Parallax Oscilloscope Review

senna21 · Mar 11, 2005

This was just reviewed on another board I belong to. I haven't used it but thought it looked like a fantastic device. Here is the review:

Here are the ISO and ISC signals (idle speed control) from the outputs of a Nemesis EMS viewed through a Parallax USB Oscilloscopewhich I believe to be a downright steal for $129. If you have a laptop and like to diagnose electronic problems, there is nothing like hooking up an oscilloscope to a circuit to see exactly what is going on. Most oscilloscopes are either very expensive or very bulky, making then difficult to use for diagnosing problems in an automotive environment. The Parallax is very small and works right off the power supplied by the USB cable, so using it in a garage, driveway or even on the road is a breeze. Although it has some limitations (for example, you can examine only up to 20v peak-to-peak signals without special probes) this simple little oscilloscope will let you look at most of the complex signals in most cars using the probes provided. Using something like this you can track down a nasty ignition problem in minutes. You can start by verifying that the ECU is getting all the trigger signals from the distributor and then you can view the IGT and IGF signals to determine whether the ECU is telling the ignitor to fire and if it is getting back an appropriate indication from the ignitior that the coil fired. You can use a similar approach to help you track down potential AFM problems, injector problems, speed signal problems, ABS signal problems, idle speed issues, boost control signal issues and any number of other problems where complex and fast changing signals are involved. The unit comes with a 6' USB cable, but you can pick up a 12' cable at any computer supply store which will let you diagnose most any signal in the car from the passenger seat while somebody else is driving.
Click to expand...

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Conversations

Alerts

Parallax Oscilloscope Review

senna21 F1 Rookie

Share This Page