During our basic oscilloscope course, we show delegates how to set up the Picoscope or other oscilloscopes for quick easy component testing.

Once shown how to set up a Picoscope the settings can be saved and the Picoscope will use these user settings instead of the default start-up settings.

We suggest the following settings;

• Timebase set  to 200ms
• Voltage set to ± 20V
• Scale x2
• Move the zero line towards the bottom of the screen
• No Trigger
• Sample rate of 400ks

It is easier to remember as  200-20-2

This will result in something being displayed on the screen with almost all components fitted to light vehicles.

The user can then elect to change the settings to suit the component being tested. We always suggest getting used to adjusting the picoscope settings once a waveform is captured on the screen. If the waveform is incomplete increase the timebase, or if it is too small reduce the voltage setting.

The default settings will do the job but I find I keep having to adjust the settings to suit my preferences. So knowing how to set up the picoscope will speed up the process of taking measurements and make the scope much more useful.

The video below will show you how to set up your Picoscope start-up settings so the scope always opens with your preferred options.