Mikronome docs

How to use the Mikronome scope: getting started, step by step guides, and what every control does.

Get started

New to the scope? Start here, with or without a board.

Your first trace, with the demo boardSee a live signal in a minute, with no board and nothing to install.
Connect a boardTurn an Arduino, ESP32 or Raspberry Pi Pico into the scope's input, over USB.
Set up an Arduino UnoUpload the scope's sketch to an Arduino Uno and connect it.
Set up an ESP32 DevKitUpload the scope's sketch to an ESP32 DevKit and connect it.
Set up a Raspberry Pi Pico, C++Upload the scope's sketch to a Raspberry Pi Pico, C++ and connect it.
Set up a Raspberry Pi Pico, MicroPythonUpload the scope's sketch to a Raspberry Pi Pico, MicroPython and connect it.

Short steps for a particular job.

Measure a signal's frequency and sizeRead a signal's frequency, period and voltage in a few seconds.
Catch an event that happens onceFreeze a single button press, power-on or glitch on the screen.
Compare before and afterKeep one capture on screen and compare later ones against it.
Watch a measurement over minutes or hoursChart a frequency, voltage or duty cycle over time, and save the log.
Save your work for a lab reportKeep the data, a picture of the screen, and the measurements as a table.
See which frequencies a signal containsUse the spectrum to find a signal's frequencies, harmonics and noise.
Measure between two points with cursorsPlace two markers on the trace to measure a time, a frequency or a voltage difference.
Use the scope on a phoneWhat works on a phone, and how the screen is laid out.

Every control and readout: what it does, what it helps with, and its limits.

The screenWhat the screen shows, and what you can do on it with the pointer, a finger or the wheel.
AcquireRun, stop, take a single capture, or let the scope fit the signal for you.
Horizontal: time and sample rateHow much time the screen shows, and how often the board measures.
Vertical: volts, centre, coupling and filterHow big the trace is, where it sits, and how to scale, AC-couple or filter the signal.
TriggerHold a repeating signal still on the screen, and catch one-off events.
Display: time, split, spectrum or spectrogramChoose whether the screen shows the signal over time, its spectrum, or both.
Spectrum: span, axis, window, trace, markers, distortion, gate and levelZoom in on part of the spectrum, choose a linear or log frequency axis, a window and a trace mode, read it with markers, the peak table and the distortion figures, gate it to the cursors, and set the level scale and its unit.
MeasurementsWhat each automatic measurement means, and when to trust it.
Cursors, reference, trend and savingThe tools under the screen: measure between two points, compare, log over time, and save your work.
Demo signalChange the demo board's signal to explore the scope without hardware.
Boards, sketches and connectingChoosing a board, getting its sketch, and the safety rules for connecting a signal.
Keyboard shortcutsRun the scope from the keyboard, as you would from a bench scope's front panel.
Feedback and privacyHow to tell us what to build, and what the scope keeps about you.

The ideas behind the measurements, explained plainly.

Sampling and the fastest rateWhy a scope measures in steps, and what that means for the signals you can see.
What a trigger doesWhy traces jump about without a trigger, and how a trigger holds them still.
What a spectrum showsThe same signal seen by frequency instead of by time.
Accuracy and limits of each boardWhat each board can measure, and how finely.
SafetyProtect yourself and your board when connecting a signal.

When something does not work.

The board did not replyWhat to try when the scope cannot connect to a board, or the trace stops.
Browser supportWhich browsers can connect to a board, and what works everywhere.
The trace looks wrongA flat line, a jumping or half-empty trace, a wave at the wrong speed, or a shape that is not there.