An oscilloscope is a piece of electronic measuring equipment that is used to create graphs of electrical potential differences. The term potential differences refers to the amount of energy that is required to move an object against different forces. Typically, an oscilloscope is used to test the circuits of a piece of equipment to determine if it is working properly. Tektronix is a prominent manufacturer of these devices.

If you aren't familiar with oscilloscopes, they are usually small rectangular boxes with small screens to display the graphs. The horizontal axis on the graph represents time, while the vertical axis represents voltage. In addition to the screen, you'll find many controls and input connectors along the front panel.

Before you begin using the oscilloscope, you'll want to make sure that all of these controls are in their starting positions. All of the button switches should be out, the slide switches up, and the rotating controls centered. You'll also want to make sure that the calibration controls are on the correct setting. Doing so will ensure that the oscilloscope is running properly.

A digital oscilloscope is now the preferred piece of equipment in most industrial settings. The digital style is much more reliable, because information can be stored for as long as possible without being destroyed. This was often a problem with the traditional oscilloscopes, which weren't very reliable when it came to data storage. PC-based oscilloscopes are also gaining popularity. These new oscilloscopes are less expensive if the user already owns a computer, and are particularly useful in academia, where the budget for new equipment tends to be low. To use the new PC-based oscilloscopes, the user needs to install the necessary software and obtain an external converter.