One of Denmark's leading technical educational establishments is using portable oscilloscopes from Tektronix as a key tool in training the next generation of electronis engineers
Handels- og Ingeniorhojskolen (HIH) - the Herning Institute of Business Administration and Technology - has purchased a number of TDS210 digital storage oscilloscopes for use throughout its electronics courses.
Post-graduate students are also using the instruments for data acquisition and recording applications on a number of research projects, including some being carried out in collaboration with local industries.
The Tektronix TDS200 Series, currently the company's best-selling oscilloscope, has proved highly popular in educational establishments because of its high performance linked with ease of use in a compact, portable package.
A key to its successful usage in the Herning Institute is the RS232/GPIB communications interface capabilities, which allow captured waveforms to be downloaded to a PC.
Students find this facility particularly attractive for incorporating project material into word-processor documents or spreadsheets.
The 60MHz bandwidth and 1GS/s sampling rate offer enough performance for the most demanding laboratory experiments, while the instruments' built-in 'auto setup' function is a great benefit to the inexperienced user.
Students at the institute follow a general electronics course, but can specialise in particular areas including power electronics and communications.
A current project in which the Tektronix instruments are being used involves a self-guided model car which the students have to design and build from scratch.
This involves a number of different skills and technologies, including power electronics and drive technology to operate the motor and steering, embedded controllers to provide guidance, and GPS systems which provide the information on location and direction. Steen Mortensen, lecturer in electrotechnology, is highly delighted with the college's investment in Tektronix equipment, and is looking to invest in more powerful oscilloscopes for research work in the future: 'Our students take instantly to the Tektronix products', he comments: 'and their ability to download test results into documents means that they can produce project reports of which they can be proud.'
