Cursor Functions Area

Image of Cursor Functions Area
The cursor area is set up for measurement of data points in the trace, delta measurements and parameteric  measurements.  Another related function is comparing trace differences by plotting two traces in different colors.

The last item is a serial port text box Command Echo that is only visible when Echo On is enabled.
The Sample Point spin edit box is used to set which data point (0 to 255) Collector Voltage VC and Collector Current IC values are displayed. The curve for the data point is the current trace identified by Sweep Step and Trace No. The location of the Sample Point on the plotted trace can be observed by checking Cursor. A small circle will appear on the trace line at the Sample Point.

A reference point can be designated, at the current cursor locaton, by clicking Mark. This data is stored in Ref. V and Ref. I. Delta measurements DV and DI are made with respect to the cursor data and the reference data. The cursor can be on a separate Sample Point or even on a different trace. Both the reference point and cursor sample point are used in calculating trace parameter values.

Comparison between two traces or two parts is useful when trying to identify degradation or damage. Also, it is useful for matching two parts. There are two modes for comparison: to Trace and to Part. The to Trace function uses the plus and minus spin edit buttons to choose the comparison trace. Plus is equivalent to Sweep Step and minus is equivalent to Trace No. to Trace selects the comparison trace from the current part under test. to Part selects the trace from a part stored in a comparison buffer and the trace is the same as selected with Sweep Step and Trace No.  Move data from a good know part into the comparison buffer by clicking Swap. This will exchange the compare buffer traces with the displayed part traces.

The comparison trace is plotted in red and the current part trace is plotted in green. The colors are combined on the plot so a matched trace appears yellow.

The list box in the upper right of the cursor area selects the type of parameter to calculate from the trace data. Follow the instructions and click on the parameter in the list box to calculate the value. If the Update With Sweep box is checked, the active list box parameter will recalculate each time a Run Sweep is initiated.
Pressing the Zero button will zero the lead capacitance or the lead resistance depending of the selected list box item. To clear the Zero value, hold the shift key then click on the Zero button.

Main