HANTEK HRDO4254E (01) PDF Document

To ensure safe operation of the HANTEK HRDO4254E oscilloscope and avoid injury or damage, please adhere to the following precautions:

• Only professionally authorized personnel should perform repairs.

• Use only the power cable approved for the country of use.

• Connect the probe to the oscilloscope first before connecting it to the circuit being measured. When disconnecting, disconnect the probe from the circuit under test first, then from the oscilloscope.

• Ensure the product is properly grounded through the power cable’s grounding conductor to avoid electric shocks.

• The ground wire of the probe is at ground potential. Do not connect the ground wire to high voltage.

• Before connecting the product, check all rating values and signs to avoid fire or excessive current.

• Do not operate the product with its cover or panel open.

• Avoid touching exposed connectors and components when the power is switched on.

• If you suspect the product is damaged or faulty, have it checked by qualified maintenance personnel.

• Maintain proper ventilation and ensure at least 10 cm of clearance around the instrument.

• Do not operate in a humid, inflammable, or explosive environment.

• Keep the product surface clean and dry.

Care:

Do not expose the LCD to direct sunlight for a long time when storing or placing the oscilloscope.

Cleaning:

To clean the outer surface of the HANTEK HRDO4254E and its probes, follow these steps:

1. Use a lint-free cloth to remove dust from the outside of the oscilloscope and probe. Be careful not to scratch the display filter.

2. Clean the oscilloscope with a soft cloth soaked in water. For a more thorough cleaning, you can use an aqueous solution of 75% isopropyl alcohol.

Note: To avoid damaging the surface of the oscilloscope or probe, do not use any corrosive or chemical cleaning reagents.

Warning: Before powering on the device again, ensure it is completely dry to prevent electrical short circuits or personal injury from moisture.

After receiving your HANTEK HRDO4254E oscilloscope, please perform the following checks:

1. Check the shipping package: Inspect for any damage caused by transportation. If the packaging cartons or protective foam are seriously damaged, keep them until the machine and accessories pass electrical and mechanical testing.

2. Check the accessories: Verify that all accessories listed in Appendix A of the user manual are present and undamaged. If anything is missing or damaged, contact your dealer.

3. Check the machine: Inspect the instrument for any physical damage. If it appears damaged, does not work properly, or fails its performance test, contact your dealer.

Follow these steps to set up your HANTEK HRDO4254E for the first time:

1. Adjust the Supporting Legs: Adjust the bracket at the bottom of the machine to tilt the oscilloscope slightly upwards for better placement stability and easier observation.

2. Connect to AC Power: Use the provided power cord to connect the oscilloscope to a power supply with specifications of 47-440Hz, 90-264VAC/127-320VDC, 80Watts MAX. Ensure the instrument is correctly grounded.

3. Turn-on Checkout: Press the power button on the lower left of the front panel. The oscilloscope will perform a series of self-checks, and then the startup screen will appear.

4. Function Inspection:

• Click on [Default Setup] to restore the oscilloscope to its factory settings.

• Connect the grounding crocodile clamp of the probe to the grounding terminal on the front panel.

• Connect the probe to the input terminal of channel 1 (CH1) and the compensation signal output terminal.

• Set the probe attenuation ratio to X10 and click the [Auto Scale] button.

• Observe the waveform on the screen. A normal square wave signal should be displayed.

• Repeat this check for channels CH2, CH3, and CH4.

When connecting a probe to any input channel for the first time, you must perform this adjustment to match the probe with the channel. An uncompensated probe can lead to measurement errors.

1. Perform the first four steps of the “Function Inspection” procedure (connect the probe to CH1 and the compensation signal, set attenuation to 10X, and press Auto Scale).

2. Compare the displayed waveform with the standard compensation waveforms:

• Perfectly compensated: The square wave has a flat top.

• Over compensated: The top of the square wave overshoots.

• Under compensated: The top of the square wave is rounded.

3. If the waveform is not perfectly compensated, use a non-metallic screwdriver to adjust the variable capacitance on the probe until the waveform on the screen is perfectly compensated (flat top).

The horizontal control section on the front panel of the HANTEK HRDO4254E includes the following functions:

• Search: Press this key to enter the search settings menu, which allows you to find specific events in the collected data based on set criteria.

• Zoom: Press this key to turn the delayed scanning (zoom) function on or off, allowing for detailed viewing of a portion of the waveform.

• Horizontal Time Base Knob: Rotate this knob to change the horizontal time base (time per division). Clockwise decreases the time base (zooms in), and counter-clockwise increases it (zooms out). Press the knob to switch between “Coarse” and “Fine” adjustment modes.

• Horizontal Position Knob: Rotate this knob to adjust the horizontal position of the waveform, moving the trigger point left or right relative to the center of the screen. Press the knob to reset the horizontal position to zero.

• Navigation Control Keys: This key combination is used for recording and playback navigation, time navigation, and event navigation.

The vertical controls for the HANTEK HRDO4254E allow you to manage the analog input channels:

• CH1, CH2, CH3, and CH4 Channel Switches: Press these buttons to turn the corresponding channel on or off. The color of the button and the on-screen waveform will match.

• Channel Vertical Offset Knob: For the selected channel, rotate this knob to move the waveform up or down (adjust the vertical offset). Clockwise increases the offset, and counter-clockwise decreases it. Press the knob to reset the vertical offset to zero.

• Channel Vertical Gear (Scale) Knob: For the selected channel, rotate this knob to change the vertical scale (volts per division). Clockwise decreases the scale (zooms in vertically), and counter-clockwise increases it (zooms out vertically). Press the knob to switch between “coarse adjustment” and “fine adjustment” modes.

The trigger control system helps to stabilize the waveform display. Its functions are:

• Trigger Knob: Rotate to adjust the trigger level up or down. Clockwise increases the level, and counter-clockwise decreases it. The trigger level value is shown in the upper right of the screen. Press the knob to quickly set the trigger level to 50% of the waveform’s peak value.

• Trig Menu: Press this button to open the main trigger operation menu on the screen.

• Force Trig: Press this key to force the oscilloscope to generate a trigger signal, regardless of the trigger conditions.

• Mode: Press this key to switch the trigger mode between Auto, Normal, and Single.

The HANTEK HRDO4254E features a multi-touch capacitive screen that supports several gestures:

1. Tap: Tap a menu, icon, or on-screen button with one finger to operate it. This can be used to open menus, set parameters using the pop-up numeric keyboard, or close pop-up windows.

2. Drag: Press and hold a target (like a waveform or a window), then drag it to the desired position. This can be used to change a waveform’s displacement/offset or move a window.

3. Pinch & Stretch: Use two fingers to pinch together or spread apart. Pinching zooms out (reduces the waveform size), and stretching zooms in (enlarges the waveform). This can be used to adjust the vertical or horizontal scale of the waveform.

4. Rectangle Drawing: Click the [Hantek] icon, then click AreaSel to enable rectangular drawing mode. Drag your finger across the screen to draw a rectangle over a waveform area. A pop-up menu will appear, allowing you to select functions like “Histogram”, “Enlarge Level” (horizontal zoom), “Enlarge Vertical” (vertical zoom), or “Enlarge Waveform” (both horizontal and vertical zoom).

You can enable or disable an analog channel (e.g., CH1) on your HANTEK HRDO4254E using the following methods:

To Enable a Channel:

• Press the corresponding channel button on the front panel (e.g., [CH1]). The button and the channel knob will light up.

• Alternatively, click on the channel status label at the bottom of the screen. The label and the corresponding front panel button will light up.

To Disable a Channel:

• If the channel you want to close is currently selected, press its front panel button once to close it.

• If the channel is open but not selected, press its button once to select it, and then press it again to close it.

• Use the touch screen to click on the channel number in the menu at the bottom of the screen to close it.

To Adjust the Vertical Scale (Volts/Div):

1. Using the Knob: Rotate the vertical gear knob corresponding to the channel (e.g., CH1) to adjust the vertical scale. Rotating clockwise decreases the scale (zooms in), and counter-clockwise increases it (zooms out).

2. Using the Touch Screen: Click on the channel menu at the bottom of the screen to open a pop-up menu where you can set the vertical scale directly.

To Adjust the Vertical Offset:

1. Using the Knob: Rotate the vertical offset knob in the button area to move the waveform up or down on the screen. Pressing the knob resets the offset to zero.

2. Using the Touch Screen: You can adjust the vertical offset by dragging the waveform up or down with your finger. Alternatively, click the channel menu at the bottom of the screen and set the offset value in the pop-up menu.

The HANTEK HRDO4254E offers three channel coupling methods to filter unwanted signals. To set the coupling, open the vertical menu for the desired channel and click on the Coupling menu.

• DC (Direct Current): Both the DC and AC components of the measured signal are allowed to pass through. This is the default setting.

• AC (Alternating Current): The DC component of the measured signal is blocked, and only the AC component passes through.

• GND (Ground): Both DC and AC components are blocked, effectively disconnecting the input signal and displaying a zero-volt reference line.

After setting the coupling method, the corresponding symbol will be displayed in the channel label at the bottom of the screen.

To select a timebase mode on your HANTEK HRDO4254E, press the [Acquire] button and click on the Timebase Mode menu.

• YT Mode: This is the standard mode where the Y-axis represents voltage and the X-axis represents time. When the horizontal time base is set to 100 ms/div or slower, the oscilloscope enters a scanning mode to display low-frequency signals.

• XY Mode: In this mode, both the X-axis and Y-axis represent voltage, which is useful for displaying Lissajous patterns to measure phase differences between two signals of the same frequency. The X-axis voltage is typically from CH1 and the Y-axis from CH2.

• ROLL Mode: This mode is for observing very slow signals. The waveform scrolls from right to left across the screen. The adjustable range for the horizontal gear is 50ms to 1 ks. Certain functions like horizontal displacement adjustment (while running), delay scan, and protocol decoding are not available in ROLL mode.

To select an acquisition mode on the HANTEK HRDO4254E, press the [Acquire] button and click on the Acquisition method menu. The available modes are:

• Normal: This is the default mode. The oscilloscope samples the signal at equal time intervals to reconstruct the waveform. It provides the best display for most waveforms.

• Average: The oscilloscope averages multiple sampled waveforms to reduce random noise and improve vertical resolution. You can set the number of averages from 2 to 1024. A higher number of averages reduces noise more but slows the waveform update rate.

• Peak: The oscilloscope captures the maximum and minimum values of the signal within each sampling interval. This mode is useful for capturing narrow pulses or glitches that might be missed in Normal mode and helps to avoid aliasing.

• High Resolution: This mode uses a supersampling technique to average adjacent points of a single sampled waveform. It reduces random noise and produces a smoother waveform on the screen, particularly useful when the sampling rate is higher than the storage rate of the acquisition memory.

Trigger Mode:

The trigger mode determines how the oscilloscope acquires a waveform. You can select it by pressing the Mode key in the trigger control section or via the on-screen trigger menu.

• Auto mode: The oscilloscope acquires a waveform even without a valid trigger. If a trigger occurs, it displays a triggered waveform; if not, it auto-triggers to show an untriggered, free-running waveform. This is useful for seeing a signal quickly.

• Normal mode: The oscilloscope only updates the display when a valid trigger condition is met. If no trigger occurs, the display remains unchanged, showing the last acquired waveform. Use this mode to view only specifically triggered events.

• Single mode: The oscilloscope waits for a valid trigger, acquires one waveform, and then stops. You must press the [Single] button again to acquire another waveform.

Trigger Holdoff:

Trigger holdoff sets a period of time after a trigger during which the oscilloscope will not accept another trigger. This is useful for stabilizing the display of complex or periodic waveforms that have multiple valid trigger points within one cycle (like pulse trains).

To set the holdoff time:

1. Press the [Trig Menu] button.

2. Click on the Holdoff menu label.

3. Rotate the multi-functional knob V0 or use the pop-up numeric keyboard to set the desired holdoff time. The adjustable range is from 8ns to 10s.

The Edge trigger is the most common trigger type. It occurs when the input signal crosses a specified voltage level in a specified direction. To set it up on the HANTEK HRDO4254E:

1. Type: Press the [Trig Menu] button. In the menu, click the Type label and select “Edge”.

2. Source: Click the Source menu tab to select the input channel to use for the trigger (e.g., CH1, CH2, EXT, etc.).

3. Slope Type: Click the Slope Type menu label and select the edge direction:

• Rising: Triggers on the rising edge of the signal.

• Falling: Triggers on the falling edge of the signal.

• Either: Triggers on both rising and falling edges.

4. Trigger Level: Adjust the Trigger Knob on the front panel to set the voltage level that the signal must cross to cause a trigger.

5. Holdoff: If needed, click the Holdoff menu tab to set a holdoff time to stabilize the display of complex waveforms.

The HANTEK HRDO4254E can perform real-time mathematical operations on waveform data. To set up an arithmetic operation:

1. Press the [Math] button on the front panel to open the mathematical operation menu.

2. Operator: Click on the Operator menu tab and select the desired algebraic operation: A+B (Addition), A-B (Subtraction), A*B (Multiplication), or A/B (Division).

3. Source A and Source B: Click on the Source A and Source B menu tabs to select the source channels for the operation (e.g., CH1, CH2, CH3, CH4, or a REF waveform).

4. Operation: Click the Operation menu tab to turn the math function display on or off.

5. Adjust Display: Use the on-screen menu options for Scale and Offset to adjust the vertical display of the resulting math waveform. You can also use the AutoSetting button within the math menu to automatically adjust the display.

The FFT function on the HANTEK HRDO4254E converts a time-domain signal into its frequency components. To use it:

1. Press the [Math] button and select FFT from the Operator menu.

2. Source: Select the channel (CH1, CH2, CH3, or CH4) you want to analyze.

3. X frequency range: Set the frequency range for the display. You can define it by setting the Span and Center frequency or by setting the Start and End frequency.

4. Scale and Offset: Adjust the vertical scale (in dBm, dBV, or Vrms) and offset to properly view the frequency spectrum.

5. Window: Select an FFT window function (e.g., Rectangular, Hanning, Hamming, Blackman-Harris) to reduce spectral leakage. The choice of window depends on the signal being analyzed.

6. Peak Search: Turn on the Peak Search function to automatically find and mark the peaks in the frequency spectrum. You can set the number of peaks to find and the threshold for detection.

The HANTEK HRDO4254E can automatically measure various waveform parameters. To add measurements:

1. Press the [Meas] button to enter the measurement menu.

2. Select Add. A menu with measurement parameters will appear.

3. Measurement Category: Choose a category: Horizontal (time-related parameters like Frequency, Period, Rise Time), Vertical (voltage-related parameters like VMax, VMin, Vp-p), or Other (parameters like delay and phase).

4. Select the specific measurement you want to add from the on-screen buttons (e.g., Freq, Period, VMax).

5. Source: Select the source channel for the measurement (e.g., CH1).

Once added, the measurement results will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. You can add multiple measurements simultaneously. To view all parameters for a source at once, select All Measure from the main measurement menu.

Cursors are markers you can move to take precise measurements on a waveform. The HANTEK HRDO4254E has two cursor modes: Manual and Tracking.

1. Press the [Cursors] button to open the cursor menu.

2. In the Mode menu, select Manual or Tracking.

3. In the Select menu, choose the cursor type:

• X Cursors: Two vertical lines to measure time or frequency differences (ΔX).

• Y Cursors: Two horizontal lines to measure voltage differences (ΔY).

4. Source: Select the channel you want to measure.

5. Adjust the cursors:

• Use the on-screen menu tabs for AX/AY (Cursor A) and BX/BY (Cursor B) and rotate the V0 knob to move each cursor individually.

• Use the AXBX/AYBY tab to move both cursors together.

The measurement results (cursor positions and the difference between them) are displayed in the cursor measurement window on the screen.

You can save a waveform from any channel and display it as a static reference waveform for comparison.

To Save a Waveform to a Reference Slot:

1. Press the [REF] button to open the reference waveform menu.

2. Click the SaveToRef menu tab.

3. In the Source menu, select the channel (e.g., CH1) whose waveform you want to save.

4. The waveform is now saved and displayed as a reference. You can adjust its vertical scale and offset independently of the source channel.

To Display a Saved Reference Waveform:

1. Press the [REF] button.

2. Click on the Source menu tab and select the reference channel where your waveform is stored.

To Export/Import a Reference Waveform:

• Use the Export function in the REF menu to save the reference waveform to internal memory or a USB drive as a .ref, .bin, or .csv file.

• Use the Import function to load a previously saved waveform file to be displayed as a reference.

The Pass/Fail test compares an input signal to a predefined mask and reports whether it passes or fails.

1. Press [Utility], then select Pass/Fail to enter the menu.

2. Enable: Click the Enable menu tab to turn the function on.

3. Source: Select the channel (CH1-CH4) you want to test.

4. Mask: Go to the Mask menu and select Create Rule. Set the horizontal (X Mask) and vertical (Y Mask) tolerance around the source waveform to create the mask. Click Create Rule again to apply it.

5. Option: In the Option menu, configure the actions to take on a pass or fail event, such as sounding a beeper (Error Action) or stopping the acquisition (Stop Output).

6. Operate: Click the Operate menu tab to start the test. The screen will display a running count of total, pass, and fail events.

The HANTEK HRDO4254E can record a sequence of waveforms (frames) for later playback and analysis.

To Record Waveforms:

1. Press [Utility] and select Recording & Playing.

2. Click the Record menu tab and turn the function on.

3. Frames: Set the total number of frames you want to record.

4. Interval: Set the time interval between the capture of each frame.

5. The oscilloscope will start recording frames based on the trigger settings. The recording stops when the set number of frames is reached.

To Play Back Waveforms:

1. In the Recording & Playing menu, click on More to enter the playback settings.

2. Play Mode: Choose between Loop playback (repeats continuously) or Single playback (plays once and stops).

3. Play Order: Select Sequential (forward) or Reverse playback.

4. Start Frame / End Frame: Define the range of frames to be played back.

5. Use the navigation keys on the front panel to start, stop, and navigate through the recorded frames during playback.

Here is a general procedure for setting up protocol decoding on the HANTEK HRDO4254E, using UART as an example:

1. Connect your serial bus signals (e.g., TX and RX for UART) to the oscilloscope’s channels.

2. Press the [Decode] button to open the decoding settings menu.

3. Bus Type: Select the protocol you want to decode (e.g., UART).

4. Bus Status: Turn the bus decoding function on.

5. Source: Enter the Source menu to configure the signal inputs:

• Assign the correct oscilloscope channel to the bus lines (e.g., set CH1 as Tx).

• Set the logic Threshold voltage for each channel to correctly interpret high and low states.

• Set the Idle Level of the bus (high or low).

6. Setting: Enter the Setting menu to configure protocol-specific parameters:

• Set the Baud rate.

• Configure the data format, such as Data Bits, Parity, and Stop Bit.

7. Display: Configure how the decoded data is displayed on the screen. You can choose the format (Hex, ASCII, etc.) and enable the Event Table for a detailed, chronological list of all decoded data packets.

Once configured, the oscilloscope will overlay the decoded data on top of the waveform and populate the event table.

The built-in Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG) on the HANTEK HRDO4254E can output various waveforms.

To Output a Basic Waveform (e.g., Sine Wave):

1. Connect a BNC cable to the G1 or G2 output terminal on the rear panel.

2. Press the [G1] or [G2] button in the Wave Gen section of the front panel to open the generator settings.

3. Wave: Select the desired waveform type (e.g., Sine, Square, Ramp, Pulse).

4. Frequency: Click the Frequency menu and use the V0 knob or numeric keypad to set the output frequency.

5. Amplitude: Set the desired peak-to-peak amplitude.

6. Offset: Set the DC offset voltage.

7. Impedance: Set the output impedance to HighZ (high impedance) or 50 Ω to match your load.

8. The waveform will be output from the corresponding rear panel BNC connector.

To Output an Arbitrary Waveform:

• In the Wave menu, select Arb.

• You can Load a waveform from a channel, Load a stored waveform from memory, or Create/Edit a new waveform point by point.

If the waveform appears as a series of steps or a ladder, you can try the following:

1. The horizontal time base might be set too slow for the signal frequency, resulting in too few sample points per cycle. Try increasing the horizontal time base (i.e., decreasing the time/div value) to see more detail.

2. If the display type is set to “Vector” in the Display menu, the oscilloscope draws straight lines between sample points. This can cause a ladder-like appearance on fast-changing signals with low sample density. Adjusting the time base should resolve this.

If you have a signal connected but see no waveform, follow these troubleshooting steps:

1. Check that the probe is correctly and securely connected to the BNC input connector of the signal channel.

2. Ensure the channel you are using is turned on. Press the corresponding channel button (e.g., [CH1]) on the front panel.

3. Verify that the circuit you are testing is actually outputting a signal.

4. If the signal is a DC signal with a large amplitude, it may be off-screen. Try increasing the vertical scale (volts/div).

5. Press the [Auto Scale] button. This will cause the oscilloscope to automatically adjust the vertical, horizontal, and trigger settings to find and display the signal.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, please contact technical support.

If the touch screen on your HANTEK HRDO4254E is unresponsive, try these steps:

1. Check if the touch screen function has been locked. Press the [Touch Lock] button on the front panel to enable or disable the touch function. The button light indicates its status.

2. Inspect the screen and your fingers for any dirt, grease, or moisture. Clean the screen with a soft, dry cloth if necessary.

3. Check if the oscilloscope is near a strong magnetic field. Strong electromagnetic interference can affect touch screen performance. If so, move the oscilloscope away from the source of interference.

If the touch screen still does not work, contact Hantek technical support.