For iOS device owners that mess around with electronics, Oscium recently announced the release of the iMSO-104 mixed signal oscilloscope for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. The hardware, which connects via the dock connector, doesn’t ship until the end of April, but you can download the iMSO app from the App Store now and try it out in demo mode. And if you’re unfamiliar with oscilloscopes, this primer by MAKE’s own Collin Cunningham is the perfect place to start. [via Engadget]
60 thoughts on “Turn Your iOS Device into an Oscilloscope”
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I now think an iPad is in my future.
I think an iPad is inevitable for me. Every day that goes by it gets just a little harder to resist. Maybe when my hackintosh netbook eventually craps out on me.
This is a toy. If you want and oscope, but a real one…
Agreed..a toy, just like the iPad.
I would hesitate to call, it a toy, but the limited bandwidth (5MHz) seriously limits its usefulness.
The iPad is a natural for the user interface. Pinch zoom for amplitude and frequency are seriously cool. There’s a lot of potential here.
That bandwidth is sufficient for checking sensor signals and voltages under the hood of a car, but I wouldn’t want the fan blade to hit it…
it’s not even a toy, it is an excuse to get an ipad
I have a real scope, a 4-channel 60MHz space heater, and it’s a PITA to drag it to the basement where my CNC machines are, or to a friend’s place to look at something. As a result, I only haul it out when I really need it. This gizmo is overpriced, but love the idea of a very small, portable mixed-signal rig like this. Most hobbyist work, particularly basic debugging, working with sensors, etc., probably doesn’t even require 500KHz to see what’s going on.
How about a DSO Quad?
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/preorder-dso-quad-beta-test-p-736.html?cPath=174
How about a DSO Quad?
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/preorder-dso-quad-beta-test-p-736.html?cPath=174
Yes, that’s an interesting piece. I’ll get more excited when they start shipping non-beta units.
What really irritates me is that Rigol sells their 1052D scope which has 2x50MHz analog and 16(!) digital channels for around $500 in China, while here in the US you can’t get it for much less than $900. You used to be able to get them for the domestic price from some of the direct-from-China sites but Rigol seems to have cut them all off. eBay China has them, but if I’m going to gamble $500, I want cocktail waitresses bringing me free drinks while I do it…
Cool, but how about for the more open and maker friendly Android OS?
Yes! an android version that works with a rooted Nook!
I do a fair amount of utility field work that requires a recording analyzer, if this thing had 3 analog channels instead of the one I’d be sold.
Does it pass the data into the iDevice through a serial connection or the microphone port?
The data passes through the 30-pin dock connector (same place you charge the device).
I like the concept. $297 for a single trace 5Mhz, 12MSPS capability is very expensive. Plus the probe connector is proprietary.
i wouldn’t buy it but i love the idea of adding external extra hardware functions to the ipad.
This is really cool. However I do agree that for 5 Mhz at $300 its a bit of a novelty. Love the idea however. But I think that if you are ok with sub 5Mhz then its a pretty cool little device. :)
That does look lovely (albeit a bit expensive).
A possible alternative might be the Seeed Studio DSO Nano:
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10244
I have one, and it is cheap, tiny, and wonderful. Not quite so much bandwidth, and a small non-touch screen, but it does its job very well.
I’m tempted by their next model, currently in beta:
http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/preorder-dso-quad-beta-test-p-736.html?cPath=174
which has two analogue channels at 72MHz
Very nice, but $300? Too high by half for what it does. The DSO Quad was pre-sold at $200, and it’s a complete instrument with grossly similar specs. The iPad UI is an awesome idea, but the hardware is overpriced.
$300 for this is ridiculous. You can get a *real*, self-contained digital oscilloscope that goes to 25MHz for $350, e.g. the Instek GDS-1022: http://www.tequipment.net/InstekGDS-1022.html
If you want portability, the SeedStudio DSO Quad at $200 is a much better deal: http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/preorder-dso-quad-beta-test-p-736.html?cPath=174
If there were an Android version, and if it were less than $100, I might buy one.
The wires to the probes look too short. If i were to use this (and i’m probably not) i would want the Ipad in some kind of stand, and then the wires to the probes would be too short.
As my wife is the owner of the iPad in our house,
I doubt if she’d let me use hers for this…
But I LIKE it!
5MHz???? You can have a 20MHz PC-based Logic Analyzer only for 59EUR here : http://ikalogicstore.com/
Wow that’s absolutely amazing and I don’t even know what an oscilloscope is! But it looks pretty hardcore like something you’d see at a hospital. The things people come up with these days, just amazing.
Wow that’s absolutely amazing and I don’t even know what an oscilloscope is! But it looks pretty hardcore like something you’d see at a hospital. The things people come up with these days, just amazing.
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Wow, It’s really a high-tech products.
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