Customer-Driven Improvements in the New 5 Series B MSO Deliver an Even Better User Experience and More Capabilities 

Oscilloscopes are among the most important tools in the electronics industry.  So, it’s not surprising that the choice of a specific oscilloscope by an engineer can be a deeply personal matter.  And engineers, by their nature, are full of ideas for improvement. Since the release of the 5 Series MSO, we’ve gratefully received feedback from users that has allowed us to build and release 16 firmware enhancements (so far), and now an updated hardware platform.

The original 5 Series MSO, with its big high-definition touchscreen, intuitive controls, 12-bit ADCs and high channel-count, debuted in 2017 and revolutionized engineers' expectations of oscilloscopes.

 

“My colleagues in the Siemens lab are impressed by how simple it is to use the 5 Series MSO,” says Stefan. "Everything can be found without much explanation and feels comfortable to use." 

Stefan Grönbeck of Siemens Digital Industries, Germany

 

Engineers around the world rely on the scope’s high-fidelity waveforms, unique spectrum analysis capabilities and flexible signal access. Since the release of the original 5 Series, there have been 16 firmware updates, each of which has added capabilities that collectively deepen the instrument’s measurement applications in areas like serial protocol decoding, motor drive analysis and RF spectrum analysis.

 

“The MSO58 8 channel oscilloscope has meaningfully expanded our laboratory capabilities. We can now analyze three-phase motor drives and multiphase power electronic systems, as well as characterize individual power transistors and the circuits they go into. This permits us to fully characterize and validate our designs.”

Dr. Matthias Preindl - Professor of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University, USA

 

Today’s new B version represents the first significant change in the 5 Series MSO hardware.  It builds on the performance and integrity of the original platform and includes carefully considered updates driven by conversations with engineering professionals in the government, automotive, industrial, medical, semiconductor and consumer industries who see a changing landscape ahead.

 

To address these needs, the B version of the 5 Series MSO includes:

• A user interface designed for touch, drag and swipe actions and an improved 15.6-inch HD display provide more clarity, showcasing the impressive waveform detail captured by the 12-bit ADCs. It’s now even easier to see your signal behavior at a glance.

• A new auxiliary trigger input that lets users synchronize the oscilloscope to an external signal without consuming any of the four, six or eight full-capability input channels.

• 2x faster waveforms from the optional built-in function generator for frequency response analysis and general-purpose use, enabling higher frequency stimulus for measurements such as Bode plots and impedance measurements.

• TekScope^TM and TekDrive for offline analysis and cloud data storage that enables analysis of oscilloscope waveform data anywhere, without tying up the oscilloscope. Controls are built into the scope to enable data to be saved in cloud storage locationss with a single button press, allowing teams to work and collaborate almost anywhere in the world.

• Low-loading passive probes with bandwidth up to 1 GHz and support for a wide range of probes, such as current, differential, power rail and optically isolated probes, eliminating common-mode interference using optical isolation. Flexible probing options ensure that the 5 Series B can adapt to whatever systems and signals you are trying to measure.

• History Mode, which leverages the 5 Series MSO B’s extended memory, allowing users to capture thousands of triggered events and easily review, measure and compare how results vary from one acquisition to the next.

• The Solid-State Drive System ensures that all user data is stored on a removable drive—a critical capability for secure labs where data control and integrity is mission-critical.

 

At Tektronix, incorporating customer feedback is one of the most rewarding ways we take our products to the next level, and we are proud of the enhancements and updates to the 5 Series. For the engineer pushing the boundaries of electronic design, the upgraded 5 Series B MSO will serve your needs now and down the road, helping you go beyond your current limits. The 5 Series B MSO is shipping now. 

To get more information and learn how the 5 Series B MSO could benefit you and your work, please visit tek.com/5SeriesMSO.