Specifications at a glance: Input channels: 4 Analog Bandwidth: DC to 300MHz Sampling Rate: 2.5GS/s at all times for each channel Memory Depth: 5Mpts Vertical Sensitivity: 1mV/div to 10V/div Vertical Resolution: 8 bits LCD Screen: WVGA (800x480 pixels) Screen size: 22.8mm (9-inch) diag Weight: 4.2kg

The TekTronix DPO3034 is an impressive oscilloscope with the latest version of Tek’s "digital phosphor" screen and advanced features like extended MATHs functions and waveform replay, zoom and search.

Its bandwidth is 300MHz and the sampling rate is 2.5Gs/s for each individual channel.

With some 4-channel oscilloscopes, the sampling rate is shared among the channels or pair of channels. This means that the effective sampling rate is frequently half that of the quoted specification, when all channels are in use.

However, this oscilloscope achieves 2.5GS/s on each channel at all times. The vertical resolution of the digitising system is 8 bits and the sensitivity is better than most comparable oscilloscopes, ranging from 1mV/div to 10V/div.

Phosphor display

This scope has the latest version of Tek’s so-called "digital phosphor" display. The colour screen is a 228mm (9-inch) (diagonal) WVGA (wide VGA: 800 x 480 pixels) LCD that looks bright and shows good contrast.

The display refresh rate is fast at 50kHz.

The screen emulates the desirable features of the phosphors used in analog oscilloscopes employing CRTs (Cathode Ray Tubes).

The intensity of the traces can be varied over a wide range while the persistence time can be selected from periods ranging from 10 seconds down to milliseconds. This is useful when you have fast glitches or you are using single step triggering.

Interestingly, the display has a wide screen aspect ratio and is 198mm wide by 120mm high (1.65:1). This allows you to see more time domain data and effectively gives you the advantage of an even larger screen.