Low-Cost 500-MHz DSOs Feature Bench-Friendly Large Displays
High performance, large display size, and a small form factor—all describe the WaveSurfer line of digital storage oscilloscopes (DSOs). Rated for bandwidths up to 500 MHz, these LeCroy devices feature a bright 10.4-in. diagonal display that's roughly 2.5 times larger than displays on oscilloscopes with similar performance as well as a depth of 6 in., making them easy to use on the bench.
The six models in the line come in two- and four-channel versions with bandwidths of 200, 350, and 500 MHz. Each features a 2-Gsample/s maximum sampling rate and a lengthy 250-µs capture time at the full sampling rate (250 kpoints/channel). They also include a 10/100BaseT port, three USB 2.0 ports, an SVGA output port, an RS-232-C serial port, and a Centronics parallel port. Each model comes with a PP007 10:1 500-MHz passive probe/channel. The instruments include LeCroy's proprietary Analog Persistence display mode for capturing multiple waveforms.
Trigger choices include triggering on edges, lines, glitches, pulse widths, logic patterns, and video signals. An optional trigger package includes runt, slew-rate, interval (of signal or pattern), dropout, and qualified triggering. Other options include memory for capturing 1-ms signals at the full sampling rate, an advanced math package, and an application-specific package for mask testing of telecom signals.
The model 454 (four channels, 500 MHz) costs $8490. The four-channel 350-MHz model 434 costs $6990, the two-channel 500-MHz model 452 is priced at $6690, and the four-channel 200-MHz model 424 goes for $5490. The 350-MHz two-channel model 432 costs $5190, and the 200-MHz two-channel model 422 is priced at $4190. All of the oscilloscopes are warranteed for three years.
LeCroy Corp. www.lecroy.com (800) 453-2769