Item

Use

Multimeter

Measures voltage, current and resistance. This device is not useful for measurements that change rapidly.

Oscilloscope

Excellent for measuring voltages that change rapidly. Not useful for current or resistance measurements.

Storage Oscilloscope

A more expensive version of the normal oscilloscope. It can store screen traces for closer inspection. With a normal oscilloscope the view is quickly lost.

The Picoscope uses digital technology to act like this.

Logic Probe

Useful for detecting 0 or 1 states in logic circuits. Not useful for circuits that are switching rapidly.

Logic Analyser

A multi-channel oscilloscope optimised for measuring multiple logic levels that are changing rapidly.

Spectrum Analyser

Plots a graph of voltage against frequency.

Frequency Counter

Counts pulses per second. It can be used to measure the frequency of a signal.

Signal Generator

Generates sine, square and saw tooth waves at a known frequency.