Oscilloscope screen capture software

Description

This software acquires a screen capture from Tektronix TDS5XX, 6XX, and 7XX series oscilloscopes, via GPIB, allowing you to save the image to file. Ironically, the acquired image file is called a "hardcopy."

The software is offered as freeware.

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Downloads

The software is available as a win32 binary. Self-extracting installers are provided (7-Zip SFX).

• Required libraries:
• NI LabVIEW Runtime Environment 2013 SP1 f5 (32-bit)
• NI 488.2 14.0
• NI Serial Runtime 14.0
• NI VISA Runtime 14.0.1
If the above links go bad, try searching for each library by name. They should be available for free from National Instruments.

• Includes all libraries above.

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Requirements

• PC running Windows XP or newer
• The software libraries listed above must also be installed.
• Tektronix TDS 5XX, 6XX, or 7XX oscilloscope
• I have specifically used the software with models TDS540, TDS754A, TDS754D, TDS784C, and TDS784D.
• Supported GPIB adapter
• Supported models include all modern NI adapters (e.g., GPIB-USB-HS, GPIB-USB-B, ...) as well as certain other makes (e.g., Agilent) with appropriate VISA driver software installed.

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Tips

You can change the color palette and background color used for "hardcopy" images using the scope's front panel menus.

If your oscilloscope's address doesn't show up in the "VISA resource name" dropdown menu, then there is a problem with your hardware, or you are missing drivers. Open the NI-MAX program (included with VISA/488.2). The controller and oscilloscope should appear when you search for instruments. If they don't, make sure you have the correct drivers for your GPIB controller installed, then restart the computer.

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Thoughts

In the days of analog scopes, if a permanent record of the scope's display was required, a film camera was mounted in front of the screen to photograph the ephemeral luminescence of the CRT's phosphors. The result was a physical ("hard") copy of the scope's display. Digital scopes such as the TDSXXX series provide the remarkable ability to retain waveforms in volatile memory, and if a permanent record of the scope's display is required, it can be acquired digitally using the scope's "hardcopy" function. The result is a digital image file... which sounds more like a "soft" copy to me.