Accessory PicoScope 4000A
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PicoScope 4000A Series
High-resolution deep-memory oscilloscopes
This oscilloscope series is ideal for engineers, scientists and technicians who work on a wide range of electrical, mechanical, audio, lidar, radar, ultrasonic, NDT and
predictive maintenance systems and need precise measurement and analysis of repetitive or repetitive or one-off recorded waveforms of long duration.
The most important performance data:
- 2, 4 or 8 channels
- 20 MHz bandwidth
- 12 bit resolution
- 256 MS recording memory
- Sampling rate 80 MS/s
- Waveform buffer with 10,000 segments
- Arbitrary waveform generator
- SuperSpeed USB 3.0 connection
- Serial bus decoding
- Advanced digital triggering
- PicoScope®, PicoLog® and PicoSDK® software included
PicoScope model | 4224A / 4424A / 4824A |
|---|---|
| Input channels | 2 / 4 / 8 |
| Bandwidth (-3 dB) | 20 MHz (range 50 mV bis 50 V) 10 MHz (range 10 mV und 20 mV) |
| Rise time (AWG) | 150 ns |
| Memory | 256 MSa |
Special Features
Advanced Display
One of the biggest differences between using a PicoScope and a benchtop scope is the display.
The PicoScope 6 software can display up to 16 scope and spectrum views at once, making comparisons and analysis even clearer. The split-screen display can be customized to show whichever combination of waveforms you need, to display multiple channels or different variants of the same signal. Additionally, each waveform shown works with individual zoom, pan, and filter settings for ultimate flexibility. Alongside the facility to use monitors many times larger than a fixed scope display, these are further reasons to choose a USB oscilloscope.
The PicoScope software can be controlled by mouse, touchscreen or keyboard shortcuts.
100,000 waveforms per second
An important specification to understand when evaluating oscilloscope performance is the waveform update rate, which is expressed as waveforms per second. While the sample rate indicates how frequently the oscilloscope samples the input signal within one waveform, or cycle, the waveform capture rate refers to how quickly an oscilloscope acquires waveforms.
Oscilloscopes with high waveform capture rates provide better visual insight into signal behavior and dramatically increase the probability that the oscilloscope will quickly capture transient anomalies such as jitter, runt pulses and glitches – that you may not even know exist.
The PicoScope 4000A Series oscilloscopes use hardware acceleration to achieve up to 100,000 waveforms per second.
Oscilloscopes for a broad range of applications
Including:
- Power supply start sequencing
- 7-channel audio systems
- Multi-sensor systems
- Multi-phase drives and controls
- Predictive/preventive maintenance
- Complex embedded system development
- Power harmonics analysis
- Vibration analysis and diagnostics
- Long-duration waveform capture
- Lubricant analysis
- Acoustic emission analysis
- Oil condition sensors
- Machine monitoring
- Motor condition monitoring overview and motor current signature analysis (MCSA)
- Model-based voltage and current systems
- Infrared thermography
All-inclusive
PicoScopes already include features such as serial decoding, mask limit testing, advanced math channels, segmented memory and a signal generator without additional costs.
Waveform buffer and navigator
Ever spotted a glitch on a waveform, but by the time you’ve stopped the scope it has gone? With PicoScope you no longer need to worry about missing glitches or other transient events. PicoScope can store the last ten thousand oscilloscope or spectrum waveforms in its circular waveform buffer.
The buffer navigator provides an efficient way of navigating and searching through waveforms, effectively letting you turn back time. Tools such as mask limit testing can also be used to scan through each waveform in the buffer looking for mask violations.
Digital triggering
The majority of digital oscilloscopes still use an analog trigger architecture based on comparators. This causes time and amplitude errors that cannot always be calibrated out and often limits the trigger sensitivity at high bandwidths.
In 1991 Pico pioneered the use of fully digital triggering using the actual digitized data. This technique reduces trigger errors and allows our oscilloscopes to trigger on the smallest signals, even at the full bandwidth. Trigger levels and hysteresis can be set with high precision and resolution.
The reduced rearm delay provided by digital triggering, together with segmented memory, allows the capture of events that happen in rapid sequence. On many of our products, rapid triggering can capture a new waveform every microsecond until the buffer is full.
Advanced triggers As well as the standard range of triggers found on most oscilloscopes, the PicoScope 4000A Series has a comprehensive set of advanced triggers built in to help you capture the data you need. These include pulse width, windowed, and dropout triggers to help you find and capture your signal quickly
Arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) and function generator
All models in the PicoScope 4000A Series have a built-in low-distortion, 80 MSa/s, 14-bit arbitrary waveform generator (AWG), which can be used to emulate missing sensor signals during product development, or to stress-test a design over the full intended operating range. Waveforms can be imported from data files or created and modified using the built-in graphical AWG editor.
A function generator is also included, with sine, square, and triangle waves up to 1 MHz, along with DC level, white noise, and many more standard waveforms. As well as level, offset and frequency controls, advanced options allow you to sweep over a range of frequencies. Combined with the spectrum peak hold option, this creates a powerful tool for testing amplifier and filter responses.
Download new features or write your own
The software development kit (SDK) allows you to write your own software and includes drivers for Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac (OS X) and Linux (including Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone).
Example code shows how to interface to third-party software packages such as Microsoft Excel, National Instruments LabVIEW and MathWorks MATLAB.
There is also an active community of PicoScope users who share code and applications on the Pico forum and PicoApps section of the picotech.com web site.
Example code, hosted on the Pico Technology GitHub pages, shows how to interface to third-party software packages such as Microsoft Excel, National Instruments LabVIEW and MathWorks MATLAB and programming languages including:
- C
- C++
- C#
- Visual Basic .NET The drivers support USB data streaming, a mode that captures gap-free continuous data over USB direct to the PC’s RAM or hard disk at rates of up to 156.25 MS/s for USB 3.0 devices. Capture size is limited only by available PC storage. Sampling rates in streaming mode are subject to PC specifications, product specifications and application loading.
Math channels and filters
On many oscilloscopes waveform math just means simple calculations such as A + B. With a PicoScope it means much, much more.
With PicoScope software you can select simple functions such as addition and inversion, or open the equation editor to create complex functions involving filters (lowpass, highpass, bandpass and bandstop filters), trigonometry, exponentials, logarithms, statistics, integrals and derivatives.
Waveform math also allows you to plot live signals alongside historic peak, averaged or filtered waveforms.
You can also use math channels to reveal new details in complex signals. An example would be to graph the changing duty cycle or frequency of your signal over time.
Downloads
Datasheet
PicoScope 4000A series, data sheet
Language: English
Version: MM116.en-5
File Size: 5.74 MiB
Release Date: 23.05.2021
functions and specifications
PicoScope 4000A series, data sheet
Language: German
Version: MM116.de-4
File Size: 5.75 MiB
Release Date: 23.05.2021
functions and specifications
Manual
PicoScope 4000 series, users guide
Language: English
Version: ps4000a.en-9
File Size: 1.91 MiB
Release Date: 23.05.2021
Users guide
PicoScope 4000 series, users guide
Language: German
Version: ps4000.de.r6
File Size: 2.08 MiB
Release Date: 23.05.2014
Users guide
PicoScope 4000A series, A API programmers guide
Language: English
Version: ps4000apg.en-9
File Size: 2.78 MiB
Release Date: 11.01.2022
This Programmer's Guide explains how to use the ps4000a API, the Application Programming Interface for the PicoScope 4000 Series (A API) and PicoScope 4000A Series oscilloscopes. The ps4000a API supports the following models: · PicoScope 4444 4-channels · PicoScope 4824 8-channels · PicoScope 4224A 2-channels · PicoScope 4424A 4-channels · PicoScope 4824A 8-channels
PicoScope 4000A series, quick start guide
Language: German, English, Chinese, Spain
Version: DO115-22
File Size: 4.87 MiB
Release Date: 11.01.2022
This guide explains how to install the PicoScope software and connect the oscilloscope to your computer. It also contains important safety information and advice on accessing user manuals and technical support.
PicoScope 7 Software users guide
Language: English
Version: psw7.en-1
File Size: 59.37 MiB
Release Date: 07.05.2025
PicoScope 7 is the oscilloscope software that is available for all PicoScope® oscilloscopes. There are versions for Windows, macOS and Linux. All the advertised features are included in the purchase price of your oscilloscope, so there are no expensive add-on software modules to buy later.