DaveM wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
gorehound wrote:

I don't have an oscope that works, but I was wondering if anyone has used
Winscope. Actually I have a TDS210 that doesn't work and would like to check
the crystals and was wondering if this software would suffice. I checked the
power supply voltages with my DMM and all of the voltages check out, but I
definately need a scope to check some of the other stuff. If anyone knows of
any other software besides this I would be happy to know about it too.

Thanks
Shane

Yes it works. OSC251 by Konstantin Zeldovich is more reliable imho.
These software scopes are well featured but basic specced, the
soundcard maxes out at around 20kHz and theres no dc path.

NT

Sound card 'scope software is grossly rudimentary. The vertical axis can't be
calibrated unless you have a known AC voltage reference available, that has
outputs at the levels that you're interested in measuring.

easy enough to hook 2 Rs onto a transformer, along with a multimeter.
No point trying to get these soundcard scopes 1% accurate.

As has been pointed
out, the vertical bandwidth is severely limited by the bandwidth of your sound
card. Bear in mind that the sound card uses a sampling algorithm to convert the
input signal into a digital response pattern. If you're looking at anything
close to a square wave, be prepared for severe distortion when viewing the
signal.

you mean due to loss of frequencies above 20kHz? Or something else.


Despite their patchy tech specs they can be handy things. Their other
issue is that soundcards have no input protection, so its a good idea
to use a buffer if you want to use one of these scopes on an ongoing
basis.


NT