instruments and start the
DSO
Leave the DSO 1 leads in the same
positions as the previous steps.
17. To configure the Function Generator:
Turn the Coarse Frequency knob to
100K. Leave the other knobs and
switches in the same positions as
they were in the previous steps.

Channel A

Channel B

18. The DSO should look like the screen

shown at left. To configure the DSO to
display this waveform:
First move or remove the Channel B
waveform from the screen using one
of the methods shown previously.
Even though this is a high frequency
pulsed signal all you see is a flat line
for Channel A. This is because the
default time and voltage settings are
too slow to display the individual
pulses of the waveform. You dont
know how to set the time and voltage
divisions. You could experiment
manually, but there is an easier way.
When trying to configure the DSO for
an unknown signal, use the Auto
Setup mode.
Select the Measuring Mode button.
Select the Auto Setup button. It
takes a few seconds for Auto Setup
to run
When Auto Setup has finished, the
measuring mode changes to Auto
Level.

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19. Your screen should look like the screen

shown at left. Now it is time to practice
the skills you learned previously.
Change the voltage division to make
the waveform appear as large as
possible in the screen. You need to
move the zero point in the waveform
so that the waveform does not
display above or below the top or
bottom of the screen.
After completing the previous step
write the final voltage division of the
waveform below.
____________________________
Change the time division to display at
least 5 readable pulses (that are not
compressed) on the screen. Write
the time division below.
____________________________
Measure the high state amplitude
and write it below.
____________________________
Measure the low state amplitude and
write it below.
____________________________
Measure the pulse width of the
waveform and write it below.
____________________________
20. Turn the FG-500 OFF.
Congratulations! This completes this portion of the DSO WBT. Please take the on-line assessment to get credit
for the WBT. You will need the answers from this exercise to take the on-line assessment.

DSO WBT Function Generator Exercise

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