Newsletter April 2010

Pico Open Day

Thank you to all that have expressed an interest in the Open Day. We are now fully booked for both sessions, and we look forward to seeing you on the 29th!

We will be hosting presentations on our automotive software, and explaining all the functions and latest features. You will have the opportunity to put your questions in person to our experienced technical specialists, so that you leave the event confident enough to get the most out of your oscilloscope. We will also be displaying our product range along with all the latest releases such as the WPS500X pressure transducer.

If you would prefer to try out our products on real vehicles or engine rigs, please consider one of our Engine Management Diagnostics courses.

New PicoScope software to try

There’s a brand new beta release of PicoScope Automotive for you to try:

Now includes all revised and improved standard tests, motorcycle tests and PicoDiagnostics in a single file
Fixes problems experienced by some PicoScope 4000 Series users
Automatic device reconnection in case your scope is unplugged accidentally
Change channel options just by clicking the channel name

Download PicoScope Automotive R6.4.10 (beta) from the pico website (free of charge, no registration required)

New Case Study: Audi A2 Steering

“I’d visited this 2002 Audi A2 once before with an intermittent problem of the power steering going heavy, but during testing I couldn’t get the car to fail and checking the system with the scan tool found no DTCs logged either. A visual inspection and a level check revealed nothing. With no fault present and no codes to work from, how much time do you invest?”

For the full story Read “Audi A2 Steering” by Nick Hibberd.

Technical Information and Tips

Here is a quick tip for those of you who are using the latest PicoScope 6.

We now have the facility to remove the zoom overview window.

We recently added the facility to have a small window showing the 100% zoom overview. This is very useful when trying to navigate through large amounts of data, especially with the capabilities of the latest 4000 Series. However, we have realised that if you are working with a limited screen size this window can sometimes block what you are trying to view. Therefore you can now disable this feature. To do this, select Tools from the menu across the top and then select Preferences from the drop-down. A new window will appear. Now select the Options tab and then within the Advanced Features group remove the tick from the Zoom Overview option.

Please visit the “library section” of our website for further information, videos and articles, free of charge.

Training Courses

Pico Engine Management Diagnostics course

If you own, or are thinking of buying, a Pico Automotive Diagnostics Kit, you mustn’t miss ourEngine Management Diagnostics course. This two-day course introduces the basic working principles of engine management systems, component testing and system diagnostics using oscilloscopes. The course is split between class-based theory sessions and practical demonstrations in a workshop using the Pico Automotive Diagnostics Kit, together with plenty of hands-on experience with our kit. The course runs several times a year around the UK, and we currently have the following dates available:

12-13 May 2010 (sold out)
Motherwell College, Motherwell, UK

15-16 June 2010
Birmingham City College, Birmingham, UK

6-7 July 2010
Accrington & Rossendale College, Accrington, UK

Please contact your local distributor for information on training events outside the UK.

Diagnostics Solutions course

Diagnostics Solutions, a Pico distributor based in Ireland, delivers oscilloscope training courses. Please email Diagnostics Solutions for further information.

10-11 May 2010
Diagnostics Solutions Oscilloscope Training Course
Dublin, Ireland

Forthcoming Exhibitions and Events

Please see our events page for the latest information about forthcoming exhibitions, courses and other events.

Employment Opportunities

Due to our continuing growth, we have vacancies for the following positions:

• Assistant Technical Author
• Development Engineer - Windows Desktop Application Software
• Development Engineer - Analogue Hardware
• Development Engineer - Hardware
• Software Test Engineer

We look forward to hearing from you if you want to be part of a growing company at the leading edge of test equipment design.