Remember those old “The Twilight Zone” TV show episodes where they had a TV monitor with wavelength signals? They used one of the first modern oscilloscopes, pretty good for the black and white days of television.
What that gadget did was measure the power of electricity basically as it comes at various signal strengths. This is necessary to test and measure the equipment to ensure that it is operating at peak efficiency. Too much or too little juice can cause a catastrophe in some lines of work. So the o-scope is used to tell precisely what the signal is doing and where it is coming from and also how to adjust it correctly.
Now, I want to go in another direction here and talk about ghosts. What am I addressing? Well, have you ever seen one of those ghost hunting shows on TV recently? It is important because this is the exact type of equipment that is used to find if there is any ghost activity. Oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers can read if there is any unusual electrical activity in the room through an RF signal to the spectrum analyzer and find the wavelength signal through the o-scope, usually a portable version.
It’s important to take note of this, even if you don’t believe in ghosts or the paranormal, because this kind of spectral analysis makes it look like, even if it’s all smoke and mirrors made for TV entertainment. But you never know … Is it possible that these RF oscilloscopes or can really pick up electrical wavelengths from the recently deceased? Sounds like something out of a Halloween novel, right?
That’s just one example of the weird things these ridiculously expensive test kits can be used for. Also seen in the movie “White Noise” with Michael Keaton. Yes, those were oscilloscopes that he was using to find his dead wife or son, I don’t remember which one, but I do remember that wall of monitors and equipment very well, even if the movie was shit.
So let’s get back to oscilloscopes and what they can do. The most important thing they can do and the reason they cost so much is their reliability and accuracy. That is what you are paying for is the precision that is the deciding factor in the final result of the test and measurement. However, you need to understand that this type of equipment needs routine maintenance just like an exotic sports car. Things need to be adjusted and kept sharp for the next test, always.
When I was in university, the professor did an accuracy test with 3 different types of oscilloscopes, one was in his 20s and one was new, while the other was a handheld device that used a USB connection and was connected directly to his MacBook Pro. The test was to see how accurate these three were together. Note that the older one just had a tune-up to be ready to go, as did the newer ones.
What we discovered was very interesting. Not only did all three perform with zero probability and were absolutely accurate, but the real catch was that this test showed just how good an o-scope can be in so many ways. New to old on the USB handheld. Now of course the Apple computer was the top of the line MacBook with the correct software installed for this test. All three were practically perfect in the eyes of the test subjects’ analysis.