User Manual Oscilloscope Lecroy Lc534L

Operators Manual
LeCroy
LC Series Color
Digital Oscilloscopes
Revision K December 1999
LeCroy Corporation
700 Chestnut Ridge Road
Chestnut Ridge, NY 109776499
Tel: (914) 578 6020, Fax: (914) 578 5985
LeCroy SA
2, rue du Pr-de-la-Fontaine
1217 Meyrin 1/Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: (41) 22 719 21 11, Fax: (41) 22 782 39 15
Internet: www.lecroy.com
Copyright January 1999, LeCroy. All rights reserved. Information in this publication supersedes all
earlier versions. Specifications subject to change.
LeCroy, ProBus and SMART Trigger are registered trademarks of LeCroy Corporation. Centronics
is a registered trademark of Data Computer Corp. Epson is a registered trademark of Epson
2
America Inc. I C is a trademark of Philips. MathCad is a registered trademark of MATHSOFT Inc.
MATLAB is a registered trademark of The MathWorks, Inc. Microsoft, MS and Microsoft Access are
registered trademarks, and Windows and NT trademarks, of Microsoft Corporation. PowerPC is a
registered trademark of IBM Microelectronics. DeskJet, ThinkJet, QuietJet, LaserJet, PaintJet, HP
7470 and HP 7550 are registered trademarks of Hewlett-Packard Company.
Manufactured under
an ISO 9000
Registered
Quality Management
System
Visit www.lecroy.com
to view the certificate.
LCXXX-OM-E
Rev K
This electronic product is

subject to disposal and
recycling regulations that
vary by country and
region. Many countries
prohibit the disposal of
waste electronic
equipment in standard
waste receptacles.
For more information
about proper disposal
and recycling of your
LeCroy product, please
visit
www.lecroy.com/recycle.
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BLANK PAG E
LeCroy recommends that you thoroughly inspect the

contents of the oscilloscope packaging immediately upon
receipt. Compare the contents to the packing list/invoice
shipped with the instrument (and the list on page 13).
Unless LeCroy is promptly notified of any missing or
damaged item, we cannot accept responsibility for its
replacement. Contact your nearest LeCroy Customer
Service Center or national distributor immediately
(telephone numbers are given in the back of this manual).
LeC roy w arrants its oscilloscope products for norm al use and
operation w ithin specifications for a period of three years from
the date of shipm ent. C alibration each year is recom m ended to
ensure in-spec. perform ance. S pares, replacem ent parts and
repairs are w arranted for 90 days. T he instrum ents firm w are has
been thoroughly tested and is thought to be functional, but is
supplied w ithout w arranty of any k ind covering detailed
perform ance. P roducts not m ade by LeC roy are covered solely
by the w arranty of the original equipm ent m anufacturer.
U nder the LeC roy w arranty, LeC roy w ill repair or, at its option,
replace any product returned w ithin the w arranty period to a
LeC roy authorized service center. H ow ever, this w ill be done only
if the product is determ ined after exam ination by LeC roy to be
defective due to w ork m anship or m aterials, and not to have been
caused by m isuse, neglect or accident, or by abnorm al conditions
or operation.
This warranty replaces all other warranties,
expressed or implied, including but not limited to any
implied warranty of merchantability, fitness, or adequacy for
any particular purpose or use. LeCroy shall not be liable for
any special, incidental, or consequential damages, whether
in contract or otherwise. The client will be responsible for
the transportation and insurance charges for the return of
products to the service facility. LeCroy will return all
products under warranty with transport prepaid.
H elp on installation, calibration, and the use of LeC roy equipm ent
is available from the LeC roy C ustom er S ervice C enter in your
country (telephone num bers are given at the back of this m anual).
LeC roy provides a variety of custom er support services under

M aintenance A greem ents. S uch agreem ents give extended
w arranty and allow clients to budget m aintenance costs after the
initial three-year w arranty has expired. O ther services such as
installation, training, enhancem ents and on-site repairs are
available through special supplem ental support agreem ents.
LeC roy is dedicated to offering state-of-the-art instrum ents by

continually refining and im proving the perform ance of LeC roy
products. Because of the quick pace at which physical m odifications
m ay be im plem ented, this m anual and related docum entation m ay
not agree in every detail with the products they describe. For
exam ple, there m ight be sm all discrepancies in the values of
com ponents that affect pulse shape, tim ing, or offset; and
infrequently m inor logic changes. Be assured, however, that the
scope itself incorporates the m ost up-to-date circuitry.
LeC roy frequently updates firm w are and softw are during
servicing to im prove scope perform ance, free of charge during
w arranty. Y ou w ill be k ept inform ed of such changes, through
new or revised m anuals and other publications.
Nevertheless, you should retain this original manual to refer
to your scopes unchanged hardware specifications.
P lease return products that require m aintenance to the C ustom er

S ervice D epartm ent in your country, or to an authorized service
facility. Y ou are responsible for transportation charges to the
factory, w hereas all in-w arranty products w ill be returned to you
w ith transportation prepaid. O utside the w arranty period, you w ill
need to provide us w ith a purchase order num ber before w e can
repair your LeC roy product. Y ou w ill be billed for parts and labor
related to the repair w ork , and for shipping.
C ontact the nearest LeC roy S ervice C enter or office to find out
w here to return the product. A ll returned products should be
identified by m odel and serial num ber. Y ou should describe the
defect or failure, and provide your nam e and contact num ber. In
the case of a product returned to the factory, a R eturn
A uthorization N um ber (R A N ) should be used. T he R A N can be
obtained by contacting the C ustom er S ervice D epartm ent.
R eturn shipm ents should be prepaid. W e cannot accept C O D
(C ash O n D elivery) or C ollect R eturn shipm ents. W e
recom m end air freight.
It is im portant that the R A N be clearly show n on the outside of
the shipping pack age for prom pt forw arding to the appropriate
LeC roy departm ent.
T he follow ing item s are shipped w ith the standard configuration

of this oscilloscope:
F ront S cope C over
10:1 10 M 005 one per channel
NOT APPLICABLE TO
LC374, LC564 OR LC584 SERIES
R em ote C ontrol M anual
H ands-O n G uide
P erform ance C ertificate or C alibration C ertificate
D eclaration of C onform ity
W arranty
Wherever possible, please use the original shipping

carton. If a substitute carton is used, it should be rigid and
packed so that that the product is surrounded by a minimum
of four inches (10 cm) of shock absorbent material.
# # #
BLAN K PAG E
Each of the four channels of a

LeCroy LC Color Digital Storage
Oscilloscope (DSO) has one or
more
8-bit
Analog-to-Digital
Converters
(ADCs).
Combine
channels by interleaving ADCs to
substantially
increase
the
instruments acquisition memory
and sampling rate.
T he central processing unit (C P U ), a P ow erP C m icroprocessor,

perform s the oscilloscopes com putations and controls its
operation. A w ide range of peripheral interfaces allow rem ote
control, storage of w aveform s and other data, and printing. A
support processor constantly m onitors the front-panel controls.
D ata processing is fast, w ith data either transferred to display
m em ory for direct w aveform display or stored in reference
m em ories (see M em ories below ).
Wherever a feature is specific or not applicable to a
particular model or series of models, the applicability is
indicated as, for example: LC564 AND LC584 SERIES ONLY.
See Appendix A for each models complete specifications.
T he instrum ents A D C architecture is designed to give excellent

am plitude and phase correlation, m axim um analogtodigital
conversion perform ance, large record lengths and superior tim e
resolution.
T he long acquisition m em ories sim plify signal acquisition by

producing w aveform records that allow detailed analysis over
large tim e intervals. C om bining tw o or four channels ( FOURCHANNEL COMBINING NOT AVAILABLE ON LC564 SERIES ) increases
acquisition m em ory length. T here are four m em ories for
tem porary storage, and four m ore for w aveform zoom ing and
processing.
R epetitive signals can be acquired and stored at a R andom

Interleaved S am pling (R IS ) rate of 10 G S /s for all m odels except
LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES, w hose R IS rate is 25 G S /s.
M oreover, this advanced digitizing technique enables
m easurem ent of repetitive signals w ith an effective sam pling
interval of 100 ps, or 40 ps for LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES,
and a m easurem ent resolution of up to 10 ps (5 ps for LC684
SERIES). See C hapter 7.
T riggering can be controlled to a highly specialized degree in

accordance w ith w aveform characteristics and chosen trigger
conditions. M enus and controls enable the selection and setting
of param eters such as pre- and post-trigger recording, and of
sequence and roll m odes. T he trigger source can be any of the
input channels, line (synchronized to scopes m ain input supply)
or external. T he coupling is selected from A C , LF R E Ject, H F
R E Ject, H F , and D C ; the slope from positive and negative. T he
S M A R T T rigger types offer a w ide range of sophisticated
trigger m odes m atched to special trigger conditions and sets of
conditions. S ee C hapter 8.
T he oscilloscopes autom atic calibration ensures an overall

vertical accuracy of typically 1% of full scale. V ertical gain and
offset calibration, and horizontal (tim e) resolution, tak e place
each tim e the volts per division setting is m odified. In addition,
periodic and tem perature-dependent autocalibration ensures
long-term stability at the current setting.
T he displays interactive, user-friendly interface is controlled by pushbuttons and knobs to display as m any as eight different waveform s
at once. T he param eters that control signal acquisition are reported
sim ultaneously. T he screen presents internal status and
m easurem ent results, as well as operational, m easurem ent, and
waveform -analysis m enus. See C hapters 4 and 16 .
T he large display area presents w aveform s and data using
A dvanced C olor M anagem ent. O verlap-m ixing and contrastenhancem ent functions ensure that overlapping w aveform s
rem ain distinct at all tim es. B oth pre-set and personal color
schem es are available. S ee C hapter 11 .
T he A nalog P ersistence function offers display attributes of an

analog instrum ent w ith all the advantages of digital technology.
T he F ull S creen function expands w aveform grids to fill the entire
screen. S ee C hapter 11.
A hard copy of the screen can be easily produced at any tim e by
pressing the front-panel screen-dum p button (see C hapter 12).
T his is a truly digital instrum ent. N evertheless the front-panel

layout and controls w ill be fam iliar to users of analog
oscilloscopes (see C hapter 4). R apid response and instant
representation of w aveform s on the high-resolution screen add to
this im pression.
F our front panel setups can be stored internally and recalled
directly or by rem ote control, thus ensuring rapid front panel
configuration. W hen pow er is sw itched off, the current front panel
settings are autom atically stored for use w hen the scope is
turned on again. S ee C hapter 15 .
T he oscilloscope has also been designed for rem ote control

operation in autom ated testing and com puter-aided m easurem ent
applications. T he entire m easurem ent process, including cursor and
pulse-param eter settings, dynam ic m odification of front-panel
settings, and display organization, is controlled through the rearpanel industry-standard G PIB (IEEE-488) and standard R S-232-C
ports whose connection or serial port are present on m ost of todays
personal com puters. For further details, please consult your rem ote
control m anual. See R em ote C ontrol M anual.
A lso via G P IB and R S -232-C , the S cope E xplorer softw are

integrates the oscilloscope w ith W indow s 95 and W indow s N T
desk top. It offers user-friendly rem ote control of the oscilloscope,
copy of the display into W indow s, and the recording to and
storage in the P C of front-panel setups, w hich can then be
transferred back to the oscilloscope. S ee C hapter 12 and the
H ands-O n G uide for m ore on P C and other interfaces .
O p tio n a l
S to ra g e D e v ic e s
CH1
S a m p le
& H o ld
8 - B it A D C (s )
Peak
D e te c t
F ast
M em ory
CH2
S a m p le
& H o ld
8 - B it A D C (s )
Peak
D e te c t
F ast
M em ory
F lo p p y D is k
In te rfa c e
C e n tro n ic s
R S - 2 3 2 -C
External
Trigger
T rig g e r
L o g ic
G P IB
T im e b a s e
Power PC
M ic ro p r o c e s s o r
w ith In te g r a te d
C ache M em ory
CH3
S a m p le
& H o ld
8 - B it A D C (s )
Peak
D e te c t
F ast
M em ory
CH4
S a m p le
& H o ld
8 - B it A D C (s )
Peak
D e te c t
F ast
M em ory
F ro n t- P a n e l
P roces sor
R e a l- Tim e
C lo c k
D is p la y
P roces sor
D a ta M e m o r ie s
P r o g ra m M e m o r y
O p tio n a l
S to ra g e D e v ic e s
CH1
S a m p le
& H o ld
8 - B it A D C
CH2
S a m p le
& H o ld
8 - B it A D C
F ast
m em ory
F ast
m em ory
F lo p p y D is k
In te rfa c e
C e n tro n ic s
R S - 2 3 2 -C
External
Trigger
T rig g e r
L o g ic
G P IB
T im e b a s e
Power PC
M ic ro p r o c e s s o r
w ith In te g r a te d
C ache M em ory
CH3
S a m p le
& H o ld
8 - B it A D C
F ast
m em ory
CH4
S a m p le
& H o ld
8 - B it A D C
F ast
m em ory
D is p la y
P roces sor
F ro n t- P a n e l
P roces sor
R e a l- Tim e
C lo c k
D a ta M e m o r ie s
P r o g ra m M e m o r y
# # #
B LA N K P A G E
Ensure that the operating environment is maintained within the

following parameters for safe operation of the oscilloscope
within specifications:
T em perature ........................... 5 to 40 C (41 to 104 F)

H um idity................................... 80% R H (non-condensing)
Altitude .....................................2000 m (6560 ft)
O peration ................................. indoor use only
T he oscilloscope has been qualified to the following EN 61010-1
categories:
Installation (O vervoltage) C ategory............. II

Pollution D egree........................................... 2
W here the following sym bols or indications appear on the

instrum ents front or rear panels, or elsewhere in this m anual, they
alert you to an aspect of safety.
CAUTION: Refer to accompanying documents (for safety

related information).
This symbol appears elsewhere in this manual, as indicated in
the Table of Contents.
WARNING: Risk of electric shock.
On (Supply)
Off (Supply)

Earth (Ground) Terminal
Protective Conductor Terminal
Alternating Current Only
Chassis Terminal.
Earth (Ground) Terminal on BNC Connectors.
WARNING
Denotes a hazard. If a WARNING is indicated on the

instrument, do not proceed until its conditions are
understood and met.
Any use of this instrument in a manner not specified by the

manufacturer may impair the instruments safety protection.
The oscilloscope has not been designed to make direct
measurements on the human body. Users who connect a
LeCroy oscilloscope directly to a person do so at their own
risk.
The oscilloscope operates from a 115 V (90 to 132 V) or 230 V
(180 to 250 V) AC (~) power source at 45 to 66 Hz.
N o voltage selection is required because the

autom atically adapts to the line voltage that is present.
instrum ent
T he power supply of the oscilloscope is protected against shortcircuit and overload by m eans of two fuses (T 6.3 A, 250 V) located
above the m ains plug.
D isconnect the power cord before inspecting or replacing a fuse.
O pen the fuse box by inserting a sm all screwdriver under the plastic
cover and prying it open. For continued fire protection at all line
voltages, replace only with fuses of the specified type and rating .
T he oscilloscope has been designed to operate from a single-phase

power source, with one of the current-carrying conductors (neutral
conductor) at ground (earth) potential. M aintain the ground line to
avoid electric shock.
N one of the current-carrying conductors m ay exceed 250 V rm s with
respect to ground potential. T he oscilloscope is provided with a
three-wire electrical cord containing a three-term inal polarized plug
for m ains voltage and safety ground connection. T he plugs ground
term inal is connected directly to the fram e of the unit. For adequate
protection against electrical hazard, this plug m ust be inserted into a
m ating outlet containing a safety ground contact.
M aintenance and repairs should be carried out exclusively by a

LeC roy technician (see C hapter 1). C leaning should be lim ited to the
exterior of the instrum ent only, using a dam p, soft cloth. D o not use
chem icals or abrasive elem ents. U nder no circum stances should
m oisture be allowed to penetrate the oscilloscope. T o avoid electric
shock, unplug the instrum ent from the power outlet before cleaning.
Risk of electrical shock: No user-serviceable parts inside.

Leave repair to qualified personnel.
C onnect the oscilloscope to the power outlet and switch it on, using
the power O n/O ff button located near the left-hand corner of the
instrum ent below the screen. W hen the instrum ent is switched on,
auto-calibration and a test of the oscilloscopes AD C s and m em ories
are perform ed. T he full testing procedure takes approxim ately 10
seconds, then a display will appear on the screen.
# # #
BLAN K PAG E
LC684
ONLY
The front-panel controls are divided into four main groups

of buttons and knobs:
SYSTEM SETUP
CHANNELS
TIMEBASE + TRIGGER
ZOOM + MATH
Other buttons access special features.
D ark gray m enu entry buttons (also present in other groups of

controls) provide access to the m ain on-screen m enus and the
instrum ents acquisition, processing, and display m odes. T he
SC R EEN D U M P and C LEAR SW EEPS buttons copy or print the
screen display, and restart operations that require several
acquisitions. (See page 45.)
T he seven untitled buttons vertically aligned beside the screen,

R E T U R N and the tw o link ed rotary k nobs enable on-screen
m enu selection. (S ee follow ing pages.)
T his group of controls offers selection of displayed traces and

adjustm ent of vertical sensitivity and offset. (See C hapter 5.)
T hese controls allow direct adjustm ent of tim e/division, trigger level
and delay, as well as access to the T IM EBASE and T R IG G ER
m enu groups. (See C hapters 6, 7, and 8.)
T his group controls trace selection, m ovem ent, definition, and

expansion with Zoom and M ath functions. (See Chapters 9 and 10.
T his blue button autom atically adjusts the scope to acquire and
display signals on the active input channels. (See page 46.)
T his green button accesses the unique Analog Persistence

feature. (See C hapter 11.)
R edraws the grid to fill the entire screen. (See C hapter 11 .)
Part 2, Getting Started, in the

for more information about the front panel,
and a complete run-through of the controls.
On-screen menus the panels along the right-hand side of

the screen are used to select specific scope actions and
settings. All other on-screen text is for information only. The
menus are broadly grouped according to function. The
name of each menu group is shown at the top of the column
of menus. Individual menus also have names at the top of
their frames.
E ach m enu either contains a list of item s or options functions
to be selected or variables m odified or perform s a specific
action w hen selected. M enus that perform actions are indicated
by capitalized text, as in the exam ple at left.
W hen you press a m enu entry button, the setup configuration for
its particular group of functions is im m ediately displayed as a
m enu group. O nce accessed, these m enus are controlled by the
m enu buttons and the tw o m enu k nobs (illustrated at left).
A m enu button is active and can be pressed to m ak e selections
w henever a m enu is visible beside it on-screen. T he tw o m enu
k nobs w ork w ith the tw o m enu buttons to w hich they are joined
by lines. B oth control the m enus currently show n beside them .
B uttons and k nobs are used either for selecting entire m enus,
particular item s from m enus, for m oving up or dow n through
m enu lists, or for changing the values listed in m enus.
S om e m enus have others behind them . T heir presence is
indicated by a heavy outline or shadow on the front m enu, as
illustrated at left. P ressing the corresponding m enu button
reveals the back m enu. P ressing the R E T U R N button again
displays the front m enu.
A change of a m enu value norm ally changes the screen because
the new value is im m ediately used in acquisition settings,
processing, or display.
T he activated selection is highlighted in the m enu. P ress the

corresponding m enu button and the field w ill advance to highlight
and select the next item on the m enu. H ow ever, if there is only
one item on a m enu, pressing its button w ill have no effect.
W here a m enu is associated w ith one of the tw o m enu k nobs,
turning this k nob in one direction or the other w ill cause the
selector to m ove up or dow n the m enu list.
M enus that span tw o m enu buttons can be operated using both
buttons. P ressing the low er of the tw o w ill m ove the selector
dow n the m enu list, w hile pressing the upper button w ill m ove the
selector up the list.
A n arrow on the side of a m enu fram e indicates that by pressing
the button beside this arrow , the selector can be m oved farther
up or dow n the list. T he arrow s direction show s w hether the
selector w ill m ove up or dow n. A rrow s m ay also indicate that
there are additional undisplayed item s above or below the m enu
list. T he respective arrow w ill disappear w hen the selector is at
the very beginning or end of the list.
A s in the exam ples at left, som e m enu button and k nob
com binations control the value of a continuously adjustable
variable. T he k nob is then used to set its value, w hile the button
either selects a value or m ak es a sim ple change in it.
S till other m enu button and k nob com binations control the value
of several continuously adjustable variables, w ith the k nob used
to set the value and the button to highlight it.
When the oscilloscope is placed in the remote state,

the REMOTE ENABLE menu will be displayed. It will
contain the command GO TO LOCAL, which is activated
by a menu button if the action is applicable. This is the only
way to manually turn off the REMOTE ENABLE menu. The
oscilloscope does not need to be in the remote state to
accept remote commands.
Besides the menu buttons and knobs described on the

previous pages, the SYSTEM SETUP controls include the
menu entry buttons and others for copying displays,
reporting instrument status, and restarting multipleacquisition operations.
is used to go back to the preceding displayed m enu group.
O r it returns the display to a higher-level, or prim ary m enu. W hen
pressed at the highest possible m enu level, however, the button
switches off that m enu.
Each of the dark gray m enu entry buttons activates a m ajor set of
on-screen m enus. (M enu entry buttons that are part of other control
groups are described in later chapters.)
gives you access to the D ISPLAY SET U P group of
m enus, which control display m ode, grids, intensities, Dot Join, and
Persistence m enus (Chapter 11).
gives you access to the U T ILIT IES m enus, which control
hardcopy setups, G PIB addresses and special m odes
of operation (Chapter 12).
WAVEFORM
g iv e s y o u a c c e s s to th e
S T O R E W F O R M m e n u s th a t a r e u s e d f o r
s to r in g w a v e f o r m s in in te r n a l o r e x te r n a l
m e m o r y (Chapter 13).
g iv e s y o u a c c e s s to th e
WAVEFORM
RECALL W FORM m enus that are used to retrieve
waveform s stored in internal or external m em ory (Chapter
13).
g iv e s y o u a c c e s s to the C U R S O R S setup m enus,

w hich are used to m ak e precise cursor m easurem ents on traces,
and the M E A S U R E m enus, w hich are used for precise
param eter m easurem ents and pass/fail testing (Chapter 14).
g iv e s y o u a c c e s s to the P A N E L S E T U P S m enus,
w hich are used for saving and recalling an instrum ent
configuration (Chapter 13).
g iv e s y o u a c c e s s to th e S T A T U S m enu, w hich
sum m arizes the instrum ents status for acquisition, system , and
other functions (Chapter 16).
T his button prints or plots the screen display to an on-line

hardcopy device, via the G P IB , R S -232-C or C entronics interface
ports, or directly to a built-in therm al graphics printer. Y ou can
also save screen displays as data files on floppy disk , m em ory
card, or portable hard disk .
W hen S C R E E N D U M P is pressed, all displayed inform ation w ill
be copied. H ow ever, it is possible to copy the w aveform s w ithout
the grid by turning the grid intensity to zero, using the D isplay
S etup m enu.
W hile a screen dum p is tak ing place indicated by the onscreen P R IN T IN G or P LO T T IN G m essage you can cancel
it by pressing S C R E E N D U M P a second tim e. It tak es a m om ent
for the buffer to em pty before copying stops (C hapter 12).
B y resetting the sw eep counter(s) to zero, this button restarts

operations that require several acquisitions (sw eeps) including
averaging, extrem a, persistence, param eter statistics, and
pass/fail testing.
Press the blue AUTO SETUP button to automatically scale

the timebase, trigger level, offset, and volts/div to provide a
stable display of repetitive signals.
This button operates only on active channels. If no channels
are switched on, and no signals are detected, AUTO SETUP
will operate on all channels, switching all of them on. If
signals are detected on several channels, the channel with
the lowest number determines which timebase and trigger
source are selected for setup.
Signals detected must have an amplitude from 5 mV to 40 V,
a frequency greater than 50 Hz, and a duty cycle greater
than 0.1%.
To perform a general reset of the instrument,

s imultaneously press the AUTO SETUP, top menu,
and RETURN buttons:
(top m enu)
The oscilloscope will revert to its default powerup settings.
The grid area of the screen and the fields surrounding it provide a variety of useful information,
and specific commands and functions.

Real-Time Clock: P ow ered by a battery-back ed real-tim e clock ,
this field displays the current date and tim e.
Displayed Trace Label: T his field indicates each channel or
channel displayed, the tim e/div and volts/div settings, and cursor
readings w here appropriate. It indicates the acquisition
param eters set w hen the trace w as captured or processed,
w hereas the A cquisition S um m ary field (see below ) indicates the
current setting.
Acquisition Summary: T his field show s the tim ebase, volts/div,
probe attenuation, and coupling for each channel, w ith the
selected channel highlighted. It indicates the current setting,
w hereas the acquisition param eters that w ere set w hen the trace
w as captured or processed are indicated in the D isplayed T race
label (above).
Trigger Level: T he arrow s on both sides of the grid m ark the
trigger voltage relative to ground potential.
Trigger Delay: Located below the grid, this field indicates the
trigger tim e relative to the trace. T he delay can be adjusted from
zero to ten grid divisions (pre-trigger), or zero to 10 000 (posttrigger) off-screen. T he pre-trigger delay appears as the upw ardpointing arrow , w hereas post-trigger is given as a delay in
seconds.
Trigger Status: T his field show s sam ple rate and trigger rearm ing status (A U T O , N O R M A L, S IN G LE , S T O P P E D ). T he
sm all rectangle flashes to indicate that an acquisition has been
m ade.
Trigger Configuration: T his field contains an icon indicating the
type of trigger, and provides inform ation on the triggers source,
slope, level and coupling, and other inform ation w hen
appropriate.
Trace and Ground Level: T his is the trace num ber and groundlevel m ark er.
( not show n )
Time and Frequency: T his area displays the tim e and frequency
relative to cursors below the grid. F or exam ple, w hen the
absolute tim e cursor (the cross-hair) is activated by selecting it
from the M E A S U R E m enu group, this field displays the tim e
betw een the cursor and the trigger point.
Message: T his area above the grid is used to display a variety of
m essages including w arnings, system indications, and titles
show ing the instrum ents current status.
# # #
These controls let you

select displayed traces
and adjust vertical
sensitivity and offset.
Press these buttons to

display or switch off the
corresponding channel
trace. W hen a channel
is switched on, O FFSET
and
VO LT S/D IV
controls are assigned to
this, the active channel.
T h e s e b u tto n s a s s ig n
a ll v e rtic a l c o n tro ls to
one
c h a n n e l,
re g a rd le s s
of
th e
channel
d is p la ye d .
T h e s e le c te d c h a n n e l
n u m b e r is h ig h lig h te d
in
th e
A c q u is itio n
S u m m a ry fie ld (s e e
p re v io u s c h a p te r).
T his button autom atically adjusts offset and volts/div to m atch the
active channels input signal.
T h is k n o b v e rtic a lly p o s itio n s th e a c tiv e c h a n n e l.
T his button selects the vertical sensitivity either in a 125 sequence

or continuously (see VAR , below). From the SPEC IAL M O D ES
m enu, you can select the effect of gain changes on the acquisition
offset.
T he variability knob allows you to determ ine whether the VO LT S/D IV
knob will m odify the vertical sensitivity in a continuous m anner or in
discrete 125 steps.
T he form at of the vertical sensitivity in the Acquisition Sum m ary field

(bottom left of screen) shows whether the VO LT S/D IV knob is
operating in continuous or stepping m ode.
T his m enu entry button accesses the C oupling m enus (see next
section).
Press
to select a coupling level that adapts the
oscilloscopes input impedance to the impedance of the
device under test. This button also accesses the menus that
let you select the
coupling and grounding of each input channel
ECL or TTL gain, offset, and coupling that have been
preset for the channel shown
bandwidth limit for all channels
probe attenuation of each input channel
T his function selects the input channels coupling. If an overload is

detected, the instrum ent will autom atically set the channel to the
grounded state. You can then reset the m enu to the desired
coupling.
W hen N O R M AL is highlighted, pressing the corresponding m enu

button sets the offset, Volts/div, and input coupling to display EC L
signals. Press the button a second tim e to display the settings for
T T L signals. Press the button a third tim e to return the settings to
those used during the last m anual setup of the channel.
T his function turns the bandwidth lim it O ff or selects a lim it. T he

bandwidth can be reduced from the m axim um to either 200 M H z or
25 M H z, or 30 M H z (3dB), depending on the m odel (see Appendix
A). Bandwidth lim iting is useful for reducing signal and system noise
or preventing high-frequency aliasing, reducing any high-frequency
signals that m ay cause aliasing in single-shot applications, for
exam ple. T his m enu is titled G lobal BW L if the G lobal BW L is
activated; that is, the lim it that you set will apply to all channels.
W hen a lim it can be set individually for each channel, it appears as
BW L if the G lobal BW L is deactivated. See C hapter 12, Special

M odes.
T his function sets the probe attenuation for the input channel.
(S ee the follow ing section for probe details.)
In the AC position signals are coupled capacitively, thus blocking the input signals
DC component and limiting signal frequencies below 10 Hz.
In the DC position all signal frequency components are allowed to pass through, and
1 M or 50 can be selected as the input impedance.
The maximum dissipation into 50 is 0.5 W. Whenever this maximum is reached
inputs will automatically be grounded
an overload message will be displayed in the Acquisition Summary field
the overload condition can be reset by removing the signal from the input and again
selecting the 50 input impedance from the menu
Grounded will be highlighted in the Coupling menu
Calibrate the passive probe supplied with the oscilloscope as

follows (see also the separate instruction sheet provided with
the probe):
1. Turn on the oscilloscope.
2. If you are using the HF-compensation ground lead,
insert the leads pins into the probe head, and connect
the probe to one of the input channels/BNC connectors.
3. Attach the leads alligator clip to the CAL BNCs ground
(outer ring) and touch the tip to its inner conductor.
LeCroy PP005 passive
probe
Alternatively, if you are using the 11-cm ground lead,

attach the supplied BNC adapter to the CAL BNC, and
insert the probe tip into the adapter after connecting the
probe to an input channel.
The CAL signal in both cases will be a 1-kHz square
wave, 1 V pp
4. Set the channel coupling to DC 1 M, using the
Coupling menu. Then press the TRACE ON/OFF
button to activate the desired trace.
5. Press
to set up the oscilloscope.
If the displayed signal is overshot or undershot, you can adjust

the probe by inserting the sm all screw driver supplied w ith the
probe pack age into the trim m er on the probes barrel and turning
it clock w ise or counterclock w ise to achieve the optim al square
w ave.
LeC roys P roB us system provides a com plete m easurem ent

solution from probe tip to oscilloscope display. T his intelligent
interconnection betw een LeC roy oscilloscopes and a w ide range
2
of accessories is achieved using a bus that follow s P hilips I C
protocol. P roB us offers im portant

advantages over standard B N C
and probe-ring connections.
Illustrated at right: a LeCroy
current probe with ProBus
connection.
For exam ple, the system ensures

correct input coupling by autosensing the probe type, thus
elim inating the guesswork and
errors that occur when attenuation
or am plification factors are set
m anually.
ProBus also allows control of transparent gain and offset from the
front panel, particularly useful for FET and current probes. It uploads
G ain and offset correction factors from the ProBus EPR O M S on
FET probes, autom atically com pensating to achieve fully-calibrated
m easurem ents.
T his function is used to select the input channels coupling. If an

overload is detected, the instrum ent will autom atically set the channel
to the grounded state. T he m enu can then be reset to the desired
coupling.
W hen N O R M AL is highlighted, pressing the corresponding m enu

button sets the offset, Volts/div, and input coupling to display EC L
signals. Press the button a second tim e and the settings for T T L
signals are given. And a third tim e returns the settings to those used
at the last m anual setup of the channel.
U se this function to turn off the bandwidth lim it or to select a lim it.
T he bandwidth can be reduced from the m axim um to either
200 M H z or 25 M H z, or 30 M H z (3dB), depending on your LC
m odel (see Appendix A). Bandwidth lim iting is useful for reducing
signal and system noise or preventing high-frequency aliasing,
reducing any high-frequency signals that m ay cause aliasing in
single-shot applications, for exam ple. T his m enu appears as G lobal
BW L if the G lobal BW L is activated; that is, the lim it that you set
applies to all channels. W hen a lim it can be set individually for each
channel, it appears as BW L if the G lobal BW L is deactivated. See

C hapter 12, Special M odes.
W hen a F E T probe is used, P robe sensed appears

autom atically. W hen other P roB us probes are used, this is
redefined.
# # #
B LA N K P A G E
These controls let you adjust time/division, trigger level and

delay; and to access the TIMEBASE and TRIGGER menu
groups. See Chapter 7 for descriptions of the Timebase
Modes that are affected by these controls. See Chapter 8 for
trigger details.
T his button halts the

acquisition in any of the
three re-arm ing m odes:
AUTO,
NORMAL
or
S IN G LE .
P ress
the
STOP
button to prevent the
oscilloscope
from
acquiring
a
new
signal.
If you press S T O P
w hile a single-shot
acquisition
is
in
process,
the
last
acquired signal is
k ept.
If you press
after
an
acquisition
started,
acquisition is
and
a
w aveform
reconstruction
STOP
R IS
has
the
halted,
partial
is done.
If you press S T O P w hen the acquisition is in R oll M ode, the

incom plete acquisition data is show n as if a trigger had
occurred. (LC584 AND LC684 SERIES: Y ou can turn on zoom
expansions after pressing S T O P .) In S equence M ode,
pressing S T O P stops the tim ebase and show s all new
segm ents.
P ress this button to place the instrum ent in A uto M ode: the scope
autom atically displays the signal if no trigger quick ly occurs.
If a trigger does occur w ithin this tim e, the oscilloscope

behaves as in N orm al M ode.
If you press A U T O in R IS M ode, the instrum ent ends the

acquisition and displays it each second (som e required
segm ents m ay be m issing).
If you press A U T O in R oll M ode, the oscilloscope sam ples

the input signals continuously and indefinitely. T he
acquisition has no trigger, but you can stop it w henever you
desire.
If you press A U T O in S equence M ode, the acquisition ends if

the tim e betw een tw o consecutive triggers exceeds som e
selectable tim eout. T he next acquisition then starts from
S egm ent 1. (S ee C hapter 12, S pecial M odes.)
P ress this button to continuously update the screen w hile a valid

trigger is present. If there is no valid trigger, the instrum ent
preserves the last signal, and displays the w arning S LO W
T R IG G E R in the T rigger S tatus F ield.
If you press N O R M A L in R oll M ode, the acquisition ends

w hen the last needed data after a trigger have been tak en.
T he display pauses to show the entire w aveform . It then
goes back into R oll M ode w hile it w aits for the next trigger.
If you press N O R M A L in S equence M ode, the acquisition

ends after the last segm ent is acquired. T he next acquisition
starts im m ediately. S equence W R A P in N orm al is the sam e
as in S ingle-S hot M ode.
P ress this button to place the instrum ent in S ingle-S hot M ode,
w here it w aits for a single trigger to occur, then displays the
signal and stops acquiring. If no trigger occurs, you can press the
button again to see the signal w ithout a trigger.
If you press S IN G LE in R IS M ode, the instrum ent w aits for all

the trigger events needed to build one signal before it stops.
A s m any as 4000 trigger events m ay be required.
S ingle-S hot R oll M ode behavior is the sam e as standard

S ingle-S hot behavior but w ithout the need to press the button
a second tim e to display the signal. H ow ever, you can press
the button again to end the acquisition w ith the current
available data.
T his k nob adjusts the pre- or post-trigger delay. P re-trigger

adjustm ent is available from zero to 100% of the full tim e scale in
increm ents of 1% . T he pre-trigger delay is illustrated by the
vertical arrow sym bol at the bottom of the grid. P ost-trigger
adjustm ent is available from 0 to 10 000 divisions in increm ents
of 0.1 division. Labeled in units of seconds, the post-trigger-delay
value is displayed in the T rigger D elay field.
T his button sets the trigger delay at zero, the trigger instant at the
left-hand edge of the grid.
T his k nob selects the tim e per division in a 125 sequence. T he

tim e/div setting is displayed in the A cquisition S um m ary field.
T his k nob adjusts the trigger threshold. T he am plitude of trigger

signals and the range of trigger levels is lim ited:
5 screen divisions w ith a channel as the trigger source
0.5 V or 1.2 V (LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES) w ith E X T

as the trigger source
5 V w ith E X T /10, or 6 V w ith E X T /5 (LC564 AND LC584

SERIES ) as the trigger source
inactive w ith Line as the trigger source
T rigger sensitivity is better than one-third screen division.
T his m enu entry button calls up the T IM E B A S E m enus

(described in the next chapter).
T his m enu entry button calls up T R IG G E R S E T U P m enus

(described in C hapter 8).
# # #
Depending on the timebase, you may choose from

three sampling modes: Single-Shot, RIS (Random
Interleaved Sampling), or Roll mode. Furthermore, for
timebases suitable for Single-Shot or Roll mode, the
acquisition memory can be subdivided into userdefined segments to give Sequence mode.
S ingle-S hot is the digital storage oscilloscopes basic acquisition

m ethod.
A n acquired w aveform is a series of m easured voltage values
sam pled at a uniform rate from the input signal. In S ingle-S hot
m ode, this acquisition is a series of m easured data values
associated w ith a single trigger event. A cquisition is typically
stopped at a fixed tim e after the event. T his fixed tim e is
determ ined by the trigger delay, and is m easured by the
tim ebase clock . T he horizontal position of a w aveform is
determ ined by using the trigger event to define tim e zero.
B ecause each of the oscilloscopes channels has one or m ore
A D C s, the voltage on every input channel is sam pled and
m easured at the sam e instant. T his allow s very reliable tim e
m easurem ents am ong the different channels.
Y ou can set the trigger delay anyw here w ithin a range that allow s
the w aveform to be sam pled from w ell before the trigger event up
to the m om ent it occurs (100% pre-trigger). A lternatively, the
w aveform can be sam pled at the equivalent of 10 000 divisions
the current tim e/div (post-trigger).
F or fast tim ebase settings, the m axim um S ingle-S hot sam pling
rate is used, w ith higher sam pling rates achieved by com bining
channels (see page 75). F or slow er tim ebases, the sam pling
rate is decreased, but the num ber of data sam ples rem ains the
sam e. (S ee A ppendix A for specifications.)
NOT AVAILABLE ON
LC564, LC584, OR LC684
SERIES
W ith slow tim ebases, sam ple rate decreases and very short
events such as glitches can be m issed if they occur betw een
sam ples. T o avoid this special circuitry called P eak D etect can
capture the signal envelope to a resolution of 2.5 ns. T his does
not, how ever, destroy underlying sim ultaneously captured data
on w hich advanced processing can still be perform ed. (S ee
m enus on page 76.)
R andom Interleaved S am pling (R IS ) is an acquisition technique
that allow s effective sam pling rates higher than the m axim um
single-shot sam pling rate. It is used on repetitive w aveform s w ith
a stable trigger. T he oscilloscopes m axim um effective sam pling
rate of 10 G S /s (25 G S /s for LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES )
can be achieved w ith R IS by acquiring 20 single-shot acquisitions
(bins) at 500 M S /s. T hese bins are positioned approxim ately
0.1 ns apart (40 ps on LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES). T he
process of acquiring the bins and satisfying the tim e constraint is
a random one. T he relative tim e betw een A D C sam pling instants
and the event trigger provides the necessary variation, m easured
by the tim ebase to 10-ps (5 ps for LC684 SERIES) resolution.
Segment 1
Segment 2
Segment 3
Final capture
Buildup of an RIS waveform.
O n average, 104 trigger events are needed to com plete an R IS

acquisition. B ut som etim es m any m ore are needed. T hese
segm ents are interleaved to provide a w aveform that covers a
tim e interval that is a m ultiple of the m axim um single-shot
sam pling rate. H ow ever, the real-tim e interval over w hich the
w aveform data are collected is m uch longer, and depends on the
trigger rate and the desired level of interleaving. T he oscilloscope
is capable of acquiring approxim ately 40 000 R IS segm ents per
second.
Incom ing points in single-shot acquisitions that have a sufficiently

low data rate can be displayed in real tim e, using R oll m ode. O n
all m odels at tim ebase settings 0.5 s/div (10 s/div for traces of
500 000 points or m ore* on all m odels except the LC564, LC584,
AND LC684 SERIES) the oscilloscope rolls the incom ing data
continuously across the screen until a trigger event is detected
and the acquisition is com plete. T his w ork s in the sam e w ay as a
strip-chart recorder: the latest data is used to update the trace
display. W aveform M ath and P aram eter calculations are
perform ed on the com pleted w aveform s, after the real-tim e
display has stopped.
In S equence m ode, the com plete w aveform consists of a num ber

of fixed segm ents acquired in S ingle-S hot m ode (see A ppendix A
for the lim its). Y ou can determ ine the num ber of segm ents to be
acquired, and each segm ent can be individually selected and
used in processing.
S equence m ode offers a num ber of unique capabilities.
D eadtim e betw een trigger events for consecutive segm ents can
be k ept to under 50 s, in contrast to the m illisecond or even
longer tim e intervals norm ally found betw een consecutive singleshot w aveform s. C om plicated sequences of events over large
tim e intervals can be captured in fine detail, w hile the
uninteresting periods betw een the events are ignored. A nd tim e
m easurem ents can be m ade betw een events on selected
segm ents using the full precision of the acquisition tim ebase.
E ve n w h e n re a l-tim e d isp la y is n o t p o ssib le , th e d a ta w ill co n tin u e to

b e a cq u ire d .
T rigger tim e stam ps are given for each of the segm ents, using
the T ext & T im es S tatus m enu (see C hapter 16). E ach
individual segm ent can be zoom ed or used as input to m ath
functions (see C hapter 10).
T he tim ebase setting in S equence m ode is used to determ ine the
acquisition duration of each segm ent: 10 x tim e/div. T his setting,
along w ith the desired num ber of segm ents, m axim um segm ent
length, and total available m em ory are used to determ ine the
actual num ber of sam ples or segm ents, and tim e or points.
H ow ever, the display of the com plete w aveform w ith all its
segm ents m ay not entirely fill the screen.
S equence m ode can also be used in rem ote operation to tak e full
advantage of the scopes high data-transm ission capability,
overlapping the transm ission of one w aveform w ith its
successors acquisition (see the R em ote C ontrol M anual for
details).
NOT AVAILABLE ON
LC564, LC584, OR LC684
SERIES
S equence m ode is norm ally used for the acquisition of a desired

num ber of segm ents, after w hich the w aveform acquisition is
autom atically term inated. H owever, segm ents can also be
acquired continuously in S equence m ode, using W rap, w ith the
oldest segm ents progressively overw ritten by new segm ents in a
first in-first out sequence. A m anual S T O P order or tim eout
condition is then used to term inate the acquisition (for m ore on
S equence and W rap behavior, see page 711).
The behavior of
is modified in both Roll and Sequence modes (refer to the
previous chapter and page 711).
To ensure low deadtime between
segments, you must avoid pushing buttons and turning
knobs during the acquisition.
For fast timebases, interleaving of the oscilloscopes ADCs

by the combining of channels greatly boosts both sample
rate and memory length.
D epending on your scope m odel, a pair of channels can be

com bined on channel 2 or 3, with channels 1 and 4 disabled or
available only for triggering (see N ote). O n these paired channels the
m axim um sam pling rate is doubled and the record length is
increased by four or five tim es, depending on the m odel.
A ll channels can be com bined on a single, pre-defined channel

(NOT ON LC564 SERIES ), w hile the others are either disabled or,
depending on the m odel, rem ain available for triggering only (see
N ote). T he interleaving of A D C s and acquisition m em ory by
com bining all four channels achieves up to four tim es the initial
m axim um sam pling rate, and at least four tim es the record
length.
(SERIES LC564,
LC584 ONLY) Channels are
combined to increase
sample rate or memory size
or both in order to capture
and view a signal in all its
detail. When combined,
those channels (like the EXT
BNC input) that are not
involved in the combination
remain available for
triggering, even though they
are not displayed. It is
preferable to select
Automatic (not available
on LC684 SERIES) to combine
channels and have the
remaining acquisition
channels available for
triggering. The channels
available for triggering only
are indicated by trig only
in the Acquisition Summary
Field.
M odels in the LC334, LC534 LC574, and LC684 SERIES com bine
channels by m eans of a sim ple adapter.
W hen all channels are com bined on a LC374 SERIES m odel, the
sam pling rate is doubled on C hannel 2 and the record length
increases fivefold.
MODELS IN THE LC564, LC584 SERIES sim ilarly do not require an
adapter. In addition, they can com bine their A D C s on any input
channel using A uto-C om bine m ode. In this m ode, w hich is
activated by selecting A utom atic from the C hannel U se m enu
(see page 77), all available m em ory is allocated to a single,
active displayed channel, provided no other channel is displayed
or referenced in the P aram eter or M ath S etup. If tw o traces are
displayed or referenced, sam pling and m em ory resources w ill be
divided equally betw een them . If m ore than tw o traces are
displayed or referenced, the resources w ill be split equally am ong
all four channels.
S ee the M axim um S am ple R ate and A cquisition M em ory table in
A ppendix A for the specifications for each m odel.
Press
to choose Single-Shot, RIS. or Sequence
modes to combine channels and increase sample rate and
record length on most models; or use Peak Detect and the
external clock, where available.
T IM EBASE indicates the num ber of points acquired, sam ple rate,
and total tim e span.
LC334, LC374, LC534, LC574, and LC684 SERIES
For selecting either of the two principal m odes of acquisition:

Single Shot displays data collected during successive singleshot acquisitions from the input channels. T his m ode lets you
capture non-recurring or very low repetition-rate events
sim ultaneously on all input channels (see page 71).
RIS (R andom Interleaved Sam pling) achieves a higher effective
sam pling rate than Single-Shot, provided the input signal is
repetitive and the trigger is stable (see page 72).
U se this feature to select Internal or external (ECL, OV, TTL) clock

m odes (see page 78).
U se this feature to com bine channels or activate Peak D etect m ode

(refer to page 72 ). S elect 4 to com bine all input channels, or 2 to
com bine a pair of channels on both C H 2 and C H 3 (see previous
page). Peak Detect captures high-speed events (not available on
LC684 SERIES).
U se this feature to turn the Sequence m ode on or off, or to select

Wrap whereby new segm ents are acquired continuously. W ith
Sequence turned On, the corresponding m enu knob is used to
choose the num ber of segm ents (see page 710).
U se this feature to select the m axim um num ber of sam ples to be

acquired, using the associated m enu knob. See Appendix A for
m odel m axim um s.
LC564 AND LC584 SERIES
Use this feature to select one of the two principal m odes of acquisition:
Single Shot displays data collected during successive single-shot
acquisitions from the input channels. This m ode lets you capture
non-recurring or very low repetition-rate events sim ultaneously on
all input channels (see page 71).
RIS (Random Interleaved Sam pling) achieves a higher effective
sam pling rate than Single-Shot does, provided the input signal is
repetitive and the trigger is stable (see page 72).
T his feature selects Internal or external clock m odes (see page

7-9).
S elect 4 to activate all input channels, or 2 to com bine a pair of

channels on both C H 2 and C H 3. S elect 1 (NOT AVAILABLE ON
SERIES LC564 ) to com bine all channels on C H 2 alone. Automatic
optim izes allocation of sam ple rate and acquisition m em ory across
the channels: all available resources are allocated to a single
displayed channel provided none of the other channels is displayed
or referenced in the Param eter or M ath Setup. T his auto-com bine
m ode is also the best choice when using a rem aining acquisition
channel for triggering (see page 75).
T his selection turns Sequence m ode on or off. W hen Sequence

m ode is turned on, the corresponding m enu knob is used to choose
the num ber of segm ents (see page 710).
T his feature selects the m axim um num ber of sam ples to be

acquired, using the associated m enu knob. See Appendix A for the
m axim um num ber of sam ples for each m odel.
LC334, LC374, LC534, LC574 SERIES
T hese m enus appear w hen an external clock m ode (E C L, O V ,

T T L) is chosen from S am ple C lock .
T his m enu is inactive w hen the external sam ple clock is being
used. Single-Shot is selected by default.
T his feature selects a description of the signal applied to the E X T

B N C connector for the standard sam ple clock up to 100 M H z.
T he rising edge of the signal is used to clock the A D C s of the
oscilloscope. T he effective thresholds for sam pling the input are :

E C L ............................... 1.3 V
0V ................................. 0.0 V
T T L ................................ + 1.5 V
R P (R ear P anel), w hen show n , specifies that the 50500 M H z

external clock connected to the rear panel is to be used as the
sam ple clock .
T his feature selects the input coupling for the external clock
signal.
T his feature turns Sequence m ode on or off, or selects Wrap to

acquire new segm ents continuously. W hen Sequence On or Wrap
is selected, the corresponding m enu knob is used to choose the
num ber of segm ents (see page 710). N either trigger tim e stam ps
nor the AU T O sequence tim e-out feature are available when external
clock is used, nor is intersegm ent dead tim e guaranteed.

External clock m odes are available only if the EXT trigger is not the trigger
source.
W ith C K TR IG O p tio n o n ly se e th a t o p tio n s d e d ica te d O p e ra to rs

M a n u a l (L C X X X -C K TR IG ).
LC 564, LC 584, A ND LC 684 S E R I E S

OPT I ONA L
T his m enu is inactive w hen A N external sam ple clock is being

used. Single-Shot is selected by default.
T his feature selects the External clock m ode. External specifies

that the D C to 500 M H z external clock, which is connected to the
instrum ent through the rear panel, is to be used as the sam ple clock.
T he rising edge of the signal clocks the AD C s. T he effective
threshold for sam pling the input is 0.0 V.
W hen External is selected, 4 channels is the only choice

available.
T his feature turns S equence m ode on or off when new segm ents
are acquired continuously. W ith S equence On, the corresponding
m enu k nob is used to choose the num ber of segm ents (see page
710). N either trigger tim e stam ps nor A U T O sequence tim e-out
feature are available w hen external clock is used, nor is
intersegm ent dead tim e guaranteed.

The external clocks time/div is expressed in samples per division, as is the
trigger delay, which can be adjusted normally. No attempt is made to measure the
time difference between the trigger and the external clock, so successive
acquisitions of the same signal can appear to jitter on the screen.
The oscilloscope requires a fixed number of pulses (typically 50) to recognize the
external clock signal. The acquisition is halted only when the trigger conditions have
been satisfied and the appropriate number of data points have been accumulated.
Any adjustment to the time/division knob automatically returns the oscilloscope to
normal (internal) clock operation.
T his is used for S equence m ode.
T his m enu is inactive w hen S equence m ode is being used.

Single-Shot is selected by default.
(OPTIONAL ON LC564 AND LC584 SERIES)
U se this feature to select Internal or external (ECL, OV, TTL) clock
m odes (see page 78 or 79).
LC334, LC374, LC534, LC574 AND LC684 SERIES: T his feature

com bines channels or activates Peak D etect m ode (see page 72 ) ,
on m odels where these features are available . S elect 4 to use all
input channels or 2 to com bine a pair of channels on both C H 2
and C H 3. Peak Detect captures high-speed events (not
available on LC684 SERIES).
LC564 AND LC584 SERIES ONLY ( not show n; see m enus on page
77 ) S elect 4 to activate all input channels or 2 to com bine a pair
of channels on both C H 2 and C H 3. S elect 1 (NOT AVAILABLE ON
SERIES LC564 ) to com bine all channels on C H 2 alone. Automatic
optim izes allocation of sam ple rate and acquisition m em ory across
the channels: all available resources are allocated to a single
displayed channel provided none of the other channels is displayed
or referenced in the Param eter or M ath Setup. T his auto-com bine
m ode is also the best choice when you are using a rem aining
acquisition channel for triggering (see page 75).
T his feature turns Sequence m ode on or off, or selects Wrap (if

available) to acquire new segm ents continuously. W hen On or Wrap
is chosen, the associated m enu knob is used to choose the num ber
of segm ents.
Along with the corresponding button or knob, this feature selects the
m axim um record length, in sam ples, for each segm ent. See
Appendix A for m odel m axim um s.
In S equence m ode, pressing each of the T IM E B A S E +

T R IG G E R buttons m entioned here has particular effects on the
acquisition.
, the oscilloscope fills the chosen

W hen you press
num ber of segm ents and then stops the acquisition. H owever, it
will not stop until you press
trigger events to fill the segm ents.
if there are not enough
to fill the segm ents. W hen all are filled, the

P ress
data is processed and displayed. T hen, if m ore trigger events
occur, the acquisition w ill restart from S egm ent 1.
, w hen the tim e betw een

In addition, if you press
tw o consecutive triggers exceeds a preselected tim e-out
value, the acquisition restarts from S egm ent 1. (S ee C hapter
12, S pecial M odes.)
O n m odels w ith Wrap, the segm ents can be filled continuously,

w ith the oldest segm ent overw ritten by the new est one, until you
press the S T O P button. T he last n segm ents are then displayed.
A nother w ay to term inate the W rap sequence is w ith the A U T O
button: the acquisition is stopped w hen the tim e betw een tw o
consecutive triggers exceeds a preselected tim e-out value.
# # #
B LA N K P A G E
Your oscilloscope offers many distinctive and useful

techniques for triggering on, and capturing, data. These
range from simple edge trigger to the advanced, multipleinput SMART Trigger.
T hree triggering m odes are availab le: A U T O , N O R M A L, a nd
S IN G L E . A dd ition ally, S T O P le ts yo u cance l the acq uisitio n
process at an y tim e. A ll m odes are directly accessible throug h
their resp ective front-pa ne l b utto ns.
describes
triggering
operations, and
offers hints on how
to perform them.
Along with the

standard menu
descriptions, the
schematics show
the trigger-menu
structure, and the
diagrams explain
how the main
triggers work.
See also the trigger
chapters in the
Hands-On Guide.
M ak e trigger adjustm ents directly using the front-p ane l controls

and the trigg er m enus.
Rotate
for example to adjust the trigger level of the
single trigger source or, for Pattern Trigger, the highlighted trace.
TRIGGER SETUP
P ressing
gives you
access to ad vance d trigger
operatio ns, such as cha ngin g the
glitch w idth or th e ho ld-off tim eout,
w hich are p erform ed using the
T R IG G E R S E T U P m enu grou p,
Edge
represente d h ere schem atically ( F ig.
8 1 ). O nce yo u ha ve m odified the
trigger co nfiguratio n, th e cha nges are
stored intern ally in a n on-volatile
m em ory.
S ee C ha pter 6 for m ore abou t th ese

and the other trigg er contro ls.
SMART
Figure 81. Main Trigger Menus.
A variety of triggers for specific applications can be chosen

from the two main trigger groups, Edge and SMART Trigger.
In the Edge group of m enus, trigger conditions are defined by the

vertical trigger level, coupling, and slope. E dge triggers use relatively
sim ple selection criteria to characterize a signal. T hey are m ost
useful for triggering on sim ple signals (see next page and page
834).
T he S M A R T T rigger types a llo w add itiona l q ua lifications to be

set before a trigg er is g enera ted . T hese qu alificatio ns can b e
used to capture rare p hen om ena such as g litch es or spik es,
specific log ic states, or m issing bits. A q ualification m ight include
trigger gen eration on ly on a p ulse w id er or narro w er th an a userspecified lim it. O r it m ight req uire to tak e ano ther exam ple
three trigg er sources exceed ing specific le ve ls for a m inim um
tim e.
G enerally spe ak ing, S M A R T T rigger offers a varie ty of trigg er
qua lifications, b ased on the ability to
count a specified number of events
m easure tim e interva ls
recognize a pattern input
S M A R T explan ations start p ag e 89 a nd m enus 83 5.
, examples of which are illustrated

throughout this chapter, allow immediate on-screen recognition of
the current trigger conditions. There is a symbol for each Edge and
SMART Trigger. The more heavily-marked transitions on the
symbolic waveform indicate the slope on which the trigger will be
generated. And the symbols are annotated by information on the
trigger settings.
Selecting Edge and its menus (Fig. 82) causes the scope
to trigger whenever the selected signal source meets the
trigger conditions. The trigger source is defined by the
trigger level, coupling, slope or hold-off. Certain of these
basic conditions applicable for SMART Trigger are also
selected in Edge (see menu descriptions starting on page
834).
The symbol above represents an edge trigger, with positive slope
the highlighted edge defined as the trigger condition.
Edge
T rig g e r o n
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , E xt, E xt1 0 ,
or E xt5 depending on m odel,
L in e
C o u p lin g
D C , A C , L F R E J, H F R E J, H F
S lo p e
P o s, N e g ,
and W in d o w depending on m odel
H o ld o ff
O ff, T im e , E ve n ts
Figure 82. Edge Trigger Menus (see page 834).
AVAI L A B L E O N L Y
O N L C564, L C584 A N D
L C684 SERIES
T h e tr ig g e r s o u r c e m a y b e o n e o f th e f o llo w in g :
T he acquisitio n chan ne l sign a l (C H 1, C H 2, C H 3 or C H 4)
conditio ned for th e o vera ll vo ltage ga in, co up lin g, a nd
band w id th.
T he line voltage tha t po w ers the oscilloscope (LIN E ). T his
can be used to pro vide a stab le disp la y of sig nals
s ynchron ous w ith the p o w er line. C oup ling and le ve l are no t
rele vant for this selectio n.
T he signa l ap plied to the E X T B N C conn ector (E X T ). T his
can be used to trigger the oscilloscope w ithin a ra nge of
0.5 V on E X T and 5 V w ith E X T /10 as the trigg er source.
O r, on th e LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES: 1.2 V for E X T
and 6 V w ith E X T /5 as trigg er source.
In addition to the EX T B N C connector, acquisition channels that
are not used w hen channels are com bined for greater sam ple
rates or m em ory can be used for triggering (see C hapter 7,
C om bining C hannels).
Level defines the so urce voltage at w hich the trigg er circuit w ill
generate an e ve nt (a ch ange in th e inpu t sig na l th at satisfies the
trigger co nd itions). T he selected trigg er le ve l is associate d w ith
the chose n trigger so urce. N ote th at the trigg er le ve l is specified
in vo lts an d norm ally rem ains uncha nge d w hen the vertical ga in
or offset is m odified.
T he A m plitude an d R a nge of the trigg er le ve l are lim ited as
follo w s:
5 screen divisions w ith a ch ann el as the trig ger source
0.5 V , or 1.2 V for the LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES
w ith E X T as the trigger so urce
5 V w ith E X T /10, or 6 V w ith E X T /5 as th e trigger so urce
on th e LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES
none w ith LIN E as the trig ger source (zero crossin g is use d)
Once specified, Trigger Level and Coupling are the only

parameters that pass unchanged from trigger mode to trigger
mode for each trigger source.
T his is the p articu lar type of signa l cou plin g at the in put of the
trigger c ircuit. A s w ith the trigg er le ve l, the co uplin g can be
ind epe nde ntly se lecte d for each source. T hus, cha ng ing the
trigger so urce can ch ang e th e coup ling. T he typ es of coup lin g
that yo u can se lect are:
DC: A ll the signals frequency com ponents are coupled to the
trigger circuit for high-frequency bursts, or w here the use of AC
coupling w ould shift the effective trigger level.
AC: The signal is capacitively coupled, D C levels are rejected
and frequencies below 50 H z attenuated (10 H z for the LC564,
LC584, AND LC684 SERIES).
LF REJ: The signal is coupled through a capacitive high-pass
filter netw ork. D C is rejected, and signal frequencies below
50 kH z are attenuated (100 M H z for the LC564, LC584, AND
LC684 SERIES). For stable triggering on m edium - to highfrequency signals.
HF REJ: S ignals are D C -coupled to the trigger circuit. A low pass filter netw ork attenuates frequencies above 50 kH z. This
is used for triggering on low frequencies.
HF: This is to be used only w hen necessary for triggering on
high-frequency repetitive signals 300 M H z, w ith a m axim um
trigger frequency of 500 M H z (1 G H z for the LC564, LC584,
AND LC684 SERIES). H F is autom atically overridden and set to
AC w hen it is incom patible with other trigger characteristics
(and SM A R T Trigger). O nly one slope is available.
S lope determ ines the direction of the trigger voltage transition that is
used to generate a particular trigger event. Like coupling, the
selected slope is associated w ith the chosen trigger source.
W ithout hold-off, the tim e between each successive trigger event
would be lim ited only by the input signal, the coupling, and the
oscilloscopes bandwidth. H ow ever, som etim es a stable display of
com plex repetitive w aveform s can be achieved by placing a
condition on this tim e. T his is a hold-off, which can be expressed
either as a period of tim e or an event count. H old-off disables the
trigger circuit for a given period of tim e, or events (an event is the
num ber of occasions on which the trigger condition is m et) after the
last trigger occurred. T he trigger w ill again occur when the hold-off
has elapsed and the other specified conditions are m et. H old-off is
used to obtain a stable trigger for repetitive, com posite w aveform s.
For exam ple, if the num ber or duration of sub-signals is known, they
can be disabled by choosing an appropriate hold-off value.
T h is is th e m in im u m tim e b e tw e e n trig g e rs (F ig . 8 3 ). A
trig g e r is g e n e ra te d w h e n th e trig g e r c o n d itio n is m e t a fte r
th e s e le c te d h o ld -o ff d e la y fro m th e la s t trig g e r. T h e tim in g
fo r th e d e la y is in itia liz e d a n d s ta rte d o n e a c h trig g e r.
Trigger Source: Positive Slope

T rigger
E vent
T rigger
E vent
T rigger
E vent
Trigger can occur
H old-off tim e
H old-off tim e
Generated Trigger
T rigger initiates
hold-off tim er
T rigger initiates
hold-off tim er
Figure 83. Edge Trigger with Hold-off by Time. The bold edges on the trigger source indicate a positive slope. The
broken upward-pointing arrows show potential triggers that would occur were other conditions met, while the bold
ones show where triggers actually occur when the hold-off time has been exceeded.
This example represents a positive edge trigger

level of 0.008 V and a hold-off time of 50 ns.
H old-off by events is initialized and started on each trigger

(F ig . 8 4 ). A trigger is generated w hen the trigger condition is m et
after the selected num ber of events from the last trigger. An event is
defined as the num ber of tim es the trigger condition is m et after the
last trigger. For exam ple, if the num ber selected is two, as it is in
Figure 84, the trigger w ill occur on the third event. From 1 to
99 999 999 events can be selected.

T rigger
E vent
E vent
#1
E vent
#2
T rigger
E vent
E vent
#1
E vent
#2
T rigger
E vent
Trigger can occur
H old-off by 2 events
H old-off by 2 events
G enerated T rigger
T rigger initiates
hold-off tim er
T rigger
initiates
hold-off
tim er
Figure 84. Edge Trigger with Hold-off by Events (two events in this example). The bold edges on the trigger
source indicate a positive slope. The broken, upward-pointing arrows indicate potential triggers, while the bold
ones show where triggers actually occur after the hold-off expires.
This example indicates a hold-off of 37 events.
O N L C564, L C584 , A N D
L C684 SERIES
T he W indow T rigg er (F ig . 8 5 ) a llo w s th e d e fin itio n o f a

w in d o w re g io n w h o s e b o u n d a rie s e x te n d a b o v e a n d b e lo w
th e s e le c te d trig g e r le v e l. A trigger event occurs w h en the
signa l lea ves th is w ind o w reg io n in e ither direction an d passes
into the up per or lo w er regio n. T he ne xt trigger w ill occur if the
signa l a gain p asses into the w indo w reg ion . F or a trig ger to
occur, the tim e that th e sig na l spe nds w ithin th e w ind ow m ust be
at least 0.5 ns.
Upper Region
WINDOW REGION
Trigger Level
Lower Region
Time
Triggers
Figure 85. Edge Window Trigger: triggers when the signal leaves the window region.
This example shows the trigger level and

the range of the window region.
SMART Trigger types allow additional qualifications before a

trigger is generated. Depending on the oscilloscope model, it
may include triggers adapted for glitches, intervals, abnormal
signals, TV signals, state- or edge-qualified events, dropouts,
patterns, runts, and slew rate.
G enerally, a glitch is a pulse that is m uch faster than the observed

waveform . G litch Trigger (Fig. 86 ) is used to capture narrow pulses
less than or equal to, or greater than or equal to, a given tim e lim it.
The example above shows a pulse width of 10 ns.
Glitch
T rig g e r o n
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , E xt, E xt1 0 ,
o r E xt5 d e p e n d in g o n m o d e l,
P a tte rn
C o u p lin g
D C , A C , L F R E J, H F R E J
At end of
Neg, Pos
p u lse
W id th : less
than or equal
to
O ff, T im e
W id th :
greater than
or equal to
O ff, T im e
Figure 86. Glitch Trigger Menus (see page 836).
D igital electronics circuits norm ally use an internal clock. For testing
purposes a glitch can be defined as any pulse of w idth sm aller than
the clock period or half-period. G litch Trigger has a broad range of
applications in digital and analog electronic developm ent, AT E, E M I,
telecom m unications, and m agnetic m edia studies.
T his G litch T rigger selects a m axim um pulse w idth (F ig. 87). It

is gen erate d o n th e selected edg e w h en the pulse w idth is less
than or eq ua l to the se lected w idth . T he tim ing for the w id th is
initia lize d a nd restarted on th e o ppos ite slop e to that selected.
O n the LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES, g litches as short as
600 ps ca n be trig gere d on , an d w idths of 600 p s to 2 0 s ca n b e
selected . O n the o ther m odels, w idths of betw een 2.5 ns and 20
s can be se lecte d, b ut typ ically trig gering w ill occur o n g litch es
1 ns w ide.
Trigger Source
G litch
W idth
Trigger can occur
W idth
S elected
G litch
W idth
W idth
S elected
Generated Trigger
Figure 87. Glitch Trigger: here on a pulse width less than or equal to the
width selected. The broken upward arrow indicates a potential trigger, while
the bold one shows where the actual trigger occurs.
S electin g G litch an d setting w idth co nd itions can also ena ble

the exclusion of events th at fall in or o ut of a se lecte d ran ge of
w idth. T his is an exclusion trigg er (F ig. 88). O nly p ulses o utside
(less-than-or-eq ual-to or gre ater-th an-or-eq ua l-to) th is rang e w ill
generate a trig ger e ve nt. A lternatively, yo u m a y decide to trigger
only o n th ose p ulses in the ran ge itse lf and exclude all th ose
outsid e it. T he tim ing for the w idth is in itialized an d restarte d on
the slope opp osite the selected edg e. W idths of the sam e valu es
as for G litch T rigger can be se lecte d (see previous page).
Figure 88. Exclusion Trigger. In this example, only pulses outside the
boundaries of the width range, those of 25.0 ns or 27.5 ns in length, will
be captured. Note the OR in the width menu, which changes to &
when triggering only within the range.
E xclusio n T riggers allo w yo u to specify a sig na ls n orm al w idth or

perio d. W ith the scope instructe d to ig nore the norm ally sha pe d
signa ls an d trigger only on a bnorm al on es, it c an con tinu ous ly
search for circuit failures.
W hereas G litch T rigger p erform s over the w idth of a p ulse,

Interval T rigg er (F ig . 8 9 ) p erform s over the w idth of an interval.
A n interva l correspon ds to a th e sig na l duration (th e p eriod)
separating tw o co nsecutive edg es of the sam e polarity: positive
to pos itive edg e; n ega tive to n ega tive edg e. Interval T rigger
captures intervals that are shorter or longer than a given tim e lim it. In
addition, a width range can be defined to capture any interval that
falls in or out of the specified range an Exclusion T rigger by
Interval.
Interval
T rig g e r o n
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , E xt, E xt1 0 ,
o r E xt5 d e p e n d in g o n m o d e l,
P a tte rn
C o u p lin g
B e tw e e n
Neg, Pos
edges
In te rva l:
l ess than or
O ff, T im e
equal to
In te rva l:
greater than
or equal to
O ff, T im e
Figure 89. Interval Trigger Menus (see page 838).
Interval T rigg er is h elpfu l for determ inin g m issing c yc les or

transitions, a nd for ignoring un w anted signa l reflections.
For this Interval T rigger, generated on a tim e interval sm aller than

the one selected, a m axim um interval between two like edges of the
sam e slope positive, for exam ple is chosen (F ig . 8 1 0 ). T he
trigger is generated on the second (positive) edge if it occurs within
the selected interval. T he tim ing for the interval is initialized and
restarted w henever the selected edge occurs. Interva ls of betw ee n
10 ns a nd 2 0 s (2 ns a nd 20 s for the LC564, LC584, AND LC684
SERIES ) can be selected.
Inte rva l W idth
Interval
W idth
Trigger can occur

S elected
Interval
S elected
Interval
Generated Trigger
Figure 810. Interval Trigger that triggers when the interval width is smaller
than the selected interval. The broken, upward-pointing arrow indicates a
potential trigger, while the bold one shows where the actual trigger occurs
on the positive edge within the selected interval.
This example shows a positive slope

and interval of 1.99 ms selected.
F or this Interval T rigg er, gen erated on a n interva l larger than the
one se lecte d, a m inim um interval betw een tw o ed ges of the
sam e slope is selected (F ig. 8 11). T he trigg er is g enera ted on
the secon d e dge if it occurs after the selected interva l. T he
tim ing for the interva l is initia lize d a nd restarted w hen eve r th e
selected ed ge occurs. In tervals of be tw ee n 1 0 n s an d 20 s (2 ns
and 20 s for the LC564, LC584. AND LC684 SERIES ) can be
In terval W idth
Interval
W idth
Trigger can occur
S electe d
Inte rva l
S elected
Interval
Generated Trigger
selected .
Figure 811. Interval Trigger that triggers when the interval width is larger
than the selected interval. The broken upward-pointing arrow indicates a
potential trigger, while the bold one shows where the actual trigger occurs
on the positive edge after the selected interval.
This example shows a positive slope and

interval of 258 ns selected.
This Interval T rigger is g enerated w he ne ver a n interva l be tw ee n

tw o e dges of th e sam e slope falls w ithin a se lecte d rang e (F ig .
8 1 2 ). T he tim ing for the interval is initia lized an d restarte d
w hen ever the selected e dge occurs. Interva ls of betw een 10 ns
and 20 s (2 ns a nd 20 s for the LC564, LC584, AND LC684
SERIES ) can be se lecte d.
Interval
W idth
In te rval W id th
Trigger can occur
Range
0
T1
T2
Range
0
T1
T2
Generated Trigger
Figure 812. Interval Trigger that triggers when the interval falls within the
selected range: T1 = the ranges lower time limit; T2 = its upper limit. The
broken upward-pointing arrow indicates a potential trigger, while the bold
one indicates where the actual trigger occurs on the positive edge within
the selected range.
This example shows a positive slope,

range limits of 10.0 ns and 5.4 s,
selected.
This Interval Trigger is generated whenever an interval between two

edges of the same slope falls outside a selected range (Fig. 813). The
trigger is generated on the second edge if it occurs after the selected
interval range. The timing for the interval is initialized and restarted
whenever the selected edge occurs. Intervals of between 10 ns and 20 s
(2 ns and 20 s for the LC564, LC584, AND LC584 SERIES ) can be
selected.
Interval
W idth
Inte rval W idth
Trigger can occur
Range
0
T1
T2
Range
0
T1
T2
Generated Trigger
Figure 813. Interval Trigger that triggers when the interval falls outside the
selected range: T1 = the ranges lower time limit; T2 = its upper limit. The
broken upward-pointing arrow indicates a potential trigger, while the bold
one shows where the actual trigger occurs, on the positive edge outside the
selected range.
This example shows a positive slope, and

range limits of 10.0 ns and 347.5 ns
selected. OR means that intervals above
or below the range have been targeted.
P attern T rigger (F ig . 8 1 4 ) e nab les trigg erin g on a log ical

com bination of the five inp uts C H 1 , C H 2, C H 3, C H 4 a nd E X T .
T his com bination, ca lled a pa ttern, is defined as the lo gica l A N D
of trigger states. A trig ger state is e ith er high or lo w : h igh w h en a
trigger so urce is gre ater than the trig ger le vel (threshold ) a nd lo w
w hen less th an it (F ig . 8 1 5 ). F or exam ple, a p attern cou ld b e
defined as prese nt w h en the trigg er state for C H 1 is h igh , C H 2
is lo w , an d E X T is irrelevant (X or d on t care). If an y one of these
conditio ns is no t m et, the pa ttern state is considere d abse nt.
H old-off lim its from 10 ns to 20 s (2 n s 20 s for the LC564,
LC584, AND LC684 SERIES ) or from 1 to 99 999 999 events can be
Pattern
T rig g e r o n
E xitin g, E n te rin g
P a tte rn
w ith
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , E xt
C o u p lin g
L e ve l
L , H , X , (L e ve l va lu e )
H o ld o ff
O ff, T im e , E vts
selected.
Figure 814. Pattern Trigger Menus (see page 843).
P attern T rigger can be used in dig ita l desig n for the testing of
com plex lo gic inp uts or d ata tra nsm ission buses.
T hreshold
CH 1
H igh
Low
T hreshold
CH 2
H igh
Low
Pattern 1H*2L
Generated Trigger (Pattern Entering)
Generated Trigger (Pattern Exiting)
Figure 815. Pattern Trigger: triggers when all pattern conditions are met.
Bold, upward-pointing arrows show where triggers occur.
Information summarizing the pattern setup is displayed.
O nce the pattern is defined, one of tw o transitions can be used to

generate the trigger. W hen the pattern begins, called entering the
pattern, a trigger can be generated. A lternatively, a trigger can be
generated w hen the pattern ends, called exiting the pattern.
W ith pattern triggering, as in single source, either of these
qualifications can be selected: H old-off for 10 ns up to 20 s (2 ns
20 s for the LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES ), or H old-off for 1 to
99 999 999 events.
W hen set to Pattern T rigger, the oscilloscope alw ays checks the
logic A N D of the defined input logic states. H ow ever, w ith the help
of de M organ's laws, the pattern becom es far m ore generalized.
C onsider the im portant exam ple of the B i-level or W indow P attern
Trigger. B i-level im plies the expectation of a single-shot signal on
w hich the am plitude w ill go in either direction outside a know n
range. To set up a B i-level Pattern trigger, connect the signal to tw o
inputs: C hannels 1 and 2 or any other pair that can be triggered on.
For exam ple, the threshold of C H 1 could be set to +100 m V and
that of C H 2 at 200 m V . T he B i-level T rigger w ill occur if the
oscilloscope triggers on C H 1 for any pulse greater than +100 m V,
or on C H 2 for any pulse less than 200 m V. For im proved
precision, the gains of the two channels should be at the sam e
setting.
In Boolean notation w e can w rite:
T rigger = C H 1 + C H 2
that is, trigger w hen entering the pattern C H 1 = high O R C H 2 =
low .
B y de M organ's theorem this is equivalent to:
T rigger = C H 1 C H 2
that is, trigger w hen exiting the pattern C H 1 = low AN D C H 2 =
high. T his configuration can be easily program m ed.
The possibility of setting the threshold individually for each channel
extends this m ethod so that it becom es a m ore general W indow
T rigger: in order to trigger the input pulse am plitude m ust lie w ithin
or outside a given arbitrary w indow .
P attern Trigger has been designed to allow a choice of the trigger
point. B y choosing 1L*2H entering , the trigger w ill occur at the
m om ent the pattern 1L*2H becom es true.
In th e case of Q ua lified T riggers (F ig. 816), a signa ls tra nsition

abo ve or be lo w a g iven le ve l its valid ation s erves as an
enab ling (q ua lifying) con ditio n for a second sig nal tha t is the
source of the trigger.
T w o Q ua lifie d T riggers are a va ilab le: S ta te-Q ua lifie d, w h ere the
am plitude of the first sign al m ust rem ain in the desired state until
the trigger occurs; and E d ge-Q ua lifie d, for w hich the valida tio n is
sufficient a nd no a dd itiona l re quirem ent is place d o n the first
signa l (for the sep arate , Q ua lifie d F irst T rigger, se e pa ge 824).
A Q ua lifie d T rigger can occur im m ediately after the va lid ation or
w ith in a set tim e after it. O r it can occur follo w ing a
predeterm ined tim e dela y or num ber of pote ntial trig ger e ve nts.
T he tim e dela y or trigger cou nt is restarte d w ith e very va lid ation.
Qualified
Qualified
By
E dge |S tate qualifier
By
E dge |S tate qualifier
T rigger on
1|2|3|4|E xt|E xt10

or E xt5 depending on m odel
T rigger on
1|2|3|4|E xt|E xt10

O nly after
1|2|3|4|E xt|E xt10

|P attern
A fter
1|2|3|4|E xt|E xt10

|P attern
G oes and
stays
A bove|B elow
value
H as gone
A bove|B elow
value
W ithin
W ait
O ff|T im e < | T im e> | E vts
W ithin
W ait
O ff|T im e < | T im e> | E vts
Figure 816. State- and Edge-Qualified Trigger Menus (see pages 840 and 841).

Q ualified T riggers offer the cho ice of ge nerating a trigger w he n a
selected pattern is present or a bsent. A s w ith P attern T rigger,
the p attern is d efined as a log ical A N D com bination of trigger
states tha t are hig h or lo w : high w he n a trigg er source is greater
than the se lecte d trigger le ve l; lo w w hen it is less. F or exam ple,
a pattern m ight b e d efined a s presen t w h en the trigg er states for
C han nels 1 an d 2 are h ig h a nd E X T is lo w . If an y o ne of th ese
conditio ns is no t m et, the pa ttern state is considere d abse nt.
Q ualified T riggers a llo w a n a dditio na l qu alification o nce th e
selected pattern sta te occurs. F or exam ple: w a it for 10 ns u p to
20 s, trigger on C H 1 to the 99 9 9 9 9 99 th e ve nt. T he pa ttern is
used to qu alify the trig ger w ith out actua lly g enera tin g it.
T riggering w ill occur w hen an other s ign al, the trig ger source,
m eets its trigger con ditio n w h ile th e p attern is prese nt. T he
trigger so urce itse lf is not allo w ed in the pattern.
T ypica l a pp licatio ns can b e found w here ver tim e viola tio ns occur,
such as in m icro-processor debu gg ing, or te lecom m unicatio ns.
S tate-Q ualified T rigg er w ith W ait (F ig. 81 7) is determ ined b y the

param eters of T im e or the n um ber of E vents:
Time determines a delay from the start of the desired pattern. After the
delay (timeout) and while the pattern is present, a trigger can occur.
The timing for the delay is restarted when the selected pattern begins.
Events determines a minimum number of events of the trigger source.

An event is generated when a trigger source meets its trigger
conditions. On the selected event of the trigger source and while the
pattern is present, a trigger can occur. The count is initialized and
started whenever the selected pattern begins, and continues while the
pattern remains. When the selected count is reached, the trigger
occurs.
This example shows a State-Qualified-withtime-Wait trigger: positive slope, 2 ns delay,

goes and stays Above 24 mV.
Qualifier: Pattern Present
Trigger can occur
W ait
W ait
Generated Trigger
Figure 817. State-Qualified by Wait: Trigger after timeout. The broken upward-pointing arrows
indicate potential triggers, while the bold arrows show where the actual triggers occurs.
A s the abo ve figure illustrates, a trigg er is ge nerated on a risin g

edge w he ne ver the p attern is asserte d (pattern present) a nd the
w ait tim eout h as expire d. T he tim eout is activated or disa bled
once th e p attern is asserted or a bsent, respective ly.
This example shows an Edge-Qualified-with-event Wait trigger on CH

2 (described next page): positive slope, wait of 109 events, level of
2.50 V, and pattern present as indicated.
Like its State-Q ualified equivalent, Edge-Q ualified w ith W ait

(Fig. 818) is conditioned by either T im e or Events:
Time determines a delay from the start of the desired pattern. After
the delay (timeout) and before the end of the pattern, a trigger can
occur. The timing for the delay is restarted when the selected
pattern begins.
Events determines a minimum number of events for the trigger
source. An event is generated when a trigger source meets its
trigger conditions. A trigger can occur on the selected event of the
trigger source and before the end of the pattern. The count is
initialized and started whenever the selected pattern begins. It
continues while the pattern remains. When the selected count is
reached, the trigger occurs.
Figure 818. Edge-Qualified by Wait: Trigger after timeout. The broken upward-
Qualifier: Pattern Present
Trigger can occur
S elected
T im e
S elected
T im e
Generated Trigger
pointing arrows indicate potential triggers, while the bold ones show where
the actual trigger occurs.
Qualified First Trigger (Fig. 819) is similar to the Qualified Triggers,

and presents exactly the same menus (see page 844). Qualified First is
intended to be used exclusively in Sequence Mode to speed up the

trigger rate. With Qualified First, a single valid trigger is sufficient to
acquire a full sequence. Other than in Sequence Mode, Qualified First
is identical to the Qualified Triggers.
Qual First
By
E d g e, S ta te q u a lifie r
T rig g e r o n
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , E xt, E xt1 0
A fte r
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , E xt, E xt1 0 ,
P a tte rn
Has gone
A b o ve , B e lo w
va lu e
W ith in
W a it
O ff, T im e < , T im e > , E vts
Figure 819. Qualified First Trigger Menus (see page 844).
In D ata Storage, the index pulse can be defined as the qualifier

signal and the servo gate signal as the trigger source.
(Edge-)Qualified Trigger
Qualifier
Trigger
DT
S egm ent 1
DT
S egm ent 2
S egm ent N
Qualified First Trigger
Qualifier
Trigger
DT
S egm ent 1
S egm ent 2
DT
S egm ent N
Figure 20. Comparing Qualified (top) and Qualified First (bottom) Triggers. Whereas the (Edge-)
Qualified Trigger requires that each of the segments be qualified by a valid condition in Sequence
Mode, Qualified First Trigger needs only a single valid condition to qualify a full sequence of
segments. Note that the inter-segment deadtime (DT) is much shorter with Qualified First, which is
used only in Sequence Mode.
This example shows Qualified First Trigger.
A special k ind of E dg e-Q ualified T rigg er, T V T rigger (F ig. 821)

allo w s stab le trigg erin g o n stan dard or user-define d com posite
video s ign als, o n a sp ecific line of a num erically odd or e ven
field. T V T rigger can be used on P A L, S E C A M , or N T S C
s ystem s.
A com posite vid eo signa l on th e trigger inp ut is an alyze d to
provide a signa l for the beg in nin g of the chosen field an y,
odd or e ven a nd for a sig na l at the be gin ning of each line .
T he field sig na l pro vides the starting transition , an d the
beg inn ings of lin e p ulses are counted to a llo w th e fina l trigger on
the chose n lin e. E ach fie ld, the num ber of fields, the field rate,
interlace factor, a nd n um ber of lines p er p icture m ust be
specified, althou gh there are stan dard se ttings for the m ost
com m on types of T V sign als. T V T rigger can also function in a
sim ple an y-lin e m ode.
TV
T V sig n a l o n
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , E xt, E xt 1 0 ,
# o f fie ld s
1, 2, 4, 8
T V typ e
S ta n d a rd , C u sto m
a s: 6 2 5 /5 0 /2 :1 , 5 2 5 /6 0 /2 :1
(S tandard)
a s: L in e # , H z,
In te rla cin g # :#
(C ustom )
T rig g e r o n
L in e # , F ie ld # , a n y
Figure 821. TV Trigger Menus (see page 839 ).
Because most TV systems have more than two fields, the enhanced field-counting
capability (FIELDLOCK) allows the oscilloscope to trigger consistently on a
chosen line within a field of the signal. The field-numbering system is relative, in
that the oscilloscope cannot distinguish between fields 1, 3, 5, or 7 (or 2, 4, 6, or 8)
in an absolute way.
For each of the characteristics the following remarks apply:
625/50/2:1 (PAL and SECAM systems)

This setting should be used for most of the standard 50-field signals. The
lines may be selected in the range 1 to 626 where line 626 is identical to line
1.
Number of fields: 4 is most useful for color PAL signals; 8 for SECAM
signals.
525/60/2:1 (NTSC systems)

This setting should be used for standard 60-field NTSC signals. The lines
can be selected in the range 1 to 1051, where line 1051 is identical to line 1.
Number of fields: 4 is most useful for US-type NTSC systems.
?/50/?, ?/60/?
In order to allow maximum flexibility, no line-counting convention is used.
The line count should be thought of as a line-synchronizing pulse count. It
includes the transitions of the equalizing pulses. For certain extreme cases,
the field transition recognition will no longer work, and only the any line
mode will be available.
The enhanced field-counting capability cannot be used for RIS acquisitions.

Composite video signals must have negative-going synch to be decoded correctly.
This example TV Trigger shows a trigger on Line 338 of an even field of

a PAL/SECAM signal on CH 1. The 25 in parentheses is the number
of the line selected in Field 1.
D ropout T rigger (F ig. 8 22 ) pro vides trigg erin g w h ene ver the
signa l d isapp ears for a set p erio d of tim e. T he trigger is
generated at the end of the tim e-out period follo w ing the last
trigger-source transition , as sho w n in the figure on the n ext pag e
( F ig. 8 23). T im e-outs of betw ee n 25 n s an d 2 0 s (2 n s an d 2 0 s
for the LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES) can be se lected .
Dropout
T rig g e r a fte r
tim e o u t if n o e d g e
o ccu rs o n
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , E xt, E xt1 0 ,
o r E xt5 depending on
m odel
W ith slo p e
P o sitive , N e g a tive
W ith in
T im e
Figure 822. Dropout Trigger Menus (see page 842)
D ropout T rigger is useful for detecting interruptions in data stream s

such as netw ork hang-ups and m icroprocessor crashes. A typical
application is on the last norm al interval of a signal that has
disappeared com pletely. T his is essentially a single-shot application,
usually with a pre-trigger delay. R IS acquisition is not useful here
because the tim ing of the trigger tim eout is insufficiently correlated to
the input channel signals.
Trigger Source
Trigger can occur
W ait
T im e-out
W ait
T im e-out
Generated Trigger
Figure 823. Dropout Trigger: occurs when the time-out has expired. The bold upward-pointing arrows show where
the trigger occurs.
This Dropout Trigger example shows a wait

time-out of 25 ns.
O N L C564, L C584, A N D
L C684 SERIES
T he R unt T rigger ( F ig. 8 24 ) is program m ed to occur w h en a

pulse crosses a first thresho ld line an d fa ils to cross a second
threshold lin e b efore re-crossin g th e first (F ig. 8 25). Y o u can
select b oth thresho lds w ith in a rang e of 60 0 p s to 20 s . O th er
defining con ditio ns for this trigger are the ed ge (trigg ers on th e
slope opp osite to that se lected) an d th e run t w idth.
R unt
T rig g e r o n
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , E xt, E xt5
C o u p lin g
W ith
L e ve l: u p p e r le ve l,
lo w e r le ve l
W id th : ru n t < = , ru n t > =
E d g e : N e g a tive , P o sitive
Figure 824. Runt Trigger Menus (see page 845).
R unt T rigger is particularly helpful for detecting m eta-stable

conditions in digital design.
U pper T hreshold Level
Trigger Source
Low er T hreshold Level
Generated Trigger (Positive Slope)
Generated Trigger (Negative Slope)
Figure 825. Runt Trigger: triggers when a pulse crosses the first threshold but not the second before
re-crossing the first marked by the bold, upward-pointing arrows.
This example sows a positive edge (Neg was selected to obtain

this), the difference between the two threshold levels (veto), and the
runt width.
AVAI L A B L E O N L Y O N
L C564, LC584, A N D L C684
S ERIES
S le w R ate T rigger (F ig. 8 26) activates a trigger w hen the risin g

or falling edg e of a p ulse crosses tw o thresho ld leve ls: an up per
and a low er level (F ig. 82 7). T he pu lse e dge m ust cross the
thresholds faster or slo w er tha n a se lecte d p erio d of tim e. Y ou
can select both thresh olds w ithin a ra nge of 600 p s to 20 s.
S le w R a te
T rig g e r o n
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , E xt, E xt5
C o u p lin g
W ith
d V : u p p e r le ve l, lo w e r
le ve l
dT: dT <=, dT >=
S lo p e : N e g a tive , P o sitive
Figure 826. Slew Rate Trigger Menus (see page 846)
S le w R ate T rigger is useful for m easuring risetim e or falltim e in

dig ita l d esign , m inim izing reflectio ns.
Trigger Source
U pper
T hreshold Level
dV
dT
dT
dT
dT
Low er T hreshold
Level
Generated Trigger
Figure 827. Slew Rate Trigger: occurs when a rising or falling edge crosses two thresholds (dV)
outside a selected time range (dT), marked by the bold, upward-pointing arrow.
This Slew Rate example is the same as the Edge Trigger symbol,
but shows lower (0.556 V) and upper (188 m) threshold levels,
and a time range ( 73.6 ns).
Press
to access selection of:
Trigger source,
Coupling for each source,
Slope (positive or negative), and
Hold-off by time or events.
U se this to select Edge (for an explanation of Edge T rigger, refer to

page 83).
T his selects the trigg er source.
T his selects the trigg er coup ling for the current source.
U se this to p lace the trigg er po int on the Pos-itive or Neg-ative

slope of the se lected source. LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES
ONLY: T h is m enu also offers Window, w hich allo w s trigg erin g
w hen ever the in put s ign al exits a sp ecified vo lta ge w in do w (refer
to pre vious p age). W hen this is selecte d, a w in do w s ize m enu
becom es availab le, w h ich allo w s the w indo w to be define d
aroun d a trigg er le ve l set w ith th e L E V E L k nob.
T his allo w s yo u to disa ble th e oscilloscop e's trig ger circuit for a
definab le period of tim e or num ber of events after a trigg er e ven t
occurs. T he hold-off can be d efined as a period of Time or a
num ber of Evts (events are c han ges in th e inpu t sig na l th at
satisfy trigg er cond itions). T he m enu k nob is used to vary th e
hold off value. T im e values in th e ran ge 10 ns to 2 0 s, or 2 ns to
20 s for the LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES m a y b e entered .
E vent co unts in th e ran ge 1 to 99 999 99 9 are allo w ed.
Press
to access the various SMART Trigger types:
Glitch (see pa ge 8-36)

Exclusion (see p age 8-36)
Interval (see p age 83 8)
TV (see page 8 39)
State- and Edge-Qualified (see pa ges 84 0, 84 1)
Dropout (see pag e 8 42)
Pattern (see pa ge 8-43)
Qual First (see pag e 8-4 4)
Runt LC564, LC584, AND LC 684 SERIES (see page 8 45)
Slew Rate LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES (see page 8
46).
U se this to select SMART.
T his prim ary m enu accesses the S M A R T T R IG G E R m enu group

for choosing the typ e of S M A R T T rigger requ ired from the typ e
secondary m enu. D escriptions of th e typ e a nd other associate d
S M A R T m enu selections start next p ag e.
U se this to select Glitch (for an explanation of G litch T rigger, refer to

page 8 9 ).
Exclusion Trigger is also set using these m enus refer to

page 811.

U se this to select the trigger source.
U se this to select the trigger coupling. H F coupling is not available.
U se this to define the test on either Pos-itive or Neg-ative pulses.
On instructs the instrum ent to trigger if the pulse is less than or equal
to the value defined here. T he value can be adjusted w ith the
associated m enu knob, while the test can be turned on or off by
pressing the m enu button, and used in com bination w ith width .
You can enter width values in the range 2.5 ns to 20 s (600 ps to
20 s for the LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES).
On instructs the instrum ent to trigger if the pulse is greater than or

equal to the value defined here. T he value can be set using the
associated m enu knob. T he test can be turned on or off with the
m enu button, and used in com bination w ith w idth . T he tw o w idth
lim its are com bined to target glitches within (&) a certain range if
the w idth value is greater than the w idth value. O R indicates
that glitches above or below this range w ill be targeted. W idth values
in the range 2.5 ns to 20 s (600 ps to 20 s for the LC564, LC584, AND
LC684 SERIES ) can be entered.
W hen Pattern is selected from trigger on in G litch m ode (and also

in Interval m ode see next page), the instrum ent triggers on the
logic AN D of up to five sources.
U se this to select Glitch (for an explanation of G litch T rigger, refer to

page 89).
U se this to select Pattern.
U se this to select pattern Present or Absent.
U se this to trigger if the pattern is present or absent for less than or

equal to the tim e value defined here. T he value can be adjusted with
the associated m enu knob, and the test com m uted to by pressing
the corresponding m enu button. You can enter w idth values in the
range 2.5 ns to 20 s (600 ps to 20 s for the LC564, LC584, AND LC684
SERIES ).
T o trigger if the pattern is present or absent for greater than or equal

to the tim e value defined here. T he value can be adjusted, and the
test com m uted to as per width . You can enter width values
in the range 2.5 ns to 20 s (600 ps to 20 s for the LC564, LC584, AND
LC684 SERIES ).
U se this to select Interval ( for an explanation of Interval Trigger,

refer to page 812 ).
U se this to select the trigger source. W hen Pattern is selected, the

instrum ent triggers on the logic A N D of up to five sources, and
displays m enus as in G litch-Pattern m ode (see previous page).
U se this to define the interval between two adjacent Pos-itive or

Neg-ative edges.
Set this to trigger if the interval is less than or equal to the value
defined here, which can be adjusted using the associated knob. T he
test can be turned on or off with the corresponding m enu button, and
can be used in com bination w ith the interval test. You can enter
interval values in the range 10 ns to 20 s (2 ns to 20 s for the LC564,
LC584, AND LC684 SERIES ).
Set this to trigger if the interval is greater than or equal to the value
defined here, which can be adjusted using the associated m enu
knob T he test can be turned on or off using the corresponding m enu
button, and can be used in com bination with the interval test. T he
two interval lim its are com bined to select intervals w ithin (&) a
range if the interval value is greater than the interval value.
O R they can be com bined to select intervals on either side of this
range. You can enter interval values in the range 10 ns to 20 s (2 ns
to 20 s for the LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES).
U se this to select TV ( for an explanation of TV Trigger, refer to page

826 ).
U se this to define the field num ber: odd or even.
U se this to select Standard or Custom T V decoding.
W hen Standard is chosen, this selects 625/50/2:1 (P AL SEC A M )

or 525/60/2:1 (N T SC ) standards.
W hen Custom is selected, this specifies the num ber of lines and
cycles, and setting the interlacing factor for non-standard T V signals.
U se this to select the line and field on w hich to trigger. W hen it is not
im portant that a line be defined (done using the lower m enu knob)
Field changes to any to allow triggering on an unknown line.
U se this to select Qualified (for an explanation of State-Q ualified

Trigger, refer to page 821).
U se this to select State.
U se this to select the trigger source. O ther conditions for this source,
such as slope and hold-off, m ay be set up using Edge T rigger (see
page 834).
U se this to select the qualifier source. O ther conditions for this

source, such as slope and hold-off, m ay be set up using Edge
Trigger (see page 834). Selecting Pattern as the qualifier source
offers the choice of pattern Present or Absent in the m enu below.
U se this to select the qualifier threshold by m eans of the associated

knob, and using the m enu button to select w hether the qualifier
signal w ill be valid Above or Below that threshold. S electing Pattern
as the qualifier source in the m enu above offers the choice of pattern
Present or Absent.
U se this to specify the tim e lim it (within T<) for accepting the
trigger event. Alternatively, to specify how m uch tim e (wait T>) or
how m any trigger events (wait Evs) should be allow ed before the
acquisition is taken on the next trigger event. T he qualifier signal
m ust rem ain valid until the final trigger has been received. T he tim e
value can be chosen in the range 10 ns20 s (2 ns to 20 s for the
LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES ). T he trigger event count can be
chosen in the range 1 to 99 999 999.
U se this to select the Qualified trigger type (for an explanation of

Edge-Q ualified T rigger, refer to page 823).
U se this to select Edge.
page 834).

Trigger (see page 834). Selecting Pattern as the qualifier source
offers the choice of pattern Present or Absent in the m enu below.
U se this to adjust the qualifier threshold and determ ine whether the
qualifier signal is valid once it has gone above or below that
threshold. Selecting Pattern as the qualifier source in the m enu
above offers the choice of pattern Present or Absent.
U se this to specify the tim e lim it (within T<) for accepting the
trigger event. O r, use it to specify the delay in tim e (wait T>) or
num ber of trigger events (wait Evs) after a valid transition has
occurred. A trigger can only be accepted after this delay. Any
subsequent qualifier event restarts this count. T he tim e value can be
chosen in the range 10 ns to 20 s (2 ns to 20 s for the LC564, LC584,
AND LC684 SERIES). T he trigger event count can be chosen in the
range 1 to 99 999 999.
U se this to select Dropout (for an explanation of D ropout T rigger,

refer to page 842).
U se this to select the trigger source .
U se this to define w hether the m easurem ent starts on a Positive or

Negative slope of the trigger signal.
For defining the tim e-out value in the range 25 ns to 20 s (2 ns to

20 s for the LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES).
U se this to select Pattern (for an explanation of Pattern T rigger, refer

to page 817).
U se this to select Entering for the instrum ent to trigger when the
pattern starts being true , and Exiting for triggering w hen it stops
being true .
U se this to select the channel to be m odified using the lower m enus

corresponding m enu buttons.
U se this to select the desired coupling. H F coupling is not available.
T his is for m odifying level values, using the associated knob and the
corresponding m enu button to choose L (low), H (high), or X (don't
care).
U se this to disable the trigger circuit for a definable period of tim e or

num ber of events after a trigger event (a change in the input signal
that satisfies the trigger conditions). W hen not turned off, holdoff can
be defined as a period of Time or a num ber of Evts (events). U se
the associated m enu knob to vary the holdoff value. You can enter
tim e holdoff values in the range 10 ns to 20 s (2 ns to 20 s for the
LC564, LC584A, and LC684). Event counts in the range 1 to 99 999
999 are allowed.
U se this to select Qual First (for an explanation of Q ualified First

U se this to select Edge or State.
page 834).

Trigger (see page 834). Pattern selected as the qualifier source
determ ines whether the pattern should be Present or Absent.
T o adjust the qualifier threshold and determ ine whether the qualifier
signal is valid once it has gone above or below that threshold.
Selecting Pattern as the qualifier source in the m enu above offers
the choice of pattern Present or Absent.
T o specify the tim e lim it (wait T<) for accepting the trigger event.
O r, to specify the delay in tim e (wait T>) or num ber of trigger events
(wait Evs) after a valid transition has occurred. A trigger can only
be accepted after this delay. A ny subsequent qualifier event restarts
this count. You can choose a tim e value in the range 10 ns to20 s,
and a trigger event count in the range 1 to 99 999 999.
L C564, LC584, AND LC684 SERI ES O N L Y
T o select Runt (for an explanation of R unt T rigger, refer to page

830).
U se this to select and set the three defining conditions for the R unt
Trigger:
W hen Level is selected (not shown at left), these m enus appear:
U se this to set the level of the upper threshold through w hich

the runt m ust pass.
U se this to set the le ve l of the lo w er thresh old thro ugh w h ich

the run t m ust pass.
W hen Width is selected, the m enus shown at left appear. T he two

w idth lim its can be com bined to select runt pulses within (& w ill
appear in the second m enu) a certain range if the runt value is
greater than the runt value. O r they can be com bined to select
runts outside this range (O R w ill appear).
W hen On is selected, there w ill be a trigger if the runt pulse

w idth is less than or equal to the defined value (600 ps to 20 s),
adjusted with the associated m enu knob. T he test is be turned
on or off using the m enu button, in com bination with runt .
W hen On is selected, there will be a trigger if the runt pulse width

is greater than or equal to the defined value (600 ps to 20 s),
adjusted with the associated m enu knob. This condition can be
turned on or off by m eans of the m enu button, and used in
com bination with runt .
W hen Edge is selected (not show n), the at end of m enu appears,
allow ing the trigger to be defined as occurring at the end of a
N egative or a Positive runt slope.
L C564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES O N L Y
U se this to select Slew Rate (for an explanation of Slew R ate

U se this to select the trigger coupling.
U se this to select and set the three defining conditions for the S lew
R ate T rigger:
W hen dV is selected (not show n at left), the following m enus appear:
U se this to select the level of the upper threshold.
U se this to select the level of the lower threshold.

W hen dT is selected, these m enus appear below:
W hen On is selected, there w ill be a trigger if the tim e is less

than or equal to the defined value (600 ps to 20 s), adjusted with
the associated m enu knob. T his condition can be turned on or
off using the m enu button, in com bination with dT .
W hen On is selected, there w ill be a trigger if the tim e is greater

than or equal to the defined value (600 ps to 20 s), adjusted
using the associated m enu knob. T his condition can be turned
on or off with the m enu button and used in com bination with
dT . T hey can be com bined to select pulses within (&) a
certain range if the dT value is greater than the dT value.
O R they can be com bined to select pulses on either side of
this range.
W hen Slope is selected (not shown at left), the w ith slope m enu
appears, allow ing the slope to be defined as N egative or Positive.
# # #
A wide range of Zoom and Mathematical processing

functions (detailed in the next chapter) can be performed on
acquired waveforms with the controls described here.
Four processed traces
are available for norm al
zoom ing or for waveform
m athem atics. Any one of
traces A, B, C or D can be
set up to zoom another of
these, or another trace
acquired on any channel
or stored in one of the four
reference m em ories M 1
M 4. T race A, for exam ple,
could be set up to zoom
T race B, C , or D , but not
itself.
T he
D isplayed
T race label at the left of
the screen indicates the
source.
T RACE
The
ON/OFF buttons display the corresponding trace A, B, C , or D .
W hen a trace is switched on, the PO SIT IO N and ZO O M knobs and
the R ESET button (described next page) will then be attributed to
this, the active trace.
SELECT ABCD button assigns the controls to the

T he
active trace for adjustm ent because only one trace can be
m odified at a tim e. P ressing this button activates the next trace in
the A to D sequence.
T he four Z O O M + M A T H k nobs adjust the horizontal and vertical
positions and expansion factors of the zoom ed trace
T he
POSITION k nob repositions zoom ed traces
horizontally . If the source of the expanded w aveform is displayed,
an intensified region corresponding to the area of expansion is
show n.
vertically repositions the active trace.
W hereas the
k nob horizontally expands or contracts the active

T he
trace. If the source of the zoom ed trace is also displayed, it w ill
show an intensified region corresponding to the area of
expansion.
W hile the
trace.
vertically expands or contracts the active
RESET button resets the vertical and horizontal

T he
P O S IT IO N and Z O O M .
F inally, the
m enu-entry button accesses the zoom ,
m ath, and sequence segm ent features. S ee next chapter for
details.
# # #
You can zoom several traces from a single waveform to

obtain precise timing measurements.
F or instance, on a w aveform com posed of tw o pulses separated
by a long delay, T race A could be m ade a zoom of the first pulse,
and T race B a zoom of the second.
T he com bination of long m em ory and zoom capability allow s
extrem ely accurate m easurem ents of tim e intervals. T hus the
tim e resolution on the view ed trace can be significantly im proved.
F or exam ple, choosing 50 000 points per channel on a tim ebase
of 0.1 m s/div, traces can be expanded to as m uch as 50 ns/div
a factor of 2000. U sing R elative T im e cursors (see C hapter
14), this m eans that a delay of 500 s could be m easured w ith a
resolution as high as 0.5 ns. E ven w ith as m any as eight m illion
points acquired, successive zoom ing can be done until there are
only a few points on the screen.
W ith M ulti-Z oom , the zoom ed region of the w aveform can be

m oved sim ultaneously along tw o or m ore different traces, or tw o
or m ore regions of the sam e trace.
W hen M ulti-Z oom On is selected from the Z O O M M A T H m enu
(see page 108), the horizontal zoom and position controls apply
sim ultaneously to all displayed traces A , B , C , and D
allow ing sim ilar sections of different traces to be view ed at the
sam e tim e. H ow ever, the vertical controls still act on the traces
individually (see previous chapter). T he highlighting of trace titles
in the D isplayed T race label indicates an active M ulti-Z oom .
W hen T race A, B, C , or D is defined as a m athem atical function

rather than as a sim ple zoom (see next section), the zoom controls
rem ain operative; that is, it is not necessary to define another trace
as a zoom of the m ath function. In order to view the entire
m athem atical function, sim ply cancel any expansion or position
change by pressing R ESET .
Descriptions of the Setup

menus zoom, math, and
waveform processing
functions start on page
106. Averaging and
Extrema are outlined on
this and following pages.
For details on Enhanced
Resolution filtering see
Appendix B.
How to set up FFT (Fast
Fourier Transform) is
explained at the
conclusion of this
chapter. FFT theory and
practice are described in
Appendix C.
A wide range of standard or optional mathematical and

waveform processing functions is available on LC Series
oscilloscopes. Not all functions are described here. Those
such as Histogram, Trend, and Correlate are described in
their dedicated Operators Manuals, if these functions are
installed in the oscilloscope.
T he scopes standard w aveform m athem atics functions consist
of
w aveform
negation,
identity,
addition,
subtraction,
m ultiplication and division, sum m ed averaging of up to 1000
w aveform s and the (sin x)/x interpolation function.
T he advanced w aveform processing features include the
follow ing:
C ontinuous A veraging (m enus on page 1010)
S um m ed A veraging of up to 1 000 000 w aveform s (m enus
on 1010)
E nhanced R esolution by up to 3 bits w ith filtering (m enus on
page1011)
E xtrem a envelope of m any w aveform s (m enus on page
1012)
F ast F ourier T ransform , including F F T averaging (m enus on
pages1013 and 1014)
M athem atical F unctions such as Integral, D erivative,
Logarithm , E xponential, S quare, and S quare R oot (m enus on
page1015)
T his is the repeated addition (w ith unequal w eight) of successive
source w aveform s. It is particularly useful for reducing noise on
signals that drift very slow ly in tim e or am plitude.
H ow ever, the statistics of a continuous average tend to be w orse
than those from a sum m ed average (see next page) on the sam e
num ber of sw eeps. T his is because the m ost recently acquired
w aveform has m ore w eight than all previously acquired ones: the
continuous average is dom inated by the statistical fluctuations of
the m ost recently acquired.

T he w eight of old w aveform s in the continuous average tends to
zero (follow ing an exponential rule) at a rate that decreases as
the w eight increases.
S um m ed A veraging is the repeated addition (w ith equal w eight)

of successive source w aveform records. If a stable trigger is
available, the resulting average has a random noise com ponent
low er than that of a single-shot record.
W hen the m axim um num ber of sw eeps is reached, the
averaging process stops. A n even larger num ber can be
accum ulated sim ply by changing the num ber in the S E T U P for
m enu. H ow ever, the other param eters m ust be left unchanged or
else a new averaging calculation w ill be started.
Y ou m ay interrupt the process by changing the trigger m ode from
N O R M to S T O P or by turning off the active trace, using the
respective buttons. A veraging w ill be resum ed w hen you do the
opposite. T he accum ulated average is reset w hen you push the
C LE A R S W E E P S button or change an acquisition param eter
such as input gain, offset, coupling, trigger condition, tim ebase,
or bandw idth lim it. T he num ber of current averaged w aveform s
of the function or its expansion is show n in the D isplayed T race
label.
W hen you select sum m ed averaging, the display is updated at a
reduced rate about once every 1.5 s in order to increase
the averaging speed (points and events per second).
S um m ed averaging can also be done on sequence w aveform s to
give the average of the segm ents. It can also be applied to an
expansion of a sequence segm ent, giving the segm ents average
w aveform over m any sequence acquisitions.
T hese are com puted by a repeated com parison of successive

source w aveform records w ith the already-accum ulated extrem a
w aveform , w hich consists of a m axim a (roof) and a m inim a
(floor) record. W henever a given data point of the new w aveform
is greater than the corresponding m axim um roof-record value, or
less than the corresponding floor value, the new data point
replaces the old. T hus the m axim um and the m inim um envelope
of all w aveform records is accum ulated.
R oof and F loor records can be displayed individually or together.
W hen the selected m axim um num ber of sw eeps is reached, the

accum ulation stops. Y ou can interrupt the sam e process by
changing the trigger m ode from N orm al to S topped or by turning
off the function trace. A ccum ulation w ill continue if you do the
opposite.
Y ou can reset the currently accum ulated extrem a w aveform by
pushing the C LE A R S W E E P S button or by changing an
acquisition param eter, such as input gain, offset, coupling, trigger
condition, or the tim ebase or bandw idth lim it. T he num ber of
currently accum ulated w aveform s is displayed in the functions
D isplayed T race Label or that of its zoom expansion.
W hen the m axim um num ber of sw eeps is reached, an even
larger num ber can be accum ulated sim ply by changing the
num ber in the S E T U P for m enu. H ow ever, the other
param eters m ust be left unchanged or else the extrem a
calculation w ill be restarted.
You can apply waveform mathematics to any channel or

reference memory. Furthermore, any trace of A, B, C, or D
can be set up as a math function, allowing several
computations to be made in sequence.
F or exam ple: T race A could be set up as the difference betw een
C hannels 1 and 2, T race B as the average of A , and T race C the
integral of B . T hus the integral of the averaged difference
betw een C hannels 1 and 2 is displayed.
In order to avoid slow ing dow n the instrum ent w ith unw anted
com putations, a particular m athem atical function is only
com puted w hen its display is turned on. U sing the sam e exam ple
as above, how ever, it w ould be sufficient to display T race C
alone because the instrum ent k now s it m ust com pute A and B
before C .
W aveform processing can also tak e tim e w hen m any data points
are involved. T his delay can be cut by lim iting the num ber of data
points used in the com putation. T o do this, the instrum ent w ill
th
process the entire w aveform by tak ing every N point, w here N
depends on the tim ebase and the desired m axim um num ber of
points. T he first point tak en is alw ays the data value at the lefthand edge of the screen.
Zoom and m ath functions on T races A, B, C , D , and R eference

M em ories M 1, M 2, M 3, and M 4 use the instrum ents system
m em ory, which is dynam ically allocated to each trace as required.
W hen you achieve m ore acquisition m em ory by com bining channels,
a single long trace can consum e all the reference m em ory or zoom
and m ath trace capacity in the instrum ent. W hen this happens, an
on-screen m essage will warn you of the possibility of accidentally
storing a new trace to a reference m em ory already in use. R efer to
C hapter 7.
A processing title for each displayed trace will be
shown in the Displayed Trace Label. If the title is missing,
the desired processing cannot be done, and the contents
of the trace remain unchanged.
Press
to configure any of the four traces and to
execute any zoom or math function using the ZOOM + MATH
menus.
Any trace and function can be chained to another trace and function
(not all functions shown m ay be available on your oscilloscope). Trace
A, for exam ple, could be m ade an average of CH 1, Trace B an FFT of
A, and Trace C a zoom of B. All traces can be viewed sim ultaneously
by m eans of the TRACE O N/O FF buttons; and any function can be
zoom ed directly.
Select one of these to redefine a trace and to access the SETUP m enus
(described in the rem ainder of this chapter, using Trace A as an
exam ple ).
This selection accesses the Multi-Zoom and Auto Scroll functions (see
page 108). W ith Multi-Zoom activated, all displayed zoom traces are
sim ultaneously controlled by the horizontal POSITION and ZOOM
knobs, and by Auto Scroll. W hen Multi-Zoom is not used, only the active
zoom trace is controlled. Auto Scroll displays the captured signal with a
zoom expansion that autom atically m oves across the screen. You can
select the scroll speed, scroll through the acquired waveform and pause
on any feature.
W hen a trace with a zoom of a sequence-m ode waveform is

selected, the Selected m enu becom es accessible. Press the
corresponding m enu button to toggle the selection between display
of a single, specific Segm ent and All Segm ents. W ith Segm ent
selected, the associated knob can be used to choose specific
segm ents.
T his is for selecting the m axim um num ber of points for all m ath
operations. A low num ber increases com putation speed.
T his appears w hen R ED EFIN E A (for exam ple) is selected from

the ZO O M + M AT H m enus.
T his is for toggling between No (Zoom only) and Yes (M ath

functions) setups.
T his selects the source trace to be zoom ed.
IS S U E D : N o ve m b e r 1 9 9 9
T his appears when ZO O M and Auto-Scroll is selected from the

ZO O M + M AT H m enu group. M U LT I-ZO O M unifies the control of all
zoom traces, while AU T O -SC R O LL m oves the zoom trace (or
traces) across the referenced trace.
W hen Off is selected, only the active zoom trace is controlled. W hen
On is selected, all displayed zoom traces (A,B,C ,D ) are autom atically
controlled at the sam e tim e with Auto Scroll, and m anually with the
horizontal ZO O M and PO SIT IO N knobs.
U se this feature to scroll the zoom trace from right to left. W hen
active, the label displays ST O P (PLAYIN G ): Press to stop.
U se this feature to scroll the zoom trace from left to right. W hen
active, the label displays ST O P (R EVER SIN G ): Press to stop.
U se this feature to scroll by divisions per second or by num ber of

divisions. U se div/s to scroll continuously. U se number of div
for w aveform processing, especially P ass/F ail testing. W hen
processing is com pleted, the display w ill be updated by the
num ber-of-divisions set.
U se this knob to set scroll speed. W hen you are scrolling by

divisions, 10 div will step the zoom trace grid page by grid page
across the length of the referenced trace.
W hile continuing to scroll, use this button to return to the previous

m enus.
If you press the standard RETURN button, the waveform
will stop scrolling and the previous menu will be displayed.
allows addition, subtraction, m ultiplication and division, as well as

choice of the two operands and the operator. T he exam ple on this
page shows a setup of trace A as the sum of C hannels 1 and 2.
Select Yes to enable the choice of a m ath function.
U se this subm enu to select Arithmetic.
U se this subm enu to select the operator.
U se this subm enu to select one of tw o operand source traces.
U se this subm enu to select the other operand source trace.
T his feature offers Sum m ed (Linear) or C ontinuous (Exponential)

Averaging. Shown here is an exam ple setup of trace A as a
Sum m ed Average (over 1000 sweeps) of C hannel 1. (See also page
102.)
U se this subm enu to select a specific m ath function (Average in this

case).
U se this to select Summed or Continuous averaging m ethod.
W hen you select Summed averaging, for sweeps lets you specify
the num ber of sweeps. If you select Continuous averaging,
however, the sam e m enu item becom es with weighting, which
lets you define the weight. T he difference between the two choices is
that when Summed is selected the first n sweeps will be taken into
account, whereas in Continuous averaging the last sweep will be
given a weight of 1 and the previous result a weight of n in the
calculations.
U se this to select the source trace for averaging.
T his lets you select low-pass digital filters that increase the resolution
of the displayed signal at the expense of its bandwidth. (See
Appendix B for a detailed explanation .)
T hese digital filters w ork very m uch lik e analog bandw idth-lim it
filters. In S ingle-S hot m ode, they and the sam pling speed affect
bandw idth. If high bandw idth is needed at slow tim ebases, you
should consider averaging and repetitive sam pling instead.
U se this subm enu to select Enhanced Resolution.
U se this subm enu to select the filter that will enhance resolution of
the displayed signal. Enhancem ent is possible from one to three bits
in 0.5-bit steps.
U se this to select the source trace for filtering.
T his is used for acquiring a trace envelope over m any acquisitions

(see also page 103).
U se this subm enu to select Extrema.
U se this subm enu to select either Envelope, Floor, or Roof. Floor

shows only the lower, and R oof only the upper part of the envelope.
C hanging the lim its does not force the analysis to start again.
T his lets you select the num ber of sweeps.
T his lets you select the source trace.
T his is used to display the Fast Fourier T ransform (FFT ) of a signal

and to view it in the frequency dom ain. (See the final section of this
chapter, and Appendix C , for when and how to use FFT .)
U se this subm enu to select FFT.
U se this subm enu to select the FFT s output form at: Imaginary,
Magnitude, Phase, Power Dens-ity, Power Spect-rum , Real or
Real + Imag.
U se the corresponding m enu button to select the FFT window type,

and the associated knob to select AC or DC.
U se this to select the source trace.
During Fast Fourier Transform computation the FFT sign

is displayed in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.
The computation of FFT on long time-domain records
can take a while.
You can interrupt or cancel the computation at any time
by using any front-panel control.
T his is used for displaying the FFT power averaging of an FFT

source trace. Power averaging is useful for characterizing broadband
noise or periodic signals without a stable trigger signal. T otal power
signal and noise is m easured at each frequency. T he source
trace m ust be an FFT function. (See the final section of this chapter,
and Appendix C , for when and how to use FFT .)
U se this subm enu to select FFT AVG.
U se this subm enu to select the output form at of the FFT Average:
Magnitude, Power Density, or Power Spectrum.
U se this to select the num ber of sweeps.
U se this to select the FFT source.
FFT Average can be reset by pressing CLEAR

SWEEPS. The number of currently accumulated
waveforms is then shown in the Displayed Trace field of
the function or its expansion.
T his gives you access to a variety of M ath display functions.
U se this subm enu to select Functions.
U se this subm enu to select a function type from :
Absolute value
Derivative
Exp (base e)
Exp 10 (base 10)
Identity
Integral
Log (base e)
Log 10 (base 10)

Negation
Reciprocal
Sinx/x
Square
Square root
T his is used to select the signal offset (used to com pensate for any
D C offset in the signal).
U se this subm enu to select the source trace.
Square root is computed on the absolute value of the source

waveform.
For logarithmic and exponential functions, the numerical

value (without units) of the input waveform is used.
For the integral function, the source waveform

may
be offset
16
16
by an Additive Constant in the range 10 to 10 times the
vertical unit of the source waveform.
T his deskew feature allows a signal on one channel to be

resam pled, and adjusted in tim e relative to a signal on another
channel. It is valuable wherever there is the need to com pensate for
different lengths of cables, probes or other factors causing tim ing
m ism atches.
U se this subm enu to select Resample.
U se this to set the adjustm ent (deskew) that will com pensate for the
tim ing differences between signals on two channels, using the
associated m enu knob (range = 2000 ns).

U se this subm enu to select the source trace .
T his is used for selecting a waveform and adjusting a (the

m ultiplication factor) and b (the additive constant) in the form ula:
( a waveform ) + b ,
where both constants can have values ranging between 10 15 and
+10 15 .
U se this subm enu to select Rescale.
U se this to select a or b.
T he corresponding m enu button for this m enu highlights the

m antissa, the exponent, or the num ber of digits, while the associated
knob changes the highlighted value.

U se this subm enu to select the source trace .
The FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) converts a time domain

waveform into frequency domain spectra similar to those of
an RF spectrum analyzer display. But unlike the analyzer,
which has controls for span and resolution bandwidth, FFT
span is determined by sampling rate, while resolution
bandwidth is inversely proportional to record length.
C orrectly setting up an F F T starts w ith the frequency resolution
(f). T his param eter is the spacing of sam ples in the frequency
dom ain display. T he f is set by inputting the tim e duration of the
tim e dom ain signal to the F F T . If an acquisition channel (C hannel
1, 2, 3, or 4) is the source, the w aveform duration is the capture
tim e: the T IM E /D IV setting m ultiplied by ten. T he relationship
betw een capture tim e and frequency resolution is illustrated here.
AMPLITUDE
ACQUIRED WAVEFORM
TIME
CAPTURE TIME
= 10 X TIME / DIV
FREQUENCY
RESOLUTION
f
AMPLITUDE
f = 1/ CAPTURE TIME
FAST FOURIER TRANSFORM (FFT)
FREQUENCY

S im ilarly, if the source w aveform is a zoom trace, the frequency
resolution is the reciprocal of the displayed w aveform s duration.
T he frequency span of the F F T is called the N yquist frequency

and is related to the sam pling frequency of the tim e dom ain
w aveform . If the m ath m em ory size, w hich is set using the for
M ath use m ax points m enu (see page 106), is identical to the
num ber of sam ples in the acquired w aveform (C hapter 7,
T IM E B A S E m enus), the span w ill be half the sam pling frequency.
B ut if this m ax points for m ath num ber is less than the num ber
of points, the w aveform and, in turn, the F F T span w ill be
decim ated. T he relationship betw een the span of the F F T and
the sam pling rate (1/T ) is illustrated here.
AMPLITUDE
ACQUIRED WAVEFORM
TIME
T
SAMPLING PERIOD
FREQUENCY SPAN
AMPLITUDE
FREQUENCY SPAN = K * ( 1/T)
FAST FOURIER TRANSFORM (FFT)
FREQUENCY
T he constant K in the illustration includes the decim ation factor

described above, as w ell as autom atic display scaling factors.
T his scaling is required to ensure that the F F T s horizontal
display scale falls into a 1,2, or 5 factor.
In essence, the oscilloscope autom atically adjusts the span (and
hence the F F T transform size) to account for the user-entered
m ax points for m ath and the display scaling. In som e
com binations of these factors it also adjusts the length of the
displayed trace.
Y ou can determ ine the span from the D isplayed T race Label for
the m ath trace containing the F F T . T his w ill show the horizontal
calibration in H z/div. T he span is also explicitly show n as the
N yquist frequency in the inform ation field that appears at the
bottom of the screen w hen the M A T H S E T U P m enus are
displayed, as show n here.
T o achieve a desired F F T span, first m ak e sure that the sam pling

rate is m ore than tw ice the span desired. C ontrol the sam pling
rate using the T IM E /D IV k nob and set the acquisition m em ory
length w ith the T IM E B A S E m enu. T he sam pling rate can be
further adjusted by lim iting the num ber of points in the for M ath
use m ax points m enu.
S et up the oscilloscope for an F F T w ith a span of 10 M H z and a

frequency resolution of 10 k H z, to analyze a continuous, periodic
w aveform .
1.
T he required frequency resolution dem ands a w aveform

duration (capture tim e) of 100 s. S et the T IM E /D IV to 10 s
to achieve the necessary f of 10 k H z.
2.
T o obtain the specified 10 M H z span, the effective sam pling

rate m ust be > 20 M S /s. O n an oscilloscope w ith a sam pling
rate of 500 M S /s, for exam ple, the default m em ory length of
50 000 sam ples and a T IM E /D IV setting of 10 s w ould be
used to first give a span of 250 M H z. N ow , to obtain a span
of 10 M H z, the sam pling rate m ust be reduced. T his can be
done in tw o w ays:
a) In T IM E B A S E : decrease the num ber of sam ples by
setting the R E C O R D U P T O m enu to 2500 results in a
sam pling rate of 25 M S /s.
b) W ith Z O O M + M A T H : set the for M ath use m ax points
m enu to 2500. T his w ould leave the sam pling rate at 500
M S /s but decim ate the w aveform data before the F F T to
reduce the effective sam pling rate to 25 M S /s. T his
w ould in turn result in a span of 12.5 M H z, the closest
achievable span to > 10 M H z.
The technique described in b) above is preferred

because it maintains a high input sampling rate and reduces
the risk of aliasing the acquired data.
T he exam ple illustrated below show s how the oscilloscope

m aintains the display factor. A sam pling rate of 25 M S /s w ould
result in a full scale range of 12.5 M H z or 1.25 M H z/div. T o
m aintain a display scale factor of 1, 2, or 5, it decim ates the
acquired w aveform and calculates the F F T using a
2000-point transform . T his results in a scale factor of 2 M H z/div.
T he display is truncated at 6.25 divisions to retain the original
span of 12.5 M H z.
# # #
The large display reveals the complete picture with

advanced color management. Colors are used to give onscreen objects added depth and distinctness, and to clarify
their relationships.
T he display is intelligent as w ell as pow erful. C olor and intensity
are m anaged autom atically in real tim e by a hardw are-supported
system that has the added advantage of very low softw areoverhead. T races can be displayed opaquely or transparently.
O verlapping objects traces over traces or traces over grids
are alw ays visible in transparent m ode (see page 113).
S ignals and their related data are color associated (page 112).
E ach trace has its ow n dedicated color and persistence data
m aps. B ack ed by 1 M B of video m em ory, infinite and variable
persistence displays are autom atically color m atched to the
parent trace. R elated traces and text, screen icons, and parent
daughter zoom regions are also link ed by color. A s m any as eight
traces can be displayed at once, on eight separate grids (page
1112). T he F ull S creen function uses the entire screen area to
display traces (page 1110 ) .
T here are six preset color schem es and four personal color
palettes you can custom ize (page 1120), draw ing on m ore than
40 different colors (page 113).
T he unique A nalog P ersistence feature (see page 115) offers
advantages of an analog display in a digital oscilloscope. U se of
the brightness level of a single color to denote relative signal
intensities is the standard P ersistence m ode. A lso available is
C olor G raded P ersistence (page 1115), w hich uses a color
spectrum from red through violet to m ap signal intensity. B oth
persistence m odes are infinite or variable w ith decay over tim e.
T hey can be chosen from the D IS P LA Y S E T U P m enus (see
descriptions starting page 117 ) .
The Advanced Color Management System ensures that both

the objects and the relationships between them are always
clearly visible even when the objects overlap. Objects
include:
Waveforms, including envelopes and intensified regions
Grids
Parameter Measurements
Cursors
Status Information
C olor m anagem ent of the background plays an im portant role in

bringing out the links and differences between displayed objects. T he
choice of background colors has been purposely lim ited to the darker
colors so that displayed objects are m ore clearly defined and
recognizable. T he colors of objects that are too close in hue to the
chosen background color are autom atically changed so that these
objects always stand out from the background.
T he base color of a trace is specified for each color schem e.

H owever, the expanded or zoom ed sections of a trace can be given
their own colors, so that a single trace m ay have a num ber of colors
at once: its principal color plus those of the expansions.
T race-related text includes pieces of on-screen inform ation that

describe m easurem ent param eters, cursors, triggers, waveform s,
and channels. A standard text color for all on-screen text exists in the
preset color schem es, or can be chosen for custom palettes.
W aveform source descriptions including param eter string,
acquisition setup, status screen, and trigger inform ation will be in the
trace color, even when contained in a text string (the rem ainder of
which will be in the text color). W aveform descriptor boxes trace
labels and the inform ation they contain always take the color of
their respective trace.
M ost m enus are displayed in the text color only. T he active trigger
edge or trigger condition shows source-related inform ation in the
trace color, as does the trigger icon. But the titles of C hannel

C oupling m enus are trace-colored, and M ath Setup m enu sources
have their own color as well.
Selection of the Opaque presentation of overlapping waveform s

places one on top of another in norm al, non-transparent layers. You
can also select the order in which traces appear (see below).
H owever, when Transparent is chosen and overlap m ixing is used,
those areas of the waveform s that overlap will autom atically change
color while grid intensity rem ains constant. But this contrast
enhancem ent m arks the overlapping regions so that they stand out.
O verlap m anaged traces always rem ain distinct in relation to other
displayed objects and to the background.
T his is another m echanism for recognizing displayed objects, which

autom atically overlays them on the screen in sequence.
W hen dealing with traces of the sam e type, the forem ost trace is
described in the top-left trace label, the next in the second trace
label, and so on in descending order towards the background and
the bottom of the screen, respectively. You can change this order
with the C H AN N ELS T R AC E O N /O FF buttons.
W hen different types of traces are displayed, by default they are
placed in ascending order from the grid at the bottom as follows:
envelope traces, persistence traces, norm al traces, and cursors.
T his sequence can also be custom ized.
For extrem a waveform s the sequence is followed by a repeated
scanning of norm al traces, ensuring that they are always viewed
within extrem a, regardless of display order. T hus each trace is visible
within its envelope, persistence, or Pass/Fail m ask; grid lines never
hide trace features; and cursors are always visible.
Any color can be chosen as neutral in the four user color schem es;
a neutral color is designated by default in each of the six preset
schem es. W hen the M easure G ate function is switched on, this
designated neutral color autom atically relegates display objects of
lim ited interest to the area outside the m easurem ent-gate region
(see page 1121), thus indirectly highlighting the area of greatest
interest inside the gated region.
W hen overlap m ixing is used for Pass/Fail m ask testing, together

with a well-selected color schem e (for exam ple, default schem e 1)
and the m easurem ent-gate highlighting described above, the trace
area outside the m ask is placed in clear relief.
White
Dark Cyan
Ocean Spray
Fuchsia
Cyan
Cream
Ice Blue
Raspberry
Yellow
Sand
Pastel Blue
Neon Pink
Green
Amber
Pale Blue
Pale Pink
Magenta
Olive
Sky Blue
Pink
Blue
Light Green
Royal Blue
Vermilion
Red
Jade
Deep Blue
Orange
Light Gray
Lime Green
Navy
Cerise
Gray
Apple Green
Plum
Khaki
Slate Gray
Emerald Green
Purple
Brown
Charcoal Gray
Grass Green
Amethyst
Black
Analog Persistence provides an analog view of signals while

maintaining digital data manipulation flexibility.
or use the D IS P LA Y S E T U P P ersistence m enu

P ress
(see page 1114) to activate the oscilloscopes persistence
functions.
W ith traditional analog instrum ents, data m anipulation and the

direct com parison of acquisitions is practically im possible.
S tatistical analysis is also difficult to perform . N evertheless,
analog does have certain advantages. B ecause there is no
analogtodigital conversion, the speed of the analog scope is
lim ited only by the bandw idth of its electronics: signals are
m onitored alm ost continuously. T he standard D S O (D igital
S torage O scilloscope) m ust capture signals across the tim e
period allow ed by the size of its acquisition m em ory, then
process and display their representation. T he tim e needed to
process the previous acquisition lim its D S O speed.
LeC roys unique A nalog P ersistence offers the advantages of
analog display in a D S O . T he display look s lik e an analog display
and is fast. B ut it provides the data m anipulation, flexibility, and
statistical analysis only found in a digital instrum ent.
D S O s w ith A nalog P ersistence are fast because data

accum ulation is decoupled from display. N ew data is
accum ulated and displayed m ore quick ly. M oreover, the
persistence is variable. T he display is generated by repeatedly
sam pling am plitudes of events over tim e and accum ulating the
sam pled data into three-dim ensional display m aps. T hese m aps
create an analog-style display. U ser definable persistence duration
can be used to see how the m aps evolve proportionally over tim e.
Statistical integrity is preserved because the duration, or decay, is
proportional to the persistence population for each am plitude or tim e
com bination in the data.
In addition, A nalog P ersistence provides user-definable, postacquisition saturation control of the m aps, allow ing detail to be
easily draw n out of the display.
W hen Analog Persistence is selected, each channel and its

associated persistence data m ap are assigned a single color
(whereas the related C olor G raded persistence function renders the
m aps in different colors in the redtoviolet spectrum ). As a
persistence data m ap is rendered to the screen, different shades of
its color are assigned to the population ranges between a m inim um
and a m axim um population. T he m axim um population autom atically
receives the brightest shade, the zero or sm allest population the
darkest shade or the background color, and the population ranges
between zero and the m axim um population the shades in between.
T he inform ation in the low er populations, or dow n at the noise
level (random transients rather than dom inant signals) can often
be of greater interest than the rest. T he distribution of data here
is highlighted by shades and color so that it can be exam ined in
detail.
Y ou can select a saturation level or population specified as a
percentage of the m axim um population. A ll populations above
the saturation population are then assigned the brightest shade;
that is, saturated. A t the sam e tim e, all populations below the
saturation level are assigned the rem aining shades from
brightest to dark est.
D ata populations and their displayed shades are dynam ically
updated as data from new acquisitions is accum ulated.
Press
to access the DISPLAY SETUP menus (see
page 1113) and to select from
Standard or XY mode and grids
Persistence
Dot Join
Single (1), Dual (2), Quad (4), or Octal (8) grids
Display and grid intensities
More Display Setup menus
Standard display (m enus on page 1113) allows presentation of

source waveform s versus tim e (or versus frequency for FFT s).
XY display (m enus on page 1116 ) com pares and contrasts one
source waveform with another, and is used when selected traces
have the sam e tim e or frequency span (tim e/div) and horizontal unit
(in seconds or H ertz). X Y is autom atically generated as soon as you
select two com patible traces. If you select incom patible traces, a
warning m essage is displayed at the top of the screen. And if
com patible traces are not m atched in tim e, their X Y diagram will be
displayed showing the shift in tim e or frequency between them . (T he
T or f indicator is displayed in the D isplayed T race Label to the left
of the screen.)
In Persistence M ode, the oscilloscope can display points so that they

accum ulate on-screen over m any acquisitions. Both Analog and
C olor G raded Persistence can be used in either Standard or X Y
display. You can m ake eye diagram s and constellation displays
using Persistence, and the m ost recent sweep can be displayed as a
vector trace over the Persistence display. Persistence is activated
when you select the D ISPLAY SET U P Persistence m enu (1114).
G rid styles, exam ples of w hich are show n on the follow ing pages,
offer a variety of w ays to view one or m ore traces in either
S tandard or X Y display. A s m any as eight traces and grids can
be displayed in S tandard m ode using the O ctal grid selection
(see page 1112). W hen P aram eters are used, the special
param eter-style grid com es autom atically into play. G rid
graticules are internally generated, so that the intensity of grids,
as w ell as of w aveform s and text, can be adjusted to the desired
intensity. G rids can also be blended w ith displayed traces.
Standard Display Single Grid
Standard Display Dual,

Quad Grid
Parameter Display Quad Grid Full-Screen Mode: trace information normally contained in the
trace labels is arranged beneath the grid in Full Screen.
P ressing
expands the grid display to fill the entire
screen. P ressing this button again returns the grid to its norm al
size. P ressing R E T U R N in F ull S creen m ode rem oves the
m enus from view so that w aveform s can be view ed in their
entirety. T hese reappear w hen you press one of the M enu-entry
buttons.
XY Display grids XY (left),

and XY + Dual (below)

You can display as m any as eight traces at the sam e tim e w ith their
respective trace labels and any com bination of m ath, zoom , and
m em ories. W hen O ctal is selected from the S tandard G rids
m enu (see next page), eight separate grids are m ade available.
W hen m ore than four traces are displayed in S ingle-, D ual- or
Q uad-grid style, the accom panying trace labels becom e sm aller
so that as m any as eight labels can be show n. H ow ever, in O ctal
the labels are alw ays sm aller.
Octal style grid, with eight displayed traces and their labels.
W ith Standard selected, these m enus becom e accessible:
T his is for activating Persistence (see next m enu). Its functioning is

coupled to the AN ALO G PER SIST button.
T his is used to select D ot Join O N connecting the sam ple points

with a line segm ent or O FF, when only the sam ple points are
displayed when there are less than 400 points on the screen.
T his is used for accessing the M O R E D ISPLAY m enus (see page

1120).
T his is for selecting the num ber of grids.
T his adjusts the screen intensity for the waveform and associated
text by m eans of the associated m enu knob.
T his adjusts the screen intensity of the grid by m eans of the

associated m enu knob.
If Wform + Text intensity is turned down to 0%, the
waveform and text disappear. Press the DISPLAY button to return
automatically to 90% intensity. If Grid is turned down to 0%,
press the Grid intensity menu button to return this intensity to
75%.
W ith both Standard and Persistence On selected in the first m enu,

these m enus appear:
T his is for activating Persistence. W hen On, this can be cleared and
reset by pressing the C LEAR SW EEPS button or by changing any
acquisition condition or waveform processing condition. T his m enu
button toggles with the AN ALO G PER SIST button.
U se this to access the PER SIST EN C E m enus (see next page)
T his is for accessing the M O R E D ISPLAY m enus (see page 11

20).
T his is for selecting the num ber of grids.
U se this to select any or all of the displayed traces On (top m enu)

for saturation adjustm ent.
T his is for selecting the percentage of saturation. A level of 100%

corresponds to the color spectrum being spread across the entire
depth of the persistence data m ap. At lower values, the spectrum will
saturate (brightest color or shade) at the specified percentage value.
Lowering the percentage causes the pixels to be saturated at a lower
data intensity, and allows rarely-hit pixels that are not seen at higher
percentages to becom e visible.
T hese m enus appear when Persistence Setup is selected from

D ISPLAY SET U P.
Select On to show the last acquired trace.
T his is for selecting the persistence duration, in seconds.

T he num ber of sweeps accum ulated (up to one m illion) is displayed
below the grid.
U se this to select whether persistence is applied to all traces or to the

top two traces only.
U se this to select the Persistence M ode. W ith Analog selected, each

persistence data m ap is rendered to the screen in various intensities
of the trace color. W ith Color Graded, all persistence data m aps are
rendered in a redtoviolet spectrum .
U se this to select any or all of the displayed traces if On (top

m enu) for saturation adjustm ent.

W hen XY is selected in the first m enu, these other m enus appear.
T his is for activating Persistence.
T his is for accessing X Y SET U P (see next page).
T his is for accessing the M O R E D ISPLAY m enus.
U se this to select the grid style.


waveform and text disappear. Press the DISPLAY button to
return automatically to 90% intensity. If Grid is turned down to
0%, press the Grid intensity menu button to return this
intensity to 75%.
W hen the corresponding m enu button for X Y SET U P is pressed and

when Persistence is OFF, these m enus appear:
U se this to select Analog or Color Graded persistence for a single

sw eep .
T his is for selecting the percentage of saturation. At lower values, the

spectrum will saturate (brightest color or shade) at the specified
percentage value. Lowering the percentage causes the pixels to be
saturated at a lower data intensity, and allows rarely-hit pixels that
are not seen at higher percentages to becom e visible.
W hen XY is selected in the first m enu and Persistence is activated,

these m enus appear:
U se this to turn Persistence On.
T his is for accessing X Y SET U P using Persistence (see next page).
T his is for accessing the M O R E D ISPLAY m enus.
T his is for selecting the grid style.


waveform and text disappear. Press the DISPLAY button to
return automatically to 90% intensity. If Grid is turned down
to 0%, press the Grid intensity menu button to return this
intensity to 75%.
T hese m enus appear when you press the corresponding m enu

button for X YPersist Setup.
T his is for selecting the persistence duration, in seconds. T he

num ber of sweeps accum ulated up to one m illion is displayed
below the grid.
T o select Analog or Color Graded Persistence.

Press the button alongside the More Display Setup menu

to gain direct access to these menus.
T his is for accessing the Screen Saver controls. W hen enabled, the
built-in screen saver will blank the screen 10 m inutes after the last
use of a front panel control. T his is a com plete display shutdown of
the internal screen, resulting in lower power dissipation and system
noise. T he external m onitor, however, does rem ain active during the
display shutdown. T he front panel LED indicates that the scope is in
the screen-saving ST AN D BY state. Press any front panel control to
restore the screen.
U se this to select from six preset (1 through 6), or four user (U1
through U4) color schem es. W hen a user-custom schem e is
chosen, C H AN G E C O LO R S is added to the list of m enus, enabling
the creation of personal color palettes and the assignm ent of colors
to traces, grids, or any other displayed on-screen object or elem ent
(see box on facing page). It also allows preset schem es to be copied
for easier custom ization.
T his m enu appears when you select one of the four custom color
schem es from the C O LO R SC H EM E m enu (above). It accesses the
C H AN G E C O LO R S secondary m enu (see page 1122).
T his is for selecting either Opaque or Transparent. W hen the

latter is chosen, w aveform objects are alw ays visible and their
overlapping regions autom atically distinguished by a new and
unique color. W hen dealing w ith traces of the sam e type, the
forem ost trace is described in the top-left trace label, the next in
the second-from -top trace label, and so on in descending order
tow ards the back ground and the bottom of the screen,
respectively. T his order can be changed by m eans of the
C H A N N E LS T R A C E O N /O F F buttons. F or a variety of trace
types, the order follow s that described on page 113.
T his is used to turn On the M easure G ate function, w hich

highlights the gated param eter region by m ak ing the trace in the
region outside the param eter a neutral color.
T his is used to show the data (sam ple) points in Normal or Bold
view .
The preset (16) and user-selected (U1U4) custom color

schemes give a particular color to each displayed object. Colors
are assigned to the custom palettes through the CHANGE
COLORS Change menu (see next page) for:
Background: The background color of the entire display

area.
Trace 1...4: The color assigned to traces displaying Channel 1,
2, 3, or 4.
Trace A...D: The color assigned to Trace A, B, C, or D.
Grid: The default color of the grid.
Text: The color assigned to menus, acquisition status and
non-single-source measurements.
Cursors: The color assigned to cursors.
Warnings:
messages.
The color
assigned
to
error
and
warning
Neutral: The color designated as neutral (can be any color in

user palettes), used in Measure-Gate region highlighting.
Overlays: The color assigned to the menus overlaid on the
grid in Full Screen mode.
T his enables colors to be assigned to displayed objects, and color

schem es to be custom ized.
T his is for copying one of the six preset color schem es (1 through 6)
to a user color schem e (U1 through U4), or one user color schem e
to another. C opying m akes custom izing easier by form ing the basis
of a personalized palette that can then be developed.
T his is for executing the copying of the preset schem e to the

personal color palette.
U se this to select a displayed object for color assignm ent (see box
on previous page for details).
T his is for selecting the color to be assigned to the chosen object.

# # #
Press
to access the primary menus for:
Hardcopy settings
Time and date settings for the real-time clock
GPIB and RS-232-C settings
Mass storage utilities (including copy and format and
delete files)
Special modes of operation (including offset behavior,
sequence time-out, cursor units, autocalibration and
Remote Control Assistant)
Signal function at the CAL BNC connector (magnitude,
frequency, shape, trigger out, pass/fail use)
(see page 122)

U se this to access secondary m enu for viewing or changing printer
settings.
(see page 124)
U se this to access the secondary m enu for adjusting the real-tim e
clock displayed in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
(see page 125 )
U se this to access the secondary m enu for viewing or changing
interface settings.
(see page 1210)
U se this to access the M ASS ST O R AG E U T ILIT IES m enus.
(see page 1219)

U se this to access the SPEC IAL M O D ES m enus.
(see page 1223)
U se this to access the C AL BN C m enus.
W hen you select H ardcopy Setup from U T ILIT IES these m enus
appear:
U se this to select the output device. T his m enu shows the options
installed in the instrum ent. T he device can be a port (G PIB, R S232,
or C entronics) to which a printer is connected, a storage unit such as
a floppy drive or portable hard disk drive (H D D ), or the internal
printer. If it is a port, the G PIB & R S232 m enus should be checked to
ensure that settings are correct. File nam es are assigned
autom atically when you copy to a storage unit.
Select On to start a new page each tim e SCREEN DUMP is pressed.

Press
to m ake a copy of the screen display.
U se this to select the type of printer (see Appendix A), plotter

(H P 7470, H P 7550 only), or screen file protocols (T IFF, BM P,
H PG L) by m eans of the corresponding m enu buttons or knob.
T his is for choosing P ortrait or Landscape form ats (availability

is dependent on printer choice).
(not shown)
T his m enu becom es available w hen you choose T IF F color,
B M P color, or B M P com pr. It is used to give a B lack or
W hite back ground to the hardcopy reproduction.
(not shown)
Available only w hen a plotter is selected, this subm enu offers
these choices of size: A 4 (11 8.5) or A 5 (8.5 5.5).
(not shown)
Available only w hen a plotter is selected, this subm enu is used
for choosing the num ber of pens installed (the instrum ent
assum es that the pens are loaded consecutively in the low er
slots).
OPTIONAL ON MOST MODELS
U se this to select the device to w hich the instrum ent is to output

data: in this case, the optional Int. Printer. T his m enu show s the
options installed in the instrum ent. T he device can be a port
(G P IB , R S 232, or C entronics) to w hich a printer is connected, a
storage unit such as floppy drive or portable hard disk drive
(H D D ), or the internal printer. If it is a port, the G P IB & R S 232
m enu should be check ed to ensure that settings are correct.
F ile nam es are assigned autom atically w hen you copy to a
storage unit.
W hen On, this generates a hard copy of the screen and sends it
to the internal printer after every acquisition.
T his is for selecting the expansion factor.
T his is for choosing P ortrait or Landscape form ats.
A persistence trace cannot be expanded, nor can

cursors be shown on an expanded printout.
W hen you select T im e D ate Setup from U T ILIT IES these m enus
appear:
T his is for changing to D aylight Savings T im e.
T his is for changing back to Standard T im e.
U se this to activate the changes m ade with the H our M in Sec and
D ay M nth Year buttons and knobs (see below).
U se the corresponding m enu button to toggle between Hour,

Minutes, and Seconds; and the associated m enu knob to adjust the
value.
U se the corresponding m enu button to toggle between Day, Mnth,

and Year; and the associated m enu knob to adjust the
corresponding value.
When you select GPIB/RS232 Setup from UTILITIES, you can

use the RS-232-C port on the rear panel for remote operation of
the oscilloscope, and for direct interfacing to a hard-copy
device to output displayed waveforms and other screen data.
See the illustration on the next page for RS-232 printer cabling,
and Data to PC in the Hands-On Guide for computer nine-pin
communication cabling for PC.
A printer unit connected to the scope through the R S-232-C port can
be controlled from a host com puter using the scopes G PIB port. T he
oscilloscope's built-in drivers also allow hard copies to be m ade
without an external com puter.
T he R em ote C ontrol Assistant feature allows autom atic detection of
errors during rem ote control operation (see page 1220).
DB9 Pin No.
Line Name
Description
T D
Transm itted D ata (from the oscilloscope).
R D
R eceived D ata (to the oscilloscope).
R TS
R equest To Send (from the oscilloscope). If the software Xon/Xoff handshake

is selected, it is always TR U E. O therwise (hardware handshake) it is TR U E
when the oscilloscope is able to receive characters and FALSE when the
oscilloscope is unable to receive characters.
C TS
C lear To Send (to the oscilloscope). W hen TR U E, the oscilloscope can

transm it; when FALSE, transm ission stops. It is used for the oscilloscope
output hardware handshake.
D TR
D ata Term inal R eady (from the oscilloscope). Always TR U E.
SIG G N D
Signal G round
Corresponds to a DTE (Data Terminal Equipment) Configuration
W hen G P IB /R S 232 S etup is selected from U T ILIT IE S these

m enus appear:
T his is for selecting the port for rem ote control.
U se this to select 7bit or 8bit m ode for R S -232

com m unication. W hen RS-232 is selected, the G P IB interface is
in T alk O nly m ode. A ny change becom es effective im m ediately.
U se this to select
com m unication.
odd,
even,
or
none
for
R S -232
T his is for selecting the num ber of stop bits for R S -232
com m unication.
U se this to set the B aud R ate for R S -232 com m unication using
the associated m enu k nob.
U se this to choose the appropriate G P IB address.
RS-232 cabling can be used in almost every case (for computer cabling see
Transferring Data to PC in the Hands-On Guide).
When you select Mass Storage Utilities from UTILITIES,

the MASS STORAGE menu group appears (see page 12
10). This menu gives access to the mass storage file system
controls. The system supports storage and retrieval of data
files to and from memory cards, floppy disks, and removable
hard disk drive (HDD) media.
T he M em ory C ard structure, based on the PC M C IA II / JEID A 4.0

standard and consists of a D O S partition containing files, as in any
D O S floppy or hard disk. T he oscilloscope form ats the card in
segm ented contiguous sectors, each of 512 bytes. T he scope does
not support error detection algorithm s such as C R C s or checksum
inserted between the sectors. W hen this is done the instrum ent m ay
only be able to read from , but not write to, the card.
T he floppy supports D O S 1.44 M B and 720 kB form ats.
T he rem ovable hard disk structure is based on the PC M C IA III /

JEID A 4.0 standard. T he m edium is arranged as a D O S partition
containing files, as in any D O S floppy or hard disk.
T he H D D form at uses 512 bytes per sector and four sectors per
cluster. O ne cluster is the m inim um file size: any files sm aller than
2048 bytes in size will still use one clusters allocation of 2048 bytes
of disk space. A total of 500k ASC II records can be saved to the
H D D portable hard drive.
All files are written to, and read from , the current working directory.
T he default nam e of the working directory is LEC R O Y_1.D IR . T his
directory is autom atically created when the m edia are form atted. If
the m edia are form atted elsewhere for instance, on a PC the
directory will be created the first tim e a file is saved to the m em ory
card, floppy disk, or rem ovable hard disk.
T he working directory can be changed to any valid D O S directory
nam e, using the file-nam e preferences m enu. All working directories
are created as sub-directories from the root directory.
T he m axim um num ber of files allowed in any one directory is 2400.
As in M S-D O S, the file nam e can take up to eight characters

followed by an extension of three characters. A file is treated as:
a panel setup if its extension is PN L
a waveform if its extension is a three-digit num ber
a waveform tem plate if its extension is T PL
a hardcopy if its extension is T IF, BM P, or PR T
an H PG L plot file if its extension is PLT
See also the key to term s, below .
T he instrum ent has a predefined nam ing convention for the
eight-character file and directory nam es. T hese default nam es can
be custom ized, as shown in this table. If the new file being stored has
the sam e nam e as an existing file on the sam e storage m edium , the
old file will be deleted.
Type
Default Name
Customized Name
M a n u a lly sto re d w a ve fo rm file s
S tt.n n n
xxxxxxxx.n n n
Autom atically stored waveform files
A tt.n n n
xxxxxxxx.n n n
P a n e l file s
P n n n .P N L
xxxxxn n n .P N L
H a rd co p y file s
D n n n .TIF
D n n n .B M P
D n n n .P R T
D n n n .P L T
xxxxxn n n .TIF
xxxxxn n n .B M P
xxxxxn n n .P R T
xxxxxn n n .P L T
Te m p la te file s
L E C R O Y vv.TP L
C a n n o t b e ch a n g e d
D ire cto ry n a m e
L E C R O Y _ 1 .D IR
xxxxxxxx
S p re a d sh e e t
S ttn n n .TX T
xxxxxn n n .TX T
M a tla b
S ttn n n .D A T
xxxxxn n n .D A T
M a th ca d
S ttn n n .P R N
xxxxxn n n .P R N
Key to Terms
x
a n y le g a l D O S file -n a m e c h a ra c te r
tt
the trace nam e of C1, C2, C3, C4, TA, TB, TC, TD
T IF
BMP
h a rd c o p y g ra p h ic im a g e file s
nnn
a 3 - d ig it d e c im a l s e q u e n c e n u m b e r s t a r t in g
a t 0 0 1 t h a t is a u t o m a t ic a lly a s s ig n e d
PRT
h a rd c o p y p rin te r file s .
P LT
H P G L p lo tte r/v e c to r file s
the template version number: for example, for a version

2.2, the template is saved as LECROY22.TPL
T he default notation for waveform files is Stt.nnn for m anually stored

files and Att.nnn for autom atically stored files, the characters S and A
representing the two storage m ethods, respectively.
W hen autom atically generating a file nam e, the system uses the
assigned nam e plus a three-digit sequence num ber. If the assigned
waveform nam e is already in the default Stt form such as SC 1,
ST B the nam e will be m odified to the Att form : AC 1, AT B, and so
on. All other user-assigned nam es rem ain as entered.
If Fill is selected and default nam es are used, the first waveform
stored will be Axx.001, the second Axx.002, and so on. T his
continues until the storage m edium is filled, the file num ber reaches
999, or there are m ore than 2400 files in the current working
directory.
If Wrap is selected, the oldest auto-stored waveform files will be
deleted whenever the m edium becom es full. T he rem aining autostored waveform files will be renam ed: the oldest group of files will
becom e Axx.001, the second oldest Axx.002, and so on.
T he current sequence num ber is deduced from inspection of all file
nam es in the working directory, regardless of file type panel, hard
copy, or waveform . T he highest occupied num eric file-nam e
extension of the form nnn is determ ined, and the next highest
num ber is used as the current generation num ber for storage
operations.
W hen a file generation is deleted, all files designated with the threedigit sequence num ber of the file-nam e extension will be deleted,
regardless of file type.
T he m ass-storage file system indicates m edia size and storage

availability in kbytes where 1 kbyte = 1024 bytes. M any m edia
m anufacturers specify the available storage in M bytes where
1 M byte = 1 m illion bytes. T his results in an apparent m ism atch in
specified versus actual m edia storage availability, when in fact the
availability in bytes is identical.
If the write-protection switch of the card or floppy disk being used has
been set, the m essage D evice is W rite Protected will be displayed
on the upper part of the grid whenever the m edium is accessed for
writing.
T he SR AM m em ory card contains a battery for preserving data.

W hen this needs replacing, the m essage BAD BAT T ER Y appears.
T he battery should be changed while the m em ory card is still in the
oscilloscope to prevent loss of inform ation. T o gain access to the
battery, rem ove the panel on the bottom edge of the card by
rem oving the sm all screw.
T his calls up the prim ary m enus for controlling m ass storage. T he
range of U T ILIT IES available depends on the options installed:
(OPTION)
U se this to delete files, or to form at or copy a m achine tem plate onto
m em ory card. (T he U tilities m enus accessed by selection of this
M em ory C ard m enu are sim ilar to those accessed for Floppy D isk,
shown on the following pages.)
U se this to delete files, form at, or copy a m achine tem plate onto
floppy disk. T he exam ples on the following pages illustrate this
selection.
(OPTION)
U se this to delete files, form at, or copy a m achine tem plate onto hard
disk. See page 1214.
U se this to set, add, or delete a working directory, or to custom ize file

nam es. See page 1215.
(IF MORE THAN ONE MASS-STORAGE DEVICE IS

AVAILABLE)
T his is for copying files from one storage device to another. See
page 1218.
T hese m enus appear when Floppy D isk U T ILIT IES is selected

from M ASS ST O R AG E and
a floppy has been newly inserted, or
there is no floppy in the drive
U se this to read the floppy disk and display directory contents.
O nce the floppy disk has been read, these m enus appear. T hey
display inform ation about the installed storage m edia:
last form at date and tim e
m em ory size and available free space
date, tim e, and size inform ation of the selected file on the disk
U se this to access a secondary m enu for form atting storage m edia

or for copying the m achine tem plate to it. T he tem plate is an ASC II
text file that contains all inform ation required for decoding the
descriptor part of a binary waveform .
U se this to delete the file selected in the File m enu (see below).
T his is for selecting the file to be deleted, using the associated m enu
knob or buttons.
T hese m enus appear when T EM PLAT E AN D FO R M AT T IN G is

selected from FLO PPY U T IL.
U se this to form at the floppy in D O S form at with an interleave factor

of two, which optim izes throughput to and from the scope.
T his m enu, which appears only in FO R M AT FLO PPY, is used for

selecting density: 1.44 MB (HD) or 720 kB (DD).
T his is for copying the m achine tem plate to the m edium . T he

m achine tem plate is an ASC II text file that contains all the
inform ation required to decode the descriptor part of a binary
waveform .
T hese m enus appear when M ASS ST O R AG E, H ard D isk

U T ILIT IES, and T EM PLAT E AN D FO R M AT T IN G are selected.
U se this to quickly (15 seconds) clear the portable hard disk drive.
U se this for a com plete form atting of the H D D , which is

recom m ended if the disk is non-readable.
T his is for copying the m achine tem plate to the m edium . T he

m achine tem plate is an ASC II text file that contains all the
inform ation required to decode the descriptor part of a binary
waveform .
T hese m enus appear when M ASS ST O R AG E, M ass Storage

Preferences, are selected and used for:
selecting the working directory
deleting a directory
accessing the File N am e Preferences m enu
accessing the Add N ew D irectory m enu
T his is used for selecting the m edium .
T his is used to access the secondary m enu for defining custom

nam es for waveform , setup, or hardcopy files (see next page).
T his is used to delete the directory selected in work with m enu (see
below).
T his is for selecting the directory to be used for file storage and
retrieval.
T his is used to access a secondary m enu to add a new directory.
T his m enu group appears when File N am e Preferences is selected

from the preceding m enu, and is used for defining custom nam es for
waveform , setup, or hardcopy files.
U se this to select the character for m odification.
T his is for restoring the file type selected in the File T ype m enu (see
below) to its default nam e.
T his is used to validate the newly defined nam e.
T his is for m oving back one space and erasing the previous
character.
U se this to m ove forward to create a space for insertion of a

character.
T his is for selecting a character, using the m enu knob.
U se this to select the file type to custom ize.
T his is used to define a new directory with a custom nam e.
T his is for creating a new directory.
T his is for validating the new directory.
U se this to m ove back one space and erase the previous character.
T his is for m oving forward to create a space for the insertion of a

character.
T his is for selecting a character, using the m enu knob.
T hese m enus, which appear when M ASS ST O R AG E File

T ransfers is selected, are used to copy files from one m edium to
another.
(DEPENDING ON OPTIONS INSTALLED)
U se this to select the source (copy from ) and destination (copy to).
T his is for selecting the type of file for copying.
T his executes copying.
When you select Special Modes from UTILITIES, these

menus become available (not all selections may be available).
accesses:
T his is for specifying the tim e-out in Sequence m ode, by m eans

of the associated m enu knob to change the value.
accesses:
and
T his is for specifying the offset behavior of a gain (VO LT S/D IV)
change. T he offset can be fixed in Volts or vertical Divisions.
U se this to set the autom atic recalibration ON or OFF. T he

default setting is O N . T urning this off m ay speed up the
acquisition, but during that tim e calibration is not assured.
This is used to control the Global Bandwidth Lim it. W hen On, the
chosen bandwidth lim it applies to all channels; when Off, a
bandwidth lim it can be set individually for each channel. See Chapter
5, Coupling.
Accesses:
T his is for selecting from In the tim e cursor am plitude units in

Volts or dBm.
T his accesses the R C ASSIST AN T m enus (see next page)
T his accesses the U SER PR EFS m enu group (see page 1221).
T his accesses the FLASH U PD AT E m enu (see page 1222).
U sed for m onitoring rem ote com m ands received through the
G P IB and R S -232 rem ote control ports, the R em ote C ontrol
A ssistant helps debug com m unications betw een the oscilloscope
and the P C . W hen activated, it displays a log of the dialog tak ing
place through the rem ote control ports of the oscilloscope. W hen
a com m unication error occurs, R C A ssistant gives the additional
m essage R em ote C ontrol: problem detected and logged.
U se this to select:
Off T he R C A ssistant w ill not capture any rem ote com m ands.
Errors Only T his setting displays only w rong or incom plete
com m ands received through any rem ote control port (this is the
default setting after pow er-on).
Full Dialog T his setting captures all rem ote com m ands
received through any rem ote control port and displays up to 100
lines of dialog, after w hich lines are overw ritten on a first-in, firstout basis.
RS232 Also T his setting logs the full dialog and sends it to a
recording device connected to the R S -232 port. W hen this is
used, com m ands can only be received through the G P IB port.
S ee also the C O M M _H E LP and C O M M _H E LP _LO G com m ands
in the R em ote C ontrol M anual.
T urn the knob associated with this m enu to enable scrolling through
the log. Push the corresponding m enu button to clear the log entirely.
T his lets you custom ize the operation of front panel controls.
W hen this is On, all front panel buttons when pressed and held in will
cursor sequentially through all the choices in their respective m enus.
W hen On, an audible beep w ill sound w hen you press any front
panel button.
W hen On, an audible beep w ill sound w hen you turn any front
panel k nob.
T hese m enus allow updating of the oscilloscope with new software.

Shown here is the full screen warning m essage displayed when
FLASH U PD AT E has been selected from SPEC IAL M O D ES. T he
second m enu is called U pdate Flash on LC564, LC584, AND LC684
SERIES oscilloscopes.
When you select CAL BNC Setup from UTILITIES, you can
choose the type of signal output at the CAL BNC connector. You
can also choose the frequency, amplitude, and pulse shape of
the calibration signal.
In addition, the C AL BN C connector can be used to provide a pulse:
as an action for PASS/FAIL testing
at the occurrence of each accepted trigger event (T rigger O ut)
when the scope is ready to accept a trigger event (T rigger R dy)
M oreover, a D C level in the range 0.05 V to 1 V in 1 M can be
selected.
W hen the instrum ent is switched on, the calibration signal is
autom atically set to its default state: 1 kH z, 1 V square wave.
U se this to select the type of signal.
U se this to reset the C A L B N C output to its default state.
U se this to select the form of the calibration signal.
T his is for setting the desired high level for all C A L B N C

applications, using the associated k nob. If the B N C output is
connected to an input channel w ith 50 , the am plitude w ill be
halved.
T his is for setting the desired frequency of a C A L signal in the

range 500 H z to 2 M H z, using the associated k nob.
# # #
BLAN K PAG E
Press WAVEFORM
to store waveforms to internal
memory (M1, M2, M3, or M4) in LeCroys binary format. You
can also store waveforms in binary or ASCII format on
floppy disk, memory card, or removable hard disk (HDD)
where available.
W hen Binary and Flpy (or one of the optional m edia is selected),
the m enus show n on this page appear. W hen an internal
m em ory (M 1 to M 4) is selected, how ever, neither the D ata
F orm at nor A uto-S tore m enus appear. In either case, the
w aveform w ill be stored autom atically in the selected m em ory in
binary form at w hen you press the D O S T O R E m enu button.
W hen ASCII is selected (as show n on the next page) the scope
w ill store the w aveform in an A S C II form at. B ut this w ill create an
output file requiring 10 to 20 tim es the disk space of the original
LeC roy binary file. F urtherm ore, w aveform s stored in A S C II
form at cannot be recalled to the scope.
The capacities of the Reference and Zoom & Math memories

each match those of the acquisition memories. For every unit
of record length per channel, a point can be stored in any one
of the four M reference memories, and the same number of
points for each Zoom & Math trace.
When more acquisition memory is achieved by combining

channels, a single long trace can consume all the instruments
Reference memory or Zoom & Math trace capacity. If this
happens, a warning message will be displayed to prevent the
accidental storage of a new trace to a reference memory
already in use.
T his is for choosing the data form at, as described on the previous
page. W hen ASCII is selected, the prim ary Setup ASC II Form at
m enu appears im m ediately beneath this m enu, giving access to the
secondary ASC II SET U P m enu (see next page). W hen Binary is
selected, the waveform is stored in binary form at.
This appears only when ASCII is highlighted in Data Form at, as shown
here. It is used for accessing the secondary ASCII SETUP m enu (see
next page).
This is for autom atically storing waveform s after each acquisition. Fill
stores until the m edium is filled, while Wrap stores continuously,
discarding the oldest files on a first-in, first-out basis.
This stores in accordance with specifications m ade in the store and to

m enus (see below).
This is for selecting the waveform . All displayed can only be selected
when you are storing on optional storage m edia.
Use this to select the internal m em ories M1, M2, M3, or M4, when
Binary is selected in the Data Form at m enu, as shown on the previous
page . Alternatively, select the optional Card, Flpy, or HDD, when ASCII
is selected from the Data Form at m enu, as shown here.
T his secondary m enu, accessed through SET U P ASC II FO R M AT ,

offers a choice of ASC II form ats. (For details on each form at, see
Appendix E).
Press WAVEFORM
to recall a waveform from
internal memory, floppy, or the optional memory card or
removable hard disk (HDD).
U se this to select the storage m edium from which to recall, internal

Memories in this case.
U se this to execute recall based on the selections m ade in the from

M em ory and to m enus (see below). At the sam e tim e it resets the
horizontal and vertical positions as well as the zoom s, showing the
full contents of the m em ory at its original m agnification.
T his is for selecting the source m em ory.
U se this to select the destination trace.
Performing a recall operation from an internal memory

to Trace AD overrides any previous definition of the
destination trace.
FLOPPY DISK OR OPTIONAL STORAGE DEVICE
T his selects the device or m edium on which the file is stored: HDD,
Card, or Flpy.
U se this to execute recall based on the selections m ade in the File

and to m enus (see below).
T his selects the file in which the waveform is stored, using the
T his is for selecting the destination m em ory. If All is selected, up

to four files with the sam e three-digit num eric extension as the
current File selection will be recalled into m em ories M 1 to M 4.
# # #
T he files listed w ill be those in the current w ork ing directory.
BLAN K PAG E
The cursors are basic and important tools for measuring

signal values.
In S tandard D isplay M ode, Amplitude (voltage) cursors,
represented by dashed lines spanning the w idth of the screen,
m ove up and dow n the grid pixel by pixel.
Time cursors, represented by arrow s or cross-hair m ark ers that
m ove along the w aveform (see sym bols at left), can be placed at
a desired tim e to read the am plitude of a signal at that tim e, and
m oved to every point acquired .
W hen a T im e cursor is placed on a data point, a cross-bar
appears at the tail of the arrow , and at top and bottom of the
cross-hair m ark er.
In Absolute m ode a single cursor is used. R eadings for
am plitude (using A m plitude cursors) or tim e and am plitude (using
T im e cursors) can be displayed at the cursor location. M easured
voltage am plitudes are relative to ground; m easured tim es are
relative to the trigger point.
In Relative m ode, a pair of A m plitude or T im e cursors is used,
providing readings on the difference betw een the tw o in
am plitude, or tim e and am plitude, respectively.
A m plitudes are show n in the T race Label for each trace. W hen
T im e cursors are used, the tim e is show n below the grid. A nd in
R elative M ode the frequency corresponding to the tim e interval
betw een the cursors is also displayed there.
W hen there are few data points displayed, T im e cursor positions
are linearly interpolated betw een the data points. T im e cursors
m ove up and dow n along these straight-line segm ents.
W hen using Persistence, Am plitude cursors are the sam e as in

Standard D isplay (see above). T im e cursors are vertical bars
spanning the height of the screen and m oving across it.
In X Y D isplay, Absolute Am plitude cursors appear as horizontal and

vertical bars that can be m oved up and down and side-to-side across
the screen. R elative Am plitude cursors are pairs of bars that m ove in
the sam e way. Absolute and R elative T im e cursors behave as they
do in Standard D isplay.
C om binations of the am plitude values are shown on the left-hand
side of the grid in the following top-to-bottom order:
1. Y value / X value .................... R atio
2. 20 log 10 (ratio) ....................... R atio in dB units
3. Y value X value ................... Product
4. = arc tan (Y / X )
range [180 to +180]...................... Angle (polar)
5. r = sqrt (X X + Y Y)...... R adius (distance to origin)
T he definition of X and Y depends on the cursor used. T he table
below shows how X and Y are defined for each type of
m easurem ent.
T Abs
A Abs
X
Y
A Rel
O rg = (0,0)
V XRef 0
V XDif V XRef
V XRef 0
V XRef V XO ffset
V XDif V XRef
V YRef 0
V YDif V YRef
V YRef 0
V YRef V YO ffset
V YDif V YRef
O rg =
V XO ffset
V YO ffset
T Rel
W HERE :
A Abs
Absolute Am plitude cursors
V XRef
V o lta g e o f th e R e fe re n ce cu rso r o n th e X tra ce
A Rel
Relative Am plitude cursors
V YRef
V o lta g e o f th e R e fe re n ce cu rso r o n th e Y tra ce
T Abs
Absolute Tim e cursors
V XDif
V o lta g e o f th e D iffe re n ce cu rso r o n th e X tra ce
T Rel
R elative Tim e cursors
V YDif
V o lta g e o f th e D iffe re n ce cu rso r o n th e Y tra ce
O rg
O rigin
Press
to access menus that let you customize special
functions. The contents of the Custom Menu will vary
according to the options installed in the oscilloscope.
LC 684 S E R I E S ONLY
Press the C U R SO R /M EASU R ES button; the following options will be

displayed:
R efer to M easure C ursors on page 14-5 of this m anual.
R efer to P aram eters: A utom atic M easurem ents starting on

page 14-8, and A ppendix D of this m anual.
R efer to P ass/F ail T esting on page 14-13 of this m anual.
R efer to C ustom M enu on page 14-4 of this m anual.
(continued)
LC 684 S E R I E S ONLY
Press the CUSTOM button to access these custom applications:
T his w izard steps you through jitter tim ing and m easurem ent
setups. R efer to the Jitter and T im ing A nalysis (JT A ) M anual.
R efer to the M ask T ester O perators M anual .
R efer to the P M A 1 S oftw are O perators M anual .
R efer to the D D F A : D isk D rive F ailure A nalysis O perators

M anual .
Press
to access the M EASU R E Setup m enus.
U se this to select Cursors.
T his is for selecting Time (tim e or frequency cursors) or Amplitude

(voltage or am plitude cursors).
U se this to toggle between Relative and Absolute. T he first displays

two cursors (R eference and D ifference) and indicates either the
voltage, or tim e and voltage, between the two. T he second shows a
single cursor that indicates either voltage com pared to ground level,
or this and tim e com pared to the trigger point.
U se this to select Diff Ref, which shows the num erical difference
between D ifference and R eference cursor am plitudes. Alternatively,
Diff & Ref displays the am plitude values for each cursor. This is not
available in persistence m ode.
U se this to control the R eference cursor that is available with

R elative cursors, using the associated m enu knob. W ith T rack ON,
both R eference and D ifference cursors are controlled by the
associated knob, and m ove together. A constant tim e or voltage
interval is m aintained between them . T his tracking interval is
represented by a bar horizontal for tim e; vertical for voltage
appearing at the top and left-hand edge of the grid, respectively.
T his is for controlling the D ifference cursor, available when Relative

is selected from type (see above), using the associated m enu
knob.
(not shown)
T his is for controlling the Absolute cursor, available when Absolute
is selected from type (see above), using the associated m enu
knob.
The instrument can determine certain signal properties

automatically, using signal parameters. Standard parameters
*
are listed and described in Appendix D of this manual.
For com m on m easurem ents on a lone signal, param eters can be
m easured in either of two standard classes or m odes, in the
am plitude or tim e dom ain.
O n different signals, they can be custom ized and used to determ ine
up to five of the quantities on the param eter list. C ustom ized
param eter m easurem ents can also be used for Pass/Fail testing
against chosen lim its (see page 1415). Several other m odes are
available, according to the param eters and options installed in the
oscilloscope (not all m odes illustrated m ay be available).
Statistics on the param eter values are accum ulated and can be
displayed for all m odes.
In addition to the overall num ber of sweeps used, each param eter
has its average, lowest, and highest value. T he standard deviation of
the param eter is also calculated.
T he algorithm s that determ ine pulse waveform param eters are able
to detect those situations where the m athem atical form ulas m ay be
applied. H owever, the results obtained should be interpreted with
caution. In such cases the scope displays the nam e of the param eter
and its value, which are separated by a graphic sym bol. T he sym bol
provides inform ation about the param eter, or issues a warning. T he
following table explains these sym bols.
A wide range of additional param eters is available in the specialized

software packages, such as W P03, described in the O perators
M anuals for those packages.

The parameter has been determined for several
periods (up to 100), and the average of those
values has been taken.
The parameter has been determined over an
integral number of periods.
The parameter has been calculated on a histogram.
Insufficient data to determine the parameter.

Amplitude histogram is flat within statistical
fluctuations; minimum and maximum are used to
assign top and base.
Only an upper limit could be estimated (the actual
value of the parameter may be smaller than the
displayed value.
The signal is partially in overflow.
The signal is partially in underflow.
The signal is partially in overflow and in underflow.
For a single trace, this m ode m easures:

peak-to-peak (am plitude between m axim um and m inim um sam ple
values)
m ean of all sam ple values
standard deviation
root m ean square of all sam ple values
am plitude of the signal
Use this to select Parameters.
This is for selecting the Standard Voltage m ode.
T his is for turning On display of the param eters average, low est,
highest, and standard deviation, as w ell as the num ber of sw eeps
included in the statistics. T he num ber of sw eeps is cleared each
tim e you change the acquisition conditions, or w hen you press
the C LE A R S W E E P S button.
A s long as Parameters is
highlighted in the top m enu, the accum ulation of statistics
continues, even if the statistics are not show n.
U se this to select the trace for w hich the voltage param eters are
m easured. T he choices available in this m enu w ill depend on the
traces displayed (a m axim um of four traces can be displayed).
H ere traces 1 and 2 are displayed and 2 is selected.
U se this to determ ine the starting point (in screen divisions) for
param eter m easurem ents, using the associated m enu k nob.
T rack On link s control of the starting and end points of the
param eter m easurem ent so that they can be m oved together,
using the associated m enu k nob.
Use this to determ ine the end point in screen divisions. It also indicates
the total num ber of data points used for the m easurem ents.
For a single trace, this m ode m easures:

period
width (at 50% am plitude)
rise tim e (1090% of am plitude)
fall tim e (9010% of am plitude)
delay (from trigger to first 50% am plitude point)
U se this to select Parameters.
T his is for selecting the Standard Time m ode.
T his is for turning On display of the param eters average, lowest,

highest, and standard deviation, as well as the num ber of sweeps
included in the statistics. T he num ber of sweeps is cleared each tim e
you change the acquisition, or when you press the C LEAR SW EEPS
button.
As long as Parameters is highlighted in the top m enu, the
accum ulation of statistics continues, even if the statistics are not
shown.
T his is for selecting the trace for which the tim e param eters are to be
m easured. T he choices available in this m enu w ill depend on the
traces displayed (a m axim um of four traces can be displayed).
H ere traces 1 and 2 are displayed and 2 selected.
param eter m easurem ents. T rack On links control of both the
starting and end points of the param eter m easurem ent so that they
can be m oved together, using the associated m enu knob.
U se this to determ ine the end point in screen divisions. It also

indicates the total num ber of data points used for the m easurem ents.
In this m ode, up to five param eters can be displayed for various

traces.
T his is for selecting Parameters.
T his is for selecting the Custom m ode.
T his is for turning On display of the param eters average, lowest,

highest, and standard deviation, as well as the num ber of sweeps
included in the statistics. T he num ber of sweeps is cleared each tim e
you change the acquisition conditions, or when you press the C LEAR
SW EEPS button.
As long as Parameters is highlighted in the top m enu, the
accum ulation of statistics continues, even if the statistics are not
shown.
T his is for accessing the secondary C H AN G E PAR AM m enu (see

following pages).
param eter m easurem ents. T rack On links control of the starting
and end points of the param eter m easurem ent so that they can be
m oved together, using the associated m enu knob.
U se this to determ ine the end point in screen divisions.
T his is for m odifying param eters.
U se this to select up to five different param eters for m odification.
U se this to specify the category of param eter. W hen All is selected,

the m easure m enu (see below) will feature all param eters.
H owever, when a particular category is selected, only those
param eters in the category are shown.
T his is for deleting all param eters previously selected.
U se this to choose the new param eter to be m easured on this line.

W hen you select the line is not used.
T his is for selecting the channel or trace on which the param eter will
be m easured.
Param eters can be custom ized to m eet specific needs.
U se this to specify the category or type of param eter.
T his calls up the t@lv custom ization m enu (see next page).
Set at t@lv.
Select the channel 1, 2 (3 or 4) or m em ory (A, B, C, or D) by

m eans of the associated m enu button. U se the associated knob to
decide from which, and to which, channel the m easurem ent is to be
m ade.
This is for customizing the measure parameter (t@lv in this

case). See Appendix D for descriptions of all standard
parameters.
T his is for selecting whether the levels should be absolute, or a

percentage of the peak-to-peak signal value.
U se this to set the hysteresis division. A voltage band is extended

equidistantly above and below the selected level. In order for the
signal to be considered valid, and not as noise, the signal m ust
exceed or cross the upper or lower lim its of this band by half the
hysteresis division setting.
T his is for selecting the voltage or am plitude percentage setting of

the level on the waveform at which the tim ing is to be m easured. It is
also used to select whether the m easurem ent should be m ade on a
Positive (rising) edge, or a Negative (falling) edge; or, if First is
selected, on either type of edge.
T his is for selecting the voltage or am plitude percentage setting of

the level on the waveform at which the tim ing is to end. It is also used
to select whether it should finish on a Positive (rising) edge or a
Negative (falling) edge; or, if First is selected, on either type of edge.
This is for customizing the measure parameter (c2d+ in this

case). See Appendix D for descriptions of all standard
parameters.
U se this to set the hysteresis division. A voltage band is extended

equidistantly above and below the selected level. In order for the
signal to be considered valid, and not as noise, the signal m ust
exceed or cross the upper or lower lim its of this band by half the
hysteresis division setting.
U se this to select the clock edge or edges used for this param eter
m easurem ent.
T his is for selecting the data edge or edges used for the
m easurem ent.
Parameters can also be used in performing Pass/Fail tests.

These tests require a combination of measurements within
chosen limits, and invoke an action when the test either
passes or fails, depending on which has been specified.
Signals can also be Pass/Fail tested against a tolerance
mask.
U p to five param eters can be tested against lim its at the sam e
tim e. In tolerance m ask testing, a trace can be com pared to a
tolerance m ask .
W hether the tests pass or fail, any or all of the follow ing actions
can be invok ed:
S top capturing further signals.
D um p the screen im age to a hardcopy unit.
S tore selected traces to internal m em ory, to a m em ory card
(optional), or to a floppy disk .
S ound the buzzer.
E m it a pulse on the C A L B N C .
T he P ass/F ail display w ill show :
results on the current w aveform s
the num ber of events passing
the total num ber of sw eeps treated
actions to be tak en
U se this to select Parameters.
U se this to select Pass or Fail.
T his is for turning testing Off or On. T urn testing off only to observe
the param eter variations.
U se this to access the secondary C H AN G E T EST m enu (see next

page).
U se this to determ ine the starting point, in screen divisions, for

param eter m easurem ents.
U se this to determ ine the end point in screen divisions.

(See Action selection on page 1422).
U se this to select Param or, if no test is required, --- (No Test).
T o select Param.
U se this to delete all tests previously selected.
T his is for selecting the new param eter to be m easured on this line.
W hen is selected the line is not used.
T his is for selecting the channel or trace on which the param eter will
be m easured.

U se this to Select Param or --- (No Test) if no test is required on the

selected line (M ask selection, page 1419).
U se this to select Limit (Param 1417).
T his is for deleting all tests previously selected.
T his is for selecting the appropriate relation: less than or greater

than.
U se this to choose one of three m odifications to a lim it: its m antissa,

exponent, or the num ber of digits in its m antissa. T he corresponding
m enu button is used to select, and the associated knob to m odify,
the num ber in that field.
U se this to set a lim it to the latest m easured value a starting value

for the final adjustm ent.

T his is for selecting Mask or --- (No Test) if no test is required on the
selected line (see Param on page 1417).
U se this to access the secondary m enu for m odifying m ask settings.
T his is for choosing the m ask test condition.
U se this to select channel or trace for testing.
T his is for choosing the m ask test condition.
U se this to select a m ask trace.
Pass/Fail testing on a mask is affected by horizontal

and vertical zooming of the mask trace. The test will be
made inside the area bordered by the parameter cursors.
Timebases of the mask and the trace under test should be
identical. For visual mask testing, a single grid should be
used when you are performing a mask test on a single
trace. A two-grid display should be used for testing on two
traces.
U se this to select Wform.
T his is for selecting D=M4 if the m ask is to be autom atically

displayed on the screen. O therwise select M1, M2, M3, or M4.
U sing R EC ALL W FO R M (see previous chapter), m em ories M 1
M 4 can be recalled to traces A to D for display.
U se this to generate an inverted m ask.
T his is for selecting the waveform to be used as reference. T he

m ask will be generated around this waveform .
U se this to generate the m ask.
T his is for selecting tolerance in am plitude, by m eans of the

associated knob.
T his is for selecting tolerance in tim e, by m eans of the associated

knob.
FLOPPY DISK OR OPTIONAL STORAGE DEVICE
U se this to select the device.
T his is for selecting D=M4 to autom atically display the m ask onscreen, or M1, M2, M3, or M4.
T his is for generating an inverted m ask.
U se this to recall the m ask.
U se this to select the appropriate m ask, by m eans of the associated

knob.
D epending on the test result certain actions can be taken:
T his is for selecting Action.
U se this to delete all previously selected actions.
U se this to determ ine if the action will be taken on PASS or FAIL

result.
T his is for selecting the action (Dump in this exam ple). T he selected
action will then be activated from the following subm enu.
U se this to perform (Yes) or disable (No) the action chosen in the

T hen m enu (see above). T he choice will be echoed alongside the
already selected action in the T hen m enu.
# # #
Press
to access the menus used for saving or
recalling configurations panel setups to or from nonvolatile memory, floppy disk, memory card, or portable hard
disk (HDD), depending on options installed.
U se this to save a panel setup or recall one already saved. W hen

you select Save (as show n here) the T O S E T U P m enus
appear. W hen you select Recall, the F R O M S E T U P m enus
appear
... ...or...
T his is for saving any of four possible setups.
T his is for saving a setup to floppy, m em ory card, or hard disk

(H D D ), depending on options.
U se this to save or recall a panel setup. W hen you select Save

(as show n on the previous page) the T O S E T U P m enus
appear. W hen you select Recall (as show n here) the F R O M
S E T U P m enus appear.
... ...or...
T his is for recalling any of four possible saved setups. In the
exam ple show n here, all four possible setups have been stored.
W hen no setup has been stored, that m enu w ill indicate E m pty.
U se this to choose a default setup stored in the scope.
T his is for accessing the secondary R E C A LL S E T U P S m enu to

recall a setup stored on floppy, m em ory card, or portable hard
disk (H D D ), depending on the options installed.
T his is for selecting the device from w hich to recall a setup:

floppy, m em ory card, or portable hard disk (H D D ), depending on
the options installed.
U se this to perform the recall of the setup selected in the F ile

m enu (see below ).
T his is for selecting the stored setup, using the associated m enu
k nob.
# # #
B LA N K P A G E
Press
to open the STATUS menu and access fullscreen summaries of the oscilloscopes system status or
other functional status.
T his screen show s vertical sensitivity, probe attenuation, offset,

and coupling for each channel, as w ell as tim ebase and trigger
status sum m aries.
T his screen show s the serial num ber of the scope, firm w are
version, and the softw are and hardw are options installed.
T he S oftw are O ptions m enu accesses the A D D O P T IO N K E Y
m enu, w hich lets you activate new softw are by inputting a code.
You sim ply provide LeC roy with the serial num ber, soft version
num ber, and scope ID (all displayed on this screen), as well as order
inform ation. LeC roy provides a unique option key that you can enter
from the instrum ents front panel.
T he M O R E V E R S IO N IN F O R M A T IO N m enu is used to perform
a cyclic redundancy check (C R C ) of the internal firm w are, and
generates a check sum that can be used to ensure that the
firm w are is uncorrupted.
T his show s user text in the w aveform descriptor* and trigger

tim ing inform ation. W hen T ext & T im es is selected the for and
S elect m enus show n here also appear, allow ing a trace or
m em ory to be selected and a segm ent range to be specified for
inform ation.
R efer to th e R em ote C ontrol M anual .
T his screen provides detailed status inform ation on channels,

m em ories, zoom and m ath, or displayed traces. T hese are specified
using the bottom m enu, which appears when W aveform is selected
from the top m enu.
T his screen shows how m uch m em ory is being used and how m uch
rem ains free. M em ory allocation: m em ories M 1M 4 can be selected
and then cleared using the C LEAR IN AC T IVE m enu. T he
dedicated persistence data m aps for each channel are
dynam ically created, resized, and deleted as necessary. T he
allocation of m em ory to each of these data m aps w ill appear in
this m enu. P ersistence data m aps are cleared using the C LE A R
S W E E P S button.
# # #
BLAN K PAG E
Where a
particular series is NOT
mentioned, the
specification applies to
all LeCroy color DSOs.
Where the series is
mentioned without
reference to a
particular model, the
specification applies to
all models in the series.
Specifications are liable

to change without
notice. For the most upto-date information,
consult the latest
product data sheets,
available from LeCroy
offices.
Bandwidth (3 dB)
LC334, LC374 Series: @ 50 : D C to 500 M H z @ 1 M D C :
D C to 500 M H z typical at probe tip
LC534, LC574 Series: @ 50 : D C to 1 G H z
@ 1 M D C : D C to 500 M H z typical at probe tip
LC564, LC584 Series: @ 50 : D C to 1 G H z (2 m V/div: D C to
200 M H z, 5 m V/div: D C to 600 M H z); @ 1 M D C : D C to 5 00
M H z typical at probe tip
LC684 Series: @ 50 : D C to 1.5 G H z (2 m V/div: D C to 200
M H z, 5 m V/div: D C to 600 M H z); @ 1 M D C : D C to 500 M H z
typical at probe tip
W ith PP005 passive probe as standard for all models; active probes optional.
Number of Channels: 4
Number of Digitizers: 4
Max. Sample Rate Window (Also see tables on the following pages.)
LC334, LC534 Series: 4 m s @ 2 G S/s in single-shot m ode
LC374 Series: 0.25 m s @ 2 G S /s in single-shot m ode
LC574 Series: 2 m s @ 4 G S /s in single-shot m ode
LC564 Series: 62.5 s @ 4 G S /s
LC584 Series: 2 m s @ 8 G S /s
LC684 Series: 2 m s @ 8 G S /s
Sensitivity
LC334 Series: 2 m V /div to 5 V /div, 50 , fully variable
2 m V /div to 5 V /div, 1 M , fully variable
LC374, LC534, LC574, LC564, LC584 Series: 2 m V /div to 1
V /div, 50 , fully variable
LC684 Series: 2 m V /div to 1 V /div, 50 , fully variable
Offset Range
LC334 Series: 2.00 to 9.99 m V /div: 120 m V
10.0 to 199 m V /div: 1.2 V
0.2 to 5.0 V /div: 24 V
LC374, LC534, LC574, LC564, LC584 Series:
2.00 to 4.99 m V /div: 400 m V
5.00 to 99 m V /div: 1 V
0.1 to 0.99 V /div: 10 V
1.0 to 10 V /div: 100 V (1 M only)
LC684 Series: 2.00 to 4.99 m V /div: 400 m V
5.0 to 99 m V /div: 1.0 V
0.1 to 1.0 V /div: 10 V
5.0 to 100 m V /div: 1.0 V
102 m V to 2.0 V /div (1 M only): 20 V

MEMORY PER CHANNEL (IN POINTS)
CHANNELS USED
(PEAK DETECT ON/OFF)
ON SERIES
MAX. SAMPLE
RATE
ACTIVE
CHANNELS
MODEL
AM
AL
500 MS/s
100 k
500 k
2M
LC374 Series
1 GS/s
100 k
LC574 Series
1 GS/s
100 k
500 k
2M
100 MS/s data

+
400 MS/s peaks
50 k data
+
50 k
peaks
250 k data
+
250 k peaks
1 M data
+
1 M peaks
Any Channel (Peak Detect OFF)

LC334, LC534 Series
All
Any Channel (Peak Detect ON)

LC334, LC534 Series
LC374 Series
LC574 Series
All
Paired Channels (Peak Detect OFF)

LC334, LC534 Series
1 GS/s
250 k
1M
4M
LC374 Series
2 GS/s
250 k
LC574 Series
2 GS/s
250 k
1M
4M
2 GS/s
500 k
2M
8M
LC374 Series (without

external adapter)
2 GS/s on CH 2
500 k
LC574 Series (by PP093

Adapter)
4 GS/s
500 k
2M
8M
CH 2
&
CH 3
All Channels Combined (Peak Detect OFF)

LC334, LC534 Series
(by PP093 Adapter)
L X X X -O M -E R e v K
One

CHANNELS USED
ON SERIES
MAX.
SAMPLE
RATE
ACTIVE CHANNELS
MODEL
AM
AL
AXL
Any Channel
LC564 Series
2 GS/s
100 k
LC584 Series
2 GS/s
100 k
500 k
2M
4M
LC564 Series
4 GS/s
250 k
LC584 Series
4 GS/s
250 k
1M
4M
8M
All
Paired Channels
CH 2 & CH 3
All Channels Combined
LC584 Series
8 GS/s
500 k
2M
8M
16 M
One (CH 2, or any

displayed channel
in Auto-Combine
Mode)
CHANNELS USED
MAX.
SAMPLE
RATE

MODEL
DM
DL
ACTIVE
CHANNELS
2 GS/s
100 k
500 k
2M
4M
All
4 GS/s
250 k
1M
4M
8M
CH2 & CH3
500 k
2M
8M
16 M
One
DXL
Any Channel
LC684 Series
Paired Channels
LC684 Series
All Channels Combined

LC684 Series
(by PP096
Adapter)
8 GS/s
Scale Factors: T here is a wide range of probe attenuation factors

available.
DC Accuracy: 1% typical; guaranteed 2% full scale
(eight divisions) at 0 V offset
LC564, LC584 Series: (1% full scale + 1% offset value) at
gain 10 m V /div
LC684 Series: (2% full scale + 1% offset value) at gain 10
m V /div
Vertical Resolution: 8 bits
Bandwidth Limiter
LC334 Series: 30 M H z
LC374, LC534, LC574 Series: 25 M H z, 200 M H z
LC564, LC584, LC684 Series: 25 M H z and 200 M H z typical
Input Coupling: A C , D C , G N D
Input Impedance:
LC334 Series: 10 M //15 pF (system capacitance using PP005)
LC374, LC534, LC574, LC564, LC584 Series: 10 M //11 pF
(system capacitance using PP005), or 50 1%
LC684 Series: 10 M //11 pF (system capacitance using PP005),
or 50 1.25%
Max. Input: 50 : 5 V D C (500 m W ) or 5 V rm s
LC334: 1 M 250 V m ax (D C + peak A C 10 k H z)
LC374, LC534, LC574, LC564, LC584 Series: 1 M : 400 V
m ax. (D C + peak A C 10k H z)
LC684 Series: 1 M : 100 V (D C + peak A C @ 10 k H z)
SMARTMemory: T he total m em ory m anagem ent system
dynam ically m anages acquisition m em ory to guarantee that
signals are alw ays sam pled at the highest possible sam ple rate
and that system R A M and m icroprocessor resources are alw ays
optim ally em ployed.

System Random Access Memory:
LC334A
LC374A
LC534A
LC574A
LC334AM
LC534AM
LC564A
LC574AM
LC334AL
LC534AL
LC564A
LC684D
LC574AL
LC684DL
LC584A
LC584AM
LC684DM
LC584AL
LC584AXL
LC684DXL
8
16
16
64
64
Random Interleaved Sampling (RIS): for repetitive signals from :

LC334, LC534 Series: 1 ns/div to 5 s/div
LC374, LC574 Series: 1 ns/div to 2 s/div
LC564, LC584, LC684 Series: 200 ps/div to 1 s/div
Single Shot: for transient and repetitive signals from :
LC334, LC534 Series: 10 ns/div
LC374, LC574 Series: 1 ns/div, all channels active
LC564, LC584, LC684 Series: 2 ns/div, all channels active
Peak Detect (NOT ON LC564, LC584, OR LC684 SERIES): A t
400 M S /s, peak detect can capture high-speed events as low as
1 ns, w hile sim ultaneously capturing norm ally sam pled data.
(H ow ever, w ith a resolution of 2.5 ns there is no guarantee that
all high-speed events less than 2.5 ns in duration w ill be captured
w ith P eak D etect.)
Sequence: T his stores m ultiple tim e-stam ped events in
segm ented acquisition m em ories.
Dead Time between Segments: 30 s typical, 65 s m ax. (or
< 30 s, 50 s m ax. on LC334, LC534, LC574, AND LC684
SERIES)
Number of Segments Available:
LC334A
LC374A
LC564A
LC334AM, AL
LC574A
LC584A
LC534AM, AL
LC584AL, AXL
LC534A
LC574AM, AL
LC684D
LC584AM
LC684DL
LC684DM
LC684DXL
2 to 500
2 to 1000
2 to 2000
2 to 6000
Timebases: m ain and up to four Z oom T races

Time/Div Range: 1 ns/div to 1000 s/div
LC564 Series: 1 ns/div at 4 G S /s, and 2 ns/div at 2 G S /s, to
1000 s/div
LC584, LC684 Series: 500 ps/div at 8 G S /s
Clock Accuracy: 10 ppm
LC684 Series: < 10 ppm
Interpolator Resolution: 10 ps
LC684 Series: 5 ps
Roll Mode:
LC334, LC374, LC534, LC574 Series: for > 500 000 points:
10 to 1000 s/div
LC564, LC584, LC684 Series: ranges from 500 m s/div to
1000 s/div
External Clock:
LC334, LC374, LC534, LC574 Series: 1 0 0 M H z (20 to
100 M H z for LC374 AND LC574 SERIES ) on E X T input w ith
E C L, T T L, or zero crossing levels. O ptional (C K T R IG ) 50 to
500 M H z rear panel fixed-frequency clock input.
LC564, LC584, LC684 Series: C KT R IG option includes rear
panel fixed-frequency clock input, D C to 500 M H z (<20 ns
rise/fall tim e)
External Reference: T here is an optional (C KT R IG ) 10 M H z rear
panel input.
Modes: N O R M A L, A U T O , S IN G LE , and S T O P .
Sources: C H 1, C H 2, C H 3, C H 4, Line, Ext, Ext/10 (Ext/5 on LC564,
LC584 , AND LC684 SERIES). Slope, Level, and C oupling are unique
to each source.
Slope: P ositive, N egative
LC564, LC584, LC684 Series: P ositive, N egative, B i-S lope
(W indow in and out)
Coupling: A C , D C , H F , L F R E J, H F R E J
Pre-trigger Recording: 0 to 100% of full scale (adjustable in 1%
increm ents)
Post-trigger Delay: 0 to 10 000 divisions (adjustable in 0.1-div
increm ents)
Hold-off by Time: 10 ns to 20 s
LC564, LC584, LC684 Series: 2 ns to 20 s
Holdoff by Events: 1 to 99 999 999
Internal Trigger Range: 5 screen divisions
EXT Trigger Max. Input:
LC334 Series: 10 M //15 pF (LC 334A system capacitance
using P P 002): 250 V m ax. (D C + peak A C 10 k H z); 50
1% : 5 V D C (500 m W ) or 5 V rm s
LC374, LC534, LC574 Series: 10 M //11 pF (system
capacitance using P P 005): 400 V (D C + peak A C
10 k H z); 50 1% : 5 V D C (500 m W ) or 5 V rm s
LC564, LC584A Series: 10 M //11 pF at probe tip (P P 005):
400 V (D C + peak A C 10 k H z); 50 1% : 5 V D C (500
m W ) or 5 V rm s
LC684 Series: 10 M //11 pF at probe tip (P P 005): 100 V
(D C + peak A C 10 k H z); 50 3% : 5 V D C (500 m W ) or
5 V rm s
EXT Trigger Range: 0.5 V w ith E X T ; 5 V w ith E xt/10
LC564, LC584A Series: 1.2 V on E X T ; 6 V w ith E xt/5
LC684 Series: 0.5 V ; 2.5 V w ith E X T /5
Trigger Timing: T rigger D ate and T im e are listed in the
M em ory S tatus M enu.
Trigger Comparator: T here is an optional (C K T R IG ) E C L rear
panel output. A lternatively, the calibrator output can provide a
trigger output or a P A S S /F A IL test output.
Pattern: T he oscilloscope triggers on the logic com bination of

five inputs C H 1, C H 2, C H 3, C H 4, and E X T T rigger, w here
each source can be defined as H igh, Low , or D on't C are.
T he T rigger can be defined as the beginning or end of the
specified pattern.
Signal or Pattern Width: T he oscilloscope triggers on the w idth
betw een tw o selectable lim its from 2.5 ns to 20 s. T ypically it
triggers on glitches 1 ns w ide.
LC564, LC584, LC684 Series: T he oscilloscope triggers on
glitches as short as 600 ps or on pulse w idths 600 ps to 20 s.
Signal or Pattern Interval: T he oscilloscope triggers on the
interval betw een tw o selectable lim its from 10 ns to 20 s.
Dropout: T he oscilloscope triggers if the input signal drops out
for longer than a tim e-out from 25 ns to 20 s.
Qualified: T he oscilloscope triggers on any source only if a given
state (or transition) has occurred on another source. (T he delay
betw een these events can be defined as a num ber of events on
the trigger channel or as a tim e interval.)
TV: T his allow s selection of up to 1500 lines, and odd or even
fields synchronized for P A L, S E C A M , N T S C , or nonstandard
video.
Runt (LC564 LC584, AND LC684 SERIES ONLY): T he
oscilloscope triggers on positive or negative runts betw een tw o
selectable lim its from 600 ps to 20 s.
Slew Rate (LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES ONLY): T he
oscilloscope triggers on rising or falling edges betw een 600 ps
and 20 s.
Exclusion Triggering: T his can be perform ed in G litch, Interval,
R unt, and S lew -R ate trigger m odes. T he oscilloscope triggers on
interm ittent faults by specifying the norm al w idth, period, level, or
slew of a signal. It w ill trigger only on aberrations that are shorter
or longer than norm al.
T his autom atically sets sensitivity, vertical offset, and tim ebase
on all display channels.
Autosetup Time: 2 to 3 seconds
Vertical Find: T his autom atically sets sensitivity and offset for
selected channel.
LC334: O ne PP005 probe is supplied per channel: D C to 350 M H z

typical at probe tip, 500 V m ax.
LC374, LC534, LC574A, LC564, LC584, LC684 Series: O ne
PP005 probe is supplied per channel: D C to 500 M H z typical at
probe tip, 500 V m ax.
Probe calibration: 1 V m ax. into 1 M , 500 m V into 50 ;
frequency and am plitude can be
program m ed; pulse or square w ave
can be selected; rise and fall tim e:
1 ns typical.
Screen Type: C olor 10-inch R aster S can C R T , 0.26 m m dot

pitch.
LC684 Series: 10.4 T F T -LC D
Resolution: 640 x 480 points
Display Area: 170 m m x 125 m m
LC684 Series: 212 m m X 160 m m
Controls: T here are rear panel presets for position, brightness,
and contrast; and front panel m enu controls for brightness and
color selection.
Grid Styles: S ingle, D ual, Q uad, O ctal, X Y , S ingle + X Y , D ual +
X Y , and F ull S creen (enlarged view of each grid style)
Graticules: Internally generated, they have a separate intensity
control for grids and w aveform s, and offer selectable blending of
grid w ith displayed traces.
Waveform Style: C hoose from D ot Join w ith optional sam ple
point highlight, or D ots only.
Persistence Modes: C olor G raded and A nalog P ersistence;
infinite or variable w ith decay over tim e
LC334A Series: A nalog P ersistence is available only w hen
all four channels are com bined.
Trace Display: C hoose from opaque or transparent m odes, w ith
overlap m anagem ent.
Number of Traces: 8 (any m ix of channels, m em ories, or M ath
functions)
Real-time Clock: D ate, hours, m inutes, seconds
External Monitor: A rear panel 15-pin sock et is available for
V G A com patible m onitor.
Vertical Zoom: up to five tim es vertical expansion (50 tim es w ith
averaging, up to 40 V /div sensitivity)
Horizontal Zoom:
LC334A, LC534A: up to 2 or 2.5 points/division
LC374A, LC574A: up to 0.4 or 0.5 points/division
LC564, LC584, LC684 Series: up to 0.4 points/division
Microprocessor: 96 M Hz PowerPC 603e

LC584AXL, LC684DXL: 192 M H z PowerPC
Video Memory: 1 M byte
Cache Memory: 32 k bytes
Persistence Data Map Memory: 16 bits per displayed pixel
(64 000 levels)
U p to four processing functions m ay be perform ed

sim ultaneously. S tandard functions available are: A dd, S ubtract,
M ultiply, D ivide, N egate, Identity, S um m ation A veraging and S ine
x/x, Integral, D erivative, S quare R oot, R atio, and A bsolute V alue.
T he source inform ation for a m ath function trace can be data
from an acquisition channel or from another m ath function trace.
T his allow s display of traces that daisy chain m ath functions.
6
Average: up to 10 averages
6
Extrema: R oof, F loor, or E nvelope values from 1 to 10 sw eeps
ERES: S ix low -pass digital filters provide up to 11-bit vertical
resolution. S am pled data is alw ays available, even w hen a trace
is turned off.
FFT: S pectrum A nalysis w ith five w indow ing functions and F F T
averaging
Resample: T his deskew feature allows a signal to be resam pled
and adjusted in tim e relative to another signal.
Statistical Diagnostics: T he P aram eter A nalysis pack age
perm its in-depth diagnostics on w aveform param eters. W ith this
pack age, live histogram m ing of any w aveform param eter
m easurem ent is possible. T he histogram can be autoscaled to
display the center and w idth of the distribution. A ny of the above
processes can be invok ed w ithout losing the data. T rending is
also available w ith this pack age, w hich is standard on the LC 574,
LC 584, and LC 684 S eries, and optional on all other m odels.
Waveform Memory: T his features up to four 16-bit m em ories

(M 1, M 2, M 3, M 4), w hose length corresponds to the length of the
channel acquisition m em ory.
Zoom and Math Memory: U p to four 16-bit W aveform
P rocessing M em ories (A , B , C , D ), w hose length corresponds to
the length of the channel acquisition m em ory
Setup Memory: F our non-volatile m em ories (optional m em ory
cards, flash disk s, or rem ovable hard disk s m ay also be used for
high-capacity w aveform and setup storage.)
Relative Time: A pair of arrow cursors m easures tim e

differences and voltage differences relative to each other.
Relative Voltage: A pair of line cursors m easures voltage
differences.
Absolute Time: A cross-hairs m ark er m easures tim e relative to
the trigger and voltage (w ith respect to ground).
Absolute Voltage: A reference bar m easures voltage w ith
respect to ground.
A w ide range of pulse param eter m easurem ents is available,

categorized for ease of use. T he categories include P ulse,
H orizontal, and
V ertical param eters.
B asic
statistical
m easurem ents such as average, highest, low est, and standard
deviation (included as standard) can be m ade on these
param eter m easurem ents in order to understand their
distribution.
P ass/F ail T esting and W aveform Lim it testing (using m ask s) can
be perform ed. T est conditions can be expressed as either
w aveform param eter lim its, w aveform shape lim its (m ask ), or a
com bination of both. A ny failure can cause preprogram m ed
actions such as H ardcopy, S ave, G P IB service request, logic
pulse out, audible beep, or a com bination of these.
Remote Control: G P IB and R S -232-C for all

front panel controls; internal functions
RS-232-C Port: A synchronous; up to
115.2 k B aud for com puter or term inal
control, printer or plotter connection
GPIB Port: (IE E E -488.1) configurable as
talk er/listener for com puter control and fast
data transfer; com m and language com pliant w ith IE E E -488.2
Centronics Port: hardcopy interface
Shielded cables less than 3 m in length are required to
conform to EMC Directive 89/336/EEC.
PC Card (PCMCIA I/II/III Ports): optional for m em ory cards,
flash cards, or rem ovable hard disk s
Floppy Disk: high density 3.5-inch floppy disk drive (D O S
form at)
VGA Compatible Display: 15-pin, D -type, V G A -com patible
connector for external color display. Y ou m ay experience
flick ering if you connect an LC D projector to the V G A output.
Hardcopy: T IFF and BM P form ats available for export to D esktop
Publishing program s; H PG L protocol for vector graphics
Printers and Plotters:
B/W Printers: H P LaserJet , H P D esk Jet 500,
E pson F X
Color Printers: H P D esk Jet 550C ; E pson S tylus; Canon
200, 600, 800 Series
Plotters: H P 7470, H P 7550
Internal: high-resolution graphics

depending on m odel; stripchart output form at w ith 2 m per

division also available
Output Formats: B inary, or A S C II w aveform output com patible
w ith spreadsheets, M A T LA B , and M athC ad
Auto-calibration: Ensures specified D C and tim ing accuracy

Temperature (operating): 5 to 40 C (41 to 104 F)
Humidity (operating):
Altitude (operating): C am bient
Shock and Vibration: C onform s to selected sections of
M IL-P R F -28800F , C lass 3
Power: 90 to 132 V A C , or 180 to 250 V A C , 45 to 66 H z,

autom atic voltage selection, 400 W m ax. (LC684 Series: 350 W
m ax.)
Battery Backup: front panel settings m aintained for tw o years
Dimensions: (H W D ) 10.4 x 15.65 x 17.85 inches (264 x 397 x
453 m m )
Weight: 44 lb. (20 k g) net; 61.6 lb (28 k g) shipping
LC684 Series: 35 lb (16 k g) net, 53 lb (24 k g) shipping
Warranty: 3 years
CE Declaration of Conformity: T he oscilloscope m eets

requirem ents of E M C D irective 89/336/E E C for E lectrom agnetic
C om patibility, and Low V oltage D irective 73/23/E E C for P roduct
S afety.
EMC: E N 50081-1:1992 (E m issions); E N 50082-1:1997
(Im m unity)
Low Voltage Directive: C onform s to E N 61010-1:1993 +
A m d. 2:1995, S afety requirem ents for electrical equipm ent
for m easurem ent, control, and laboratory use.
T he oscilloscope has been qualified to the follow ing
E N 61010-1 category:
Installation (O vervoltage) C ategory II
P ollution D egree 2
S ee D eclaration of C onform ity for further details.
UL and cUL Certifications: U L S tandard U L 3111-1;

C anadian S tandard C S A -C 22.2 N o. 1010.1-92
U L and cU L Listing F ile: E 170588
# # #
The available sampling rate of LeCroy oscilloscopes is often

higher than that required for the analyzed signals
bandwidth. Oversampling, particularly pronounced in the
long-memory models, can be used to increase the displayed
traces effective resolution: the ability of the instrument to
distinguish closely spaced voltage levels. This is done by
filtering the digitized signal using Enhanced Resolution.
A lthough sim ilar to signal sm oothing using a sim ple m ovingaverage filter, enhanced resolution filtering is m ore efficient both
in term s of bandw idth and the superior passband characteristics
that result. A nd on w aveform s w ith single-shot characteristics, it
can be used instead of successive trace averaging.
E nhanced
resolution
filtering
characteristics of the oscilloscope.
im proves
tw o
im portant
R esolution is im proved by a fixed am ount for each filter. T his true

increase in resolution occurs w hether or not the signal is noisy, or
w hether a single-shot or repetitive signal.
S ignaltonoise ratio (S N R ) is im proved in such a w ay as to be
dependent on the form of the noise in the original signal. T his is
because the enhanced resolution filtering decreases the
bandw idth of the signal, therefore filtering out som e of the noise.
T he oscilloscopes set of constant-phase, F IR (F inite Im pulseR esponse filters provide fast com putation, excellent step
response in 0.5 bit steps, and m inim um bandw idth reduction for
resolution im provem ents of betw een 0.5 and 3 bits. E ach step
corresponds to a bandw idth reduction of a factor of tw o, allow ing
easy control of the bandw idth/resolution trade-off. T he
param eters of the six filters are given in the follow ing table:
Resolution Increase
(Enhancement)
3 dB Bandwidth
( Nyquist)
Filter Length
(Samples)
0.5
0.5
1.0
0.241
1.5
0.121
10
2.0
0.058
24
2.5
0.029
51
3.0
0.016
117
W ith low -pass filters, the actual S N R increase obtained in any

particular situation depends on the pow er spectral density of the
noise on the signal. T he im provem ent in S N R corresponds to the
im provem ent in resolution if the noise in the signal is w hite
that is, if it is evenly distributed across the frequency spectrum . If
the noise pow er is biased tow ards high frequencies, the S N R
im provem ent w ill be better than the resolution im provem ent.
W hereas the opposite m ay be true if the noise is m ostly at low er
frequencies.
S N R im provem ent due to the rem oval of coherent noise signals
feed-through of clock signals, for exam ple is decided by the
fall of the dom inant frequency com ponents of the signal in the
passband. T his is easily ascertained using S pectral A nalysis.
T he filters have a precisely constant zero phase response. T his
has tw o desirable properties. F irst, the filters do not distort the
relative position of different events in the w aveform , even if the
events frequency content is different. A nd second, because the
w aveform s are stored, the delay norm ally associated w ith filtering
(betw een the input and output w aveform s) can be exactly
com pensated during the com putation of the filtered w aveform .
A ll the filters have been given exact unity gain at low frequency.
E nhanced resolution should thus not cause overflow if the source
data is not overflow ed. If part of the source trace w ere to
overflow , filtering w ould be allow ed, but the results in the vicinity
of the overflow ed data the filter im pulse response length
w ould be incorrect. T his is because in som e circum stances an

overflow m ay be a spik e of only one or tw o sam ples, and the
energy in this spik e m ay not be enough to significantly affect the
results. It w ould then not be desirable to disallow the w hole trace.
In general, enhanced resolution is used to replace the averaging

function in situations w here the data record has a single-shot or
slow ly repetitive nature and averaging cannot be used.
T here are tw o particular situations in w hich enhanced resolution
is especially useful. O ne is w hen the signal is noticeably noisy
and m easurem ents of the noise are not required. T he signal can
be cleaned up by using the enhanced resolution function. T he
other is w hen even if the signal is not particularly noisy
high-precision m easurem ents of the w aveform are required
(w hen using E xpand w ith high vertical gain, for exam ple).
E nhanced resolution w ill then increase the resolution of the
m easurem ents.
T he exam ples on the follow ing pages illustrate how enhanced
resolution can be used.
T his screen shows the spectrum of a square signal before (top grid)
and after (bottom grid) enhanced resolution processing. T he result
clearly illustrates how the filter rejects high-frequency com ponents
from the signal. T he higher the bit enhancem ent, the lower the
resulting bandwidth.
In this exam ple the bottom trace has been significantly enhanced by
a 3-bit enhanced resolution function.
The original signal being highly oversampled, the

resulting bandwidth is still high enough for the signal not to
be distorted.
T his illustration shows the effect of enhanced resolution on a noisy

signal. T he original trace (top grid) has been processed by a 2-bit
enhanced resolution filter. T he result (bottom grid) shows a sm ooth
trace, where m ost of the noise has been elim inated.
The enhanced resolution function can only improve the resolution of a trace; it cannot
improve the accuracy or linearity of the original quantization by the 8-bit ADC.
The constraint of good temporal response excludes the use of maximally flat filters.
The pass band will therefore cause signal attenuation for signals near the cut-off
frequency. The highest frequencies passed may be slightly attenuated. The frequency
response of a typical enhanced resolution filter (the 2-bit enhancement filter) is
illustrated below, indicating the 3 dB cut-off frequency of 5.8% of the Nyquist
frequency.
The filtering must be performed on finite record lengths: data will be lost at the start
and end of the waveform, so that the trace becomes slightly shorter after filtering.
The number of samples lost is exactly equal to the length of the impulse response of
the filter used. It thus varies between two and 117 samples. Because of the
oscilloscopes very long waveform memories, this loss just 0.2% of a 50 000 point
trace is not normally noticed. However, it is possible to demand filtering on a record
so short, there would be no data output. In this case the scope will not allow filtering.
# # #
BLAN K PAG E
The WP02 Spectral Analysis package with FFT (Fast Fourier

Transform) reveals signal characteristics not visible in the
time domain, and adds the power of frequency domain
analysis to your oscilloscope. FFT converts a time domain
waveform into frequency domain spectra similar to those of
a spectrum analyzer, but with important differences and
added benefits.
F or a large class of signals, greater insight can be gained by

look ing at spectral representation rather than tim e description.
S ignals encountered in the frequency response of am plifiers,
oscillator phase noise and those in m echanical vibration analysis
to m ention just som e applications are easier to observe in
the frequency dom ain.
If sam pling is done at a rate fast enough to faithfully approxim ate
the original w aveform (usually five tim es the highest frequency
com ponent in the signal), the resulting discrete data series w ill
uniquely describe the analog signal.
T his is of particular value w hen dealing w ith transient signals
because, unlik e F F T , conventional sw ept spectrum analyzers
cannot handle them .
S pectral analysis theory assum es that the signal for

transform ation be of infinite duration. S ince no physical signal
can m eet this condition, a useful assum ption for reconciling
theory and practice is to view the signal as consisting of an
infinite series of replica of itself. T hese replica are m ultiplied by a
rectangular w indow (the display grid) that is zero outside of the
observation grid.
For an explanation of FFT terms: see the Glossary

on page C17
Using FFT Functions: see page C9
FFT Algorithms: page C14
F igure C 1 show s spectra of a sw ept triangular w ave.

D iscontinuities at the edges of the w ave produce leak age, an
effect clearly visible in T race A , w hich w as com puted w ith a
rectangular w indow , but less pronounced in the V on H ann
w indow in T race B (see below for explanations of leak age and
w indow types). H istogram m ing in T race C track s the spread of
the first harm onic.
Figure C1
S licing the w aveform in this m anner is lik e diluting the spectral

energy in an infinite num ber of side lobes, w hich correspond to
m ultiples of the frequency resolution f (F ig. C 2). T he
observation w indow or capture tim e T determ ines the frequency
resolution of the F F T (f=1/T ). W hereas the sam pling period and
the record length set the m axim um frequency span that can be
obtained (f N yq = f*N /2).
Figure C2
A n F F T operation on an N -point tim e dom ain signal m ay thus be

com pared to passing the signal through a com b filter consisting
of a bank of N /2 filters. A ll the filters have the sam e shape and
w idth and are centered at N /2 discrete frequencies. E ach filter
collects the signal energy that falls into the im m ediate
neighborhood of its center frequency. T hus it can be said that
there are N /2 frequency bins. T he distance in H z betw een the
center frequencies of tw o neighboring bins is alw ays the sam e:
f.
B ecause of the linear scale used to show m agnitudes, low er
am plitude com ponents are often hidden by larger com ponents. In
addition to the functions offering m agnitude and phase
representations, the F F T option offers pow er density and pow er
spectrum density functions, selected from the F F T result m enu
show n in the figures. T hese latter functions are even better
2
suited for characterizing spectra. T he pow er spectrum (V ) is the
square of the m agnitude spectrum (0 dB m corresponds to
voltage equivalent to 1 m W into 50 .) T his is the representation
of choice for signals containing isolated peak s periodic

signals, for instance.
2
T he pow er density spectrum (V /H z) is the pow er spectrum

divided by the equivalent noise bandw idth of the filter in H z
associated w ith the F F T calculation. T his is best em ployed for
characterizing broadband signals such as noise.
T he am ount of acquisition m em ory available w ill determ ine the

m axim um range (N yquist frequency) over w hich signal
com ponents can be observed. C onsider the problem of
determ ining the length of the observation w indow and the size of
the acquisition buffer if a N yquist rate of 500 M H z and a
resolution of 10 k H z are required. T o obtain a resolution of 10
k H z, the acquisition tim e m ust be at least:
T = 1/f = 1/10 k H z = 100 s.
F or a digital oscilloscope w ith a m em ory of 100 k B , the highest
frequency that can be analyzed is:
f N /2 = 10 k H z 100 k B /2 = 500 M H z.
T ak e care to ensure that signals are correctly acquired: im proper

w aveform positioning w ithin the observation w indow produces a
distorted spectrum . T he m ost com m on distortions can be traced
to insufficient sam pling, edge discontinuities, w indow ing or the
pick et fence effect.
B ecause the F F T acts lik e a bank of bandpass filters centered at
m ultiples of the frequency resolution, com ponents that are not
exact m ultiples of that frequency w ill fall w ithin tw o consecutive
filters. T his results in an attenuation of the true am plitude of
these com ponents.
T he highest point in the spectrum can be 3.92 dB low er w hen the

source frequency is halfw ay betw een tw o discrete frequencies.
T his variation in spectrum m agnitude is the pick et fence effect.
T he corresponding attenuation loss is referred to as scallop loss.
LeC roy scopes autom atically correct for the scallop effect,
ensuring that the m agnitude of the spectra lines correspond to
their true values in the tim e dom ain.

If a signal contains a frequency com ponent above N yquist, the
spectrum w ill be aliased, m eaning that the frequencies w ill be
folded back and spurious. S potting aliased frequencies is often
difficult, as the aliases m ay ride on top of real harm onics. A
sim ple w ay of check ing is to m odify the sam ple rate and observe
w hether the frequency distribution changes.
F F T assum es that the signal contained w ithin the tim e grid is

replicated endlessly outside the observation w indow . T herefore if
the signal contains discontinuities at its edges, pseudofrequencies w ill appear in the spectral dom ain, distorting the real
spectrum . W hen the start and end phase of the signal differ, the
signal frequency falls w ithin tw o frequency cells broadening the
spectrum .
T his effect is illustrated in F igure C 1. B ecause the display does
not contain an integral num ber of periods, the spectrum
displayed in T race B does not reveal sharp frequency
com ponents. Interm ediate com ponents exhibit a low er and
broader peak . T he broadening of the base, stretching out in
m any neighboring bins, is term ed leak age. C ures for this are to
ensure that an integral num ber of periods is contained w ithin the
display grid or that no discontinuities appear at the edges.
A nother is to use a w indow function to sm ooth the edges of the
signal.
T he choice of a spectral w indow is dictated by the signals

characteristics. W eighting functions control the filter response
shape, and affect noise bandw idth as w ell as side lobe levels.
Ideally, the m ain lobe should be as narrow and flat as possible to
effectively discrim inate all spectral com ponents, w hile all side
lobes should be infinitely attenuated.
C hosen from the w ith w indow m enu, the w indow type defines
the bandw idth and shape of the equivalent filter to be used in the
F F T processing.
In the sam e w ay as one w ould choose a particular cam era lens
for tak ing a picture, som e experim enting is generally necessary
to determ ine w hich w indow is m ost suitable. H ow ever, the
follow ing general guidelines should help (see page C 11 for
w indow types).
R ectangular w indow s provide the highest frequency resolution

and are thus useful for estim ating the type of harm onics present
in the signal. B ecause the rectangular w indow decays as a sinx/x
function in the spectral dom ain, slight attenuation w ill be induced.
A lternative functions w ith less attenuation F lattop and
B lack m an-H arris provide m axim um am plitude at the expense
of frequency resolution. W hereas, H am m ing and von H ann are
good for general purpose use w ith continuous w aveform s.
E nhanced resolution (see A ppendix B ) uses a low pass filtering
technique that can potentially provide for three additional bits
(18 dB ) if the signal noise is uniform ly distributed (w hite). Low
pass filtering should be considered w hen high frequency
com ponents are irrelevant. A distinct advantage of this technique
is that it w ork s for both repetitive and transient signals. T he S N R
increase is conditioned by the cut-off frequency of the E res low
pass filter and the noise shape (frequency distribution).
LeC roy digital oscilloscopes em ploy F IR digital filters so that a
constant phase shift is m aintained. T he phase inform ation is
therefore not distorted by the filtering action.
E ven greater dynam ic-range im provem ent is obtained on signals
show ing periodicity. M oreover, the range can be increased
w ithout sacrificing frequency response. T he LeC roy oscilloscope
being used is equipped w ith accum ulation buffers 32 bits w ide to
prevent overflow s.
S pectral pow er averaging is useful w hen the signal varies in tim e
and the m ean pow er of the signal needs to be estim ated. T ypical
applications include noise and pseudo-random noise. W hereas
tim e averaging ignores phase inform ation, spectral averaging
track s m agnitude as w ell as phase inform ation. It is thus a
superior estim ator. T he im provem ent is typically proportional to
the square root of the num ber of averages. F or instance,
averaging w hite noise at full scale over 10 sw eeps yields a typical
im provem ent of nearly 20 dB .

S pectral pow er averaging is the technique to use w hen you are
determ ining the frequency response of passive netw ork s such as
filters. F igures 3 and 4 show the transfer functions of a low pass
filter w ith a 3-dB cutoff of 11 M H z, obtained by exciting the filter
w ith a w hite noise source (F ig. C 3) and a sine sw ept generator
(F ig. C 4). B oth techniques give substantially the sam e results.
T he choice of m ethod is governed by the availability of an
adequate generating source.
T he spectra of single tim e-dom ain w aveform s can be com puted
and displayed to obtain pow er averages obtained over as m any
as 50 000 spectra.
Figure C3
Figure C4
B ecause of its versatility, F F T analysis has becom e a popular

analysis tool. H ow ever, som e care m ust be tak en w ith it. In m ost
instances, incorrect positioning of the signal w ithin the display
grid w ill significantly alter the spectrum . E ffects such as leak age
and aliasing that distort the spectrum m ust be understood if
m eaningful conclusions are to be arrived at w hen using F F T .
A n effective w ay to reduce these effects is to m axim ize the
acquisition record length. R ecord length directly conditions the
effective sam pling rate of the scope and therefore determ ines the
frequency resolution and span at w hich spectral analysis can be
carried out.
Select FFT from the Math Type menu (see Chapter 10

for a full description of math and waveform processing
menus). Spectra displayed with a linear frequency axis
running from zero to the Nyquist frequency are shown at the
right-hand edge of the trace. The frequency scale factors
(Hz/div) are in a 125 sequence.
T he processing equation is displayed at the bottom of the screen,
together w ith the three k ey param eters that characterize an F F T
spectrum . T hese are:
transform size N (num ber of input points)
N yquist frequency (= sam ple rate)
frequency increm ent f betw een tw o successive points of the

spectrum
T hese param eters are related by

N yquist frequency = f N /2
W here: f = 1/T , and w here T is the duration of the input
w aveform record (10 tim e/div). T he num ber of output points is
equal to N /2.
FFT spectra are computed

over the entire source time-domain waveform. This limits
the number of points used for FFT processing. If the
input waveform contains more points than the selected
maximum in for Math use max points, they are
decimated before FFT processing. But if it has fewer, all
points are used.
T he follow ing selections can be m ade using the F F T result

m enu.
T his is m easured w ith respect to a cosine w hose m axim um

occurs at the left-hand edge of the screen, at w hich point it has
0. S im ilarly, a positive-going sine starting at the left-hand edge
of the screen has a 90 phase (displayed in degrees).
T his is the signal pow er norm alized to the bandw idth of the
equivalent filter associated w ith the F F T calculation. T he pow er
density is suitable for characterizing broadband noise. (It is
displayed on a logarithm ic vertical axis calibrated in dB m .)
T his is the signal pow er (or m agnitude) represented on a

logarithm ic vertical scale: 0 dB m corresponds to the voltage
(0.316 V peak ), w hich is equivalent to 1 m W into 50 . T he
pow er spectrum is suitable for characterizing spectra that contain
isolated peak s (dB m ).
T his is the peak signal am plitude represented on a linear scale.

(It has the sam e units as the input signal.)
T hese represent the com plex result of the F F T processing. (T hey

have the sam e units as the input signal.)
Window Type
C hosen using the with window m enu, the window type defines the
bandwidth and shape of the filter to be used in the FFT processing
(see the table on page C 17 for these filters param eters). W hen
A C is selected from the sam e m enu, the D C com ponent of the
input signal is forced to zero prior to the F F T processing. T his
im proves the am plitude resolution, especially w hen the input has
a large D C com ponent.
Applications and Limitations
Rectangular
These are norm ally used w hen the signal is transient (com pletely
contained in the tim e-dom ain w indow ) or know n to have a
fundam ental frequency com ponent that is an integer m ultiple of the
fundam ental frequency of the w indow . Signals other than these
types w ill show varying am ounts of spectral leakage and scallop
loss, w hich can be corrected by selecting another type of w indow .
Hanning (Von Hann)
These reduce leakage and im prove am plitude accuracy. H ow ever,

frequency resolution is also reduced.
Hamming
These reduce leakage and im prove am plitude accuracy. H ow ever,

frequency resolution is also reduced.
Flat Top
BlackmanHarris
This w indow provides excellent am plitude accuracy w ith m oderate

reduction of leakage, but w ith reduced frequency resolution.
It reduces the leakage to a m inim um , but with reduced frequency
resolution.
A function can be defined as the pow er average of F F T spectra
com puted by another function (see page C 6). C hoose
F F T A V G from the M ath T ype m enu, and P ow er S pect from
F F T R esult.
O ther w aveform processing functions, such as A veraging and

A rithm etic, can be applied to w aveform s before F F T processing
is perform ed. T im e-dom ain averaging prior to F F T , for exam ple,
can be used if a stable trigger is available to reduce random
noise in the signal.
To increase the FFT frequency range, the Nyquist

frequency, raise the effective sampling frequency by
increasing the maximum number of points or using a
faster time base.
To increase the FFT frequency resolution, increase the

length of the time-domain waveform record by using a
slower time base.
W hen F F T is used, the field beneath the grid displays

param eters of the w aveform descriptor, including num ber of
points, horizontal and vertical scale factors, and units.
For reading the am plitude and frequency of a data point, the

Absolute T im e cursor can be m oved into the frequency dom ain by
going beyond the right-hand edge of a tim e-dom ain waveform .
T he R elative T im e cursors can be m oved into the frequency
dom ain to sim ultaneously indicate the frequency difference and
the am plitude difference betw een tw o points on each frequencydom ain trace.
T he A bsolute V oltage cursor reads the absolute value of a point
in a spectrum in the appropriate units, and the R elative V oltage
cursors indicate the difference betw een tw o levels on each trace
O ne of these F F T -related error m essages m ay be displayed at

the top of the screen.
Message
Meaning
Incompatible input record type
F F T pow er average is defined only on a function defined

as FFT.
Horizontal units don't match
F F T of a frequency-dom ain w aveform is not available.
FFT source data zero filled
If there are invalid data points in the source w aveform (at

the beginning or at the end of the record), these are
replaced by zeros before F F T processing.
FFT source data over/underflow T he source w aveform data has been clipped in
am plitude, either in the acquisition gain too high or
inappropriate offset or in previous processing. T he
resulting F F T contains harm onic com ponents w hich
w ould not be present in the unclipped w aveform . T he
settings defining the acquisition or processing should be
changed to elim inate the over/underflow condition.
Circular computation
A function definition is circular (i.e. the function is its ow n
source, indirectly via another function or expansion).
O ne of the definitions should be changed.
A summary of the algorithms used in the oscilloscopes FFT

computation is given here in the form of seven steps:
1.
If the m axim um num ber of points is sm aller than the source

num ber of points, the source w aveform data are decim ated
prior to the F F T . T hese decim ated data extend over the full
length of the source w aveform . T he resulting sam pling
interval and the actual transform size selected provide the
frequency scale factor in a 125 sequence.
2.
T he data are m ultiplied by the selected w indow function.
3.
F F T is com puted, using a fast im plem entation of the D F T

(D iscrete F ourier T ransform ):
Xn =
w here: x k is
source tim e
0; X n is the
W = e 2 j / N
1
N
k = N 1
xk W
nk
k =0
a com plex array w hose real part is the m odified

dom ain w aveform , and w hose im aginary part is
resulting com plex frequency-dom ain w aveform ;
; and N is the num ber of points in x k and X n .
T he generalized F F T algorithm , as im plem ented here, w ork s

on N , w hich need not be a pow er of 2.
4.
T he resulting com plex vector X n is divided by the coherent

gain of the w indow function, in order to com pensate for the
loss of the signal energy due to w indow ing. T his
com pensation provides accurate am plitude values for
isolated spectrum peak s.
5.
T he real part of X n is sym m etric around the N yquist

frequency, that is
R n = R N -n
w hile the im aginary part is asym m etric, that is
I n = I N -n

T he energy of the signal at a frequency n is distributed equally
betw een the first and the second halves of the spectrum ; the
energy at frequency 0 is com pletely contained in the 0 term .
T he first half of the spectrum (R e, Im ), from 0 to the N yquist
frequency is k ept for further processing and doubled in
am plitude:
R n = 2 x R n
In = 2 x I n
6.
0 n < N /2
0 n < N /2
T he resultant w aveform is com puted for the spectrum type

selected.
If R eal, Im aginary, or R eal + Im aginary is selected, no
further com putation is needed. T he appropriate part of the
com plex result is given as the result ( R n or In or R n + jIn , as
defined above).
If M agnitude is selected, the m agnitude of the com plex
vector is com puted as:
M n = R n2 +I n2
S teps 16 lead to the follow ing result:
A n A C sine w ave of am plitude 1.0 V w ith an integral num ber of
periods N p in the tim e w indow , transform ed w ith the rectangular
w indow , results in a fundam ental peak of 1.0 V m agnitude in the
spectrum at frequency N p f. H ow ever, a D C com ponent of 1.0
V , transform ed w ith the rectangular w indow , results in a peak of
2.0 V m agnitude at 0 H z.
T he w aveform s for the other available spectrum types are
com puted as follow s:
P hase: angle = arctan ( I n /R n )
angle = 0
M n > M m in
M n M m in
W here M m in is the m inim um m agnitude, fixed at about 0.001 of

the full scale at any gain setting, below w hich the angle is not w ell
defined.
T he dB m P ow er S pectrum :
M n2
M n
dB m P S = 10 log 10 2 = 20 log 10
M re f
M ref
w here M ref = 0.316 V (that is, 0 dB m is defined as a sine w ave of
0.316 V peak or 0.224 V R M S , giving 1.0 m W into 50 ).
T he dB m P ow er S pectrum is the sam e as dB m M agnitude, as
suggested in the above form ula.
dB m P ow er D ensity:
d B m P D = dB m P S 10 log 10
(E N B W
f )
w here E N B W is the equivalent noise bandw idth of the filter

corresponding to the selected w indow , and f is the current
frequency resolution (bin w idth).
7.
T he F F T P ow er A verage tak es the com plex frequencydom ain data R n and In for each spectrum generated in S tep
5, and com putes the square of the m agnitude:
M n 2 = R n 2 + In 2 ,
then sum s M n 2 and counts the accum ulated spectra. T he
total is norm alized by the num ber of spectra and converted to
the selected result type using the sam e form ulas as are used
for the F ourier T ransform .
This section defines the terms frequently used in FFT

spectrum analysis and relates them to the oscilloscope.
If the input signal to a sam pling acquisition system contains

com ponents w hose frequency is greater than the N yquist
frequency (half the sam pling frequency), there w ill be less than
tw o sam ples per signal period. T he result is that the contribution
of these com ponents to the sam pled w aveform is
indistinguishable from that of com ponents below the N yquist
frequency. T his is aliasing.
T he tim ebase and transform size should be selected so that the
resulting N yquist frequency is higher than the highest significant
com ponent in the tim e-dom ain record.
T he norm alized coherent gain of a filter corresponding to each

w indow function is 1.0 (0 dB ) for a rectangular w indow and less
than 1.0 for other w indow s. It defines the loss of signal energy
due to the m ultiplication by the w indow function. T his loss is
com pensated for in the oscilloscope. T he follow ing table lists the
values for the im plem ented w indow s.
Highest Side
Lobe
(dB)
Scallop Loss
(dB)
ENBW
(bins)
Coherent Gain
(dB)
Rectangular
13
3 .9 2
1 .0
0 .0
von Hann
32
1 .4 2
1 .5
6 .0 2
Hamming
43
1 .7 8
1 .3 7
5 .3 5
Flat Top
44
0 .0 1
2 .9 6
1 1 .0 5
BlackmanHarris
67
1 .1 3
1 .7 1
7 .5 3
Window Type
E quivalent N oise B andW idth (E N B W ) is the bandw idth of a

rectangular filter (sam e gain at the center frequency), equivalent
to a filter associated w ith each frequency bin, w hich w ould collect
the sam e pow er from a w hite noise signal. In the table on the
previous page, the E N B W is listed for each w indow function
im plem ented, given in bins.
C om puting an N -point F F T is equivalent to passing the tim edom ain input signal through N /2 filters and plotting their outputs
against the frequency. T he spacing of filters is f = 1/T , w hile the
bandw idth depends on the w indow function used (see F requency
bins).
T he F F T algorithm tak es a discrete source w aveform , defined

over N points, and com putes N com plex F ourier coefficients,
w hich are interpreted as harm onic com ponents of the input
signal.
F or a real source w aveform (im aginary part equals 0), there are
only N /2 independent harm onic com ponents.
A n F F T corresponds to analyzing the input signal w ith a bank of
N /2 filters, all having the sam e shape and w idth, and centered at
N /2 discrete frequencies. E ach filter collects the signal energy
that falls into the im m ediate neighborhood of its center
frequency. T hus it can be said that there are N /2 frequency
bins.
T he distance in hertz betw een the center frequencies of tw o
neighboring bins is alw ays:
f = 1/T
w here T is the duration of the tim e-dom ain record in seconds.
T he w idth of the m ain lobe of the filter centered at each bin
depends on the w indow function used. T he rectangular w indow
has a nom inal w idth at 1.0 bin. O ther w indow s have w ider m ain
lobes (see table).
T he range of frequencies com puted and displayed is 0 H z

(displayed at the left-hand edge of the screen) to the N yquist
frequency (at the rightm ost edge of the trace).
In a sim ple sense, the frequency resolution is equal to the bin

w idth f. T hat is, if the input signal changes its frequency by f,
the corresponding spectrum peak w ill be displaced by f. F or
sm aller changes of frequency, only the shape of the peak w ill
change.
H ow ever, the effective frequency resolution (that is, the ability to
resolve tw o signals w hose frequencies are alm ost the sam e) is
further lim ited by the use of w indow functions. T he E N B W value
of all w indow s other than the rectangular is greater than f and
the bin w idth. T he table on page C 17 lists the E N B W values for
the im plem ented w indow s.
In the pow er spectrum of a sine w ave w ith an integral num ber of

periods in the (rectangular) tim e w indow (that is, the source
frequency equals one of the bin frequencies), the spectrum
contains a sharp com ponent w hose value accurately reflects the
source w aveform 's am plitude. F or interm ediate input frequencies
this spectral com ponent has a low er and broader peak .
T he broadening of the base of the peak , stretching out into m any
neighboring bins is term ed leakage . It is due to the relatively high
side lobes of the filter associated w ith each frequency bin.
T he filter side lobes and the resulting leak age are reduced w hen
one of the available w indow functions is applied. T he best
reduction is provided by the B lack m anH arris and F lat T op
w indow s. H ow ever, this reduction is offset by a broadening of the
m ain lobe of the filter.
F F T is com puted over the num ber of points (T ransform S ize)

w hose upper bounds are the source num ber of points, and by the
m axim um num ber of points selected in the m enu. F F T generates
spectra of N /2 output points.
T he N yquist frequency is equal to one half of the effective

sam pling frequency (after the decim ation): f N /2.
If a sine w ave has a w hole num ber of periods in the tim e dom ain
record, the pow er spectrum obtained w ith a rectangular w indow
w ill have a sharp peak , corresponding exactly to the frequency
and am plitude of the sine w ave. O therw ise the spectrum peak
w ith a rectangular w indow w ill be low er and broader.
T he highest point in the pow er spectrum can be 3.92 dB low er
(1.57 tim es) w hen the source frequency is halfw ay betw een tw o
discrete bin frequencies. T his variation of the spectrum

m agnitude is called the picket fence effect (the loss is called the
scallop loss).
A ll w indow functions com pensate for this loss to som e extent, but
the best com pensation is obtained w ith the F lat T op w indow .
T he pow er spectrum (V 2 ) is the square of the m agnitude

spectrum .
T he pow er spectrum is displayed on the dB m scale, w ith 0 dB m
corresponding to:
V ref 2 = (0.316 V peak ) 2 ,
w here V ref is the peak value of the sinusoidal voltage, w hich is
equivalent to 1 m W into 50 .
T he pow er density spectrum (V 2 /H z) is the pow er spectrum

divided by the equivalent noise bandw idth of the filter, in hertz.
T he pow er density spectrum is displayed on the dB m scale, w ith
0 dB m corresponding to (V ref 2 /H z).
T he tim e-dom ain records are acquired at sam pling frequencies

dependent on the selected tim e base. B efore the F F T
com putation, the tim e-dom ain record m ay be decim ated. If the
selected m axim um num ber of points is low er than the source
num ber of points, the effective sam pling frequency is reduced.
T he effective sam pling frequency equals tw ice the N yquist
frequency.
T his is loss associated w ith the pick et fence effect.
A ll available w indow functions belong to the sum of cosines

fam ily w ith one to three non-zero cosine term s:
m =M 1
Wk =
m =0
2 p k
a m cos
m
N
0 k <N
w here: M = 3 is the m axim um num ber of term s, a m are the

coefficients of the term s, N is the num ber of points of the
decim ated source w aveform , and k is the tim e index.

T he follow ing table lists the coefficients a m . T he w indow
functions seen in the tim e dom ain are sym m etric around the
point k = N /2.
Window Type
a0
a1
a2
Rectangular
1 .0
0 .0
0 .0
von Hann
0 .5
0 .5
0 .0
Hamming
0 .5 4
0 .4 6
0 .0
Flat-Top
0 .2 8 1
0 .5 2 1
0 .1 9 8
Blackman-Harris
0 .4 2 3
0 .4 9 7
0 .0 7 9
Bergland, G.D., A G uided T our of the F ast F ourier T ransform ,

IE E E S pectrum , July 1969, pp. 4152.
A general introduction to F F T theory and applications.
Brigham, E.O., T he F ast F ourier T ransform , P rentice H all, Inc.,
E nglew ood C liffs, N .J., 1974.
T heory, applications and im plem entation of F F T . Includes
discussion of F F T algorithm s for N not a pow er of 2.
Harris, F.J., O n the U se of W indow s for H arm onic A nalysis w ith
the D iscrete F ourier T ransform , P roceedings of the IE E E , vol. 66,
N o. 1, January 1978, pp. 5183.
C lassic paper on w indow functions and their figures of m erit, w ith
m any exam ples of w indow s.
Ramirez, R.W., T he F F T F undam entals and C oncepts , P rentice
H all, Inc., E nglew ood C liffs, N .J., 1985.
P ractice oriented, m any exam ples of applications.
# # #
B LA N K P A G E
In this Appendix, a general explanation of how the instruments

standard parameters are computed is followed by a table that
defines and describes those parameters (page D5).
maximum
top
U pp e r T h re s h old
(9 0 % A m p litu d e)
ampl
50 % (M esial)
pkpk
*not to scale
Proper determ ination of the top and base reference lines is

fundam ental for ensuring correct param eter calculations. T he
analysis begins by com puting a histogram of the waveform data over
the tim e interval spanned by the left and right tim e cursors. For
exam ple, the histogram of a waveform transitioning in two states will
contain two peaks (Fig. D 1). T he analysis will attem pt to identify the
two clusters that contain the largest data density. T hen the m ost
probable state (centroids) associated with these two clusters will be
com puted to determ ine the top and base reference levels: the top
line corresponds to the top and the base line to the bottom centroid.
HISTOGRAM*
L ow e r T h re s h old
(1 0 % A m p litu d e)
base
minimum
fall
rise
width
RIGHT CURSOR
LEFT CURSOR
Figure D1
O nce top and base are estim ated, calculation of the rise and fall
tim es is easily done (F ig.1). T he 90% and 10% threshold levels
are autom atically determ ined by the oscilloscope, using the
am plitude ( am pl ) param eter.
T hreshold levels for rise or fall tim e can also be selected using
absolute or relative settings ( r@ level, f@ level). If absolute settings
are chosen, the rise or fall tim e is m easured as the tim e interval
separating the tw o crossing points on a rising or falling edge. B ut
w hen relative settings are chosen, the vertical interval spanned
betw een the base and top lines is subdivided into a percentile
scale (base = 0% , top = 100% ) to determ ine the vertical position
of the crossing points.
T he tim e interval separating the points on the rising or falling
edges is then estim ated to yield the rise or fall tim e. T hese
results are averaged over the num ber of transition edges that
occur w ithin the observation w indow .
Rising Edge Duration
Falling Edge Duration
Mr
1
Mr
(T r
1
Mf
Mf
90
10
i T r i
10
90
i T f i
i =1
(T f
i =1
W h e re M r is th e n u m b e r o f le a d in g e d g e s fo u n d , M f th e n u m b e r o f
tra ilin g e d g e s fo u n d , T r i x the tim e when rising edge i crosses the x%
level, and T f i x the tim e when falling edge i crosses the x% level.
T im e param eter m easurem ents such as w idth , period , and delay

are carried out w ith respect to the m esial reference level (F ig.
D 2), located halfw ay (50% ) betw een the top and base reference
lines.
T im e param eter estim ation depends on the num ber of cycles
included w ithin the observation w indow . If the num ber of cycles is
not an integer, param eter m easurem ents such as rm s or m ean
w ill be biased.
delay
width
width
width
50 %
(Mesial)
last
first
PERIOD
freq = 1/period
PERIOD
duty = width/period
TWO FULL PERIODS: cycles = 2
cmean, cmedian, crms, csdev

computed on interval periods
LEFT CURSOR
area, points, data

computed between cursors
TRIGGER
POINT
RIGHT CURSOR
Figure D2
T o avoid these bias effects, the instrum ent uses cyclic

param eters, including crm s and cm ean , that restrict the
calculation to an integer num ber of cycles.
T he
oscilloscope
enables
accurate
differential
tim e
m easurem ents betw een tw o traces for exam ple, propagation,
setup and hold delays (F ig. D 3).
P aram eters such as c2 d require the transition polarity of the
clock and data signals to be specified.
HYSTERESIS
DATA (1)
N o isy sp ike s ign o re d d u e

to H ystere sis ba n d
THRESHOLD
CLK (2)
c2d(1, 2)
c2d+(1, 2)
LEFT CURSOR
RIGHT CURSOR
TRIGGER POINT
C L O C K E D G E = P ositive Tra nsitio n

D ATA E D G E = N e g ative Tran sitio n
Figure D3
M oreover, a hysteresis range m ay be specified to ignore any

spurious transition that does not exceed the boundaries of the
hysteresis interval. In F igure D 3, c2 d (1, 2) m easures the tim e
interval separating the rising edge of the clock (trigger) from the
first negative transition of the data signal. S im ilarly, c2 d + (1, 2)
m easures the tim e interval betw een the trigger and the next
transition of the data signal.
ampl
A m p litu d e : M e a su re s th e d iffe re n ce
b e tw e e n th e u p p e r a n d lo w e r le ve ls in
tw o -le ve l sig n a ls. D iffe rs fro m p kp k in th a t
n o ise , o ve rsh o o t, u n d e rsh o o t, a n d rin g in g
d o N O T a ffe ct m e a su re m e n t.
to p b a se
(S e e F ig . D 1 )
S u m fro m first to
la st o f d a ta
m u ltip lie d b y
h o rizo n ta l tim e
b e tw e e n p o in ts
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
area
In te g ra l o f d a ta : C o m p u te s a re a o f
w a ve fo rm b e tw e e n cu rso rs re la tive to
ze ro le ve l. V a lu e s g re a te r th a n ze ro
co n trib u te p o sitive ly to th e a re a ; va lu e s
le ss th a n ze ro n e g a tive ly.
base
L o w e r o f tw o m o st p ro b a b le sta te s
(h ig h e r is to p ). M e a su re s lo w e r le ve l in
tw o -le ve l sig n a ls. D iffe rs fro m m in in th a t
n o ise , o ve rsh o o t, u n d e rsh o o t, a n d rin g in g
d o N O T a ffe ct m e a su re m e n t.
V a lu e o f m o st
p ro b a b le lo w e r
sta te
c yc l e s
D e te rm in e s th e n u m b e r o f cycle s o f a
p e rio d ic w a ve fo rm lyin g b e tw e e n cu rso rs.
Th e first cycle b e g in s a t th e first tra n sitio n
a fte r th e le ft cu rso r. Th e tra n sitio n m a y b e
p o sitive o r n e g a tive g o in g .
Num ber of
cycle s o f
p e rio d ic
w a ve fo rm
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
cmean
C yclic m e a n : C o m p u te s th e a ve ra g e o f
w a ve fo rm d a ta . C o n tra ry to m e a n ,
co m p u te s th e a ve ra g e o ve r a n in te g ra l
n u m b e r o f cycle s, e lim in a tin g b ia s ca u se d
b y fra ctio n a l in te rva ls.
A ve ra g e o f d a ta
va lu e s o f a n
in te g ra l n u m b e r
o f p e rio d s
cmedian C yclic m e d ia n : C o m p u te s th e a ve ra g e o f
b a se a n d to p va lu e s o ve r a n in te g ra l
n u m b e r o f cycle s, co n tra ry to m e d ia n ,
e lim in a tin g b ia s ca u se d b y fra ctio n a l
in te rva ls.
crms
C yclic ro o t m e a n sq u a re : C o m p u te s th e
sq u a re ro o t o f th e su m o f sq u a re s o f d a ta
va lu e s d ivid e d b y th e n u m b e r o f p o in ts.
C o n tra ry to rm s , ca lcu la tio n is p e rfo rm e d
o ve r a n in te g ra l n u m b e r o f cycle s,
e lim in a tin g b ia s ca u se d b y fra ctio n a l
in te rva ls.
O n sig n a ls N O T h a vin g tw o
m a jo r le ve ls (su ch a s tria n g le
o r sa w -to o th w a ve s), re tu rn s
sa m e va lu e a s p kp k .
(S e e F ig . D 1 )
m a jo r le ve ls (tria n g le o r sa w to o th w a ve s, fo r e xa m p le ),
re tu rn s sa m e va lu e a s m in .
D a ta va lu e fo r
w h ich 5 0 % o f
va lu e s a re a b o ve
a n d 5 0 % b e lo w
1
N
(v
i =1
W here: v i denotes m easured

sam ple values, and N = num ber
of data points within the periods
found up to m axim um of 100
periods.
csdev
C yclic sta n d a rd d e via tio n : S ta n d a rd

d e via tio n o f d a ta va lu e s fro m th e m e a n
va lu e o ve r a n in te g ra l n u m b e r o f p e rio d s.
C o n tra ry to sd e v , th e ca lcu la tio n is
p e rfo rm e d o ve r a n in te g ra l n u m b e r o f
cycle s, e lim in a tin g b ia s ca u se d b y
fra ctio n a l in te rva ls.
1
N
(v
m ean ) 2
i =1
W here: v i denotes m easured

sam ple values, and N = num ber
of data points within the periods
found up to m axim um of 100
periods.
A ll d a ta va lu e s in M ulti-value param eter especially

a n a lyze d re g io n valuable for histogram s and
trends.
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
data
R e tu rn s th e a ve ra g e o f a ll d a ta p o in ts.
delay
Th e tim e fro m trig g e r to tra n sitio n :

M e a su re s th e tim e b e tw e e n trig g e r a n d
first 5 0 % cro ssin g a fte r th e le ft cu rso r. It
ca n m e a su re p ro p a g a tio n d e la y b e tw e e n
tw o sig n a ls b y trig g e rin g o n o n e a n d
d e te rm in in g d e la y o f th e o th e r.
Tim e b e tw e e n
trig g e r a n d first
5 0 % cro ssin g
a fte r le ft cu rso r
dly
d e la y: C o m p u te s tim e b e tw e e n th e 5 0 %
le ve l o f tw o so u rce s.
Tim e b e tw e e n
m id p o in t
tra n sitio n o f tw o
so u rce s
t@lv
t a t le ve l: C o m p u te s th e tra n sitio n
b e tw e e n se le cte d le ve ls o r so u rce s.
Tim e b e tw e e n
tra n sitio n le ve ls
o f tw o so u rce s,
o r fro m trig g e r to
tra n sitio n le ve l o f
a sin g le so u rce
R e fe re n ce le ve ls a n d e d g e tra n sitio n p o la rity ca n b e

se le cte d . H yste re sis a rg u m e n t
is u se d to d iscrim in a te le ve ls
fro m n o ise in d a ta .
c2d
clock to data : C om putes the difference in

tim e from the clock threshold crossing to
either the next (c2d +) or previous ( c2d )
data threshold crossing.
Tim e fro m clo ck

th re sh o ld
cro ssin g to n e xt
o r p re vio u s e d g e
Threshold levels of clock and

data signals, and edge-transition
polarity can be selected.
Hysteresis argum ent is used to
differentiate peaks from noise in
data, with a good hysteresis
value between half expected
peaktopeak value of signal
and twice expected peakto
peak value of noise.
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
(S e e F ig . D 3 )
dur
F o r sin g le sw e e p w a ve fo rm s, d u r is 0 . F o r Tim e fro m first to

la st a cq u isitio n
se q u e n ce w a ve fo rm s: tim e fro m first to
fo r a ve ra g e ,
la st se g m e n ts trig g e r. F o r sin g le
h isto g ra m o r
se g m e n ts o f se q u e n ce w a ve fo rm s: tim e
se q u e n ce
fro m p re vio u s se g m e n ts to cu rre n t
w a ve fo rm s
se g m e n ts trig g e r. F o r w a ve fo rm s
p ro d u ce d b y a h isto ry fu n ctio n : tim e fro m
first to la st a ccu m u la te d w a ve fo rm s
trig g e r.
duty
D u ty cycle : W id th a s p e rce n ta g e o f
p e rio d .
w id th /p e rio d
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
f8020% F a ll 8 0 2 0 % : D u ra tio n o f a p u lse

w a ve fo rm 's fa llin g tra n sitio n fro m 8 0 % to
2 0 % , a ve ra g e d fo r a ll fa llin g tra n sitio n s
b e tw e e n th e cu rso rs.
A ve ra g e d u ra tio n
o f fa llin g
8020%
tra n sitio n
On signals NOT having two m ajor

levels (triangle or saw-tooth
waves, for exam ple), top and
base can default to m axim um
and m inim um , giving, less
predictable results, however.
f@level
F a ll a t le ve l: D u ra tio n o f p u lse w a ve fo rm 's

fa llin g e d g e s b e tw e e n tra n sitio n le ve ls.
D u ra tio n o f
fa llin g e d g e
b e tw e e n
tra n sitio n le ve ls
On signals NOT having two m ajor

levels (triangle or saw-tooth
waves, for exam ple), top and
base can default to m axim um
and m inim um , giving, less
predictable results, however.
fall
F a ll tim e : M e a su re s th e tim e b e tw e e n tw o
sp e cifie d va lu e s o n fa llin g e d g e s o f a
w a ve fo rm . F a ll tim e s fo r e a ch e d g e a re
a ve ra g e d to p ro d u ce th e fin a l re su lt.
Tim e a t lo w e r
th re sh o ld
Tim e a t u p p e r
th re sh o ld
a ve ra g e d o ve r
e a ch fa llin g e d g e
m a jo r le ve ls (tria n g le o r sa w to o th w a ve s, fo r e xa m p le ), to p
a n d b a se ca n d e fa u lt to
m a xim u m a n d m in im u m ,
g ivin g , le ss p re d icta b le
re su lts, h o w e ve r.
A rg u m e n ts
Threshold Rem ote
Lower
Upper
lo w
h ig h
Lower
Lim it
1%
55%
Upper
Lim it
45%
99%
Default
(S e e F ig . D 1 )
10%
90%
Threshold argum ents specify two vertical

values on each edge used to com pute fall tim e.
Form ulas for upper and lower values:
am p
low er value = low er thresh old
+ base
1 00
am p
u p pe r va lu e = u pp e r th re sh old
+ ba se
1 00
first
In d ica te s th e va lu e o f th e h o rizo n ta l a xis

a t th e le ft cu rso r.
H o rizo n ta l a xis
va lu e a t le ft
cu rso r
Indicates location of left cursor.

Cursors are interchangeable: for
exam ple, the left cursor m ay be
m oved to the right of the right
cursor and first will give the
location of the cursor form erly
on the right, now on the left.
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
freq
last
F re q u e n cy: Th e p e rio d o f a cyclic sig n a l

m e a su re d a s th e tim e b e tw e e n e ve ry
o th e r p a ir o f 5 0 % cro ssin g s. S ta rtin g w ith
th e first tra n sitio n a fte r th e le ft cu rso r, th e
p e rio d is m e a su re d fo r e a ch tra n sitio n
p a ir. V a lu e s a re th e n a ve ra g e d a n d th e
re cip ro ca l u se d to g ive fre q u e n cy.
Tim e fro m trig g e r to th e la st (rig h tm o st)
cu rso r.
maximum M e a su re s th e h ig h e st p o in t in th e
w a ve fo rm . U n like to p , it d o e s N O T a ssu m e
th a t th e w a ve fo rm h a s tw o le ve ls.
1 / p e rio d
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
Tim e fro m trig g e r Indicates location of the right

to la st cu rso r
cursor. Cursors are
interchangeable: for exam ple, the
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
right cursor m ay be m oved to the
left of the left cursor and first will
give the location of the cursor
form erly on the left, now on the
right.
H ig h e st va lu e in
w a ve fo rm
b e tw e e n cu rso rs
(S e e F ig . D 1 )
mean
A ve ra g e o f d a ta fo r a tim e d o m a in
w a ve fo rm . C o m p u te d a s th e ce n tro id o f
d istrib u tio n fo r a h isto g ra m . B u t w h e n
in p u t is a p e rio d ic tim e d o m a in w a ve fo rm ,
it is co m p u te d o n a n in te g ra l n u m b e r o f
p e rio d s.
A ve ra g e o f d a ta
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
G ive s sim ila r re su lt w h e n

a p p lie d to a tim e d o m a in
w a ve fo rm , o r to a h isto g ra m o f
d a ta o f th e sa m e w a ve fo rm .
B u t w ith h isto g ra m s, th e re su lt
m a y in clu d e co n trib u tio n s fro m
m o re th a n o n e a cq u isitio n .
C o m p u te s h o rizo n ta l a xis
lo ca tio n o f rig h tm o st n o n -ze ro
b in o f h isto g ra m ; n o t to b e
co n fu se d w ith m a xp .
w a ve fo rm o r h isto g ra m o f d a ta
o f th e sa m e w a ve fo rm . B u t
w ith h isto g ra m s, th e re su lt
median
Th e a ve ra g e o f b a se a n d to p va lu e s.
A ve ra g e o f b a se
a n d to p
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
minimum
M e a su re s th e lo w e st p o in t in a w a ve fo rm .
U n like b a se , it d o e s N O T a ssu m e th e
w a ve fo rm h a s tw o le ve ls.
L o w e st va lu e in
a w a ve fo rm
b e tw e e n cu rso rs
(S e e F ig . D 1 )
over
O ve rsh o o t n e g a tive : Th e a m o u n t o f
o ve rsh o o t fo llo w in g a fa llin g e d g e ,
e xp re sse d a s a p e rce n ta g e o f a m p litu d e .
base m inim um 100

am pl
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
over+
O ve rsh o o t p o sitive : Th e a m o u n t o f
o ve rsh o o t fo llo w in g a risin g e d g e ,
e xp re sse d a s a p e rce n ta g e o f a m p litu d e .
m axim um top 100
Th e p e rio d o f a cyclic sig n a l m e a su re d a s

th e tim e b e tw e e n e ve ry o th e r p a ir o f 5 0 %
Mr
1
50
cro ssin g s. S ta rtin g w ith th e first tra n sitio n
T r 50
i T r i
M r i =1
a fte r th e le ft cu rso r, th e p e rio d is
m e a su re d fo r e a ch tra n sitio n p a ir, w ith
va lu e s a ve ra g e d to g ive a fin a l re su lt.
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
T h e w a ve fo rm m u st co n ta in a t
le a st o n e fa llin g e d g e . O n
sig n a ls N O T h a vin g tw o m a jo r
le ve ls (tria n g le o r sa w -to o th
w a ve s, fo r e xa m p le ), it m a y
N O T g ive p re d icta b le re su lts.
W a ve fo rm m u st co n ta in a t
le a st o n e risin g e d g e . O n
sig n a ls N O T h a vin g tw o m a jo r
le ve ls (tria n g le o r sa w -to o th
w a ve s, fo r e xa m p le ), it m a y
N O T g ive p re d icta b le re su lts.
am pl
(S e e F ig . D 1 )
period
G ive s a sim ila r re su lt w h e n

o f th e sa m e w a ve fo rm . B u t
w ith h isto g ra m s, th e re su lt
W h e re : M r is th e n u m b e r o f
le a d in g e d g e s fo u n d , M f th e
n u m b e r o f tra ilin g e d g e s
fo u n d , T r i x the tim e when rising
edge i crosses the x% level,
and T f i x the tim e when falling
edge i crosses the x% level.
pkpk
P e a k-to -p e a k: Th e d iffe re n ce b e tw e e n
th e h ig h e st a n d lo w e st p o in ts in a
w a ve fo rm . U n like a m p l, it d o e s n o t
a ssu m e th e w a ve fo rm h a s tw o le ve ls.
m axim um
m inim um
(S e e F ig . D 1 )
phase
The phase difference between the signal

analyzed and the signal used as reference.
Phase difference
between signal
and reference
points
The num ber of points in the waveform

between the cursors.
N um ber of points
between cursors
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
Gives a similar result when applied

to a time domain waveform or
histogram of data of the same
waveform. But with histograms, the
result may include contributions
from more than one acquisition.
r2080%
R ise 2 0 % to 8 0 % : Th e d u ra tio n o f th e
p u lse w a ve fo rm s risin g tra n sitio n fro m
2 0 % to 8 0 % , a ve ra g e d fo r a ll risin g
tra n sitio n s b e tw e e n th e cu rso rs.
Average duration
of rising 2080 %
transition
r@level
R ise a t le ve l: Th e d u ra tio n o f a p u lse

w a ve fo rm 's risin g e d g e s b e tw e e n
tra n sitio n le ve ls.
D uration of rising
edges between
transition levels
rise
Rise time: Measures the time between two

specified values on a waveforms rising edge
(1090%). Rise times for each edge are
averaged to give a final result.
Time at upper
threshold Time at
lower threshold
averaged over each
rising edge
Arguments
Threshold
Rem ote
Lower
Lim it
Upper
Lim it
Default
Lower
low
1%
45%
10%
Upper
high
55%
99%
90%
(S e e F ig . D 1 )
Threshold arguments specify two vertical values

on each edge used to compute rise time.
Formulas for upper and lower values:
am p
+ base
100
am p
u p pe r va lu e = u pp e r th re sh old
+ ba se
1 00
low er va lu e = lo w e r th re sho ld
rms
R o o t M e a n S q u a re o f d a ta b e tw e e n th e
cu rso rs a b o u t th e sa m e a s sd e v fo r a
ze ro -m e a n w a ve fo rm .
1
N
(v
i =1
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
sdev
S ta n d a rd d e via tio n o f th e d a ta b e tw e e n
th e cu rso rs a b o u t th e sa m e a s rm s fo r
a ze ro -m e a n w a ve fo rm .
1
N
(v
m ean ) 2
i =1
(S e e F ig . D 2 )
t@level
Tim e a t le ve l: Th e tim e fro m trig g e r (t= 0 )

to cro ssin g a t a sp e cifie d le ve l.
Tim e fro m trig g e r

to cro ssin g le ve l
top
Higher of two most probable states, the lower

being base . This is characteristic of rectangular
waveforms and represents the higher most
probable state determined from the statistical
distribution of data point values in the waveform.
V a lu e o f m o st
p ro b a b le h ig h e r
sta te
The width of a cyclic signal determ ined by

exam ining 50% crossings in the data input. If
the first transm ission after the left cursor is a
rising edge, the waveform is considered to
consist of positive pulses, and width the tim e
between adjacent rising and falling edges.
Conversely, if it is a falling edge, pulses are
considered negative, and width the tim e
between adjacent falling and rising edges. For
both cases, widths of all waveform pulses are
averaged for a final result.
W id th o f first
p o sitive o r
n e g a tive p u lse
a ve ra g e d fo r a ll
sim ila r p u lse s
width
(S e e F ig . D 1 )
W here: vi denotes measured sample

values, and N = number of data
points within the periods found up to
a maximum of 100 periods. Gives a
similar result when applied to a time
domain waveform or histogram of
data of the same waveform. But with
histograms, the result may include
contributions from more than one
acquisition.
W here: vi denotes measured
sample values, and N = number of
data points within the periods found
up to maximum of 100 periods.
Gives a similar result when applied to
a time domain waveform or to a
histogram of data of the same
waveform. But with histograms, the
result may include contributions from
more than one acquisition.

a p p lie d to tim e d o m a in
o f sa m e w a ve fo rm . B u t w ith
h isto g ra m s, re su lt m a y in clu d e
co n trib u tio n s fro m m o re th a n
o n e a cq u isitio n .
S im ila r to fw h m , w h ich a p p lie s
o n ly to h isto g ra m s, h o w e ve r.
(S e e F ig s. 1 , 2 )
# # #
BLAN K PAG E
The ASCII waveform storage feature allows waveforms to be

saved to a mass-memory device in any of three ASCII
formats: Spreadsheet, MathCad, and MATLAB. Each format
is tailored for a commonly used analysis package. The userinterface changes that support ASCII waveform storage are
found in the STORE menu (see Chapter 13).
T he table below sum m arizes the basic layout of the three
form ats. E xam ples of the use of each form at are given on the
follow ing pages. Your PC screen indicates the m odel nam e and
serial num ber of the instrum ent being used.
Format
Header
F orm at
includes som e
form of
header before
the data
Time
Values
Amplitude
Values
Sequence
Times
MultiSegment
F orm at stores
tim e values
w ith each
am plitude
value
F orm at stores
am plitude
values
Header
contains
sequence tim e
inform ation for
each sequence
segm ent
F orm at
concatenates
m ultiple
segm ents of a
sequence
w aveform
Dual Array
F orm at allow s
dual-array
data (i.e.
E xtrem a, or
com plex F F T )
to be stored
Spreadsheet
Y es
Y es
Y es
Y es
Y es
Y es
MathCad
Y es
Y es
Y es
Y es
Y es
Y es
MATLAB
No
No
Y es
No
Y es
No
Once stored in ASCII, waveforms cannot be recalled

into the DSO.
This example was created using Microsoft Excel for Windows.

A waveform stored in Spreadsheet format may be read into
Microsoft Excel using the File -> Open window:
Excel will now ask for m ore inform ation about the file type. Ensure
that the D elim ited option is selected in the first step of the W izard.
T he next step allows the specific delim iter to be specified. T he

Spreadsheet form at generated by the instrum ent uses a com m a (,)
to delim it colum ns. Ensure that this is selected.
T he third and final step allow s the form at of the colum ns to be

specified. T he general form at for each colum n should be used
(this is the default).
After you click the Finish button, a display sim ilar to that following
should appear.
Plotting the data from a waveform requires the use of a scatter plot
based on the data in the first two colum ns, with the first colum n used
as the X values (from R ow 6 in this exam ple).
T he header created for the Spreadsheet form at contains all the

inform ation required to extract various elem ents of a sequence
waveform . T he following form ulas m ay be used to extract
inform ation such as the start and end row of the data for a given
segm ent, or the trigger tim e of a given segm ent.
Segm entStartR ow := ( D esiredSegm ent * D 2) + B2 + 5

Segm entEndR ow := Segm entStartR ow + D 2 -1
TrigTim e = IN D IR EC T (AD D R ESS( D esiredSegm ent +3;2;4))
T im eS inceF irstT rig = IN D IR E C T (A D D R E S S ( D esiredS egm ent
+ 3;3;4))
Plotting the data from all segm ents using a scatter plot will result in
all segm ents overlaid (sim ilar to the oscilloscopes display of
sequence traces in persistence m ode).
These examples were created using MathSofts MathCad for

Windows. On this page, the procedure for reading and
graphing a file for a single segment is shown. The example on
page E10 is for multiple segments.
This single-segm ent exam ple is valid for M athCad Versions 3.1 to 7:
T he following M athC ad exam ple dem onstrates how to extract data

from a given segm ent. T he data used for this exam ple consisted of
two segm ents of three sam ples each, allowing the entire im ported
m atrix to be shown.
T his exam ple was created using M athW orks M AT LAB Version
4.2c.1 for W indows.
R eading and graphing a waveform in M AT LAB m ay be achieved
with two sim ple com m ands, as the following exam ple shows. T he
first com m and loads the file into a m atrix which is autom atically
nam ed after the file. T he second com m and plots this m atrix.
Format
Fields in bold type are constants that are present in
the output file, as shown. Fields in italic are variables that
are filled in when the file is written.
<scopeid>,
<scopeserial>
Segments,
<num seg>,
SegmentSize,
<num pts>
Segment,
TrigTime,
TimeSinceFirstSegment
#1,
<trigtim e(1)> ,
0.0
...
...
#<num seg>,
< trigtim e( num seg)> ,
< trigdelta( num seg )>
Time,
Ampl,
[Ampl1]
x(0),
y(0),
[y1(0)]
x(1),
y(1),
[y2(0)]
...
...
x(num gseg*num pts),
y(num seg*num pts),
[y1(num seg*num pts)]
Single-Segment Example
LECROYLC584AL,LC58412345
Segments,1,SegmentSize,502
Segment,Trig Time,TimeSinceFirstSegment
#1,21 Mar 1990 9:37:08,0.0
Time,Ampl
0.0,1
0.1,2
...
Multi-Segment Example
#1,21 Mar 1990 9:37:08,0.0
#2,21 Mar 1990 9:37:13,5.0
#3,21 Mar 1990 9:37:15,7.0
Time,Ampl
0.0,1
0.1,2
...
0.0,1.1
0.0,2.1
...
0.0,1.05
0.0,2.05
Dual-Array Example
#1,21 Mar 1990 9:37:08,0.0
Time,Ampl
0.0,1.1,1.1
0.1,2.1,2.1
...
The basic structure of the Spreadsheet format is a

header containing scope identification information,
followed by a block containing trigger times for multisegment waveforms, followed by the data itself.
This format is compatible with the ASCII import of the

LeCroy LW4xx Arbitrary Function Generator.
Format
<scopeid>
<T riggerT im e>
<num seg>
<num pts>
Segment
1
0.0
...
...
<num seg>
< trigdelta( num seg )>
Time
Ampl
Ampl1
<x(0)>
<y(0)>
[<y1(0)>]
<x(1)>
<y(1)>
[<y1(1)>]
...
...
<x(num gseg*num pts)> <y(num seg*num pts)>
[<y1(num seg*num pts)>]
Single-Segment Example
23-March-90,12:44:23
1
502
Segment
1
0.0
Time
Ampl
0.0
1
0.1
2
.....
Multi-Segment Example
23-March-90,12:44:23
3
502
Segment
1
0.0
2
5.0
3
7.0
Time
Ampl
0.0
1
0.1
2
.....
0.0
1.1
0.1
2.1
.....
0.0
1.05
0.1
2.05
The format created for MathCad is very similar to the

Spreadsheet format, but with some differences due to the
way MathCad interprets the header information.
One of the most important of these is that the absolute

trigger time is only given for the first segment, with relative
times (in units of seconds) included for each segment.
Another difference is that the scope identification and trigger

time are wrapped in quotes to ensure that MathCad does not
attempt to import them.
Format
y(0)
y(1)
...
y(num seg*num pts)
Single-Segm ent Exam ple
1.0
1.1
1.2
...
4.5
The MATLAB format is simple, without header information and having

amplitude values only.
Multiple segments will be appended without a separator.
Only one value from the pair of amplitude values present in a dual-array
will be stored.
# # #
AC, 3-2, 8-5, C-15

Acquisition Mem ory, C-4
in cre a sin g it b y co m b in in g
ch a n n e ls, 2 -1 , 7 -5
Acquisition Modes, 6-1, 7-6, A-4
Acquisition Sum m ary, 5-3, 6-3,
16-1
Acquisition Sum m ary field, 4-9
Adapter, 1-3
ADC (AnalogtoDigital
Converter), 2-1, 7-1, 7-2, 7-5
Add new Directory, 12-15
Advanced Color Managem ent,
2-3, 11-1, 11-2
Aliasing, C-5, C-17
Altitude, A-11
Am plitude, 12-23, 14-7, D-5
in F F T, 1 0 -1 9
Analog
S in g le S w e e p , 1 1 -1 7
ANALO G PERSIST, 4-2, 11-13,
11-14
Analog Persistence, 2-3, 11-1,
11-5, 11-15, 11-19, A-8
Area, D-5
Arithm etic Setup, 10-9
as, 8-39
ASCII, 13-1, 13-2, 13-3, E-1
ASCII Form ats, A-11, E-1, E-2,
E-3, E-4, E-7, E-8, E-9, E-10,
E-11, E-12, E-13, E-14, E-15,
E-16
Audible feedback, 12-21
AUTO, 6-2, 7-11
A u to S c ro ll, 10-8
AUTO SCROLL m enus, 10-8
AUTO SETUP, 4-2, 4-7, A-7
Autocalibration, 2-2, 12-19, A-11
Auto-Com bine Mode, 7-7
Autom atic, 7-7
Autom atic Recalibration, 12-19
autoprint, 12-3
Autosetup, A-7
Auto-Store, 12-9, 13-2

Average, A-9
Average Setup, 10-10
Averaging, B-3
Background, 11-2, 11-21, 12-2

BACKSPACE, 12-16, 12-17
Bandwidth, A-1
Bandwidth Lim iter, A-3
Bandwidth Lim iting (BW L), 5-3,
5-6
Base, D-1, D-2, D-5
Battery, 12-10, A-11
Baud Rate, 12-6
Bi-level. See W indow Pattern
Trigger
Binary, 13-1, 13-2
Block diagram
L C 3 3 4 /3 7 4 /5 3 4 /5 7 4 S e rie s,
2 -4
L C 5 6 4 /5 8 4 S e rie s, 2 -5
BMP, 12-2, 12-8
Boolean AND, 8-21
Cabling
P rin te r, 1 2 -5
CAL BNC Setup, 12-1, 12-23
CAL/BNC, 14-15
Calibration, 2-2, 5-5, 12-19, 12-23,
A-11
Capture inform ation, 4-9
Capture Tim e, 10-18
CAUTION, 3-1
C entroids, D-1
Centronics, 12-2, 12-3
Change, 11-22
CHANGE COLORS, 11-20
CHANGE PARAM, 14-11, 14-12
CHANGE PARAMETERS, 14-10
Channels, A-1
CHANNELS, 4-2
character, 12-16, 12-17
Chassis Term inal, 3-2

Circuit Failures
te stin g fo r u sin g E xclu sio n
Trig g e r, 8 -1 1
Cleaning and Maintenance, 3-3
CLEAR INACTIVE m enu, 16-5
CLEAR SW EEPS, 4-6, 10-3,
10-4, 10-14, 11-14, 14-8, 14-9,
14-10
Clock Accuracy, A-5
Clock Edge, 14-14, D-4
cm /division, 12-3
Coherent Gain, C-17
Color
C h a n g in g C o lo rs, 1 1 -2 0 ,
1 1 -2 1 , 1 1 -2 2
C o p yin g C o lo r S ch e m e s,
1 1 -2 2
Color Association, 11-1, 11-2
Color Control, 11-20
Color Graded Persistence, 11-1,
11-15, 11-17, 11-19, A-8
Color Links, 11-1, 11-3
Color Managem ent, 11-1, 11-2,
11-4
Color Palettes, 11-1, 11-20,
11-21, 11-22
Color Saturation, 11-17, 11-19
Color Schem e m enu, 11-20
Color Schem es, 11-1
color to, 11-22
Colors, 11-4
Com bining Channels, 2-1, 7-5,
7-6, 7-7, 8-4, 10-5
Conform ity, 1-3, 3-1, A-12
Continuous Averaging, 10-3,
10-10
Controls
M e n u b u tto n s a n d kn o b s,
4 -2
CO PY FILES, 12-18
Copy from , 11-22
CO PY SCHEME, 11-22
COPY TEMPLATE TO, 12-14
COPY TEMPLATE TO FLPY,

12-13
Copying Color Schem es, 11-22
Copying files between storage
m edia, 12-10
Coupling, 5-3, 8-5, 8-36, 8-38,
8-43, 8-45, A-5
COUPLING button, 5-2
Cursors
A b so lu te , 1 4 -1 , 1 4 -2 , 1 4 -5 ,
A -1 0
A m p litu d e , 1 4 -1
co lo r, 1 1 -2 1
D iffe re n ce , 1 4 -5
in F F T (F a st F o u rie r
Tra n sfo rm ), C -1 2
P e rsiste n ce , 1 4 -1
R e fe re n ce , 1 4 -5
R e la tive , 1 4 -1 , 1 4 -2 , 1 4 -5 ,
A -1 0
Tim e , 1 4 -1
Cursors Measure, 12-19
CURSORS/MEASURE, 4-5, 14-5
Custom Menus 14-5
Custom Param eters, 14-6, 14-10,
14-11, 14-12, 14-13, 14-14
Cycles, D-5
in p a ra m e te r m e a su re m e n ts,
D -2
Cyclic Mean, D-5
Cyclic Median, D-5
Cyclic Param eters, D-3
Cyclic Root Mean Square, D-5
Cyclic Standard Deviation, D-6
Data, D-6
D ata density, D-1
Data Edge, 14-14
Data Form at, 13-3
Data Maps, 11-1, 11-15, 12-12
Data Points, 11-21
Day/Mnth/Year, 12-4
D C , 8-5, C-15
DC Accuracy, A-3
DC Level, 12-23
DC Offset
co m p e n sa tin g fo r, 1 0 -1 5
Deadtim e
re d u cin g it u sin g S e q u e n ce
M o d e , 7 -3
Decim ation
in F F T, 1 0 -2 0
Delay, D-6
DELAY, 6-3
Delay By, 10-16
DELETE THIS DIRECTORY,
12-15
Deleting Files, 12-9
Deskew function, 10-16
Differential Tim e Measurem ents,
D-3
Digital Filters, 10-11
Digitizers, A-1
Directory, 12-7, 12-11, 12-15,
12-16, 12-17
Disk Density, 12-13
Display, 2-3, 11-1, 11-2, 11-4,
11-5, 11-8, 11-9, 11-10, 11-11,
11-12, A-8
o n -scre e n se ctio n s a n d
fie ld s, 4 -9
S ta n d a rd , 1 1 -7
X Y , 1 1 -7
DISPLAY, 4-5, 11-13, 11-16,
11-18
Display Area Size, A-8
DISPLAY button, 11-7
Display Order, 11-3
Display Resolution, A-8
Display Scaling, 10-20
Display Setup, 11-13
g e n e ra l, 1 1 -7
X Y , 1 1 -1 6
DISPLAY SETUP, 11-1, 11-14,
11-18
Displayed Trace Label, 4-9, 10-3,
10-20
Distortion
F F T, C -4
DO COPY, 12-18
DO RECALL, 13-4, 13-5, 14-21,

15-3
DO STORE, 13-2
DOS. See UTILITIES:Mass
Storage
Dot Join, A-8
Dropout Trigger, 8-28, 8-42, A-6
Dual Grid, 11-9
Duration, D-7
Duty, D-7
Dynam ic Range
im p ro vin g it, C -6
Earth, 3-2, 3-3

ECL/TTL, 5-3
Edge m enu, 8-45
Edge Trigger, 8-1, 8-2, 8-5, 8-8,
8-34
Edge Trigger with Hold-off, 8-5
Edge Trigger with H old-off by
Events, 8-7
Edge-Qualified Trigger, 8-20,
8-26, 8-41
Edge-Qualified Trigger with W ait,
8-23
ENBW , C-17
Enhanced Resolution Filtering,
10-11, B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4, B-5,
B-6, C-6
Enhanced Resolution Setup,
10-11
ENTER NEW FILE NAME, 12-16
Envelope, 10-12
ERES, A-9
Errors
d e te ctin g th e m in re m o te
co n tro l. S ee R e m o te
C o n tro l A ssista n t
Events, 8-7, 8-21, 8-23, 8-34
Trig g e r H o ld -o ff b y, 8 -7
Excel, E-2
Exclusion Trigger, 8-12, 8-36
Expansion Factor, 12-3
EXT, 8-4, A-6
External Clock, 7-8, 7-9, A-5

External R eference, A-5
Extrem a, 10-3, 10-12, 11-3, A-9
Fall, D-2
Fall 8020 % , D-7
Fall at Level, D-7
Fall tim e, 14-9, D-2, D-7
Falling edge, 14-13
FFT (Fast Fourier Transform ),
10-18, 10-19, A-9, C-1, C-8,
C-9, C-17
FFT Algorithm s, C-14
FFT Average Setup, 10-14
FFT Error Messages, C-13
FFT Interruption, 10-13
FFT m enus, 10-13, 10-14
FFT result m enu, C-10, C-11
FFT Span, 10-18, 10-19, 10-20,
10-21, 10-22
FFT W indows, 10-13, C-5, C-6,
C-11, C-17, C-19, C-20
Fields, 8-39
File, 13-5, 14-21
File Deleting, 12-9
File Nam ing, 12-8, 12-9, 12-15,
12-16
File Transfers, 12-10
File Type, 12-16
Files, 12-7, 12-9, 12-10, 12-12,
12-14, 12-18, 15-3
Fill, 12-9
Filters, B-1, B-2, C-3, C-4, C-18
FIR (Finite Im pulse-Response)
filter, B-1, B-2, C-6
Firm ware Update, 12-19
First, D-8
FLASH UPDATE, 12-22
Floor, 10-12
in e xtre m a w a ve fo rm s, 1 0 -3
Floppy Disk, 12-7, 12-9, 12-10,
12-11, 12-12, 12-13, 12-15,
13-1, 13-2, 13-5, 14-21, 15-1,

15-2, A-11
FLPY UTIL, 12-12
for Math use m ax points m enu,
10-19, C-9
form at, 12-2
Form at, 12-3
FORMAT FLPY, 12-13
Form at Hard Disk, 12-14
Frequency, 11-7, 12-1, 12-23,
B-2, C-1, C-3, C-4, C-5, C-9,
C-12, C-15, C-20, D-8
Frequency bins, C-18
Frequency Range, C-18
Frequency Resolution, 10-18,
C-2, C-8, C-11, C-19
Frequency Span, 10-19, 10-20,
C-8
from , 15-3
from Card, Flyp or HDD, 15-2
from Mem ory, 13-4
Front Panel, 12-19
Front Scope Cover, 1-3
Front-panel Controls, 4-2
Full Dialog. See Rem ote Control
Assistant
FULL FORMAT, 12-14
Full Screen, 2-3, 8-14, 11-1, 11-10
FULL SCREEN, 4-2, 11-10
Fuses, 1-3, 3-3
General Instrum ent Reset, 4-7

G litch Trigger, 8-10, 8-35, 8-36
G lobal BW L, 12-19. See
Bandwidth Lim iting. See
Bandwidth Lim iting
GPIB, 4-6
GPIB Address, 12-6
GPIB and RS232, 12-1, 12-2,
12-3, 12-20, A-11
GPIB Port, 12-5, A-11
GPIB/RS232 Setup, 12-1, 12-6
Graticules, A-8
Grid Color, 11-21

Grid intensity, 11-13
Grids, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9, 11-11,
11-13, 11-14, 11-16, 11-18, A-8
Ground, 3-2, 3-3
Ground and Trace Level m arkers,
4-9
Hard Disk, 12-7, 12-10, 12-14,

12-15, 13-1, 13-2, 13-5, 14-21,
15-1, 15-2
Hardcopy, 2-3
E xp a n sio n fa cto r, 1 2 -3
Hardcopy Setup, 12-1, 12-2, 12-3
Harm onics, C-2, C-5
HDD (portable hard disk), 12-7,
12-14, 12-15, 13-2, 13-5,
14-21, 15-1, 15-2
HF
in Triggering, 8 -5
H igh-Frequency Triggering, 8-5
Histogram s, A-9, D-1
Holdoff, 8-43
Hold-off, 8-5, 8-19, 8-34, A-6
Hour/Min/Sec, 12-4
HPGL, 12-2
Hum idity, 3-1
Hysteresis, 14-13, 14-14, D-4
hysteresis m enu, 14-13, 14-14
In, 12-19
Input Coupling, A-3
Input Im pedance, 5-3, A-3
INSERT, 12-16, 12-17
Interfacing, 2-3, A-11
Interleaving, 7-2
Internal Mem ory, 13-1, 13-4, 13-5,
15-1
Internal Printer Setup, 12-3
Interpolator Resolution, A-5
Interval Trigger, 8-12, 8-13, 8-14,
8-15, 8-16, 8-38
Landscape, 12-3
Last, D-8
Leading Edge, D-2
Leakage, C-5, C-11, C-19
Level, 14-13
LEVEL, 6-4, 8-1
level m enu, 14-13
LIN E, 8-4
LOAD CHANGES NOW , 12-4
Lobes, C-2, C-5, C-17, C-19
Log, 12-20
Low-Frequency Triggering, 8-5
Low-pass Filtering, B-2, B-4, C-6
Magnitude, C-4, C-6, C-10, C-15,

C-16
Maintenance, 1-2
MAKE THIS DIRECTORY, 12-17
Mask Testing, 14-15, 14-19,
14-20, 14-21
Mass Storage, 12-7, 12-15, 12-16,
12-18
MASS STO RAG E, 12-10, 12-12,
12-14
Math Functions, 9-1, 10-2, 10-6,
10-15, 10-18, 10-19, 10-20
S p e e d in g th e m u p , 1 0 -5
MATH SETUP, 9-2
Math Type, 10-16
Math Type m enu, C-11
Mathcad, E-1, E-9, E-10, E-14,
E-15
MathCad, 13-3
MATLAB, 13-3, E-1, E-11, E-16
Maxim a
Maxim um , D-8
Maxim um Input, A-4
Maxim um Sam pling Rate, 7-2, 7-5
Mean, D-8
MEASURE, 14-16
Measure Gate, 11-21
Measurem ent Gate Highlighting,

11-4, 11-21
Median, D-9
M edium -to-H igh-Frequency
Triggering, 8-5
Mem ories, 2-1, 13-1, 13-4, 13-5,
15-1, 15-2, A-10
Mem ory, A-2, A-3, A-9, C-4, C-12
Mem ory Card, 12-7, 12-10, 12-15,
13-1, 13-2, 13-5, 14-21, 15-1,
15-2
Mem ory Used/Available
Sum m ary, 16-5
Menu buttons and knobs, 4-2, 4-3
Menu Options, 4-4
Menu-Entry buttons, 4-3, 4-5, 4-6,
5-3, 9-2, 11-7, 11-10, 12-1,
13-1, 13-4, 14-5
Menus
m o vin g th ro u g h th e m , 4 -3 ,
4 -5
Mesial, D-2
Message Field, 4-9
Microprocessor, A-9
Minim a
Minim um , D-9
m ode, 12-23
MORE DISPLAY, 11-20
More Display Setup, 11-13, 11-14,
11-16, 11-18
MORE VERSION
INFORMATION, 16-2
Multiple Grids, 11-12
Multi-Zoom , 10-8
MULTI-ZOOM & AUTO-SCROLL,
10-6
Neutral Color, 11-21

u se in M e a su re m e n t G a te
H ig h lig h tin g , 1 1 -4
NEW DIRECTORY, 12-17
New Directory on Card, 12-17
Noise Reduction, 10-3, B-2, B-6

NORM, 6-2, 7-11, 10-3
Num ber of points, 7-6, C-14, C-19
Nyquist Frequency, 10-19, 10-20,
B-2, C-4, C-5, C-9, C-12, C-19
Objects
d isp la yin g th e m , 1 1 -1 , 1 1 -2
Octal Grid, 11-12
Offset behavior, 5-3, 7-11, 12-1,
12-19
OFFSET knob, 5-1
Offset Range, A-1
Offset scaling, 4-7
Opaque Mode, 11-3, 11-20
Operand, 10-9
Operating Environm ent, 3-1, A-11
Operator, 10-9
Options installed
in fo rm a tio n o n , 1 6 -2
O R interval, 8-38
Output Form ats, A-11
output to, 12-3
Over +, D-9
Over, D-9
Overflow, B-3
Overlap Managem ent, 11-1, 11-3,
11-20
Overlays Color, 11-21
Overload, 3-3, 5-3, 5-6
Oversam pling, B-1
Overvoltage, 3-1
Packing and Shipm ent, 1-3

page feed, 12-2
PANEL SETUPS, 4-6, 15-1, 15-2,
15-3
PANEL SETUPS button, 15-1
Param eter Analysis, A-9
Param eter Categories, 14-11,
14-12
Param eter Display, 11-10

Param eter sym bols, 14-6, 14-7
Param eters, 10-3, 14-6, 14-8,
14-9, 14-10, 14-11, 14-12,
14-13, 14-14, 14-15, 14-16,
14-17, 14-18, 14-19, 14-20,
14-22, A-10, D-1, D-5, D-6,
D-7, D-8, D-9, D-10, D-11
Parity, 12-6
Pass/Fail Testing, 11-4, 12-23,
14-6, 14-15, 14-16, 14-17,
14-18, 14-19, 14-20, 14-21
Pattern, 8-22
Pattern Trigger, 8-17, 8-18, 8-19,
8-37, 8-43, A-6
PC, 12-7, A-11
PCMCIA. See UTILITIES:Mem ory
Card
Peak Detect, 7-2, 7-6, A-4
PeaktoPeak, 14-8, D-9
pen num ber, 12-2
Period, D-9
Periodic Signals, C-6
Persist, 11-15
Persist for, 11-15, 11-19
Persistance Decay, 11-5
Persistence, 11-13, 11-14, 11-16,
11-18, 11-19, 14-1, A-8
PERSISTENCE, 11-15
Persistence data m aps, 11-5,
11-14
m e m o ry a llo ca tio n , 1 6 -5
Persistence Setup, 11-14, 11-15
Phase, C-10, D-9
Phase Response, B-2
Picket Fence Effect, C-4, C-20
plot size, 12-2
Plotters, 12-2, A-11
Points, D-9
Pollution Degree, 3-1, A-12
Portrait, 12-3
PO SITIO N , 9-2, 10-6
Post-Trigger, 6-3, A-5
Power, 3-3, A-11
Power Average, C-16
Power Averaging, 10-14
Power Density, 10-13, C-10, C-16
Power Density Spectrum , C-4,

C-20
Power On
S e lf-Te st, 3 -3
Power Requirem ents 3-2
Power Spectrum , 10-13, C-4,
C-10, C-16, C-20
Power-off, 3-1
Power-on, 3-1
Precise Tim ing Measurem ents,
10-1
Pre-Trigger, 6-3, A-5
Prim ary m enus, 4-3
printer, 12-2
Printers, 12-2, 12-3, 12-5, A-11
Probe Attenuation, 5-3
Probe Calibration, 5-5
Probes, 1-3, 5-5, A-7
ProBus, 1-3, 5-5
Processors, 2-1
Protective Conductor Term inal,
3-2
Pulse W idth, 8-13, 8-35, 8-36,
8-37, 8-46
Pushbutton auto-repeat, 12-21
Quad Grid, 11-9, 11-10

Qualifications
in Trig g e rin g , 8 -2
Qualified First Trigger, 8-24, 8-25,
8-44
Qualified Triggers, 8-20, 8-21,
8-40, 8-41, 8-44, A-7
Qualifier. See Qualified Triggers
QUICK FORMAT, 12-14
RAM, A-4, A-5, A-9

Read tim e cursor am plitudes,
12-19
Real Tim e Clock field, 4-9
Real, Real + Im aginary, Im aginary
F F T, C -1 0
Real-Tim e Display
S e e R o ll M o d e , 7 -3
RECALL W FORM, 4-5, 13-4,
13-5
Recall/Save, 15-1
Recalling Setups, 15-2, 15-3
Record, 7-8
Record Length
m a xim isin g it, C -8
R ecord up to, 7-7, 7-8
Reducing Noise, 10-3, B-2, B-6
Reference Mem ories, 10-5
Relative Mode. See
Cursors:Relative
Relative Tim e Cursors, 10-1
Rem ote Control, 2-3
Rem ote Control Assistant, 12-19,
12-20
Rem ote Enable, 4-4
Resam ple
d e ske w m a th fu n ctio n , 1 0 -1 6
Rescale Setup, 10-17
R ESET, 9-2, 10-1
Resolution, B-1, B-2, B-3
Resolution Bandwidth
in F F T, 1 0 -1 8
RESTORE DEFAULT NAME,
12-16
Return, 1-3
RETURN, 4-3, 11-10
RIS (Random Interleaved
Sam pling), 2-2, 7-1, 7-2, 7-6,
7-7, 8-28, A-4
A U TO , 6 -2
S N G L , 6 -3
S TO P , 6 -1
Rise, D-2
Rise 2080 % , D-10
Rise at Level, D-10
Rise tim e, 14-9, D-2, D-10
Rising edge, 14-13
Roll Mode, 7-1, 7-3
A U TO , 6 -2
N O R M , 6 -2
S N G L , 6 -3
S TO P , 6 -1
Roof, 10-12
Root Mean Square (rm s), 14-8,
D-2, D-11
RS232 Cabling, 12-3
RS-232-C, 4-6
RS-232-C Connector Pin
Assignm ents, 12-5
RS-232-C Port, 12-5, A-11
Runt Trigger, 8-30, 8-31, 8-45,
A-7
Safety, 3-1, A-12

Sam ple C lock, 7-6, 7-8, 7-10
Sam ple rate
in cre a sin g it b y co m b in in g
ch a n n e ls, 2 -1 , 7 -5
Sam ple Rate, A-2, A-3, A-4
Sam pling, 7-8, 7-9
F F T, C -1
S a m p lin g M o d e s , 7-1
Sam pling Period
in F F T, 1 0 -1 9
Sam pling Rate, 7-3, 7-6, B-1
Sam pling thresholds, 7-8
Saturate at, 11-17, 11-19
Saturation, 11-6, 11-14, 11-15
Saving Setups, 15-1
Scale Factors, A-3
Scaling
in F F T, 1 0 -2 0
Scallop Loss, C-4, C-17, C-20
Scope Explorer, 2-3
SCREEN DUMP, 4-6, 12-2
Screen Intensity
G rid , 1 1 -1 3 , 1 1 -1 6 , 1 1 -1 8
W a ve fo rm a n d Te xt, 1 1 -1 3 ,
1 1 -1 6 , 1 1 -1 8
Screen Save, 11-20
Screen Type, A-8
Secondary m enus, 4-3
Segm ents, 6-1, 6-2, 7-3, 7-8, 7-9,

7-10, 10-3, E-8, E-10
SELEC T ABC D , 9-1
SELECT CHANNEL, 5-1
Self-Test, 3-3
Sensitivity, A-1
Sequence, 7-10
Sequence Mode, 7-3, 7-7, 7-8,
7-9, 10-3, 10-6, 12-19, A-4
A U TO , 6 -2
N O R M , 6 -2
S TO P , 6 -1
Serial num ber, 16-2
Service and Repair, 1-2
SET CLO CK, 12-4
SET TO, 12-23
Setup ASCII Form at, 13-2
SETUP param eter m enus, 14-13
Setup Recall, 2-3
Setups, 2-3
Shape, 12-23
SHO W STATUS, 16-1
SHOW STATUS button, 4-6
Signal Interval, A-6
Signal W idth, A-6
Signaltonoise(SNR) ratio
im p ro vin g it u sin g E n h a n ce d
R e so lu tio n F ilte rin g , B -1 ,
B -2
SINGLE, 7-11
Single-Shot Acquisition, 10-3, A-4
S in g le - S h o t A q u is it io n , 7-1
Single-Shot Mode, 6-2, 7-6, 7-7
Size, A-11
Slew Rate Trigger, 8-32, 8-33,
8-46, A-7
slope, 8-34
Slope, 8-46, 14-13, A-5
SMART Trigger, 2-2, 8-1, 8-2,
8-10, 8-11, 8-12, 8-13, 8-14,
8-15, 8-16, 8-17, 8-18, 8-19,
8-20, 8-21, 8-23, 8-26, 8-28,
8-30, 8-31, 8-32, 8-33, 8-35,
8-36, 8-37, 8-38, 8-39, 8-40,
8-41, 8-42, 8-43, 8-44, 8-45,
8-46, A-6
SMARTMem ory, A-4
SNG L, 6-2
Software version inform ation, 16-2
Source Trace, 10-7
Sources, A-5
Special Modes, 7-11, 12-1, 12-19
Spectral Analysis, 10-18, B-2,
C-1, C-2
Spectral Power Averaging, C-6,
C-7
Spreadsheet, 13-3, E-1, E-2, E-3,
E-4, E-7, E-8, E-12, E-13
Standard Deviation, 14-8, D-11
Standard Display, 11-7, 11-13,
11-14
Standard Param eters, D-1
Standard Tim e Param eters, 14-9
Standard Voltage Param eters,
14-8
Standby, 11-20
State-Qualified Trigger, 8-20, 8-40
State-Qualified Trigger with W ait,
8-21
Statistics, 14-6, 14-8, 14-9, 14-10
STOP, 6-1, 7-11, 10-3
Stop bits, 12-6
Storage
C o p y F ile s, 1 2 -1 8
Storage Availability, 12-9
store, 13-2
STORE, 13-1
STORE W FORMS, 13-1, 13-2
Sum m ary, 16-1
Sum m ed Averaging, 10-3, 10-10
SYSTEM SETUP, 4-5
System Sum m ary, 16-2
Tem perature, 3-1, A-11

Tem plate, 12-10, 12-13, 12-14
TEMPLATE AND FORMATTING,
12-12
Text & Tim es Sum m ary, 16-3
Text Color, 11-2, 11-21
Threshold, 8-30, 8-32, 8-33, 8-45
TIFF, 12-2, 12-8
Tim e, 8-21, 8-23

in d isp la y, 1 1 -7
Trig g e r H o ld -o ff b y, 8 -3 4
Tim e and Frequency field, 4-9
Tim e at Level, D-11
Tim e intervals, D-2
Tim e Param eter m easurem ents,
D-2
Tim e Resolution
im p ro vin g it w ith Z o o m , 1 0 -1
TIME/DATE, 12-4
Tim e/Date Setup, 12-1
TIME/DIV, 6-3
Tim e/Div Range, A-5
Tim ebase, 14-19, 16-1
TIMEBASE, 6-1, 10-19, 10-21
TIMEBASE + TRIG G ER, 4-2
Tim ebase Clock, 7-1
TIMEBASE EXTERNAL, 7-8, 7-9
Tim ebase scaling, 4-7
TIMEBASE SETUP, 6-4, 7-6
Tim ebase sum m ary, 16-1
Tim ebase System , A-5
Tim eout, 8-22, 8-28, 8-42
Tim ing Param eters, 14-13
to, 13-4, 13-5
to be set to, 12-16
to Card, Flyp or HDD, 15-1
tolerance, 14-20
Top, D-1, D-2, D-11
Trace and Ground Level m arkers,
4-9
Trace Color, 11-21
Trace Display, 11-15
TR AC E O N /O FF, 9-1, 11-3,
11-21
Traces
selection of, 5 -1
Tracking, 14-8, 14-9, 14-10
Trailing Edge, D-2
Transient signals, C-1, C-11
Transparent Mode, 11-1, 11-3,
11-20
TRIGGER, 6-1
Trigger Am plitude, 8-4
Trigger Com parator, A-6

Trigger Configuration field, 4-9
Trigger Controls, 8-1
Trigger Coupling, 8-4, 8-34, 8-36,
8-38, 8-45, 8-46
Trigger Delay, 4-9, 6-3, 7-1, 8-28,
8-41, 8-44, 14-9
Trigger Events, 8-8, 8-34, 8-40
Trigger Holdoff, 8-43
Trigger Hold-off, 8-5, 8-34
Trigger Level, 6-4, 8-1, 8-4, 8-8,
8-17, 8-43, 14-13
Trigger Level arrows, 4-9
Trigger Level scaling, 4-7
Trigger Modes, 6-1
trigger on, 8-39
Trigger Out, 12-23
Trigger Range, 8-4, A-6
Trigger Ready, 12-23
TRIGGER SETUP, 6-4, 8-1, 8-34,
8-35
Trigger Slope, 8-5, 8-42
Trigger Source, 6-4, 8-3, 8-4,
8-34, 8-38, 8-42, 8-45, 8-46
Trigger Status field, 4-9
Trigger sum m ary, 16-1
Trigger System , 2-2, A-5
Trigger Threshold, 8-17, 8-18,
8-19, 8-40, 8-41, 8-44
Trigger Tim ing, A-6
Trigger window, 8-13, 8-38
Triggering, 7-5, 8-1, 8-2, 8-9,
8-34, 10-3
A U TO , 8 -1
N O R M , 8 -1
S TO P , 8 -1
TV signal on, 8-39
TV Trigger, 8-26, 8-39, A-7
TV Type, 8-39
use Math?, 10-16

Using, 11-15, 11-17, 11-19
UTILITIES, 4-5, 7-11, 12-1
F ile Tra n sfe rs, 1 2 -1 0

F lo p p y D isk, 1 2 -7 , 1 2 -1 2 ,
1 2 -1 3
G P IB p o rt, 1 2 -5
H a rd D isk, 1 2 -7 , 1 2 -1 4
H a rd co p y S e tu p , 1 2 -2 , 1 2 -3
M a ss S to ra g e , 1 2 -1 , 1 2 -7 ,
1 2 -1 0
M e m o ry C a rd , 1 2 -7
P rin te rs, 1 2 -2 , 1 2 -3
R S -2 3 2 -C p o rt, 1 2 -5
S p e cia l M o d e s, 1 2 -1 , 1 2 -1 9
V/div O ffset, 5-3, 5-6

Validation
in trig g e rin g , 8 -2 0
VAR button, 5-2
Vertical Offset, 5-1
Vertical Resolution, A-3
in cre a sin g it, B -5
Vertical Sensitivity, 5-1
VG A, A-11
VOLTS/DIV knob, 5-2
Volts/div scaling, 4-7
W idth, 8-36, 8-37, 8-46, D-11

W indow Pattern Trigger, 8-19
W indow Trigger, 8-8
with, 8-45, 8-46
with window m enu, C-5
work with, 12-15
W rap, 7-7, 7-8, 7-10, 7-11, 12-9
XY
XY
XY
XY
XY
Display, 11-7, 11-11

Dual Display, 11-11
Persist Setup, 11-18
Persistence, 11-18
SETUP, 11-17, 11-19
ZERO, 6-3
Zoom , 9-1, 9-2, 10-1, A-8
ZO O M , 9-2, 10-6
Zoom m enu, 10-7
Zoom of Math Functions, 10-1
# # #
W ait, 8-44
W arnings, 3-2
W arnings Color, 11-21
W arranty, 1-1, A-12
W aveform and Text intensity,
11-13
W aveform Mathem atics, 10-2,
10-5, 10-6
W aveform Processing, 10-5, A-9,
C-1, C-7, C-11, C-12, C-14,
C-17, C-18
W aveform Recall, 13-4, 13-5
W AVEFORM RECALL, 4-5
W aveform Status, 16-4
W aveform Store, 13-1, 13-3
W eight, A-12
W hich files, 12-18
Korea: LeCroy Korea Ltd.

2 3452 0400
Mexico: Electroingenieria de Precision SA
559 7677
New Zealand: Philips Test and Measurement
649 8494 160
Norway: Avantec AS
22 76 38 70
Pakistan: Electro Tech Corp. Ltd.
21 493 9593/5171
Portugal: M .T. Brandao Lda.
2 830 27 09
Singapore: Abex Eng. Ltd.
841 2818
South Africa: W estplex Ltd.
11 787 0473
Spain: M T Brandao SL
1 803 1767
Sweden: M SS AB
8 544 107 00
Switzerland: LeCroy SA
North: 62 885 8050
W est: 22 719 2228
Taiwan: Lecoln Tech. Co.
2 232 6368
Thailand: M easuretronix Ltd.
2 375 2733
Turkey: NETES
212 237 32 26
Unite Arab Emirates: A rab E ngineers for
T rading C o. Ltd 899 0220/0440
United Kingdom, Ireland: LeCroy Ltd.
1 235 524 288
United States: 1 8005LeCroy
(autom atically connects you to your local
sales office)
Vietnam: Schm idt Vietnam Co Ltd.
4 8346 186
Argentina: Search SA
54-11-4775-8544
Australia: Philips Test and Measurem ent
2 9888 8222
Austria: Dewetron G m bH
0316 3070
Benelux: LeCroy Ltd.
1 235 524 288
Brazil: ATP/Hi-Tek Electronica Ltda
11 725 5822
Canada: Allan Crawford Assoc. Ltd.
M ississauga: 905 890 2010
N. Vancouver: 604 878 1002
Chile: Sistem as de Instrum entacion Ltda
2 6951137
Denmark: Lutronic ApS
43 42 9764
Eastern Europe: Elsinco G m bH, Vienna
1 815 04 00
Finland: O rbis O Y, 0478 830
France: LeCroy Sarl,
1 69 18 83 20
Germany: LeCroy Europe G m bH,
6221 82700
Greece: IFIPCO , 1 67 25 970
Hong Kong: Schm idt Electronics
852 250 70333
Israel: Am m o, 3 547 2747
Italy: LeCroy S.r.l., Venice
41 456 9700
Japan: LeCroy Japan Corp.
O saka: 6 396 0961
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Tsukuba: 298 41 5810

User Manual Oscilloscope Lecroy Lc534L

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User Manual Oscilloscope Lecroy Lc534L

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Operators Manual

This electronic product is

LeCroy recommends that you thoroughly inspect the

LeC roy provides a variety of custom er support services under

LeC roy is dedicated to offering state-of-the-art instrum ents by

P lease return products that require m aintenance to the C ustom er

T he follow ing item s are shipped w ith the standard configuration

F ront S cope C over

10:1 10 M 005 one per channel

R em ote C ontrol M anual

P erform ance C ertificate or C alibration C ertificate

D eclaration of C onform ity

Wherever possible, please use the original shipping

Each of the four channels of a

T he central processing unit (C P U ), a P ow erP C m icroprocessor,

See Appendix A for each models complete specifications.

T he instrum ents A D C architecture is designed to give excellent

T he long acquisition m em ories sim plify signal acquisition by

R epetitive signals can be acquired and stored at a R andom

T riggering can be controlled to a highly specialized degree in

T he oscilloscopes autom atic calibration ensures an overall

T he A nalog P ersistence function offers display attributes of an

T his is a truly digital instrum ent. N evertheless the front-panel

T he oscilloscope has also been designed for rem ote control

A lso via G P IB and R S -232-C , the S cope E xplorer softw are

Ensure that the operating environment is maintained within the

T em perature ........................... 5 to 40 C (41 to 104 F)

Installation (O vervoltage) C ategory............. II

W here the following sym bols or indications appear on the

CAUTION: Refer to accompanying documents (for safety

WARNING: Risk of electric shock.

Protective Conductor Terminal

Alternating Current Only

Earth (Ground) Terminal on BNC Connectors.

Denotes a hazard. If a WARNING is indicated on the

Any use of this instrument in a manner not specified by the

N o voltage selection is required because the

T he oscilloscope has been designed to operate from a single-phase

M aintenance and repairs should be carried out exclusively by a

Risk of electrical shock: No user-serviceable parts inside.

The front-panel controls are divided into four main groups

Other buttons access special features.

D ark gray m enu entry buttons (also present in other groups of

T he seven untitled buttons vertically aligned beside the screen,

T his group of controls offers selection of displayed traces and

T his group controls trace selection, m ovem ent, definition, and

T his green button accesses the unique Analog Persistence

R edraws the grid to fill the entire screen. (See C hapter 11 .)

Part 2, Getting Started, in the

On-screen menus the panels along the right-hand side of

T he activated selection is highlighted in the m enu. P ress the

When the oscilloscope is placed in the remote state,

Besides the menu buttons and knobs described on the

g iv e s y o u a c c e s s to the C U R S O R S setup m enus,

T his button prints or plots the screen display to an on-line

B y resetting the sw eep counter(s) to zero, this button restarts

Press the blue AUTO SETUP button to automatically scale

To perform a general reset of the instrument,

The oscilloscope will revert to its default powerup settings.

These controls let you

Press these buttons to

T h is k n o b v e rtic a lly p o s itio n s th e a c tiv e c h a n n e l.

T his button selects the vertical sensitivity either in a 125 sequence

T he form at of the vertical sensitivity in the Acquisition Sum m ary field