Neurobiology Laboratory GETTING TO KNOW YOUR EQUIPMENT

THE OSCILLOSCOPE

The first thing to know is that these oscilloscopes are relatively hard to break, and they don't bite - so don't
worry!

We are going to work generally from left to right across the control panel.

I. POWER AND DISPLAY

Look at the display screen. On the screen is a graticule (black grid marks).

Look at the group of buttons and knobs directly to the right of the display. Plug in the unit, and find and
push the power button. You should see a green power indicator light just below the power button. In a
moment, you should see a trace (green line) appear on the display. If you do not see a trace, don't panic -
you will soon learn how to find it.

The INTENSITY knob adjusts the brightness of the trace on the screen. The FOCUS knob adjusts the
focus. If you can see the trace, turn these two knobs and observe how the trace changes in appearance. (If
you still can't see the trace, you still shouldn't worry!) The intensity should be kept at its lowest visible
level to prevent burn-in of the phosphores and
damage to the display, and the focus should be adjusted to make the trace as distinct as possible.

II. VERTICAL CONTROLS

Moving further to the right, look at the section marked VERTICAL. Our oscilloscopes have two input
channels, with an independent set of controls for each.

Find the vertical POSITION knob for channel 1. Turn this knob and observe how the trace moves. Now
turn the position knob all the way clockwise. You should not be able to see the trace. This is the best way to
illustrate the BEAM FIND function. If your trace is too far up or down and is out of view, the BEAM
FIND function will allow you to find it. Press the BEAM FIND button and note that the trace (which is too
far up) is now visible on the screen. You can use this function to locate a trace, then use the vertical
POSITION knob to move the trace within the viewing area. Use the BEAM FIND function and the vertical
POSITION knob to reposition your trace within the viewing area.

The section marked MODE has controls which allow you to select various options for channel display. The
left most switch allows you to choose between a display of Channel 1 only, Channel 2 only, or both
channels simultaneously. Move this switch to BOTH and use the BEAM FIND and VERTICAL
POSITION knob for channel 2 to position the channel 2 trace just below the channel 1 trace. The middle
MODE switch inverts the trace; put it in the NORM (non-inverted) position. The other control ADDs
together the voltages on channels 1 and 2, ALTernates sweeps between channels 1 and 2, or CHOPs them
very quickly so they both appear simultaneously. We will use the CHOP setting most of the time.

Look at the sections marked CH1 or CH2 VOLTS/DIV. There is a separate section for each channel. This
may be one of the most important sections of the oscilloscope. This provides a means for calibrating the
vertical graticule on the screen. Notice that the screen is divided into squares. By turning the knob under the
VOLTS/DIV section, you can change the amount of voltage that is covered within each square. For
example, if the VOLTS/DIV is set to 5, then that means that the vertical range of each square on the screen
represents 5 volts. If VOLTS/DIV is set to 0.5, then the vertical range of each square on the screen
represents 1/2 (0.5) volt.

Notice that there are two brackets on the VOLTS/DIV knob: 1X and 10X. This is important, because it
refers to the type of probe you are using with the oscilloscope. The probes we have (the probes are the
things that look sort of like a pen attached to the side of the oscilloscope) are 10X, and so you should read
the voltage range bracketed by the 10X when using the probe. WE WILL BE USING DIRECT CABLES
FROM THE STIMULATOR TO THE OSCILLOSCOPE FOR ALL EXPERIMENTS SO THE 1X
BRACKETED VOLTAGE RANGE IS APPROPRIATE. Note: make sure that the small knob marked CAL
is turned all of the way clockwise. This knob allows you to select ranges in between those marked. You
probably will not use this knob.

The AC-GND-DC switches below the VOLTS/DIV knobs control the way the input voltage is coupled to
the vertical amplifiers. The GND or ground setting connects the input to the case ground which defines zero
volts. Use this setting when you start so you can position your trace. Once you have set the GND trace
position, then any voltage can be measured relative to that zero position. The DC or direct-current setting,
couples the input to the vertical amplifier directly so that any continuous voltage will appear as a continuous
offset of the trace relative to the GND zero position. The AC or alternating-current setting is a little more
complicated. This control places a big capacitor between the input and the vertical amplifier which
effectively removes and long-lasting voltage offset from the trace, which keeps the trace centered on the
GND zero position.

EXERCISES:

1. If you turn the VOLTS/DIV knob all of the way to the right, what is the reading at the 1X bracket (the
number isn't necessarily centered in the bracket)? HINT: the "m" means "milli" volt. (What about 10X?)

2. Turn your VOLTS/DIV knob to 5 (1X bracket). What is the maximum deflection (the maximum amount
of voltage) that can be displayed on the screen? In other words, if you had a signal that went from the
bottom of the screen to the top of the screen, how big (in volts) would that signal be?

3. Set the VOLTS/DIV knob to 50m (50 millivolts). What is the maximum deflection than can now be
displayed on the screen?

ANSWERS:
1. 5 mV; 50 mV
2. 40 V (5 Volts/DIV X 8 divisions in the graticule)
3. 400 mV (50 mV/DIV X 8 divisions in the graticule)

III. HORIZONTAL SECTION

The controls within this section operate in a similar manner to the VERTICAL section controls. The
horizontal controls, however, affect both channels at once. These control the time frame that is displayed on
the screen.

The MAG switch zooms in on a brief portion of the time display. You can use this to closely examine very
fast events that are captured with the storage function (described below). We will always use the X1 MAG
setting.

The POSITION knob is just like the vertical POSITION knob. Move this and observe the horizontal
movement of the traces.

The SEC/DIV (seconds per division) knob is divided into seconds (sec), milliseconds (ms) and microseconds
(s). It operates just like the VOLTS/DIV in the vertical section but in this case SEC/DIV controls the
amount of time it takes for the trace to sweep across each horizontal division of the graticule.

EXERCISES:

1. Set the MAG switch to X1. What should you set the SEC/DIV knob on in order to have a 50 ms trace
across the entire screen?

2. What is the maximum time that can be displayed on the screen? What is the fastest time a trace can
sweep across the scope?

ANSWERS:

1. The SEC/DIV knob should be set at 5 ms/DIV. (5 ms/DIV X 10 divisions = 50 ms)

2. 0.5 sec X 10 divisions on the graticule= 5 seconds. .1 ms X 10 divisions = 1 ms.

IV. TRIGGER SECTION

Look at the section marked TRIGGER. The concept of a trigger will be more obvious when we look at the
stimulator. For now, you need to know only the basics.

Put the SEC/DIV (in the horizontal section) switch on 0.5 sec. Now put the trigger MODE switch on P-P
AUTO (which stands for Peak-to-Peak AUTOmatic retrigger). Observe how the signal moves across the
screen taking 5 sec for each SWEEP across the screen. The trigger refers to a signal telling the oscilloscope
to begin a sweep. As you can see, in the P-P AUTO mode the sweep is automatically retriggered when it
reaches the right side of the screen so you get a continuous look at the voltage. In contrast, when the trigger
mode is set to NORM, the sweep is only triggered when a signal arrives at the SOURCE (bottom section of
the trigger panel). Ordinarily, we will be using an EXTernal trigger source signal coming from the
stimulator in the NORM mode to trigger sweeps during an experiment (more on this when we get to the
stimulator). But the P-P AUTO mode is also useful if we simply want to watch the voltage in a continuous
fashion.

If you are still confused about the trigger, don't worry - most everyone else is too. It should be more
obvious as we use the stimulator later.

V. STORAGE CONTROLS

At the top of the control panel there is a row of four buttons. These are the storage controls that give the
oscilloscope the ability to save traces for later reference. When the button is depressed the function listed
above the button is active. The STORE/NON-STORE button must be on in order to store a signal and for
the rest of the buttons to work. Depress this button. The SAVE/CONTINUE button essentially takes a
"snapshot" of the trace on the screen at the instant the button is depressed. This is good for when you want
to save a response long enough to prove to the instructor that you did it. Depress this button and then try to
move the VERTICAL POSITION knobs. The traces don't move. Now release this button and try to move
the traces. They will move now. The SAVE/REF/ERASE button SAVEs what is on the screen (at the
instant you depress the button) as a REFERENCE, then continues to superimpose subsequent traces on top
of the reference you just saved. Push this button and then move the VERTICAL POSITION knobs to get
an idea of how this function works. This is good for saving a baseline response (e.g. before you apply a
drug) and comparing subsequent (e.g., post-drug) responses. If you release the SAVE/REF button, you will
lose your stored reference trace. However, if instead of releasing the SAVE/REF button you press the
SAVE/CONTINUE button, you will save not only your reference trace, but also the subsequent
superimposed trace.

Now release all buttons except the STORE/NONSTORE button.

The PRE-TRIG switch, when 50% is selected, puts the trigger point in the middle of the screen. This allows
you to see what happens before the trigger (e.g., before the stimulus). When 0% is selected, the trigger
happens at the far left. Then you only see what happens after the trigger. This function will become more
apparent when we use a stimulator.

THE STIMULATOR
Notice the stimulator has a sticker which says, "DANGER - HIGH VOLTAGE." This means that although
you can hurt yourself with this machine, you really have to try hard to accomplish it.

Make sure the stimulator is plugged in and the power is OFF.

The stimulator provides an electrical source for classical nerve and muscle stimulation. For right now, we
will be using the stimulator to obtain a trace on the oscilloscope.

Notice that below each knob on the stimulator is a multiplier switch. The actual setting value of the knob is
the knob position TIMES the multiplier value (e.g. with the VOLTAGE knob set at 5 and the multiplier at
.1, the output amplitude equals .5 volts).

I. CONNECTING THE STIMULATOR TO THE OSCILLOSCOPE

You should have two coaxial cables to be used to hook up the stimulator. Each cable has a dual banana
plug (the red one with the two "posts" on it) and a BNC plug (the silver, cylindrical one).

First, we will hook up the trigger signal to the oscilloscope. Take one cable and connect the BNC end to the
bottom right EXT INPUT.

Now look at the banana plug end. Notice that on the side of the banana plug there is a little "tab" which
says GND. The "post" on this side of the banana plug is the ground post. On the left side of the stimulator
there are five posts, each one a different color. Connect the banana plug's ground post to the green post on
the stimulator, and the other banana plug post to the brown post on the stimulator. (Note: all you have to do
is plug the post into the receptacles which are spaced just right for the dual plugs to fit.)

Take your other coaxial cable and connect the dual banana plug to the two terminals directly underneath the
sign that says "DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE". The ground post of the banana plug should be in the black
(negative) post on the stimulator. Now take the BNC plug and connect it to the Channel 2 input post on the
oscilloscope. Channel 1 would be just as good, but we want to show you some special features that occur on
channel 2.

Now everything is properly hooked up. Make sure all of the knobs and magnitude switches on the
stimulator are fully COUNTERclockwise. Now that everything is turned all the way down you can turn on
the power to the stimulator. ALWAYS TURN EVERYTHING DOWN BEFORE YOU TURN ON THE
STIMULATOR TO AVOID SHOCK.

Switch the oscilloscope MODE switch to channel 2 and position the trace. In the trigger section of the
scope, set the mode switch to "NORM " and set both SOURCE switches to "EXT" (external) .

Turn the frequency on the stimulator to 10 pulses per second (PPS) and slowly turn the LEVEL knob in the
TRIGGER section of the scope until the trig'd ready light flashes on every time there is a stimulus. The
stimulator is now sending a signal to the scope telling it when to begin a sweep. Now is the time to set the
other scope switches. Set the SEC/DIV to 20ms. The source is only coming in through channel 2, therefore
channel 1 controls have no effect. Set the channel 2 VOLTS/DIV to 5 volts. Note: we are not using the
probes, so 1X should be used here. Set MODE switch to NORMal and set the AC/GND/DC to DC.

On the stimulator, set the following controls:

FREQUENCY to 10 pulses per second (PPS) [Note: remember the magnification switches.]
DELAY to 20 microseconds (all the way down). [Note that DELAY is in milliseconds]
DURATION TO 10 milliseconds.
VOLTS to 10 volts.

Set the stimulus switches to REGULAR and to REPEAT. The POLARITY switch should be set to
NORMAL and under OUTPUT, set to MONO.

Now the oscilloscope screen should look like this:

{see drawing on board}

Notice that two pulses are displayed on the screen. From what you learned about the oscilloscope, you
should know that each pulse is 10 volts and is of 10 ms duration.

Now move the FREQUENCY knob. By increasing the frequency you will have more pulses displayed on
the screen, because frequency represents PPS.

The scope is receiving two inputs from the stimulator. One is an "instruction" (the trigger signal) that tells
the scope when to initiate a sweep. The other input is the voltage pulse that is generated by the stimulator.
Changing the DELAY on the stimulator adjusts the time between the trigger signal and the voltage pulse.

The DURATION knob on the stimulator adjusts the amount of time that the pulse is delivered, i.e. how long
the pulse is.

The VOLTAGE knob varies the amplitude of the stimulus pulse.

Now fiddle with these knobs and observe how the signal on the scope changes.