daijobu Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 We own an oscilloscope. My middle school kids who have had pretty decent exposure to electronics. They can wire up a breadboard using a schematic. They know the difference between AC and DC. They've made crystal radios. Low pass and high pass filters. I thought it would be great if they learned how to use an o-scope, as I'd never seen one before college. Are there any fun easy projects that use an oscilloscope that would be appropriate for students? Thank you for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Yes, says DH, a "whole slew of them." He suggested the Radio Shack book Getting Started in Electronics by Mims. He said that the beginning should be review for your kids based on your description, but that the back has some linear circuits, ramp generators, tone generators. It shows the output you are looking for in the O-scope. (Make sure they set the range correctly.) Assuming if you own one, you know how to hook it up? What kind of o-scope do you have? This Mims guy sold a lot of books in his day. This is what my husband's copy of Getting Started looks like. He said if they like the Getting Started one and want to learn a bunch of different circuits, pick up one of the mini-notebooks like this one. (Had to laugh because I realized DH answered another of your electronics questions - the car starting one - way back when. He just happened to walk in when I had this thread open. That doesn't happen often.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 Thank you! I just got a glimpse inside the book from Amazon and this is just what I need. You've come to my rescue twice now. Maybe someday I'll repay you. If you ever need help with AoPS or BFSU, I'm on it, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted November 22, 2014 Author Share Posted November 22, 2014 I wonder if you can hook up an -scope to an electric guitar or a digital piano? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 DH says, "Yes, for sure." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 Since there are few people following this thread, I wanted to point out that I successfully wired up an electret microphone and op amp to generate sound waves readable by the scope as described in this tutorial. Then I downloaded a tuning fork app that generated some nice sine waves. We could see the amplitude increase with higher volume and frequency increase with higher pitch. It's a very cool demo. I also learned that I need to be more patient and methodical when using the device. If I turn a knob, I need to wait a few seconds sometimes before the screen updates to reflect the changes. Sometimes I have a hard time figuring out which way I need to adjust the horizontal and vertical scales just by looking at the screen, so I feel like I'm adjusting blindly. I have a copy of the Mims book recommended here, and will try some of those soon. ETA: link to tuning fork app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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