Oscilloscopes - Analogue and Digital 50s vs 80s

Showing a 1950s tube amplifier oscilloscope and Tektronix 1980s era digital oscilloscope. Bill describes the basics on how to use an oscilloscope and how they work. He shows knobs, capacitors, vacuum tubes and cathode ray tube. He demonstrates the sweep pattern and speed on the digital oscilloscope.

From the archives of the Edison Tech Center we have many historic oscilloscopes. This is the 2nd video on oscilloscopes, in our first video we just describe how the CRT (cathode ray tube) screen works by deflecting electrons. This part of the talk recaps that and goes into a bit more depth. This lecture is part of the Universe of Instrumentation Series where we cover the evolution of instruments used by engineers. This is Unit II: Time. When we combine amp and volt meters (from our Unit I videos) with time measurement, we can create instruments like the oscilloscope which can map out radio and other tasks. Improvements in instruments have always led to improvements in technology.

Increasing the resolution of measurement, ease of documenting results, interface with computer models and other things have helped move electrical engineering forward.