AC voltage meter poor mans oscilloscope

[relicmarks]

My oscilloscope Analog or digital is way to big for certain jobs to measure under a desk or console

HOw can you use a AC volt meter like a oscilloscope?

How would you know if the sine waveform at 1K hz is going through the input and output of that IC chip?


Use your AC volt meter and measure the INput of the IC chip , it reads a AC voltage, measure the output of the IC chip it reads a AC voltage, Measure the frequency with your DVM on the input and output of the IC CHIP

The DVM meter doesn't give all the instantaneous amplitude values in TIME

So how can you replicate this on a DVM meter?

Since a DVM meter doesn't graph out a sinewaveform how can you mimic it?

Those cheap Handheld Oscilloscpe are around $300 and they are monochrome display , that are really slow

What would you guys do please?

[Externet]

Hi.
I have this baby. Some limitations, but works :
http://picotechitaly.8k.com/oszifox1/oszifox.html

[relicmarks]

How much was it? it looks cool and small

I wonder why most DVM meters don't have a oscilloscope setting now of days

Any other very small oscilloscope or hand held that are very cheap ?

[SgtWookie]

Apparently, they're available at Radio Shack for around $80 according to this website:
http://www.linuxtoys.org/pscope/pscope.html
Much more detailed info there.

[Bill_Marsden]

Sucker looks expensive, but I hope I'm wrong.

========

Not too bad. Might get one eventually. Pico is selling a lot of variaty I notice in these kind of instruments.

[relicmarks]

They don't sell those radio shack probes anymore i asked


They only have PC interfacing DVM meters

THe DVM meter is set to AC volts, if you measure the AC voltages it stores them for a period , then your download them onto your computer using a software

I tried it out , if you measuring very fast waveforms like vertical or horizontal video syncs the PC interface DVM meter is suppost to store the waveform period and graph it out on the computer but it didn't work that well

Do you guys have a PC interfacing DVM meter , its a DVM meter with a RS-232 cable or USB cable to do the graphing , data logging


What i was thinking if your testing IC chips input and outputs, if i set my DVM to measrure frequency , if i get a 1K hz frequency on the input and 1K hz frequency on the output , wouldn't the IC chip be GOOD because i get the same frequency on the input and output ? i don't have to use a O-scope for this

If i didn't get any frequency at all on the output then the IC chip is bad
or a AC voltagge on the output the IC chip is BAD

THese are ways of testing IC chips or transitor stages without using a O-scope if your just using a DVM meter , its a puesdo 0-scope without a graph waveform

[relicmarks]

Yes pico is also , my problem is that i'm working on big consoles and i don't have room for a laptop or the pico interfacing box also it takes up to much room on the console plus it slides down and almost breaks my laptop because the console is at a angle

I need something that is very small

[thingmaker3]

Tektronix makes a "THS-700 series." I'm sure their competitors make hand-held battery operated scopes too.

[studiot]

I've still got the ozifox I had quite a few years ago (notice the Dos/Windows3.1).

It worked OK when new but the build quality must have been poor because it is unreliable now and doesn't always want to fire up.

Also the cable is too short and way too stiff. You need flexible cables for probes.

[Bill_Marsden]

That was a good idea Radio Shack was selling, wonder why it failed? I've been researching it, there is nothing on the market that is comparable.