Display the time evolution of the spectrum as a waterfall or spectrograph.Here are just some of the functions you can perform with this software interface and a sound card: The signal source was my short whistle, displayed in the time domain as a real time scope trace and in the frequency domain as a real time spectrum. An example of a measurement of an incoming sound signal using the built-in microphone and sound card of my PC, displayed using Waveforms. An example of the scope screen with just a few of these features is shown in Figure 1.įIGURE 1. The free version of the software gives you all the extra features of a professional scope: time and voltage control trigger options spectrum analysis datalogging automatic measurements of figures of merit serial data decode and strip chart display. Running this software on a PC will turn your sound card into an instant scope, capable of measuring audio range signals sampled at up to 100 kSamples/sec with a 16-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC), with a built-in function generator based on a roughly 100 kS/sec digital-to-analog converter (DAC) - all controlled by an easy-to-use professional-level interface. Download it from by selecting your operating system. It will run on a PC, Mac, or Linux system. The very first step is to download and install the software.

It now works with any sound card - either internal to the PC or connected through a USB port. In June 2018, Digilent upgraded their software control tool (Waveforms) that runs their popular Analog Discovery 2 Scope. The Digilent Waveforms Software Interface Using a sound card as the hardware interface with Waveforms puts a simple - yet powerful - scope in your hands for free. I think the free scope control software, Waveforms, is the simplest to use, most feature-rich pro-level software of any of the available options. However, I use the Digilent Analog Discovery 2 Scope (described in this article) in all my hobby activities and in the workshops I teach at Tinkermill - our hackerspace in Longmont, CO. Best of all, it’s free! When you graduate from this simple scope, you can purchase a more powerful scope using the exact same user interface.įull disclosure: I love scopes so much, 10 years ago, I joined Teledyne LeCroy - the third largest scope manufacturer in the world behind Tektronix and Keysight. In this article, I’ll show how you can get started with a simple-to-use scope you probably already have. It’s my go-to measurement instrument in every electronics project I work on, helping me debug and fine-tune hardware and software projects. I’ve been using an oscilloscope for almost 50 years.

External sound card usb input