Quote:
Originally Posted by TinCanAlley
I have a Tektronix 465M. No auto settings for the probe.
I've been thinking about the waveform. It's a 240V source, so the 5V/Div would be too low to show it and the 10x probe would make it 50V/Div and it would cover almost 5 divisions. What I got was way under that. I'm going to use the DMM to go all the way back to the boost diode and when I find the point it's 240V, I'm going to scope it. With a setting of 5V/Div and the probe in 10x, I should get a form that covers over 4 divisions, right?
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Where is your baseline set? Are you operating the scope AC or DC coupled?
Typically, for checking ripple on a power supply, you would operate AC coupled, so you only see the AC component of the signal, and ignore the DC. If you are running DC coupled, the baseline should rise a bit less than 5 divisions (250V) from zero, with ripple superimposed on it. You can do a quick sanity check with a DMM, by measuring the 240V supply twice, both in DCV range (should show ~240V), and in ACV (should show close to zero if no significant ripple is present).
From what you are telling us (5 V/div with a 10:1 probe and no auto priobe ranging), the scope is actually showing you 50V per division, or a waveform of ~75 Vpp. This is WAY too much noise on a supply rail, and would easily explain the jailbars.
You really need to learn how to use a scope effectively in order to get useful information from it. Take a couple hours and watch this GREAT YouTube training session:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZKMrzTGxLQ