Electronic – Does “50Mhz Oscilloscope” mean that it can plot up to only 50Mhz frequencies or its bandwith is 50Mhz

oscilloscope

I couldn't find it in the books. I mean the fixed freq. value on the oscilloscope.

Best Answer

I'm not sure what the distinction is between the two choices in your question, but the real answer is that the gain of the amplifier(s) inside the scope is "flat" up to that frequency. In other words, the voltage measurements you make on the screen will be "accurate" up to that frequency. Above that frequency, the values will appear smaller than they actually are.

But the truth is that the specified frequency is usually the "-3 dB" point of the gain curve, which means that measurements at that frequency are already off by 30% — the waveform is only 0.707× the height that it should be. If you want more accurate measurements, you need to look for the -1 dB frequency (10% accuracy) or even the -0.1 dB frequency (1% accuracy).

But in most cases, you're not really making precision measurements with a scope; instead, you're looking for qualitative changes in the waveforms, etc. As long as you're generally within the specified bandwidth, you should be good to go.