Hi all!
I've been trying to figure out what are, from a technical point of view, the differences between both types of oscilloscopes.
The only thing I've found repeatedly online so far is "some general purpose oscilloscopes can be used for automotive purpouses but automotive oscilloscopes can never be used for reguar electronics", but alas! I couldn't find a detailed technical explanation for this impossibility. Which is far from helpful.
Now, what are the exact technical (not practical) reasons an automotive oscilloscope can't be used for regular electronics. As far as I could figure out, in general it seems automotive oscilloscopes have higher specs (bandwidth, resolution, channels).
Thanks!

 

All oscilloscopes have technical specifications.
Read the specifications of the oscilloscope to know the difference from another.

 

All oscilloscopes have technical specifications.
Read the specifications of the oscilloscope to know the difference from another.

Perhaps I phrased my question incorrectly. My point is which of those specs would make it impossible to use an automotive oscilloscope for regular electronics provided the specified specs are equal or even higher in some automotive oscilloscopes.
Several automotive scopes I've checked have higher bandwidth, samplerate, bit-depth than lab scooes and at least 4 channels instead of 2. Why couldn't they be used for lab work?

 

Each type is engineered for the expected application. The basic display function is the same but things like probes, front end signal specifics, measurement processing, user packaging and interface are tailored to the expected usage.

Use the correct tool for the job.

 

My point is which of those specs would make it impossible to use an automotive oscilloscope for regular electronics

Probably not impossible, but there likely are limitations that limit its use for general electronics.
For digital scopes, look at things like processing options, (averaging, RMS calculations, FFT display, etc.) as well as input voltage range, frequency range and sweep speeds.

 

Each type is engineered for the expected application. The basic display function is the same but things like probes, front end signal specifics, measurement processing, user packaging and interface are tailored to the expected usage.

Use the correct tool for the job.

So if I tried to connect the probes of an automotive oscilloscope to a, lets say, arduino PWM output or an audio amplifier output, would I get no waveforms at all? Or would it be distorted beyond usefulness?
Is there no possible way the probes could be modified or cudtom probes be made to this end?

 

Probably not impossible, but there likely are limitations that limit its use for general electronics.
For digital scopes, look at things like processing options, (averaging, RMS calculations, FFT display, etc.) as well as input voltage range, frequency range and sweep speeds.

Thanks! The main 2 reasons for my question are that I'm just really curious and knowing this would help me understand a lot of things. I'm very new to scopes, but now I really start needing one. And in second place I can't possibly afford 2 scopes at the moment and those USB automotive scopes seem to be quite handy with useful software for capture and analysis, and they come by default with 4 channels.

 

USB automotive scopes seem to be quite handy with useful software for capture and analysis, and they come by default with 4 channels.

So compare their specs with a similar USB regular scope in the same price range.

 

I have never heard of an automotive oscilloscope though I can imagine one can built and market a diagnostic tool for a specific field. I need to educate myself.

https://autoditex.com/page/how-to-choose-an-automotive-oscilloscope-61-1.html

What are the essential features one need in any oscilloscope?

1. Max frequency
2. Input sensitivity, resolution
3. Max input voltage
4. Number of channels
5. Screen size
6. Monochrome vs colour screen
7. Storage capability and capacity
8. Screen capture, data logging, USB, memory card
9. Portability, size, weight, hand held vs bench top
10. Battery operation, hours of battery operation
11. Math features, FFT

 

As far as I could figure out, in general it seems automotive oscilloscopes have higher specs (bandwidth, resolution, channels).
Thanks!

I would like to see the specs you are comparing. Are they for similar priced scopes? I would be very surprised if an “automotive” scope had better specs than a bench scope at the same price point.

Can you post links to the two?

 

It really doesn’t matter, and this should not be confused with a criticism of the TS, but the abbreviation for versus is “vs.”, not “v/s”. I can’t work out how that could be correct but just in the spirit of tiny improvements, vs. is what is wanted here.

 

It really doesn’t matter, and this should not be confused with a criticism of the TS, but the abbreviation for versus is “vs.”, not “v/s”. I can’t work out how that could be correct but just in the spirit of tiny improvements, vs. is what is wanted here.

Fixed.

 

Hi all!
I've been trying to figure out what are, from a technical point of view, the differences between both types of oscilloscopes.
The only thing I've found repeatedly online so far is "some general purpose oscilloscopes can be used for automotive purpouses but automotive oscilloscopes can never be used for reguar electronics", but alas! I couldn't find a detailed technical explanation for this impossibility. Which is far from helpful.
Now, what are the exact technical (not practical) reasons an automotive oscilloscope can't be used for regular electronics. As far as I could figure out, in general it seems automotive oscilloscopes have higher specs (bandwidth, resolution, channels).
Thanks!

I think the basic premise of the question is wrong, because it relies on a strict interpretation of the notion that automotive oscilloscopes can never be used for regular electronics.

Just as not all general purpose scopes are the same, not all automotive scopes are the same. So blanket statements about what they can and can't be used for are almost always suspect. By the same token, it's going to be pretty fruitless to ask for some exact reason that is somehow going to be universally applicable. It's better to look at why THIS particular automotive scope can't be used for THAT particular "regular" electronics application.

Automotive scopes are designed with a particular application in mind. They are often used to look at ignition system signals, for instance, and therefore need input circuits that can handle the kinds of signals you see in ignition systems. But they don't need to be able to work with very high speed signals or very low level signals. So they might have a 200 kHz bandwidth and a max vertical sensitivity of 50 mV/div, while a comparably priced general purpose scope might have 200 MHz bandwidth and 1 mV/div sensitivity, specs which would make them unsuitable for many (but by no means all) general purpose electronics applications. But the automotive scope can understand the bus protocols common in automobiles that the general purpose scope might not be able to. It also might be more rugged given the environment it is expected to be used in.

 

Apart from digital capabilities used in automotive, traditional ignition systems are painfully slow compared to modern electronics.
That's not to say you cannot use a GP DSO for automotive needs but for example the traditional 100 MHz GP scope is overkill for automotive work. Even a 50 MHz DSO should eat automotive stuff with a capable operator behind it.

To get something that would cover most bases you will need a DSO capable of CAN bus decoding at least and if investigating modern ignition systems probes capable of ~500V. HV/HT stuff uses inductive coupling so to not expose users to spark plug voltages that are 20kV+ and not to be messed with.