Flea-Scope: Getting Started

This mini lesson will guide you through setting up and using a flea scope. A flea-scope pcb is really just an oscilloscope (a piece of equipment that allows you to view dynamic electrical signals), though a quick a google search might SHOCK as they are fairly expensive. The flea-scope allows us to view dynamic signals straight from a webpage at an affordable price range. Another great feature f the flea-scope is that it contains a built-in function generator, and we will utilize that soon.

Pre-Requisites: Completion of ECE102 (Basic Circuit and Breadboard Knowledge)

The connections for the flea scope are fairly simple you just need a laptop, the flea-scope itself, and a probe which comes with the flea-scope.

What's really convenient about flea-scope is the fact that it runs on a webpage, so no installations or downloads are required for your device you'll just want to follow the link below.

Webpage Link: Flea-Scope™

After connecting the Flea-Scope there should be a small voltage reading around 0.22V, if you are getting a negative voltage reading try using a different USB port on your computer.

I previously mentioned a built-in function generator in the flea-scope and we will utilize it now. The signal created by the function generator is accessible by the vias outlined in white shown in the picture above that are labeled WAVE. Where should you hook the probe to view the signal?

In order to get any use out of that oscillating signal we need to connect a wire from the WAVE vias to a breadboard and that can be accomplished a variety of ways but I took the approach of wrapping a jumper cable around the flea-scope probe hooking it to WAVE vias then connecting the other side of the jumper to the breadboard evident by the image above. Observe what happens to the signal and play around with different resistor values to identify the relationship between resistance and voltage with an oscillating signal. Now would also be a good time to explore the different options on the webpage. Try creating a triangular or square wave.

Build the circuit above using a capacitor (make sure short capacitor leg is connected towards ground (the black alligator clip on probe)). How does the signal compare to the one with no circuit elements. Try out a 2nd order circuit, some research may be required.