The Instek GDS2304A 300 MHz, 4-Channel, 2 GSa/s Real-Time, 100 GSa/s Equivalent-Time Visual Persistence Digital Storage Oscilloscope provides 2 GSa/s maximum real-time sampling rate and 100 GSa/s high-speed equivalent-time sampling rate. Equipped with an 8-inch 800 x 600 high-resolution TFT LCD display, 1mV/div to 10V/div vertical range and 1ns/div to 100s/div time base, the GDS-2304A is able to faithfully demonstrate waveforms of complicated and obscure signals.

2Mega Point Record Length, Waveform Search and Segmented Memory Functions

The GDS-2304A provides 2Mega point record length, and Waveform Search and Segmented Memory functions as standard features. The events of interest can be captured and saved into the Segmented Memory, which can be divided into 2048 sections, for observation, while the irrelevant waveforms can be ignored. Consequently, the overall efficiency of memory usage can be enhanced. Under Waveform Search mode, after the input signal is triggered, the GDS-2304A is able to Search and Mark the waveform sections, which comply with user-defined search condition and threshold level within the whole memory. Meanwhile, with Zoom window and Play/Pause button to browse through whole displayed waveform, the user can rapidly navigate all the waveforms in an efficient way.

2Mega Point Record Length

With the collaboration of 2Mega point record length, the 2GSa/s sampling rate can bring the waveform acquisition into full play. During a certain period, sufficient record length is necessary for the input signal to be acquired under a high sampling rate. The long memory gives the benefit of mass data acquisition, however, also brings up a challenge on how to quickly find the waveform sections or events of interest within the whole memory length.

Waveform Search and Markers

2Mega point record length means that actually there are over thousands of waveform data points being processed and displayed in all times. Impact on engineers is how they can access the events of interest efficiently amongst the huge amount of data. the GDS-2304A offers the Search functions to accelerate the navigation over the whole waveform data so that the engineers can locate the events of interests with efficiency. The searching conditions of waveform are set by selecting Search Type and specifying the Threshold settings. All the complying waveforms will be marked and the total amount of events will be counted and displayed. User can use the forward or backward arrow key to navigate the events of interest from one to another. Press Set/Clear button to place (or clear) the marker on the waveform.

There are four search types including Edge, Pulse Width, Runt and Rise/ Fall Times to be selected. Additional type of Bus can be selected in case that the digital channel is equipped.

Segmented Memory

In the system and circuit development, engineers spend most of their time and resource on diagnosis and troubleshooting with DSO. In many cases, only small part of waveform data is of the real concern. Consequently, the efficiency of memory space utilization has been raised- if DSO only processes the concerned waveforms and ignores the irrelevant ones- , which means more data can be processed within the 2Mega memory.

The GDS-2304A possesses advantages of Segmented Memory as mentioned above. When being activated, the 2M memory is divided into a number of segments specified by the user. According to the trigger condition, 1k point data will be stored in each segmented memory. The maximum amount of segments is up to 2,048 with 8ns resolution. This is useful for analyzing the serial bus decoding, pulse, jitter glitch, runt, and inrush waveforms.

Repeatedly press the Play/ Pause button key can play the segment from the first to the last, as well as pause and replay backwards. Controlling the Variable scrolling knob facilitates the playing speed, therefore, the users can make a swift jump to one particular segment among all. Moreover, Segment Analysis can be used for statistics analysis.

Zoom Window

The GDS-2304A is equipped with Zoom Window feature which enables users to display the detailed zoomed waveform located by the Zoom Window. Under Zoom mode, the entire inbound waveforms and Zoom range cursors are displayed in the upper window, and the waveform details in the Zoom window are displayed in the bottom window. Users can tune the zoomed range by adjusting Time/Div selection, and pan the window by rotating the scrolling knob position.

Play/Pause

The Play/Pause button on the front panel can be controlled to automatically browse the entire inbound waveforms by moving the Zoom window across the display, which enables user to further investigate the events of interest. The browse speed and the rolling direction of the zoomed screen can be adjusted based on users' requirements. The rolling screen can be paused by pressing "pause" button. Collaborating with search markers, the Play/Pause function substantially facilitates the time-consuming task to locate and examine the events of interest at different spots within the whole memory.

80,000 wfm/s Waveform Update Rate and VPO Technique

The waveform update rate of 80,000wfm/s enables users to accurately acquire and examine inrush signals and elusive glitches without missing any detail. Attributed to the advanced signal processing technique, VPO (Visual Persistence Oscilloscope), the grayscale display of waveforms shown on GDS-2304A distinguishes the signals from one another according to their occurrence frequencies respectively.

80,000 wfms/s Update Rate

The waveform update rate of 80,000 wfms/s enables users to dynamically examine the jittery signal and elusive glitches without missing any detail. The concept is similar to the movie player. The faster movie player, which can bring more film images to the screen in a certain time interval, displays better visual effect than the slower ones. This is especially true when it comes to the replay of fast moving article.

80,000 wfms/s

500 wfms/s

VPO

Attributed to the advanced signal processing technique, VPO, the grayscale display of waveforms shown on GDS-2304A distinguishes the signals from one another according to their occurrence frequencies respectively. Based on the same statistics technology used for grayscale display, the color mode can be selected to differentiate the occurrence frequencies among various waveforms on the screen.

Gray Mode

Color Mode

Mixed Signal Oscilloscope (MSO) (Optional)

The GDS-2304A provides the flexibility of easy conversion from a DSO into a MSO (Mixed Signal Oscilloscope) under a plug-and-play concept. As two plug-in compartments are available at the rear panel to accommodate various plug-in modules, the GDS-2304A DSO with an optional 8 or 16 digital channels module performs as a 12 or 20-channel MSO by on-site installation. The analysis and decoding functions of parallel bus and serial bus such as I2C, SPI, and UART are supported after the module is installed. The GDS-2304A is regarded as an effective tool in signal analysis, trouble diagnosis and defect debug.

Function Generator (Optional)

The plug-in module of DDS (Direct Digital Synthesis) based function generator is provided as an option for the GDS-2304A. The function generator, with 5MHz bandwidth, is able to generate Sine, Triangle and Square waveforms, with variable duty cycle of the square waveform. Two 5MHz function generators can be used at the same time to provide dual output signals. With the stimulus source, the verification of electrical characteristics and functionality of the DUT (Device Under Test) can be done in one DSO.

Designed for Plugged-in Options

Besides Logic Analyzer and Function Generator modules, the GDS-2304A also provides optional LAN/SVGA Interfaces module and GPIB interface module for user's selection. The Modularized Structure offers a dramatic elasticity allowing user to upgrade the DSO with field-installable options after the purchase of the main body. Two modules can be used simultaneously as the maximum capacity of the GDS-2304A options, which include (1) 8-Channel Logic Analyzer (2) 16-Channel Logic Analyzer, (3) 5MHz/25MHz DDS Function Generator (4) LAN/SVGA Interfaces Module, (5) GPIB Interface Module.

With modern design concepts and up-to-date component technologies, the GDS-2304A DSO possesses a number of outstanding features, such as segmented memory, waveform search function, modularized logic analyzer and Function Generator. The aim of GDS-2304A design is to fit the requirements in embedded system development field and general application industries. As the GDS-2304A is a full-fledged DSO carrying a complete set of features, it is also a very useful tool to cover a broad range of educational applications related to signal analysis, trouble diagnosis and defect debugging in the electronic and electric fields.

Complete Trigger Functions and 36 Automatic Measurements

The GDS-2304A offers abundant trigger functions. In addition to the Edge, Delay, Pulse Width, Alternate, Single, Rise and Fall Time Trigger, the GDS-2304A also provides Video and Runt Trigger. The analysis and decoding functions of parallel bus and serial bus such as I2C, SPI, and UART are supported after the optional 8 or 16 digital channels module is installed. Complete Trigger Functions make the GDS-2304A a powerful tool in its class for capturing and analyzing any kind of signals. With statistics mode, users can analyze mean, maximum, minimum, and standard deviation of the captured waveform. With the great amount of the analyzing statistics, users may ensure the integrity of the signal and the abnormal waveforms.

FFT and Math Operation Functions

The FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) function of the GDS-2304A supports Rectangular, Hamming, Hanning , and Blackman Window Functions. Users can choose one window function based on the input signal type and the specific application. In order to provide the best observation condition, the zoom-in and shift functions for both horizontal and vertical axis are designed to be adjustable. Besides, the vertical unit is selectable among dBuV RMS and Linear RMS as well.

Rectangular Window

Hamming Window

Hanning Window

Blackman Window

Derivative Operation

Integral Operation

In addition to the general math operations, the advanced math operation like integral, derivative and square root are provided to predict or simulate the behaviors of integrator, differentiator and square root circuit for input signal to fulfill the applications of research and development.

X-Y Mode

The X-Y mode of GDS-2304A defines CH1 and CH3 as the horizontal axis and CH2 and CH4 as the vertical axis, allowing the display of 2 sets of X-Y patterns simultaneously. The measurement items include Rectangular, Polar, Product, and Ratio that fits most of the popular X-Y applications. Dissimilar from traditional oscilloscopes, the GDS-2304A can concurrently display input signal and X-Y measurement results on the screen. The applications of X-Y mode include Lissajous figure plot, and IQ constellation diagram.

Free Remote Control Software

Using a USB port accommodated with FreeWave remote monitoring software is the convenient way to capture data from the GDS-2304A. With FreeWave, a screen shot can be saved as an image file (.bmp/.jpg), waveform data (.csv). Not only can FreeWave monitor and record waveforms over a long period of time, but previous recorded waveforms can also be examined. Thus, instrument settings can be configured without the need to learn incomprehensible command line syntax. Free Wave enables the users to reach measurement goals of remote control without tedious procedure.

Digital Voltage Meter

The DVM has functionalities of three digits voltage meter and five digits frequency counter, it allows multi-testing of DC voltage, RMS DC voltage, AC voltage and frequency. Frequently, monitoring voltage and triggering and measuring digital signals concurrently while conducting the diagnosis and debugging of system circuit pose a tremendous challenge to R&D engineers.

H-Expansion

H-Expansion function can help engineers moving trigger point to any position on the screen and expand the fixed point. Users can observe expanded waveforms in great detail without missing the observation of the trigger point.

Data Log App

After installing the DataLog software, users can observe waveform variation for a long period of time to ensure products' reliability. DataLog function allows users to set data storage timeframe and interval based upon their test requirements. Data storage can be waveforms or the CSV file for each channel. Data can be stored in USB, GDS-2304A or the remote site computer via LAN.

Advanced Logic App

In the logic circuit analysis, "OR", "AND", "NOR", and "NAND" four logic analyses are required and the most fundamental. Users can download and install, free-of-charge, the Advanced Logic software to their GDS-2304A equipped with logic analyzer to enhance the logic trigger and analysis function of digital circuits.

CAN/LIN BUS Trigger Analysis

CAN Bus and LIN Bus are the most popular standard bus protocol for automobile electronics. Users can download for free the CAN/LIN Bus trigger and analysis software from the GW Instek website to elevate the software analysis capability of GDS-2304A logic analyzer. CAN bus transmission is often used in the electronic signal transmission for security systems. LIN bus is often seen in the control and operation for peripheral electronics equipment. Users can greatly increase the R&D efficiency of automobile electronics via the software installation.

CAN Bus Trigger and Decoding Function

LIN Bus Trigger and Decoding Function

Various Interfaces Support

Two standard USB interfaces located at both front panel and rear panel are used for easy access of stored data. USB device port at the rear panel is available for remote control or a hardcopy print-out through a PictBridge compatible printer. SVGA/LAN interfaces module (option), and GPIB interface module (option) are provided for ATE applications. SVGA video output (on the same card with LAN) allows the screen image being transferred to external projector or large display screens.