Agree with Don here. The output of the genny will be more meaningful
(realistic) if driving some of it's rated load. Just running open won't
tell you a lot. In any case use the 10x multiplier to range down into the
vertical amplifier.

Bob Swinney
"Don Bruder" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Eric R Snow wrote:

I been havin' fun with my TEK 465B 'scope. But now I want to do
something serious. Check the output of a couple generators. I have a
1X/10X probe. Do I just set the 'scope to the right volts/div, the
probe at 10x, and touch the probe to the hot wire? Should the ground
clip from the probe be connected to the generator ground? I ordered
the manual but it hasn't arrived yet.

As long as the output is within what the scope can handle, I'd set to
1x, adjust the V/div as needed, and go. Yes, use the ground clip.

If the output from the genny is too high for the scope to handle
straight, you're going to need to "dump" some of it - Since I assume
you're wanting to do this to look at the waveform the genny is putting
out, you'll want a "pure resistance" load so that inductance doesn't
interact with/alter whatever ripple is present. A car headlight or three
wired in series would likely do the job quite nicely, dropping the
voltage without affecting the waveform.

Expect it to be a rather boring picture, though. You'll likely need to
dial the scale way up to see the ripple on an otherwise flat line when
looking at a generator output.

For an alternator, on the other hand, depending in spin speed/design
intents, it could be anything from dreadfully boring to rather
interesting to watch.

--
Don Bruder - - If your "From:" address isn't on my
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or the subject of the message doesn't contain the exact text
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