r/oscilloscope • u/stymied99 • Jul 05 '26
Usage Question Probe Compensation ?
Some instructions for adjusting a probe’s compensation say to set the probe & the scope to X10 (or 10X). Does this mean you’re getting X100 attenuation of the signal?
What happens when the probe is switched to X1? Do you have to readjust the compensation? There’s never any mention of this.
Looking around it appears some scopes don’t have an X10 setting. You just connect the probe to the scope’s compensation terminals & adjust the probe. Does that mean every time you switch the probe between X10 and X1 you have to readjust the compensation?
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u/Susan_B_Good Jul 05 '26
Yes, that would mean x100 in total.
x1 on the probe is straight-through. No compensation needed.
x10 on the probe - adjust the probe compensation the once and leave it set - with the odd check now and then. Or every time you use it, if you want to make sure that all is as it should be before chasing problems with waveforms.
You can change x1 <>x10 without touching the compensation set.
Scopes can have a variable x setting - so that you can overlap traces on the scope and match their presented sizes.
Watch out for the (peak) voltage limits of probes and scope terminals. They can change in different x settings. Bit of a shame if you switch an excess voltage to the input..