Picoscope calibration - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: antenna
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2022, 02:31:20 am
content: I have a Picotech 3206D USB oscilloscope and the DC voltage is off by a little bit. Does anyone know how to calibrate this o-scope? The DC average voltage with no probe connected is about 460uV. Maybe that is not so bad, but when the voltage auto adjusts to 20mV, seeing it hover above 0 is annoying.I can do a math channel to subtract a half millivolt, but I'd like to know if there is a way to adjust it without using a math channel.Thanks!

author: ADT123
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2022, 05:38:45 am
content: Assuming you are using PicoScope 7 then just (with no input signal) click on the "Zero channel offsets" button

author: antenna
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2022, 06:11:50 pm
content: I am using PicoScope version 6.14.61.6219. When I click check for updates, it says there are no updates (I am running windows 7 if that matters).Thanks!

author: antenna
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2022, 06:15:09 pm
content: I am downloading PicoScope 7 now.Edit: I realized in PS6 there is a DC offset option under analog options right there in the probe properties tab, been looking right at it for years.. That is all I needed. Thank you for pointing out 7 to me, I would have never knew about it as I usually leave it up to the software to find updates. That looks interesting!Edit2: I like that way better than PS6! It almost makes me feel like I just bought a new o-scope

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2022, 06:39:39 pm
content: Is Picoscope 7 still complete shit (but with a "pretty" -not- skin)?There is the AutoZero in Pico 6 as well, it's in the channel settings somewhere, but it leaves that annoying offset always on.Sometimes i get offsets, but then i check my grounding scheme and zero returns being zero

author: antenna
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2022, 07:00:46 pm
content: Quote from: JPortici on October 12, 2022, 06:39:39 pmCan you tell me what you don't like about 7? (edit thought you were saying it was shit, misread that) Are there accuracy issues and/or glitches or is it the appearance? Just curious what to expect if I use it regularly.

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2022, 07:39:25 pm
content: Quote from: JPortici on October 12, 2022, 06:39:39 pmThat's a bit harsh, innit?Itis really differentthan before and that might be problem to people that are Pico users for 20 years (like myself).When I first saw it, I was "WTF?". Then my son told me that, to him, it looks decent enough, it is touch screen friendly and that I'm biased because of being used to old one (that I can drive without looking). That made me take a step back and take a second look. (It is humbling experience when your kids start making more sense then you)Fast forward a year, and I like it now. It is getting to being really close to feature complete, and they made miles of improvements since first versions. Every single person would do something differently, but if functions are there and are laid out in usable way then it is OK.Yes there is zero compensation in all PICO softwares since 2002...

author: jasonRF
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2022, 08:25:44 pm
content: I still use Picoscope 6. Last time I used 7 it still did not support streaming mode, which I did use with my 2204a (100 MSample buffer for up to 1 MS/s can be useful for low frequency work). It has been a handful of months since I last updated my Picoscoe 7, so I should give it another try. Even if I don’t end up liking ps7 that much, if they finally add automated time-delay measurements between channels I will be thrilled. I never understood why they skimped on that. Can be downright annoying at times. Even the cheapest Owon USB scopes have it…Jason

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2022, 08:35:24 pm
content: Quote from: jasonRF on October 12, 2022, 08:25:44 pmI agree that automated phase/delay measurements between the channels would be great addition..

author: antenna
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2022, 08:48:52 pm
content: There is a feedback button in 7 and I doubt any suggestion would be ignored being this is beta testing and that's the whole point. Hit that button and tell them!

author: antenna
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2022, 09:12:46 pm
content: Just discovered the dark theme7 just became my favorite!

author: jasonRF
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2022, 09:35:03 pm
content: Quote from: antenna on October 12, 2022, 08:48:52 pmI believe I already did that, but my memory sucks so I could be mistaken. I am updating now, and after checking it out tonight will send the feedback (perhaps for the second time).A few years ago I also contacted them about this issue, and they responded by basically sending a link to a math channel approach to estimating the phase shift (used integrals and definition of correlation coefficient, along with acos, but I found it did not always work well). I may have misunderstood, but I did not get the impression that they thought it was worth adding.Jason