LeCroy introduces six color scopes

Electronic News, Oct 14, 1996

Chestnut Ridge, N.Y.--LeCroy Corp. introduced six new high-performance color oscilloscopes last week with color monitors and architecture based around Motorola's PowerPC microprocessor.

The new LC334 and LC534 families of digital storage oscilloscopes (DSOs) have high-performance waveform capture display, measurement and analysis capabilities. The "analog persistence" display mode, as well as a new implementation of color are viewed on a nine-inch color CRT. LeCroy said it's advancing the state of the art for DSO capabilities to capture complex signals, measure and analyze them, with the help of the PowerPC processor.

The new LC series scopes use three technology advances which are integrated into a new scope platform. Other new features are a "full screen" mode and the "longest record length in the industry" with 2-megabytes of data acquisition memory per channel which can be combined to 8MB on a single signal (up to 64MB RAM), inside an extensive memory management feature for user efficiency.

Diagnostic capabilities include measurement of 40 signal parameters, worst case analysis (maximum, minimum, average and standard deviation) on those parameters, an FFT package with capability to resolve 4 million time domain samples into the frequency domain, the ability to daisy chain math functions (such as squaring a waveform and then integrating) and an advanced math package with integration, differentiation, square root, absolute value, exponential, log and a set of six selectable digital filters. An optional histogramming capability helps scope users to characterize signal instabilities.

The pass/fail test package includes the ability to test each of the four input channels against separate test masks and to combine mask testing with go-nogo testing of key signal parameters. Failed points in a signal waveform are highlighted in a bright color for fast identification. Documentation tools include the ability to save data to floppy disk, GPIB, RS-232 or internal memory (all standard) or to optional PC memory card, 170MB PCMCIA portable hard drive or an internal high-speed graphics printer.

The front ends feature 500 MS/s sampling on each channel with 500MHz bandwidth for the model LC334 and 1 GHz bandwidth for the LC534. The acquisition memory and ADC's of inactive channels can be combined onto the active signals allowing sampling of 1 GS/s when using two input channels or 2 GS/s maximum single shot sampling rate when operating in single channel mode. Both the LC534 and LC334 are four-channel scopes which offer an acquisition memory of up to 2 million points per channel which can be combined for a maximum of 8 million points in single channel mode.

LeCroy said application areas addressed by the LC534 family are automotive design, aerospace electronics, digital video disk (DVD) test, semiconductor design, telecommunications and magnetic media. The company has a new brochure available to preview all of its digital scopes.