Hey everyone, I'm trying to figure out if it is safe to use my new scope to work on this generator I am repairing.
The specs for the scope say: Maximum input voltage of the analog channel CAT I 300 Vrms, CAT II 100 Vrms, transient overvoltage 1000 Vpk With RP2200 10:1 probe: CAT II 300 Vrms Probe specs are similar with CAT I 300 Vrms in 10x mode. I'm guessing that the generator doesn't ever make over 1000V spikes for very long. It's normal output is 0 - 260V depending on generator speed and right now it is rotating slow (under 100V). Is there a safe way to try and see the wave forms being made on the generator without damaging my scope? Right now I was thinking about taking these steps: 1) Start engine with nothing connected and let it stabilize. 2) Connect up cheap ($10) DMM and verify output voltage isn't higher than 300V. (Figure it the cheap DMM will show higher than a true RMS voltage, plus if it dies that isn't a big deal) 3) If all is looking well then connect up the scope using 10x mode and see what I get. On another note, I thought I would mention that it appears that the probes that came with my new Rigol scope appear to be mislabeled. It looks like my probes 1x - 10x switch is backwards. I just tested my DC bench power supply and found that the measurements with the switch in the 1x position were 10 times higher than they should have been, while the 10x position was close to accurate (not sure if the scope or power supply is off, guessing power supply). I'll also mention that testing measurements of waves moving from one positive voltage to another positive voltage that I can't see any noise at all. So apparently the noise seen the other night is only when measuring between ground reference level and another level. Or maybe I'm not doing something right. Sova
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