Are there any storage oscilloscope options for hobbyists with lots of analog channels, but doesn't cost US$ 20,000 ?
I've decided to embark on a silly project to try to add automatic engine start to a tiny Honda EU1000i portable electric generator. I merely need to temporarily disconnect the normal AC inverter output, and then backfeed the 3-phase alternator to drive it as a motor for about 30 seconds, to prime and start the engine...
But before I can get to that point, I am probably going to have to reverse-engineer how the generator signaling normally works. I will need to monitor and graph out the exciter field amps/volts, the 3 phases amps/volts, the shaft angle sensor amps/volts used for ignition timing, the throttle servo control, the inverter output amps/volts....
,
I'm up to about 16 analog outputs to monitor simultaneously, but I most likely don't need the gigahertz sampling speeds of the high end professional multichannel oscilloscopes.
Very slow kilohertz sample rates are probably good enough for monitoring signals in a combustion engine.
I've been vaguely contemplating that a multitrack 16 or 32 channel, 48khz audio mixer board might do pretty much all I need. I can use Audacity as a multitrack oscilloscope measurement tool, lol.
,
But are there any proper low-cost analog 16+ channel analog sampling oscilloscopes that can work for this?
Another low-cost option may be a "PC as oscilloscope" using a bunch of 4-channel PCI Express analog sampling boards in a mini-tower computer case.
I've decided to embark on a silly project to try to add automatic engine start to a tiny Honda EU1000i portable electric generator. I merely need to temporarily disconnect the normal AC inverter output, and then backfeed the 3-phase alternator to drive it as a motor for about 30 seconds, to prime and start the engine...
But before I can get to that point, I am probably going to have to reverse-engineer how the generator signaling normally works. I will need to monitor and graph out the exciter field amps/volts, the 3 phases amps/volts, the shaft angle sensor amps/volts used for ignition timing, the throttle servo control, the inverter output amps/volts....
,
I'm up to about 16 analog outputs to monitor simultaneously, but I most likely don't need the gigahertz sampling speeds of the high end professional multichannel oscilloscopes.
Very slow kilohertz sample rates are probably good enough for monitoring signals in a combustion engine.
I've been vaguely contemplating that a multitrack 16 or 32 channel, 48khz audio mixer board might do pretty much all I need. I can use Audacity as a multitrack oscilloscope measurement tool, lol.
,
But are there any proper low-cost analog 16+ channel analog sampling oscilloscopes that can work for this?
Another low-cost option may be a "PC as oscilloscope" using a bunch of 4-channel PCI Express analog sampling boards in a mini-tower computer case.