Data processing

Sources are modules that only generate data. The channels of instruments that are connected to the computer can be used as source, they generate the data that is measured by the hardware. The other source that is available is the software generator, which can create various signals from software that can be used in combination with measured signals.

Sinks are modules that only accept data. Typical sinks are e.g. graphs and meters, they accept data and display it. Other sinks are the disk writer, to store data to disk and the sound sink, to make data audible through the sound system of the computer.

I/Os are modules that accept data (Input), process this data in a specific way and then generate the processed data (Output). Data that is generated by an I/O can be used as input for a Sink or for another I/O. Multiple different I/Os can be chained to each other to perform a complex operation on the data. The Multi Channel oscilloscope software has many different I/Os to process data in a specific way. There are I/Os in several categories:

Basic math

These I/Os perform a basic mathematical operation on one or more signals:

I/O	Function
Gain / Offset	Apply gain and/or offset to a signal
Add / Subtract	Add or subtract up to 32 signals
Multiply / Divide	Multiply or divide up to 32 signals
SQRT	Calculate the square root of a signal
ABS	Determine the absolute value of a signal
Differentiate	Differentiate a signal
Integrate	Integrate a signal
Log	Calculate the logarithm of a signal

Filtering I/Os

These I/Os perform a filtering operation on a signal or consecutive signals:

I/O	Function
Filter	Fully configurable filter
Ideal Filter	Fully configurable Ideal filter
Signal cleaner	Remove noise and other distortions from periodical signals
Average	Outputs the average of n measurements

Adjusting I/Os

These I/Os perform an adjusting operation on a signal or consecutive signals:

I/O	Function
Deskew	Shift the input signal horizontally, in time
Slice	Ouputs a selectable slice of its input signal.
Limiter	Clip the input signal between a minimum and maximum limit
Comparator	Compare the input signal with a selectable reference level
Resampler	Changes record length and sampling frequency of an input
Window	Applies a window function to its input signal

Miscellaneous I/Os

These I/Os perform an other operation on a signal or consecutive signals:

I/O	Function
Min / Max detector	Peak detection with optional fall-off
Data collector	Appends small chunks of data to one big record
Reference	Holds a copy of a signal

Analyzing I/Os

These I/Os analyze the input data and extract specific information from it.

I/O	Function
Duty cycle	Determines duty cycle percentage
RMS	Determines RMS value(s) of the input signal
Maximum	Determines Maximum value(s) of the input signal
Maximum-Minimum	Determines Maximum - Minimum value(s) of the input signal
Minimum	Determines Minimum value(s) of the input signal
PhaseDifference	Determines phase difference between two input signals
FFT	Perform a Fast Fourier Transform (Spectrum analyzer)
EMI	Creates an environment that can be used for EMI pre-compliance testing.

Automotive I/Os

These I/Os perform automotive specific operations on the data.

I/O	Function
RPM	Converts a crankshaft sensor signal into Revolutions Per Minute
Crankshaft angle	Converts a crankshaft sensor signal into the crankshaft angle

Decoding I/Os

These I/Os decode serial communication data from the input data and present the decoded messages.

I/O	Function
Pulse decoder	Decodes the A and B signal from a quadrature encoder to position
I2C decoder	Decodes analog data on an I2C bus to I2C data.
UART / Serial Decoder	Decodes analog data on a serial bus (UART, RS232, RS458, Midi, DMX, LIN) to serial data.
CAN decoder	Decodes data on a CAN bus
J1939 decoder	Extracts SAE J1939 SPN values from CAN messages
SPI decoder	Decodes data on a SPI bus

All measurement setups in the Multi Channel oscilloscope software are built from one or more sources, I/Os and sinks. These are simply connected to each other by dragging and dropping. Multiple I/Os can be used to form complex mathematical operations.

In the image above, three I/Os are used to determine the area that is enclosed by two signals in XY mode.