Jim Kobylecky, Writer & Producer

Okay, it's not really an article--more of a useful ad. It is typical of the semi-articles I've written for company magazines and web sites. My goal, naturally, is to deliver the company's message while making it worth the reader's time. Although I still like the piece, I also think it is showing its "age." The basic writing isn't bad, but the piece needs to be broken up. Lively heads would help; the safety rule might be in a side bar. We're shifting quickly from an audience of "readers" to an audience of "glancers." We need to serve both.

A Safety First The P5200 High Voltage Differential Probe provides safety in the hazardous world of power measurement.

How do you make floating measurements on lines too hot for your old oscilloscope and probe? How do you check out devices without reliable circuit diagrams? Too often the answer has been to "float" the test equipment by cutting it off from ground. It's an inaccurate and potentially fatal practice that defeats all the safeguards that the instrument manufacturers build in. Yet power measurements are often made in environments which demand quick diagnosis and repair, making unsafe compromises a constant temptation.

That's why Tektronix developed its new P5200 High Voltage Differential Probe. It reduces the danger by letting you measure floating circuits safely and accurately while keeping your TDS 400A or other scope correctly grounded. The P5200 converts floating signals to safe and easily displayed, low-voltage, ground-referenced signals, allowing you to measure virtually any line connected voltage.

Since the P5200 can safely acquire up to 1300 volts differentially, it's ideal for measuring fast dV/dt relationships in switching power devices, such as IGBTs, power MOSFETs, thyristors, GTO, and bipolar transistors. Its 25 MHz bandwidth and CMRR of up to 80 dB allow the P5200 to clearly depict the high speed transitions of a switching waveform.

The P5200 further enhances safety simply by being easy and convenient to use. It protects the user from shorting any circuits or test equipment to ground., Both input leads are high impedance with a low parasitic capacitance to ground, protecting the device under test from damage.

The P5200 and a rugged TDS 400A scope make an effective combination for power measurements. Up to four channels are available to acquire line voltage and current waveforms simultaneously and to display their relationships. Built in options, such as the TDS 400A's optional FFT and advanced math, can define the harmonic distortion of power line signals and transfer the information to a floppy disk.

Concentrate on the measurement-not the risk. Investigate the power measurement advantage of the TDS 400A Series and the P5200.

(Yes, I know. Was that "call to action" really relevant? The rules keep changing. Sometimes I can't tell if I'm riding the wave or under it.)

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