ECE 206
Page 1 of 6
Lab 6: Oscilloscope and Signal Generator Use
Laboratory Goals




Familiarize students with the oscilloscope
Familiarize students with the function generator
Apply a signal to a resistive circuit and measure both input and output signals
Save a digital copy of the oscilloscope screen to a diskette/file or thumb-drive.
Pre-lab / lab reading

Course Textbook
Agilent 33120A 15 MHz Function/Arbitary Waveform Generator User Manual
http://www.home.agilent.com/upload/cmc_upload/All/6C0633120A_USERSGUIDE_ENGLI
SH.pdf

Agilent 33220A 20 MHz Function/Arbitary Waveform Generator User Manual
http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/33220-90002.pdf

Agilent 54621A Oscilloscope User’s Guide:
http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/editorial.jspx?cc=US&lc=eng&ckey=10000028
16:epsg:man&nid=-536902796.536880783.00&id=1000002816:epsg:man

DSO3152A Oscilloscope User Manual
http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/D3000-97018.pdf


Agilent 54621A & DSO3152A Oscilloscope User’s Guide and/or DSO1022A published
by Agilent Technologies, Copyright 2000. (Copies of this reference book are available in
the lab, or at the website)
http://www.home.agilent.com/en/pd-1569521-pn-DSO1022A/oscilloscope-200mhz-2-channel?cc=US&lc=eng
for the user guide of the 1022
Equipment needed





Lab notebook, pen
Agilent 54621A, DSO3152A or DSO1022A Digital Oscilloscope
Agilent 33120A or 33220A Function Generator/Arbitrary Waveform Generator
2 oscilloscope probes
1 BNC/EZ Hook test lead
Parts needed


Circuit breadboard/ELVIS
Resistors (2), 1.5k Ohm, ¼ Watt
ECE 206
Page 2 of 6
Lab 6: Oscilloscope and Signal Generator Use
Lab safety concerns



Make sure before you apply an input signal to a circuit, all connections are
correct, and no shorted wires exist.
Do not short the function generator signal and ground connections together
Do not touch the circuit wiring while power is applied to it
1. Exploring the Oscilloscope












Locate the Digital Oscilloscope and obtain two scope probes from the back of the
room.
Press the white POWER button to turn on the oscilloscope
Press the Getting Started softkey (lower left side of the screen on the 54621) or
press the HELP button (just under the RUN/STOP button) if interest on the
1022A. Familiarize yourself with how the controls are changed using the dials,
buttons, or softkeys
On 54621: Press the Using Quick Help softkey. (Note that if you press and hold
any button or softkey, its function is shown on the screen until you release it)
On 54621: Press the Save/Recall button
Press the Default Setup softkey to return the oscilloscope to the default state
(Always use the default before you begin using the oscilloscope!)
Clip the channel 1 (CH 1) probe (identified by green bands on the probe cable) to
the Probe Comp test point (On 54621: lower right side of the oscilloscope, On
the 1022A it is to the lower right of the display).
Clip the probe’s ground clip to the oscilloscope ground connection just above the
Probe Comp test point, On 54621. It is to the right of the first test point on the
1022A.
Press the Auto-Scale button to acquire the test waveform (i.e., a square wave)
Change the vertical scale of the waveform using the CH 1 Volts/Division knob
Change the horizontal scale of the waveform using the Sec/Division knob
Press the Auto-Scale button again to resize the waveform

On 54621: Press the Quick Meas button to display the frequency and amplitude
of the square wave for CH 1

On 1022A: Press the Measurement Button, then the down arrow on the pop-up
menu, then the Display All soft-key [ON].
Record the frequency and peak-to-peak voltage (Vpp) of the square wave in your
lab notebook

ECE 206
Page 3 of 6






Lab 6: Oscilloscope and Signal Generator Use
On 54621: Press the Clear Meas softkey to clear the screen measurements. On
the 1022A: press the Display All soft-key [OFF].
Unclip the CH 1 probe and ground clip from the oscilloscope test point and set
them aside
Clip the channel 2 (CH 2) probe (identified by blue bands on the probe cable) and
ground clip to the Probe Comp and ground connections respectively
Repeat the frequency and amplitude measurements for the CH 2 waveform
Press the [54621]Clear Meas softkey or [1022A] Display All soft-key to clear
the screen measurements
Unclip the CH 2 probe and ground clip from the oscilloscope, and set them aside
Always test both probes before taking measurements with them! The test signal
from the oscilloscope should appear square and symmetrical, with no rounding.
2. Exploring the Function Generator






Locate the Agilent 33120A or the 33220A Function Generator
Press the white Power button to turn on the generator
For the Agilent 33220A 20 MHz Unit.
Press the Recall button to select a stored setup ( for 120: RECALL 0 appears on
the display)
Press the [120] button to select RECALL 1 or [220A] select Set to Defaults
softkey.
Press the [120]Enter button or [220A] DONE to return the generator to a known
state
You can select a waveform by pressing the button with the corresponding symbol
(sine, square, triangle, or ramp):
o Press the square wave button (notice the square wave symbol appears on
the right side of the display)

You can set the frequency three ways:
o Direct entry for 120A
 Press the Freq button
 Press the Enter Number button (this button has green letters)
 Enter the number, including decimal point if needed (note the
green numerals, and decimal point next to the control buttons)
 Press the , ,  buttons as needed to select the Hz, kHz, or MHz
range
o Direct entry for 220A
ECE 206
Page 4 of 6
Lab 6: Oscilloscope and Signal Generator Use



Press the Freq/Period softkey until the desired function is in
reverse video(white background dark letters)
Then press the number buttons for digit entry
Press the multiplier prefix softkey along the bottom of the display.
o Dial method for 120A
 Press the Freq button (notice the flashing digit--this is the value
that will be changed using the dial
 Use the  or  buttons to select which digit is flashing
 Turn the dial forward or backwards to increase or decrease the
flashing digit value
o
Dial entry for 220A
 Press the Freq/Period softkey until the desired function is in
reverse video(white background dark letters)
 Highlight the digit to be changed with the unmarked right left keys
below the adjusting knob on the right side of the front panel.
o Arrow button method for the 120A
 Press the Freq button
 Use the  or  buttons to select which digit is flashing
 Use the  or  buttons to increase or decrease the flashing digit
value




On the 120A, You can select the desired signal amplitude using the same methods
outlined above, except that you use the Ampl button, and the , ,  buttons to
select the dBm, Vrms, and Vpp voltage ranges, for the direct entry method
On the 220A, you select the amplitude by pressing the Ampl softkey until
highlighted, then use the above described method for Frequency selection to set
the value.
Set the function generator to output a sine wave having a frequency of 455kHz
and an amplitude of 1.2Vpp
If the signal output is not measured at 1.2 Vpp but closer to 2.4 Vpp then the
output circuit of the function generator must be setup.
o On the Agilent 33120A Function Generator
 Press [shift] then [Enter/Menu]
 Press the right arrow [>] until “D: SYS MENU” is displayed
 Press the down arrow [\/] until “50 OHM” is displayed
 Press the right arrow [>] once to display “HIGH Z”
 Press [ENTER]
o On the Agilent 33220A Function Generator
 Press [Utility]
 Press 3rd soft key “Output Setup”
 Press 1st soft key “Load/High Z” If in High Z the display box is
empty. If output resistance is set to 50 Ohms (or other) this value
appears in the display box.
ECE 206
Page 5 of 6

Lab 6: Oscilloscope and Signal Generator Use
o Next
next
3. Circuit Construction and Signal Measurement

Construct the two-resistor circuit as shown below

Connect the BNC end of the BNC/EZ Hook test lead to the function generator
OUTPUT. (The BNC connector requires you to push, then gently twist the
connector clockwise to lock it on the generator’s connector)
Connect the red and black EZ Hook ends of the test lead to the circuit input and
ground connections respectively as shown below

Input
Output
R1
R2
Circuit
Ground
Voltage Divider Circuit with the Input Signal Connected






Clip the CH 1 oscilloscope probe to the circuit input
Clip the CH 1 ground clip to the circuit ground
Clip the CH 2 oscilloscope probe to the circuit output
Clip the CH 2 ground clip to the circuit ground
Press the Auto-Scale button to acquire the two waveforms
To display Quick Meas data from both channels, you must first:
ECE 206
Page 6 of 6
Lab 6: Oscilloscope and Signal Generator Use
o Press Quick Meas (shows the frequency and amplitude of the selected
Source channel--CH 1 in this case) for 54621 OR for 1022A Press the
Measurement button as described earlier.
o On the 54621, Select CH 2 by pressing the Source softkey twice OR press
the 2 button on the 1022A.
o To display the amplitude of CH 2, along with the CH 1 values, press the
Peak-Peak softkey






Record the values in your lab notebook
Create a copy of the oscilloscope screen and system settings using the
[54621]Quick Print option:
o Insert a diskette into the drive, located below the screen
o Press the Quick Print button to save a TIF copy of the screen for pasting
into your report
o A text file is also copied to the disk, showing the current oscilloscope
settings, which may be recalled later using the Save/ Recall button
Create a copy of the oscilloscope screen and system settings using the
Save/Recall button
o Insert a Thumb-drive (Flash-drive, or memory stick) in the USB connector
to the right of the Power Button.
o Press Save/Recall Button.
o On Right, Vertical, Pop-up menu press Storage softkey
o Select picture encoding method with the Select knob.
o Press Para Save softkey to ON
o Press External softkey
o Press NewFile softkey
o Enter file name (keep it short and change it later on a computer) using the
Select knob. Turning it to select the letter and press it to enter.
o Press the Save softkey
Experiment with any other features of the oscilloscope you choose!
Record your observations in your lab notebook
Unclip all connections to the circuit, then turn off the equipment
Before leaving the lab, take a few minutes to make sure all equipment and test leads are
returned to your cabinet, and that you have cleaned up your work space.
4. Analysis
The summary report for this lab is written after completing both labs 6 and 7. Organize
you notes, calculations, and measurements from this lab so they will be available for the
report after the next lab.