What  about oscilloscope from sound card? 2017 opinion - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: 001
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2017, 07:24:11 am
content: Stupid but strangeWhat is reason to build some kind of oscilloscope frompc soundcard? Internet full of articles and also specialised software. But is it actual in 2017? Is soundcard have some benefits?

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 15, 2017, 07:33:18 am
content: Quote from: 001 on November 15, 2017, 07:24:11 amHigh resolution for little cost, that's about it.Actually really quite nice for some analysis applications. e.g. vibration or shock analysis or something.

author: 001
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2017, 07:44:23 am
content: Thanx for quick answer!Did You mean 24bit etc? I'm so curious about soundcards. Can You tell few words about best "soundscope" issues? Some articles in the net looks marginal and others is for windows95 era. Any opinions?

author: Dubbie
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 15, 2017, 09:34:21 am
content: They sample very slowly compared to a real scope, so aren’t really useful for general purpose electronics work, but as Dave says, for certain niche applications, their sample speed/bitdepth tradeoff can be useful.What exactly do you want to know? Your question is very unclear.

author: 001
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2017, 09:46:10 am
content: Is it usable for audio works? Is thd, bandwith etc measurments are valid?

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2017, 10:26:13 am
content: Yes. Even the crappiest one are dead flat from ~15Hz to ~15KHz and acceptable THDSome notes:- Vast majority of audio interfaces have AC-Coupled Inputs and Outputs. So if you need low frequency you need to use specialized audio interfaces. Motu and RME for example have models that are DC coupled.- The input and output voltage range is very limited but can whitstand quite large dc offset (i.e.: the inputs will whitstand phantom power, so up to 48V DC. The outputs... probably not.)- The resolution is indeed very high, 24 bit 48 KHz has been the norm for years, better interfaces go up to 24bit 192 KHz (or even 384 KHz). 24 bit means that even if the ENOB is in the 14-16 bit area... still much better than scopes if you only need to look at that kind of signals- Great resolution, lowish samplerate, long buffers = not much memory needed, high frequency and vertical resolution for fft- A LOT of free tools for generating and recording signals

author: 001
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2017, 11:51:42 am
content: Thanx a lot!Is anyone connected sound card to labview?Can You reccomend good software to use sc as a scope?All software I found needs windows 95 and 2000

author: HalFET
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2017, 12:55:46 pm
content: Quote from: 001 on November 15, 2017, 11:51:42 amYeah, Probably easiest to learn by example, you can find quite a few things about LabVIEW sound card interfaces:https://forums.ni.com/t5/Example-Programs/Scope-Sound-Card-Based-Oscilloscope-and-Spectrum-Analyzer/ta-p/3533630

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2017, 01:17:37 pm
content: Don't forget you can down-convert your signal from much higher frequencies to audio if you are interested in frequency domain. It's amazing how useful a sound card can be.

author: 001
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2017, 04:01:20 pm
content: WOWso amazing