Oscilloscopes 101 - How to use an o-scope! | Basic Electronics

With all the knobs and buttons, an oscilloscope can be intimidating to new users. We decided to just focus on the most important things you need to know to be able to use an o-scope. After this, you will be able to find your signals and understand what you're looking at, be comfortable with the interface, and have the foundation needed to start exploring other features on your own.

Table of Contents:
0:00 Introduction
0:10 The Auto Button, friend or foe?
1:45 Divisions, horizontal scale, and phase offset
3:48 How to find rise time
4:40 Divisions, vertical scale and shifting
5:40 Probe and X10 or X1 scaling
6:28 Trigger
7:42 Measurement tools
9:00 Summary

CircuitBread is joining the fight to help people more easily learn about and use electronics. With an ever-growing array of equations, tools, and tutorials, we're striving for the best ways to make electronics and electrical engineering topics more accessible to everyone.

Connect with CircuitBread:

[mickeyfilmer]

I'v spent 2 days going through YouTube videos to find out basic stuff-nearly all assume you know how to use one, but you're the first to explain these 3 basic but for me most important bits. Thank you so much - I feel much mor confident now, to start exploring my new machine (btw I'm 64 so learning takes a bit longer for me now and you've been the best tutor on here!)

[bobbysmith]

thank you so much I've learned a lot. just got my 1st scope today and been having a blast playing with some signals I've generated

[tweedeldee]

One of the best I've watched yet. Thank you!

[tonyrink]

Great video to help out the novice like me. Thank you for sharing.

[mnada]

Greetings, your videos are so informative and elegant, please do more 🙏

[HeadleyBCC]

Excellent! I will share with my students. Thanks

[petermccuskey]

Thank you for your time. Just would like to see physical troubleshooting.

[luiscruz]

This video was amazing. I love the presentation, and the extra tips. Please Tela hire CircuitBread (not to be mistaken with gamebread), and have him show people how to replace their car battery! Well, maybe not the car battery but you get he point...

[daz]

very good episode :) but I would like to see more on this subject :)

[jimmyzhao]

My teacher used to clip the long lead of an LED to make it shorter to teach us not to *always assume*

[hannescamitz]

One heads up that might should have been said, not too frighten beginners with OSC.
The alligator clip on the probe is earth ground, hook that one up at the wrong spot and... BOOM.
But that's only a risc when dealing with equipment connected to the mains, essentially. As long as your project is battery powered or isolated from tho grid you're most likely to be fine.

[Therradican]

It will be nice to tell the practicality of their usage. In some of your video I am looking for to build an electricity that can sustain a 4 bed room house.

[saydmarschany]

Have been looking for a tutorial that I could understand. With you, I hit the spot. I am a beginner, never took any lessons on electronics. Had a sudden urge to learn. Purchased a 25 mhz o-scope to check my gadgets at home, for a decent price. Is 25 mhz sufficient for a beginner? I am a bit confused about the mhz, please let me know. Thank you for your time.

[caseykittel]

Cool!

How can I test a home stereo cable? Do I need a separate audio signal (like white noise or sign wave generator)? I have various test tones in my computer and various audio output jacks. Thanks!

Ps I want to see if my older cables are not passing the higher frequencies due to corrosion or wear. Weed out the crappy cables.

[magnatron]

Great vid. Should I invest in a new o scope or use the old Techtronics that I have

[carbon]

So do I need a function generator to get familiar with an o scope?

[leeblanchard]

Thank you for your video. I am itching to buy the Rigol oscilloscope. My problem is why do i need it? The videos are mostly about the knobs and there functions. I would love to see a video that you are actually using it on something simple I can under stand and then describe what is working or not. Like a broken power supply or small radio or a tv remote control? Its unfortunately so over my head with just the words let alone the instrument. Maybe you have another video in you????

[weatherednboston]

I downloaded an app called Oscope. I have a very strong vibration coming through my apartment floor. It seems to be moving around and I cant tell what the Oscope reading is. Any way you could help me? I just want someone to look at the footage and tell me if it shows what my neighbor is doing to me. I cant tell. Cause I have no idea how to read it.

[julius]

Can you elaborate on a wave form generator?

[allentraylor]

I JUST BOUGHT ONE OF THESE TO CHECK POWER-SUPPLIES, HOW WOULD I KNOW WHAT MILI OR MICRO SECONDS I SHOULD WANT TO SEE ??