Our latest #WeekendProject powered by RadioShack turns your PC's sound card into a simple oscilloscope. Watch the video and check out the full project how-to for making your own: m8k.me/1nsgZtD
Here it is April 1st 2015 and this project is still going strong. Good work in front of the camera Enrique. I happen to have a weekend coming up soon and I think I will give this a try.
Interesting... started search with the idea of "box" to use an old unused PC SVGA monitor for 3-phase motorcycle alternator output visualization... never thought of using sound card mic input... thanks for the idea... will keep digging around for something for 3-phase (12-30VAC - "wye"-wired) for explaining rectification, freq vs. RPM would also be useful ;-) will start digging around for widgets, for my gizmo.
Be forewarned that there are hefty limitations with this. 1.) With 44 kHz sampling rate, don't expect to capture anything faster than ~8 kHz, which is pretty dismal. 2.) Sound cards are not DC coupled so you won't be able to capture voltage offsets of your signal (without making a modification to the card). This is still definitely worth trying for beginners or anyone with essentially a $0 budget. I did want to point out that a used analog oscilloscope could be had for cheaper than one might think. Someone can likely find a 20 MHz oscilloscope on eBay for less than $100. If you're wanting a PC based oscilloscope, the Hantek 6022BE (20 MHz, 2 CH) is readily available online for less than $70 (disclosure, I have not actually tried one myself).
Sure at 8 khz you'll have plenty of samples per cycle, but I thought a 44.1 khz sample rate would be adequate for at least 15 khz? (mind...I've only seen an occilioscope at demonstrations)
Brandon Wiker The theoretical highest frequency content that can be captured by a sampling oscilloscope is 1/2 of the sampling frequency (see Nyquist-Shannon sampling theory). However, twice per cycle on a signal might not reproduce the signal accurately depending on where on the waveform the sampling occurs. The best scenario would occur when the sampling coincides with the peaks and troughs of the sine wave. In this case, both the frequency content and amplitude are correctly captured. The sampling could also occur at the zero crossings of the waveform, and the result would look like a DC signal at 0 V. In practice a margin of oversampling is required for a usable signal. A common rule of thumb I've seen is 10 samples per cycle (4.4 kHz max!). Really though, I've gotten away with about 5 samples per cycle which is where I got the 8 kHz figure from. I would say that anything less than 5 samples per cycle is not usable.
just a question... isn't the probe mono because of the fact that is the microphone input ??? you are actually talking about the output which can serve as an wave generator (which is as well really good).
This looks to be pretty neat. I had bought a used analog scope on ebay but I can't get it to work. Fortunately, not very expensive. One thing I wanted to test with the scope was hardware debouncing circuit. This should be good enough for that?
That's disappointing about your oscilloscope. If you are willing to put in the effort, you might get some answers on how to fix it by asking on the EEVblog forum. Just be very specific on how exactly your oscilloscope fails.
Spencer Williams Maybe I'll give that a try. I watch EEVblog time to time and that's why I tried a cheap scope in the first place. But I have most of the parts for this so, think I'll give it a whirl. I just need another 1M Pot and those clips.
i have installed sound card software but when i was testing software is not responding & it is unable to adjust the amplitude.and also the wave (ac) we are testing is not appearing on screen.......soo please respond with a solution..
It would have been very useful if you added a part on how to connect it to your sound card that's kind of the main part of the whole project don't you think?
Save hundreds of dollars? My dual channel, 100mz analogue scope cost about 70 dollars second hand from a shop in Japan. A real scope does not have to cost that much.
This video is hilarious. First, you don't need a double-sided perfboard. If the diagram can be shown on a 2-dimensional plane, so can the real circuit. There is no need to put the resistors on the other side of the board. Second, you don't need those giant pots either, you can use much smaller, cheaper ones, even surface-mount pots are fine; you're not running lots current through this device.
Great video,, I have some questions if anyone can answer my questions. 1) What is the purpose of make the strip board double ? 2) according to what, you chose the value of the resistors ? 3) What is the purpose of the potentiometers ? Thank you
+Victor Arnaiz agreed!! it can only using for servo/esc or pwm signal only, in fact ir remote using around 34Khz. but for signal generator and almost $0, is fun to play
ok just got the parts now some help thing things befor a i start 1M Ohm Potentiometer is it 1 to to gound 2 to + with Diode 3 to 4.7k Ohm Resistor and probs i unsure and got new pc and dont what do somer rong
We simply share educational videos and partner with RadioShack to provide the components - hope you learned something from the video. Thanks for watching! The latest project is searchable as "The Combinator"
from oscillograms in this video i can suspect that this oscilloscope is WORTHLESS ! Show how to take measurements - how you take take math with it and how it compares to a even a low end and cheap oscilloscope. NOT EVEN CLOSE ! SORRY !
It's even more awesome when you sound like you know what your doing. FYI, it's a "multi-meter", as in multi, or multiple meters in one. Not "mul-tim-iter." Next, I know that kilo ohm does not slide off the tongue, so why not just call them forty-seven-hundred Ohm resistors? But please, anything but "keel-loam." Also, do you have any reason for going to the extra work using two back to back boards? And lastly, it's "for-yeay, " that French mathematician dude.
They said you that you COULD use two single sided boards if you don't have a double sided one. Why don't you juist appreciate this very useful video instead of going crazy about how this guy pronounces words. I mean if it really annoys you that much you could have just close the tabn in the first seconds of the Video...
Ed Price Knowledge of electronics has nothing to do with pronouncing words like you want. People have different ways of speaking and your way is not special or better. If you understood the message, why are you complaining? Language isn't absolute, but evolves over time.
Mikko Haavisto Sorry Mikko, but communication of technical concepts has to begin with a firm understanding of the language. Otherwise, we are just babbling into the wind. Bizarre mispronunciations of technical terms indicates that you do not understand the foundations of those terms, and why they were developed. If you stand on shaky ground, your own efforts will be questionable at best. OTOH, you have the right to advocate for ignorance if you prefer.
BurningSpooon If my attempt to correct this author early in his experience with electronics bothers YOU so much, YOU could simply have not bothered to reply. However, you did bother, so there's something in your logic that doesn't ring true. Technical terms are coined to convey a meaning, so bizarre mispronunciations of a term indicate a fundamental lack of understanding in your craft. As this author progresses in electronics, he may come to work with "phase locked loop" circuits. However, he will carry no credibility in his efforts should he refer to them as "fuse licked loots." I will allow for accents and non-English speakers, but that doesn't apply to this author. Now, let's move on to the technical. I asked why the second board was used? Why the double materials and effort? As far as I could see, the author's source said he used a double-sided board, so the author mindlessly created his version of a double-sided board and expects you to follow his lead. Perhaps "BS," you could explain the need for that second board? I don't see any electrical or physical need, so why bother? Explaining this will require some thought on your part, which is always a good exercise. (There are very important reasons for multi-layer boards, but they are beyond the scope of this project.) There is a concept in design (electrical and beyond) called Elegance. It means getting the most out of the least, doing the job without excess junk cluttering up your project. Think about that when you say that "you could use two if you want." If I could use two, then why not five or ten. Elegance examines every component for its contribution to the whole.
I too found these things distracting. Also, the voice made me sleepy - could use some pep & variation. There's always room for a bit of constructive criticism, despite what others may have said. :3
Our latest #WeekendProject powered by RadioShack turns your PC's sound card into a simple oscilloscope. Watch the video and check out the full project how-to for making your own: m8k.me/1nsgZtD
I'm so going to make this eventually with a 3D printed encolosure
this is cool
Jonathan Hunt when you do, we'd like to see that! email us at weekendprojects@makezine.com- cheers!
I also like the Visual Analyser oscilloscope software www.sillanumsoft.org/
Carol F. Milazzo now i love it too. but still goes to usb ociloscope hantek
Here it is April 1st 2015 and this project is still going strong. Good work in front of the camera Enrique. I happen to have a weekend coming up soon and I think I will give this a try.
July 2022
But will the diodes in parallel with the signal not distort the signal?
It would have been nice if you would have mentioned and shown what the knobs adjusted and how they would be used.
Thanks for the video.
It's in the instructions page: makezine.com/projects/sound-card-oscilloscope/
what is the maximum input voltage recommended? how do I know the peak to peak voltage?
Interesting... started search with the idea of "box" to use an old unused PC SVGA monitor for 3-phase motorcycle alternator output visualization... never thought of using sound card mic input... thanks for the idea... will keep digging around for something for 3-phase (12-30VAC - "wye"-wired) for explaining rectification, freq vs. RPM would also be useful ;-) will start digging around for widgets, for my gizmo.
WHAT IS THE FRIQUENCY RANGE ? 0 TO 20KHZ OR LITTLE BIT MORE??
Be forewarned that there are hefty limitations with this.
1.) With 44 kHz sampling rate, don't expect to capture anything faster than ~8 kHz, which is pretty dismal.
2.) Sound cards are not DC coupled so you won't be able to capture voltage offsets of your signal (without making a modification to the card).
This is still definitely worth trying for beginners or anyone with essentially a $0 budget.
I did want to point out that a used analog oscilloscope could be had for cheaper than one might think. Someone can likely find a 20 MHz oscilloscope on eBay for less than $100. If you're wanting a PC based oscilloscope, the Hantek 6022BE (20 MHz, 2 CH) is readily available online for less than $70 (disclosure, I have not actually tried one myself).
Sure at 8 khz you'll have plenty of samples per cycle, but I thought a 44.1 khz sample rate would be adequate for at least 15 khz? (mind...I've only seen an occilioscope at demonstrations)
Brandon Wiker The theoretical highest frequency content that can be captured by a sampling oscilloscope is 1/2 of the sampling frequency (see Nyquist-Shannon sampling theory). However, twice per cycle on a signal might not reproduce the signal accurately depending on where on the waveform the sampling occurs. The best scenario would occur when the sampling coincides with the peaks and troughs of the sine wave. In this case, both the frequency content and amplitude are correctly captured. The sampling could also occur at the zero crossings of the waveform, and the result would look like a DC signal at 0 V.
In practice a margin of oversampling is required for a usable signal. A common rule of thumb I've seen is 10 samples per cycle (4.4 kHz max!). Really though, I've gotten away with about 5 samples per cycle which is where I got the 8 kHz figure from. I would say that anything less than 5 samples per cycle is not usable.
Anyone else having the problem that the trigger function makes it lag?
just a question... isn't the probe mono because of the fact that is the microphone input ??? you are actually talking about the output which can serve as an wave generator (which is as well really good).
Is that Comrade F's music ? What's it called?
what is the max voltage can be test?
Shouldn't the resistors be reversed? As it is the voltage divider gives Vin * R2/(R1+R2) = 30 * 1000/(4.7+1000) = 29V
How much the voltage it can work..
What's the Max. Voltage
This looks to be pretty neat. I had bought a used analog scope on ebay but I can't get it to work. Fortunately, not very expensive. One thing I wanted to test with the scope was hardware debouncing circuit. This should be good enough for that?
That's disappointing about your oscilloscope. If you are willing to put in the effort, you might get some answers on how to fix it by asking on the EEVblog forum. Just be very specific on how exactly your oscilloscope fails.
Spencer Williams Maybe I'll give that a try. I watch EEVblog time to time and that's why I tried a cheap scope in the first place. But I have most of the parts for this so, think I'll give it a whirl. I just need another 1M Pot and those clips.
The site is not working
What is the maximum voltage to use?
Can 192khz sound cards sample at 192khz? afaik even crappy realtek integrated audio can run at that sampling rate.
I'm sure any sound card already has an input protection.
i have installed sound card software but when i was testing software is not responding & it is unable to adjust the amplitude.and also the wave (ac) we are testing is not appearing on screen.......soo please respond with a solution..
It would have been very useful if you added a part on how to connect it to your sound card that's kind of the main part of the whole project don't you think?
can i use it ac circuit?
Save hundreds of dollars? My dual channel, 100mz analogue scope cost about 70 dollars second hand from a shop in Japan. A real scope does not have to cost that much.
Is this scope safe enough for your computer? Let's say if you want to analyse the waveform of the mains supply?
Absolutely not. Generally, even real oscilloscopes are not designed to probe mains voltages without specific high voltage probes.
how you get 2 channels from a mic input?
jabemer It probably uses the Left and Right channels of the Line-in jack.
This video is hilarious. First, you don't need a double-sided perfboard. If the diagram can be shown on a 2-dimensional plane, so can the real circuit. There is no need to put the resistors on the other side of the board. Second, you don't need those giant pots either, you can use much smaller, cheaper ones, even surface-mount pots are fine; you're not running lots current through this device.
Great video,,
I have some questions if anyone can answer my questions.
1) What is the purpose of make the strip board double ?
2) according to what, you chose the value of the resistors ?
3) What is the purpose of the potentiometers ?
Thank you
Probably to make the input voltage smaller and the specific values are used for displaying correct values of the deamplified voltage in the software.
I guess the frequency of operation will be from 0 to 20kHz, in other words, practically useless. But for $0 I shouldn't be complaining about it.
+Victor Arnaiz agreed!! it can only using for servo/esc or pwm signal only, in fact ir remote using around 34Khz. but for signal generator and almost $0, is fun to play
ok just got the parts now some help thing things befor a i start
1M Ohm Potentiometer is it 1 to to gound 2 to + with Diode 3 to 4.7k Ohm Resistor and probs i unsure and got new pc and dont what do somer rong
Background music has overshadowed your effort. Please reduce the music volume next time around.All the best
I was thinking the same thing - we changed the music for the next project. It's under Radioshack weekend projects as "the combinator"
Enjoy!
I didn't know that RadioShack was still in business >> Oh wait this video is 2014 >> needs to be updated !!!
ABSOLUTELY NO reason for a double sided board. That's just plain silly!!!
Shut yo crusty ass up
@@miko8732 rude
Awesome! Also great song used. What's it called?
Darude - Makestorm
Wow this is awesome
get it on an raspberry pi and you have a portable oscilloscope.
Thanks for watching!
Thats so fucken awesome! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.
Interesting! glad I didn't unsubscribe :D
Thanks for your support!
30v input is not enough for my bigger amplifiers! Useless
nice - well done
Well, I din't save 100s of $$$ because I just bought a bench top scope last week and NOW I found this video! Oh well.
You are going to get much better results with your real oscilloscope.
Hey that's soo cool, i am going to build one :D...
yeah pick up what you need at radio shack dang make is one big commercial
promote the craft not big business
We simply share educational videos and partner with RadioShack to provide the components - hope you learned something from the video. Thanks for watching! The latest project is searchable as "The Combinator"
This song is from plague inc.
what!!!!! awsome
So cool bro I’m in love haha serious though lol anyways I just bought a real one!
So...you did nothing... very good!
awesome gadget! And you can save hundreds of $$$!
from oscillograms in this video i can suspect that this oscilloscope is WORTHLESS !
Show how to take measurements - how you take take math with it and how it compares to a even a low end and cheap oscilloscope. NOT EVEN CLOSE ! SORRY !
It's even more awesome when you sound like you know what your doing. FYI, it's a "multi-meter", as in multi, or multiple meters in one. Not "mul-tim-iter." Next, I know that kilo ohm does not slide off the tongue, so why not just call them forty-seven-hundred Ohm resistors? But please, anything but "keel-loam." Also, do you have any reason for going to the extra work using two back to back boards? And lastly, it's "for-yeay, " that French mathematician dude.
They said you that you COULD use two single sided boards if you don't have a double sided one.
Why don't you juist appreciate this very useful video instead of going crazy about how this guy pronounces words.
I mean if it really annoys you that much you could have just close the tabn in the first seconds of the Video...
Ed Price Knowledge of electronics has nothing to do with pronouncing words like you want. People have different ways of speaking and your way is not special or better. If you understood the message, why are you complaining? Language isn't absolute, but evolves over time.
Mikko Haavisto Sorry Mikko, but communication of technical concepts has to begin with a firm understanding of the language. Otherwise, we are just babbling into the wind. Bizarre mispronunciations of technical terms indicates that you do not understand the foundations of those terms, and why they were developed. If you stand on shaky ground, your own efforts will be questionable at best. OTOH, you have the right to advocate for ignorance if you prefer.
BurningSpooon If my attempt to correct this author early in his experience with electronics bothers YOU so much, YOU could simply have not bothered to reply. However, you did bother, so there's something in your logic that doesn't ring true. Technical terms are coined to convey a meaning, so bizarre mispronunciations of a term indicate a fundamental lack of understanding in your craft. As this author progresses in electronics, he may come to work with "phase locked loop" circuits. However, he will carry no credibility in his efforts should he refer to them as "fuse licked loots." I will allow for accents and non-English speakers, but that doesn't apply to this author.
Now, let's move on to the technical. I asked why the second board was used? Why the double materials and effort? As far as I could see, the author's source said he used a double-sided board, so the author mindlessly created his version of a double-sided board and expects you to follow his lead. Perhaps "BS," you could explain the need for that second board? I don't see any electrical or physical need, so why bother? Explaining this will require some thought on your part, which is always a good exercise. (There are very important reasons for multi-layer boards, but they are beyond the scope of this project.) There is a concept in design (electrical and beyond) called Elegance. It means getting the most out of the least, doing the job without excess junk cluttering up your project. Think about that when you say that "you could use two if you want." If I could use two, then why not five or ten. Elegance examines every component for its contribution to the whole.
I too found these things distracting. Also, the voice made me sleepy - could use some pep & variation. There's always room for a bit of constructive criticism, despite what others may have said. :3