Handheld oscilloscopes - compact measuring technology in the hand for on the go

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Handheld oscilloscopes are suitable for many test and field service applications. Today, a handheld oscilloscope is usually a digital sampler oscilloscope with a compact display.

Many hand and table oscilloscopes have common ground reference voltage. If multiple measurement channels are used simultaneously, all input signals must have the same voltage reference. This stress reference is usually the classic grounding. Thus, a grounded oscilloscope always forces the potential of all channels involved to mass. For some measurements this is obstructive or can even lead to short circuits (see the mass problem of oscilloscopes). If there is no differential preamplifier or an external signal conditioner, there are only two ways to avoid this. The first is to disconnect the grounding pin of the oscilloscope. This, however, interrupts the security concept and this measure is not recommended.

The better option is the use of a handheld oscilloscope with battery operation. A handheld oscilloscope usually allows you to measure all conventional functions such as voltage and frequency. Longer transients can also be recorded, some models also allow mathematical functions such as Fourier spectral analysis. When working with microcontrollers, you will often need to record waveforms. Also for troubleshooting serial protocols such as RS232 and I2C, such a device helps well in mobile use.

Handheld oscilloscopes are always digital devices today. They have an integrated AD converter, capture the analog signal and digitally convert it into memory. Handheld systems have an integrated display that allows them to display and analyze the signal. A wide range of analysis functions can be displayed by corresponding user input via push buttons or touch display.

We have selected and compared the best handheld oscilloscopes for you here.