EEVblog

День тому

One of the more obscure controls on an oscilloscope is the Trigger Holdoff control. A dedicated control on most high end analog oscilloscopes, and a main menu option in modern digital scopes, yet often poorly understood. What does it do and how does it work?
(the background noise is crickets!)

КОМЕНТАРІ: 125

@arnotek 10 місяців тому

You recorded this over 12 years ago and you helped me today (6/27/2023) to understand this capability. I was confused by the trigger offset setting but I understand it now. With your explanation and demonstration, it now makes perfect sense. I also gained experience with my waveform generator to properly set it to generate the burst pulses for the scope. THANK YOU!

@EEVblog 13 років тому

@neutron7 If one person learned something then I'm happy!

@TheBdd4 5 років тому

I've been using scopes - analog and digital, for years and never understood how to use Holdoff. I'm doing a circuit design analysis right now and I think Holdoff will remove the analog signal confusion I am seeing. THANK YOU!

@galgan90 9 років тому

I finally understood it. It's such a simple concept, thanks man. You made it really simple!

@theslawek 13 років тому

A seasoned electronics tech (+15 years) I work with spend two days replacing IC's and parts to fix an "intermittent problem". It was just the holdoff a previous tech set. :) I learned what it does just by using scopes, especially when I needed to capture longer digital pulses. I'm one of those who refuse to use the auto-scale, unlike my classmates. I love your blog!

@sciguy14 13 років тому

Not only have a I never used that knob, but I never even noticed it was there! Very cool!

@briantamburelli7573 Рік тому

Oh wow, I learned about a function on an oscilloscope I never knew existed. Thank you Dave!☺️👍

@SigEpBlue 12 років тому

Love hearing crickets while the snow's falling here.

@BrisbaneSalsa 10 років тому

Excellent explanation! I just posted a question to the eevblog forums and they pointed me here - your example is almost EXACTLY what I'm trying to achieve. Keep up the great work!

@nicktumi 8 років тому

Hi, I just wanted to say thanks for posting these informative videos. I first watched your videos when I bought a multimeter based on your multimeter comparison video 3 years ago and now I am 1 year away from my BA in EE. Thanks for helping me understand along the way!

@Antiath 7 років тому

Arghhh! It's exactly the kind of feature I needed for my project. Been searching for something like that in the bloody trigger menu for months without finding anything ( and it's in the horizontal menu of my scope actually). Thanks a lot.

@MrDoneboy 4 роки тому

Thanks Dave...You are the only one that takes the time to explain the value of owning an older Analog scope, where you had to wrap your brain around!

@mouritius 8 років тому

Thank you very much for you clear, motivated, kind and didactic explanation , it helped me very much for my Electrical Mesurement's exam. Greetings from Argentina!

@shamin0 12 років тому

Thank you for this great tutorial, Dave! I did not know what and what for this function was in my oscilloscope but now I know.

@mysomervda 2 роки тому

Fantastic! I finally discovered my holdoff control when I was started playing with AM signals.

@gaganchand7889 11 років тому

hi David L. Jones, i really like the way u explain every thing so crisp clear, u rock and i will go through all your videos

@jackevans2386 3 роки тому

Never knew this. What an invaluable source of info EEVblog is. I will never forget this piece of info now.

@seanmangan2769 4 роки тому

G'day "multimeter Jones". I've watched dozens of your videos - enjoyed them and learned a lot. Thank you!

@EEVblog 13 років тому

@ttk1opc Actual crickets!

@MotoCycle 13 років тому

Loved this episode! Just got my Rigol scope last week, never really used a scope before, so educational videos like this go a long way. I had this exact problem scoping a signal already, so it was great to know how to deal with it, other than hitting the stop button. :)

@romanescu_misha Рік тому

This really helps observing periodical I2C transmission!

@Pizatto2 13 років тому

Great class, Dave! Thank you

@colt4547 13 років тому

Another great, useful video! Thank you for spending your time and effort to educate.

@DavidLindes 5 років тому

Lovely. Thanks, Dave! An interesting feature, wonderfully explained. :)

@zenomp5 13 років тому

Thank you Dave! Great video! I really didn't understand the hold off on my Rigol until this video.

@ronaldlijs 13 років тому

Dave, ABSOLUTELY| FANTASTIC! The most useful thing I've learnt this month! MAGIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rigol is on its way and already saving for that Agilent, that feels and looks incredible! VERY valuable lesson here, been troubleshooting my I2S interface the other day with my analogue 30MHz Hameg scope and it "does" the job, but this is 10000 times better mate, thanks for this keeeeeep them comingggggggggggg!

@kahvac 12 років тому

Excellent video ! Thanks for taking the time to make it. On another note, an oscilloscope without triggering of some sort is extremely limited in what it can do. Thanks again.

@-vermin- 13 років тому

Excellent! Previously I have always used to use the start/stop or single sweep method. Thanks.

@victormgv 8 років тому

March 2011 :( Why no more? I would love a whole beginners series! :) Love this guy, so much passion and a breath and depth of knowledge. Also as a American every saying he uses is the first I have ever heard it, just love it! :) Current favorite is "young players". N.B.-I know "young players" is not necessarily an Australian phrase, it just happens to be my favorite one at the moment.

@PeterWalkerHP16c 8 років тому

+victormgv Check out Fundamental Friday playlist. Tutorial is another search term. You need to fossick around a bit to get all the lecture stuff. It's a trap for young players. :-)

@yoramstein 10 років тому

Thanks Dave - You tought me something new

@3deeguy 3 роки тому

Thank you EEVblog. I just got a scope and I was wondering how to see data packets. Now I understand how to use 'trigger holdoff'.

@38911bytefree 13 років тому

Dave at his best. Nice vid.

@sirsideways 13 років тому

I learnt something new today! Cheers Dave.

@DaedalusYoung 13 років тому

Interesting and informative. Great video!

@charly08031953 11 років тому

Used it to catch a responses from an I2C chip and was able to verify protocol between Master and Slave. Works great!

@louco2 Місяць тому

Thank you Dave!

@bayernvorn 3 роки тому

Very good explanation. 👍👍👍

@EEVblog 13 років тому

@Wizard4592 Yeah, sorry about that, really loud crickets. Didn't want to delay the shoot until they stopped chirping!

@judgenap 13 років тому

Thanks Dave. Good stuff .

@MiladP 9 років тому

Thanks! Very helpful.

@martin_emrich 5 років тому

Thanks! I learned something today!

@jeriellsworth 13 років тому

@EEVblog It's usually a big button that can be bumped easily too. Maybe it should be labeled "Nuke Settings"

@IildeviI 13 років тому

wow great video, i learned a lot from this video it explains a lot when i see multiple waves on the scope and how i can fix it! i've been taking electronics since gr9 of high school, and no one have ever taught what that knob does! definitely something that should be taught tho Thanks!

@AnthonyCRoberts 13 років тому

Thanks. Much better explanation than my Tek manual!

@sheeptrik 12 років тому

Hi and thanks I finely find a verry good tutorial site ! It's hard to find sommething usefull on UKposts !

@Popart-xh2fd 8 років тому

Make one about External Trigger!

@tambechristian 6 років тому

Great video. thank you!

@MacGuffin1 12 років тому

good vid Dave, u explained it well, more pls :D

@JamesMegaWatt 13 років тому

Thanks, good video. Learned a lot

@EEVblog 13 років тому

@jeriellsworth The Agilent one is nicely and safely recessed. It can even be disabled in software to stop students cheating.

@raguaviva 13 років тому

awesome I learnt something new!

@civedm 3 роки тому

Wow. Ive seen that jumbled mess fairly recently. Good video.

@Nermash 13 років тому

Great video, always great to learn new stuff! Holdoff trigger was always a bit in the dark side for me:) BTW, that Agilent looks better and better every time I see it. Too bad that grey dealer Niatel in my country asks 4x regular US price.... Regarding the crickets, it instantly reminded me of warm summer nights, keep them on for every video:)))

@vatsk 4 роки тому

Love you man

@neutron7 13 років тому

awesome, you taught me something, I have the same rigol thanks to you :)

@rguptaca 8 років тому

Useful for looking at RC ppm signals.

@faultlessguitarsandamps1116 6 років тому

Awesome , thank you .

@unebonnevie 11 років тому

So, basically each trigger is a horizontal scan line! The horizontal retrace is non-drawing time, which can be used to do computation. All the triggering (pre and post) are good for notifications via interrupts. This is just like software.

@ncrdisabled 13 років тому

I learned all this info in on O-scope usage in C school in the US NAVY i was a IC 2 e-5 electronic tech on board submarines I used the scope to repair all the electronics on board . The bad part about the subs is you must use a isolation transformer or a bad way a cheater cord with no ground . I leaned that the hard way first time I used one in a Gyro switch blew the hell out of the first scope had to replace it during offcrew man those were the days.

@nickayivor8432 2 роки тому

Thanks 👍 From Nick Ayivor from London England UK 🇬🇧

@wunguru 11 років тому

"I think you choose very bad example to showing this feature" Give us the link to your uploads so that everyone will learn more effectively from your superior videos .

@dalriada842 11 років тому

That was a great example! I only use a small subset of the controls on equipment like scopes. One more knob I know how to usefully twiddle! :)

@BHR477 13 років тому

now i understand triggering well ,, and i have the same rigol thanks to you :D

@emactan 13 років тому

Review of test gear + tutorials on using them. Three thumbs up!

@arnolddezwijgerful 6 років тому

nice video i learn something i did not now.

@packratswhatif.3990 5 років тому

Yep, always something new to learn or review. Let’s keep it going ......

@bswain9999 13 років тому

excellent!

@errold32 13 років тому

Sweet!! I learned something.

@jluke6861 Рік тому

Thank you.

@gamccoy 11 років тому

I liked this video. Another cool thing is external trigger.

@AbrahamAbignale 2 роки тому

Love it

@menwork8163 4 роки тому

Thanks a lot

@baghdadiabdellatif1581 9 місяців тому

Thank you

@detectiveinspekta 13 років тому

Wow, this could of really helped me in my project. I usually just stopped the trace to get a waveform :p

@CoolDudeClem 12 років тому

I find this feature usefull if a waveform has a lot of harmonics and I need to see it more clearly, it's allmost like I can ''tune in'' to the waveform.

@EEVblog 13 років тому

@truhlikfredy What example should I have used then?

@TheJayJacker 9 років тому

I noticed that one of your playlist says Electronics Beginners guides although i only see one video in it and its pretty old considering the date.

@ChrisCoulston 13 років тому

I just taught a lab where students decoded IR remote control packets, would have been nice to have this tutorial to give the students - that looks like an IR packet in your example at 13:00.

@EEVblog 13 років тому

@Gameboygenius Nice!

@ubuntututorials 13 років тому

I'd love to see something on eye diagrams. Great video.

@shiningmickey 10 років тому

Hi Dave, very nice basic introduction to holdoff time. Yet, I have one question: If there's only 1 occurance of "digital pulses sequence", instead of repetitive sequences with a "modulation period" equaling the "holdoff time", how shall I capture the single sequence? Thank you!

@Gameboygenius 13 років тому

Actually, I'll proudly say that I learnt how to use holdoff all by myself. I was probing a digital signal and got that typical jumble all over the screen and I thought "wouldn't it be good if there was a function that delayed the triggering" and then I loked at the panel. :)

@ihatesmartphones 6 років тому

I like the auto button . But i have been forcing myself to set up the scope manually. unless i have to use both hands to hold the probe. in that instance I really love the auto button. Dave can you do a hole series on Scope use¿ and maybe put them all in a play list¿ yea i noticed the crickets.

@slap_my_hand 7 років тому

so it's almost like digital debouncing of the trigger?

@0LoneTech 13 років тому

@truhlikfredy Holdoff time still matters on a signal like that. If you use time/div to enlarge the signal, for instance, you may get the end of the packet outside the first sweep, triggering a second sweep. Hold off can remove that second sweep properly, and then you can use a trigger delay to closely inspect any part of the signal you like. Of course, techniques like this matter more when you don't have a deep sample buffer.. and my scope is fully analog.

@GeorgeTsiros 4 роки тому

Question! Assume a 2 kHz simple sine signal and the CRO is set to 0.1 ms (or 100 μs) /Div, triggering on upwards slope at 0 V, so one complete cycle fits exactly on HALF the screen. Will the scope trigger at every valid transition? If yes, it should only show the signal on the left half of the screen 🤔

@amtpdb1 11 років тому

I am a beginner. Could you do a video on what a beginner can do with a scope that would justify buying one. Maybe using Remote control transmitter or an old radio or something to show how or what you can do to trouble shoot small electronics with a scope. Maybe using a 100mhz or less (cheap to buy used). Thanks and I enjoy your videos even though some of it I don't understand as of yet.

@SquarishLink 12 років тому

MAGIC

@EEVblog 13 років тому

@Nermash x4 the US price really sucks :-( Can you import?

@RobertBardos 10 років тому

hey dave I am a novice electronics junkie and new subscriber. I wonder if you would make a video discussing analog sinthisizers from the late 70s up to today and talk about how they work. I am a big fan of electronic music that is sometimes made with modular sinth components and think it would make a facinating episode. perhaps some gear such as moog sinths and such??

@ak1m0t0 13 років тому

lol, why on earth i never use this knob. very informative, thanks

@ttk1opc 13 років тому

What is that cricket like sound in the background?

@jeriellsworth 13 років тому

@EEVblog Too many of them are by the run/stop button. WTF?

@sleblanc 10 років тому

Run your trigger in Single mode, instead of Normal or Auto. This should "capture" that pulse and let you move around it. (it only works with storage oscilloscope though)

@TzOk 10 років тому

From what I understand, the trigger holdoff disables the trigger for a given period of time after the first trigger occurs. So the drawing and theory presented here are wrong. The holdoff time should be set to equal or slightly longer period of time than the packet length and not slightly shorter than the packet gap (no signal period) length as was shown and told in the video. Of course this would work best in normal trigger mode.

@TheHuesSciTech 9 років тому

What he presented was right for analog scopes (maybe?), but not so relevant to digital scopes indeed. He got it right towards the end of the video, though.

@kmonyt 9 років тому

Yes tzok83 is 100% right. The first part of the video, he specifically said to set to length of the idle period. But that isn't right. Dave does get it right at the end, as mentioned, but he should've gone back and reshot it or something. From the video, it looks like ideal range for the holdoff time would be between the length of time for a single packet up to and including the idle time before the next packet. Overall I found this a useful discussion, but you've got to make it to the end of the video to get the full story.