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The PicoScope 4824 is a low-cost, portable solution for multi-input applications. With 8 high-resolution analog channels you can easily analyze audio, ultrasound, vibration, power, and timing of complex systems.
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High resolution, deep memory, 8 channel oscilloscope

8 Channel oscilloscope

  • 8 channels
  • 12 bit resolution
  • 20 MHz bandwidth
  • 256 MS buffer memory
  • High-performance arbitrary waveform generator
  • Advanced digital triggers
  • Serial bus decoding
  • SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface
  • Windows, Mac and Linux software

The PicoScope 4824 is a low-cost, portable solution for multi-input applications. With 8 high-resolution analog channels you can easily analyze audio, ultrasound, vibration, power, and timing of complex systems. 

Despite its compact size, there is no compromise on performance. With a high 12-bit vertical resolution, bandwidth of 20 MHz, 256 MS buffer memory, and a fast sampling rate of 80 MS/s, the PicoScope 4824 has the power and functionality to deliver accurate results. It also features deep memory to analyze multiple serial buses such as UART, I2C, SPI, CAN and LIN plus control and driver signals.

8 channel oscilloscope waveform

Advanced display

PicoScope software dedicates almost all of the display area to the waveform. Using the display of your laptop or desktop the area is much bigger and of a higher resolution than with a traditional benchtop scope. This is a huge advantage when displaying 8 high-resolution channels.

With a large display area available, you can also create a customizable split-screen display, and view multiple channels or different views of the same signal at the same time. As the example opposite shows, the software can even show both oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer traces at once. Additionally, each waveform shown works with individual zoom, pan, and filter settings for ultimate flexibility.

The PicoScope software can be controlled by mouse, touchscreen or keyboard shortcuts.

High resolution offers 16x more detail

The PicoScope 4824 is a 12-bit oscilloscope that offers 16 times more vertical resolution than traditional 8-bit oscilloscopes (4096 vertical levels vs 256). The example shows how with a 12-bit oscilloscope (blue trace) you can zoom in to reveal details of the signal that are not visible on an 8-bit oscilloscope (black trace).

As well as the high vertical resolution, the 256 million sample buffer memory ensures a high horizontal resolution as well. You can collect long detailed captures without the sampling rate dropping.

Once you have seen high-resolution waveforms on a high-resolution PC monitor you will never want to use a traditional benchtop oscilloscope with its small display again.

As well as improved oscilloscope traces, high resolution offers big benefits when performing spectrum analysis offering an additional 20 dB dynamic range on the spectrum over 8-bit oscilloscopes. Signals that were previously hidden in the noise floor are now clearly visible and the spectrum becomes a powerful tool to track down the causes of noise.

deep memory oscilloscope showing zoom

Typical applications

The PicoScope 4824 mix of 8 channels, high resolution and deep memory makes it suitable for a wide range of applications that cannot be met by traditional benchtop oscilloscopes.

8 channels allows multiple power supply rails to be monitored at the same time, ideal for looking at power supply sequencing, balancing or quality. The high channel count allows the decoding of multiple different serial bus standards at the same time (CAN, LIN, FlexRay, I2C, SPI etc.)

12 bit resolution both for the oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer helps track down noise, analyze harmonics and measure distortion.

The 256 MS deep memory allows several seconds of capture at the full sampling rate (ideal for long captures of serial data or looking for glitches in power supplies). Managing all this data calls for some powerful tools, so zoom factors of several million are possible. Other tools such as the waveform buffer, mask limit test, serial decode and hardware acceleration work with the deep memory making the PicoScope 4824 one of the most powerful oscilloscopes on the market.

The compact size takes up little space on the bench and USB power makes the PicoScope 4824 ideal for those on the move.  For the first time you can carry an 8 channel oscilloscope in your laptop bag!

arbitrary waveform editor

Arbitrary waveform and function generator

The PicoScope 4824 has a built-in function generator (sine, square, triangle, DC level, white noise, PRBS and others) and arbitrary waveform generator.

As well as basic controls to set level, offset and frequency, more advanced controls allow you to sweep over a range of frequencies. Combined with the spectrum peak hold option this makes a powerful tool for testing amplifier and filter responses.

Trigger tools allow one or more cycles of a waveform to be output when various conditions are met such as the scope triggering or a mask limit test failing.

The 14-bit 80 MS/s arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) can be used to emulate sensor signals during product development, or to stress-test a design over a wide frequency range. AWG waveforms can be created or edited using the built-in AWG editor, imported from oscilloscope traces, or loaded from a spreadsheet.

More information on Arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) >>

Spectrum analyzer: Multiple spectrum views

FFT spectrum analyzer

The spectrum view plots amplitude against frequency and is ideal for finding noise, crosstalk or distortion in signals. The spectrum analyzer in PicoScope is of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) type which, unlike a traditional swept spectrum analyzer, can display the spectrum of a single, non-repeating waveform.

A full range of settings gives you control over the number of spectrum bands (FFT bins), window types, scaling (including log/log) and display modes (instantaneous, average, or peak-hold).

You can display multiple spectrum views alongside oscilloscope views of the same data. A comprehensive set of automatic frequency-domain measurements can be added to the display, including THD, THD+N, SNR, SINAD and IMD. A mask limit test can be applied to a spectrum and you can even use the AWG and spectrum mode together to perform swept scalar network analysis.

More information on Spectrum analyzer >>

oscilloscope signal integrity

Signal integrity

Most oscilloscopes are built down to a price. PicoScopes are built up to a specification.

Careful front-end design and shielding reduces noise, crosstalk and harmonic distortion. Years of oscilloscope design experience can be seen in improved bandwidth flatness and low distortion.

We are proud of the dynamic performance of our products and, unlike most oscilloscope manufacturers, we publish our specifications in detail. The result is simple: when you probe a circuit, you can trust in the waveform you see on the screen.

High-end features as standard

Buying a PicoScope is not like making a purchase from other oscilloscope companies, where optional extras considerably increase the price. With our scopes, high-end features such as serial decoding, mask limit testing, advanced math channels, segmented memory, and a signal generator are all included in the price.

To protect your investment, both the PC software and firmware inside the scope can be updated. Pico Technology have a long history of providing new features for free through software downloads. We deliver on our promises of future enhancements year after year, unlike many other companies in the field. Users of our products reward us by becoming lifelong customers and frequently recommending us to their colleagues.

PicoScope 4824 Features

8 channel oscilloscope logic trigger

Advanced digital triggering

The majority of digital oscilloscopes still use an analog trigger architecture based on comparators. This causes time and amplitude errors that cannot always be calibrated out and often limits the trigger sensitivity at high bandwidths.

Over 20 years ago Pico first pioneered the use of fully digital triggering using the actual digitized data. This technique reduces trigger errors and allows our oscilloscopes to trigger on the smallest signals, even at the full bandwidth. Trigger levels and hysteresis can be set with high precision and resolution.

The reduced rearm delay provided by digital triggering, together with segmented memory, allows the capture of a new waveform every microsecond until the buffer is full.

The PicoScope 4824 offers an industry-leading set of advanced triggers including pulse width, runt pulse, windowed, logic and dropout.

More information on Triggers, advanced >>

 
Multi-cycle waveform measurements using PicoScope DeepMeasure tool.

DeepMeasure parameters

DeepMeasureTM

One waveform, millions of measurements.

Measurement of waveform pulses and cycles is key to verification of the performance of electrical and electronic devices.

DeepMeasure delivers automatic measurements of important waveform parameters on up to a million waveform cycles with each triggered acquisition. Results can be easily sorted, analyzed and correlated with the waveform display.

More information on DeepMeasure >>

 
fast oscilloscope waveform update rate

Hardware acceleration ensures fast screen update rates even when collecting 10,000,000 samples per waveform

Hardware Acceleration Engine (HAL3)

Some oscilloscopes struggle when you enable deep memory; the screen update rate slows and controls become unresponsive. The PicoScope 4824 avoids this limitation with use of a dedicated hardware acceleration engine inside the oscilloscope. Its parallel design effectively creates the waveform image to be displayed on the PC screen. PicoScope oscilloscopes manage deep memory better than competing oscilloscopes, both PC-based and benchtop.

The PicoScope 4824 is fitted with third-generation hardware acceleration (HAL3). This speeds up areas of oscilloscope operation such as allowing waveform update rates in excess of 100 000 waveforms per second and the segmented memory/rapid trigger modes. The hardware acceleration engine ensures that any concerns about the USB connection or PC processor performance being a bottleneck are eliminated.

 
oscilloscope persistence mode

100 000 waveforms per second

An important specification to understand when evaluating oscilloscope performance is the waveform update rate, which is expressed as waveforms per second. While the sample rate indicates how frequently the oscilloscope samples the input signal within one waveform, or cycle, the waveform capture rate refers to how quickly an oscilloscope acquires waveforms.

Oscilloscopes with high waveform capture rates provide better visual insight into signal behavior and dramatically increase the probability that the oscilloscope will quickly capture transient anomalies such as jitter, runt pulses and glitches – that you may not even know exist.

The PicoScope 4824 oscilloscope uses hardware acceleration to achieve up to 100 000 waveforms per second.

More information on Fast waveform update rates >>

 
Oscilloscope mask limit test

The waveform buffer navigator can quickly highlight waveforms that fail the mask limit test

Mask limit testing

Mask limit testing allows you to compare live signals against known good signals, and is designed for production and debugging environments. Simply capture a known good signal, draw a mask around it, and then attach the system under test. PicoScope will check for mask violations and perform pass/fail testing, capture intermittent glitches, and can show a failure count and other statistics in the Measurements window.

More information on Mask limit testing >>

 
CAN bus serial decoding

Serial bus decoding and protocol analysis

PicoScope can decode 1-Wire, ARINC 429, CAN & CAN-FD, DCC, DMX512, Ethernet 10Base-T and 100Base-TX,  FlexRay, I²C, I²S, LIN, PS/2, MODBUS, SENT, SPI, UART (RS-232 / RS-422 / RS-485), and USB 1.1 protocol data as standard, with more protocols in development and available in the future with free-of-charge software upgrades.

Graph format shows the decoded data (in hex, binary, decimal or ASCII) in a data bus timing format, beneath the waveform on a common time axis, with error frames marked in red. These frames can be zoomed to investigate noise or signal integrity issues.

Table format shows a list of the decoded frames, including the data and all flags and identifiers. You can set up filtering conditions to display only the frames you are interested in or search for frames with specified properties. The statistics option reveals more detail about the physical layer such as frame times and voltage levels. PicoScope can also import a spreadsheet to decode the data into user-defined text strings.

PicoScope 4824 Specifications


Oscilloscope — vertical

Input channels

8

Bandwidth (−3 dB)

20 MHz (50 mV to 50 V ranges)
10 MHz (10 mV and 20 mV ranges)

Rise time (calculated)

17.5 ns (50 mV to 50 V ranges)
35.0 ns (10 mV and 20 mV ranges)

Input type

BNC, 20 mm spacing

Vertical resolution

12 bits

Software-enhanced vertical resolution

Up to 16 bits

Input sensitivity

2 mV/div to 10 V/div (10 vertical divisions)

Input ranges

±10 mV to ±50 V full scale, in 12 ranges

Input coupling

Software-selectable AC / DC

Input characteristics

1 MΩ ∥ 19 pF

DC accuracy

±1% of full scale ±300 μV

Analog offset range (vertical position adjustment)

±250 mV (10 mV to 500 mV ranges)
±2.5 V (1 V to 5 V ranges)
±25 V (10 V to 50 V ranges)

Overvoltage protection

±100 V (DC + AC peak)

Oscilloscope — horizontal

Maximum sampling rate (real-time)

80 MS/s (1 to 4 channels in use)
40 MS/s (5 to 8 channels in use)

Maximum sampling rate (continuous streaming mode)

20 MS/s using PicoScope 6 software
80 MS/s per channel using supplied API, 160 MS/s total across all channels (PC-dependent)

Timebase ranges

20 ns/div to 5000 s/div

Buffer memory

256 MS shared between active channels

Streaming buffer memory (PicoScope)

100 MS

Streaming buffer memory (SDK)

Up to available PC memory

Maximum buffer segments (PicoScope)

10,000

Maximum waveforms per second

100,000 (PC-dependent)

Timebase accuracy

±20 ppm (+5 ppm/year)

Sample jitter

25 ps RMS typical

 

Dynamic performance (typical)

Crosstalk

20 000:1, DC to 20 MHz

Harmonic distortion

< −60 dB, 10 mV range
< −70 dB, 20 mV and higher ranges

SFDR

> 60 dB, 20 mV and 10 mV ranges
> 70 dB, 50 mV and higher ranges

Noise

45 μV RMS on 10 mV range

Bandwidth flatness

DC to full bandwidth (+0.2 dB, −3 dB)

Pulse response

< 1% overshoot

ADC ENOB

11.3 bits

Triggering

Source

Channels A to H

Trigger modes

Free run, auto, repeat, single, rapid (segmented memory)

Trigger types

Edge with adjustable hysteresis, pulse width, window, window pulse width, dropout, window dropout, interval, logic level, runt pulse

Trigger sensitivity

Digital triggering provides 1 LSB accuracy up to full bandwidth

Maximum pre-trigger capture

Up to 100% of capture size

Maximum post-trigger delay

Up to 4 billion samples

Trigger rearm time

< 3 μs on fastest timebase

Maximum trigger rate

Up to 10 000 waveforms in a 30 ms burst

Trigger level

All trigger levels, window levels and hysteresis values settable with 1 LSB resolution across input range

Pulse width trigger

Settable with 1 sample resolution from 1 sample (minimum 12.5 ns) up to 4 billion sample intervals

 

 

Function generator

Standard output signals

Sine, square, triangle, DC voltage, ramp, sinc, Gaussian, half-sine, white noise, PRBS

Standard signal frequency

DC to 1 MHz

Sweep modes

Up, down, dual

Triggering

Can trigger a counted number of waveform cycles or sweeps (up to 1 billion)
from the scope trigger or manually from software.

Frequency accuracy

±20 ppm

Frequency resolution

< 20 mHz

Voltage range

±2 V

Amplitude and offset adjustment

Signal amplitude and offset within ± 2V range. Adjustable in approx 300 μV steps.

Amplitude flatness

< 0.5 dB to 1 MHz typical

DC accuracy

±1% of full scale

SFDR

87 dB typical

Output characteristics

Rear-panel BNC, 600 Ω output impedance

Overvoltage protection

±10 V

Arbitrary Waveform Generator

Update rate

80 MS/s

Buffer size

16 kS

Resolution

14 bits

Bandwidth

1 MHz

Rise time (10% to 90%)

150 ns

 

 

Spectrum analyzer

Frequency range

DC to 20 MHz

Display modes

Magnitude, average, peak hold

Windowing functions

Rectangular, Gaussian, triangular, Blackman, Blackman-Harris, Hamming, Hann, flat-top

Number of FFT points

Selectable from 128 up to 1 million in powers of 2

Scale / units

X axis : linear or log 10
Y axis : logarithmic (dbV, dBu, dBm, arbitrary) or linear (volts)

Math channels

General functions

Filter functions

Graphing functions

Multi-waveform functions

Operands

 

 

Automatic measurements

Scope mode

AC RMS, true RMS, cycle time, DC average, duty cycle, falling rate, fall time, frequency, high pulse width, low pulse width, maximum, minimum, peak to peak, rise time, rising rate.

Spectrum mode

Frequency at peak, amplitude at peak, average amplitude at peak, total power, THD %, THD dB, THD+N, SFDR, SINAD, SNR, IMD

Statistics

Minimum, maximum, average and standard deviation

Serial decoding

Protocols

1-Wire, ARINC 429, CAN, DCC, DMX512, Ethernet (10Base-T), FlexRay, I²C, I²S, LIN, PS/2, SENT, SPI, UART/RS-232, USB 1.0

Inputs

All input channels with any mixture of protocols

 

 

Mask limit testing

Mask generation

Auto generate from captured waveform, manual drawing, manual coordinate entry

Actions

Highlight on screen, select in buffer overview, activate alarm

Statistics

Pass/fail, failure count, total count

Alarms

Initiating events

Capture, buffer full, mask fail

Alarm actions

Beep, play sound, stop/restart capture, run executable, save current buffer/all buffers, trigger signal generator

 

 

Display

Interpolation

Linear or sin(x)/x

Persistence modes

Digital color, analog intensity, fast, custom

Data export

Output file formats

BMP, CSV, GIF, JPG, MATLAB 4, PDF, PNG, PicoScope data, PicoScope settings, TXT

Output functions

Copy to clipboard, print

 

 

Environmental

Temperature range (operating)

0 °C to 45 °C

Temperature range (stated accuracy)

20 °C to 30 °C

Temperature range (storage)

–20 °C to +60 °C

Humidity range (operating)

5% to 80% RH non-condensing

Humidity range (storage)

5% to 95% RH non-condensing

Physical properties

Dimensions

190 x 170 x 40 mm

Weight

< 0.55 kg

 

 

Software

Windows software

PicoScope for Windows
Software development kit (SDK)
Windows 7, 8 or 10 recommended (read more)

macOS software

PicoScope for macOS (beta: feature list)
Software development kit (SDK)
OS versions: see release notes

Linux software

PicoScope for Linux (beta: feature list)
Software development kit (SDK)
See Linux Software & Drivers for details of supported distributions

Languages

Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

General

What's in the box?

PicoScope 4824 high-resolution oscilloscope
USB 3.0 cable
USB Oscilloscope Quick Start Guide

PC connectivity

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 (USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 compatible)

Power requirements

Powered from single USB 3.0 port or two USB 2.0 ports

Safety approvals

LVD compliant

EMC approvals

Tested to meet EN61326-1:2006 and FCC Part 15 Subpart B

Environmental approvals

RoHS and WEEE compliant

Total satisfaction guarantee

In the event that this product does not fully meet your requirements you can return it for an exchange or refund. To claim, the product must be returned in good condition within 14 days.

Warranty

5 years

 

Accessories

 

Passive oscilloscope probe: 100 MHz bandwidth 1:1/10:1 switchable, BNC
Replacement spring probe tips, 5 pack
Replacement rigid probe tips, 5 pack
25 MHz 700 V differential oscilloscope probe 10:1/100:1
25 MHz 1400 V differential oscilloscope probe 20:1/200:1
50 MHz 70 V differential oscilloscope probe 10:1
70 MHz 7000 V differential oscilloscope probe 100:1/1000:1
30/300/3000 A AC 3-phase flex current probe, BNC connector
30/300/3000 A AC flex current probe, BNC connector
30 A AC/DC precision current probe, BNC connector
60 A AC/DC current probe, BNC connector
200 A / 2000 A AC/DC current probe, BNC connector
Three-axis accelerometer and oscilloscope interface
Terminator: feed-through, 1 GHz 50 Ω 1 W BNC (m-f)
Attenuator set: 3-6-10-20 dB, 1 GHz 50 Ω 1 W BNC (m-f)
BNC plug to 4 mm (banana) plug cable, 1.2 m
BNC to BNC cable, 1.1 m
BNC plug to BNC plug cable, insulated, 5 m
Multimeter probe, 1000 V CAT II, black
Multimeter probe, 1000 V CAT II, red
Sprung hook probe 1000 V CAT III, black
Sprung hook probe 1000 V CAT III, red
Small crocodile clip, black
Small crocodile clip, red
Large dolphin clip, 1000 V CAT III, red
Large dolphin clip, 1000 V CAT III, black
USB 3.0 cable, 1.8 m
TA155
Hard carry case – medium
USB 2.0 Y-cable, 1.8 m
Calibration certificate for high performance PicoScope oscilloscopes: 4824, 5000 and 6000  

 

PicoScope 4824 Manuals

Resource Language Version Size Updated
Data Sheets:
PicoScope 4824 Data Sheet English 8 4 MB January 03 2017
User's Guides:
PicoScope 4000 Series User’s Guide English 7 2 MB December 09 2015
PicoScope 6 User’s Guide English 48 10 MB February 12 2018
    41 6 MB May 17 2016
Programmer's Guides:
PicoScope 4000 Series (A API) Programmer’s Guide English 5 3 MB May 26 2017
Triggering a PicoScope signal generator using the PicoScope API functions English 1 54 KB April 01 2015
Quick Start Guides:
PicoScope USB Oscilloscope Quick Start Guide English
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
Español
中文 (简体)
한국어
日本語
19 1 MB March 13 2018
Press Releases:
PicoScope 4824 8-Channel Oscilloscope Press Release English 2 488 KB December 24 2013
Training Guides:
PicoScope 6 Frequently Asked Questions English 3 949 KB August 18 2016
PicoScope 6 Oscilloscope Software Training Manual English 3 8 MB October 01 2014
Beginner’s Guide to PicoScope English 1 2 MB August 26 2014
Declarations:
PicoScope 4824 EU Declaration of Conformity English 1 295 KB February 26 2014