Date: 22/11/2008

Affordable oscilloscopes from Tektronix for mixed signal design applications

Tektronix Inc has announced new MSO2000 mixed signal and DPO2000 digital phosphor oscilloscopes. The new series provide mixed signal design features including Wave Inspector search and navigation tools, automatic decoding of serial data busses, unique FilterVuT variable low pass filters to reduce unwanted noise from signals, in a portable and affordable package. With bandwidths up to 200MHz, the new series complement the existing MSO4000, DPO4000, and DPO3000 oscilloscope series models suitable for embedded system designs.

The MSO2000 and DPO2000 Series can interpret and measure address, control, data and clock signals on I2C, SPI, RS-232, CAN and LIN serial interfaces. MSO2000 provides the ability to time-correlate analog and digital signals with up to 4 analog and 16 digital channels, for troubleshooting the mixed signal portions of embedded systems. The MSO2000 and DPO2000 Series are right fit for embedded designers and educators teaching design principles.

Alfred Mora, electrical engineer, Fixed Scanning Business Unit, Datalogic Scanning, Inc. said, "It combines scope, logic analyzer, and protocol analyzer features into an easy-to-use, portable package. The mixed signal functionality, serial decode, small footprint, and affordable price provide compelling value."

The MSO2000 and DPO2000 Series of oscilloscopes each consist of three models ranging from 100 MHz to 200 MHz, with two or four analog channels, the familiar Tektronix front-panel layout, serial triggering, protocol decode, USB plug-and-play PC connectivity, a seven inch widescreen bright TFT display (with new flat display traditional CRO is obsolete), and a three-year warranty. The MSO2000 models also include 16 digital channels, providing up to 20 time-correlated channels to debug both analog and digital data. All models contain 1M points of record length on each channel and a 1 GS/s sampling rate on all channels, ensuring at least 5X over-sampling of the signal. Additionally, the new models provide 5,000 waveforms per second capture rate to aid discovery of transient events.

The new FilterVu variable low-pass filter provides a powerful tool to block unwanted noise from signals while still capturing glitches and other signal details up to the full bandwidth of the oscilloscope.

Mark Hastings, electrical design engineer, Cypress Semiconductor said, "FilterVu on the Tektronix MSO/DPO2000 Series is one of the more unique features we've seen on a scope. With FilterVu we were able to filter out motor drive noise and clearly see the underlying digital signal characteristics. The feature will also be useful for demodulating signals. We've come to expect this type of innovation from Tektronix."
The MSO2000 and DPO2000 Series include Wave Inspector search engine on all analog and digital channels to assist in finding events of interest in long records. Wave Inspector also provides the ability to automatically search through an acquisition and mark all occurrences of a user-specified event then navigate between the marks.
All models include standard a USB host port both in front and rear of the instrument. The front USB port supports a USB flash drive. The rear port is USBTMC compatible which enables communication and control via a PC. The rear port is also PictBridge certified for printing to PictBridge certified printers.
U.S. list prices range from $2,580 for a two-channel 100MHz DPO2012 to $5,150 for a four-channel 200MHz MSO2024 with an included P6316 digital probe. All new models are available for purchase and delivery. Additional information can be found at www.tektronix.com/scopes.

A limited version of NI LabVIEW SignalExpressT Tektronix Edition is included free of charge with the MSO2000 and DPO2000 Series; users can upgrade to the standard verson of NI LabVIEW SignalExpressT Tektronix Edition for a U.S. MSRP of $699 which includes more than 200 measurement acquisition, analysis, and reporting features. The Tektronix Edition software can be ordered from Tektronix as option SIGEXPTE.