AC vs DC Explained and How to Use an Oscilloscope

Explaining AC and DC is easy if you can use an oscilloscope, how to use an oscilloscope is fairly easy when using AC and DC as examples, it made sense to me so here goes.

[seanarmour]

I've watched several videos on Oscopes, and this by far is the best explanation, and entry to Oscopes.... Thank you very much for not overly complicating the Great Job!!!!

[iain]

Thank you. This tutorial is one of the best I've seen for newbs. A+

[Electronhacks]

You are both right, the issue is with semantics. "Conventional Current" is what they came up with back in the day before they knew that electrons were negatively charged. "Conventional Current" is still used today and it indeed flows from positive to negative. "Electron Flow" flows from negative to positive.
Both Conventional Current and Electron Flow conventions are used by industry. Many textbooks are available in both Electron Flow and Conventional Current formats

[kramer]

120V is the RMS (root mean square) voltage. The RMS voltage provides the equivalent voltage that the DC voltage does through any given resistor. ie. 12V DC in a 2ohm load would make 72watts of power and 12Vrms AC into a 2ohm load would also make 72 watts of power. The actual amplitude or peak voltage can be calculated by multiplying the RMS voltage by the square root of two. ie 120Vrms = 170Vpeak.

[Brandvegn]

I wanted to say "Thank you". I just bought an oscilloscope to start and look into fixing some vintage stereo stuff my father (and grandfather) have had. I had no idea how to do it, just knew I needed it and would read up on how later. Unfortunately, I have a Tenma 72-845 that seems to have no real following or link to a manual. This has helped me understand basic functions I hope.

[babatundeadesina]

This is the best tutorial on oscilloscope measurement i have ever watched...great job man

[jon]

Nice and simple, I was going to buy nano 203 but have bought an Analogue( Tektronix 2215) instead to repair and tune up analogue audio amplifiers. I love it.

[jojopri]

You did it very well explaining it in a very clear way how Oscilloscope works, keep it up. Stay safe, God bless!

[jgizzy]

Once again, awesome awesome video! You have a knack for explaining and doing demonstrations. Please keep it up! I will buy an Oscilloscope if I can find a used one for cheap, if for nothing else than to play with it. I'm sure I can find some great uses in automotive diagnostics though.

[Veldoril]

Whoa. Essentially, audio is AC? The realisation never crossed my mind. Thanks.

[EJproductionsxD]

Thank you so much! I'm going to an oral physics exam on Tuesday and there's a big chance I will get alternating current as topic and that I'll have to use an oscilloscope. And I couldn't remember how. Until this video. Thank you!

[CharlesGervasi]

Yes. It's not something like sweep rate, which is what I thought when I first saw a freq rating on a scope 20 years ago. It's the maximum frequency you can measure without too much attenuation. The vast majority of what I do is under 100MHz. Having a faster scope is nice, but you need a very short path to ground, like a piece of metal between the ring on the probe going directly to ground, to get full benefit from a high-speed scope.

[Electronhacks]

@ies213 The ground clip is a reference ground. So if you are troubleshooting a circuit the signal you are viewing on the oscilloscope has potential voltages + or - in reference to a ground in the circuit. Clip the ground clip to the ground of the circuit. This is only safe for you and your test equipment on low voltage circuits.

[WayneEarls]

Such a helpful video for someone who has never used one.

[odbj]

Well depends on how you think about it or how your taught. You seem to refer to the convential way when Davvdds referring to the Electron flow.

[Electronhacks]

The frequency range can be changed to get different frequency's to show on the screen. For instance if you are on the one second scale each horizontal grid square will equal one second or one millisecond or one microsecond ect.

[richzorko]

Excellent demo forba beginner like me.
Great job!

[shirleygene]

Thanks for some really interesting info. Didn't even know what an oscilloscope did before today, lol.

[niceguy]

Famous historic quote Thomas Edison to Nikola Tesla " I don't alternate my flow, I diss you directly"

[Horsesupreme]

This is a good video and I want to know more about the 434 tektronix oscilloscope. I want to know what the slope level buttom does if you turn it?