Fast debug requires quickly finding infrequent events.

In this example we’re measuring a pulse train that has a glitch occurring once every 40,000 cycles. Agilent’s MSO6054A oscilloscope captures this glitch on average two and a half times per second, allowing you to view elusive problems as they occur.

The Tektronix MSO4054 oscilloscope also captures the glitch regularly… as long as only the analog channels are displayed in default mode using 10K points of memory..

However, if we turn on digital channels, the Tek MSO4054 no longer captures the glitch even through we know it is present. With Infinite persistence turned on, the Tektronix MSO4054 still doesn’t show the glitch after an hour of acquisition.

Why does the Agilent MSO consistently capture the glitch while the Tek MSO doesn’t?

In real-time mode, digital oscilloscopes repetitively acquire data and then process the data for display. While the scope is processing, its acquisition system is blind to your signal activity.

Oscilloscopes with fast update rates minimize processing time and will find infrequent events that scopes with slower update rates will miss.

On the Tek MSO, when digital channels are turned on, or deep memory enabled, update rates are slowed to the point that analog measurements are compromised and intermittent problems may never be captured.

Adding digital signals to your scope should help you find problems, not mask them.

Agilent’s MSO architecture gives you the best chance to find problems quickly with deep memory always enabled and update rates always maximized.