What is an automotive scope?
The automotive scope is in some sense a standard but has an added functionality designed for the testing and troubleshooting of cars. It is a diagnostic tool which graphically displays key features of a car.
Why would you buy it?
An automotive scope is an essential tool for almost any car workshop. Cars get more and more complex each year with an increasing amount of electronic and electrical components. Standard measuring tools won’t be sufficient anymore for troubleshooting and this is where the automotive scope comes in. Automotive scopes are not only interesting for the newest cars but also for older ones (think of standard components like a dynamo, engine starter, bougies etc.).
Why not use a standard oscilloscope?
Automotive scopes offer, in comparison to ordinary oscilloscopes, specifically designed features which are optimized for the automotive sector. Automotive scopes feature special software which helps the user to interpret the output of the oscilloscope and perform specific car-system tests. For instance measuring pressure in multiple cylinders simultaneously. Also the handheld capability which these scopes offer such as a Wi-Fi function and a battery is a strong positive factor.
What can an automotive scope do?
The possibilities of automotive scopes are huge and increase with every new software update and generation. Some key features are for instance: testing the charging circuits, the start process, the ignition process, testing different sensors, perform actuator tests, perform pressure tests and test the CAN- and LIN Bus communication.
Key specifications to look for
Automotive scopes are quite similar to ordinary scopes in terms of specifications because they require roughly the same things. Some key specifications are:
Mobility The difference between a handheld and a pc scope is huge, handheld scopes (scopes with a battery) are far more popular and practical. Another popular option is to combine a USB scope with a laptop.
Number of channels The required number of channels available on the scope depends what you want to use them for. 4 channel-scopes are the most popular ones.
Bandwidth The bandwidth of a scope determines the maximal frequency it can measure. A good bandwidth for almost any practical application would be 100MHz.
Memory depth You typically want a memory depth as large as possible so you can store as many datapoints as you want.
Resolution One parameter of this is the number of bits of the embedded analog to digital converters. Usually a vertical resolution of 8 bits is sufficient for all automotive applications.
Other specifications to look for are the storage capabilities and included probes of the automotive scope. Also worth looking for is how you can transport your scope: does it come with a suitcase (or something similar) in which you can store all your equipment?
Probes
To use an automotive scope to its full potential one can combine it with an automotive probe. We offer a Coil-on-Plug probe from Hantek, which uses revolutionary technology to measure ignition waveforms without going into the motor itself. Other useful accessories could be current probes, which can be found
Examples
There are a number of well-known brands of automotive scopes, such as the well-known brand Picoscope. At Eleshop we offer the following automotive scopes:
Hantek
The Hantek 2D82 auto is a good entry level oscilloscope suitable for the automative sector. The 2D82 auto is available in 2 types, depending on the number of accessories.
Thanks to pre-defined settings, measurements on the car can be carried out and analysed with great ease. Due to the large number of accessories and the robust design, this is the ideal entry-level oscilloscope for diagnosing a car.
Micsig From Micsig we offer the SATO1004. This is the 4-channel version in the Micsig SATO1000 series scopes. The scopes in this Micsig series are handheld devices which have a working time of about 5 hours and have a robust design with protective screens etc.
Other handheld scopes can also be used effectively for automotive purposes.
Siglent For the ones among us who would like to do some analysis on the car but don’t need the special software, we offer some Siglent handheld models such as the SHS1102 or the SHS810X. Both models are ordinary 2-channels handheld oscilloscopes.
Owon An alternative for the people who don’t need special software for analysing cars, is the Owon XDS-2102A. This scope comes from the Owon XDS-series, which are ordinary scopes, so they are in terms of dimensions a lot bigger than the previous discussed scopes. The Owon XDS scopes can be extended with a battery so they can be used for automotive purposes. Also, the XDS2102A has CAN-decoding.
The full automotive oscilloscope category can be found
