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E4A04

AMATEUR PRACTICES · Test equipment: analog and digital instruments; spectrum analyzers; antenna analyzers; oscilloscopes; RF measurements

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How is compensation of an oscilloscope probe performed?

  1. AA square wave is displayed, and the probe is adjusted until the horizontal portions of the displayed wave are as nearly flat as possible
  2. BA high frequency sine wave is displayed, and the probe is adjusted for maximum amplitude
  3. CA frequency standard is displayed, and the probe is adjusted until the deflection time is accurate
  4. DA DC voltage standard is displayed, and the probe is adjusted until the displayed voltage is accurate
Why A 10x probe forms an RC divider with the scope input capacitance, and the probe's trimmer capacitor must be set so the capacitive divider ratio matches the resistive ratio at all frequencies. A square wave is the ideal test signal because it contains a wide spread of harmonics, so any mismatch shows up immediately as rounded or overshooting corners. You connect the probe to the scope's built-in calibrator output (typically a 1 kHz square wave) and tweak the trimmer until the flat tops and bottoms are truly flat.
Watch out Adjusting on a sine wave for maximum amplitude is tempting because compensation does affect high frequency response, but a single sine frequency cannot reveal the low frequency droop or high frequency peaking that a square wave exposes at once. DC voltage and timebase accuracy are separate calibrations that a probe trimmer does not control.
Square wave in, flat tops out. Rounded corners = under, overshoot = over.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
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The rest of E4A

  1. E4A01 Which of the following limits the highest frequency signal that can be accurately displayed on a digital osci…
  2. E4A02 Which of the following parameters does a spectrum analyzer display on the vertical and horizontal axes?
  3. E4A03 Which of the following test instruments is used to display spurious signals and/or intermodulation distortion…
  4. E4A04 How is compensation of an oscilloscope probe performed?
  5. E4A05 What is the purpose of using a prescaler with a frequency counter?
  6. E4A06 What is the effect of aliasing on a digital oscilloscope when displaying a waveform?
  7. E4A07 Which of the following is an advantage of using an antenna analyzer compared to an SWR bridge?
  8. E4A08 Which of the following is used to measure SWR?
  9. E4A09 Which of the following is good practice when using an oscilloscope probe?
  10. E4A10 Which trigger mode is most effective when using an oscilloscope to measure a linear power supply's output rip…
  11. E4A11 Which of the following can be measured with an antenna analyzer?
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