Soundcard oscilloscope?

[phantomcow2]

A friend of mine told me about one of these, this is wild. Has anybody it before? Using the line in on your comp and a program like this:
http://www.zeitnitz.de/Christian/Scope/Scope_en.html

Comments?

[AbSat]

Originally Posted by phantomcow2 A friend of mine told me about one of these, this is wild. Has anybody it before? Using the line in on your comp and a program like this: http://www.zeitnitz.de/Christian/Scope/Scope_en.html Comments?

I used my soundcard a lot as a oscilloscoop. But keep in mind that it is only usable for Low frequency AC signals. I used it for all the lf signals we transported over normal telephonelines. The use of it for testing and checking the pulses and levels of stepper and servomotor control is very limited. It can give you only a indication that there are some kind of pulses and you need special input circuits to protect your line input from damage.

AbSat.

[phantomcow2]

I actually did a little more research, I don't think I am going to bother. The fact that the impedance is way too low and requires circuitry to have functioning properly, coupled with the significant limitations, just makes it not worth the bother to me. A friend of mine is suggesting the Parallax USB based scope. It's reasonably priced, and looks like a good starter unit. I know the voltage capabilities are pretty minute compared to a benchtop Tektronix, but I can always use resistors to bring the voltage way down.