With thanks to the software team here at Pico it is an honour and privilege to introduce PicoScope 7 Automotive which can be downloaded here
(PicoScope 7 Automotive can be installed alongside your existing PicoScope 6 Automotive on the same PC)
The words “honour & privilege” are not used lightly as I/We consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have been working alongside the software team during the test and development phase of PicoScope 7 (which continues to evolve)
I cannot begin to describe the commitment and dedication demonstrated by the numerous engineers involved in the creation and delivery of our next generation free Automotive Oscilloscope Software.
Whilst PicoScope 6 has become the industry standard for automotive oscilloscope software, you cannot move forward by standing still and so based on the user feedback we have been working hard to make PicoScope 7 even better.
Typical feedback received regarding PicoScope 6
• Screen view to be clearer
• Ease of use, more intuitive
• Display to be less cluttered
• Simplified analysis features
• Tablet/touchscreen friendly
• Increased graph area
• Improve streaming performance
• Freedom to customize user interface
• Better support for high-resolution monitors
The image below demonstrates the clearer view of PicoScope 7 when compared to PicoScope 6.
Both software versions are displaying identical Cam & Crank waveforms
Image 1
Here we have the above captures displayed separately
Starting with PicoScope 6 Automotive
Image 2
Now PicoScope 7 Automotive
Image 3
Like all new products, an essential part of the development process is “feedback” and the quickest route for all comments is within the PicoScope 7 software by clicking on More > Send Feedback
Recent feedback since the release of PicoScope 7 has seen requests to include “Full Graph Mode” to enable the entire graph view to be displayed without the Tool Panel at the left-hand side of the screen.
Whilst the graph area of PicoScope 7 is already larger in the Y-axis and X-axis than PicoScope 6 (with the properties panel visible) a “Auto Hide” feature for the Tool Panel is already under review for development. With that said, we can utilise the Viewports feature to achieve Full Graph Mode following the procedure below:(See the final 2 bullet points and included video)
• Click on the Views button in the left-hand tool panel to open the Viewport Control Panel
• Within the Viewport Control Panel, we have the options to add another Scope view, Manage/Name scope views & show/hide active channels
• Click on “Scope” to add up to 4 x graphs in a grid layout (currently up to a maximum of 2 x2)
• Adding more than 4 scope views will open a new Window to display additional graphs
• Each scope view is identified using a scope view tab located at the top centre point of each graph
• The currently selected scope view is highlighted in “bold” within the Viewport Control Panel and graph view tab
• Click on the relevant scope view graph tab to pull the Viewport into a new Window which can then be redocked in your chosen position about the graph. • The Viewport can also be dragged to an additional monitor to reveal full graph view mode
• Full graph view mode can also be achieved on a single monitor if you minimise the original scope view
The image below indicates the location of the Viewport controls
Image 4
The following video will help clarify the process above
I understand that Full Graph Mode maybe considered a lot of “effort” at present but rest assured (thanks to feedback) the process will be simplified.
Whilst Full Graph Mode is desirable, we must not forget the advantages of the larger main controls such as Channel options, Time base & Triggers etc. These now suit modern touchscreen monitors where the previous PicoScope 6 controls were challenging to use.
In addition to the Viewports feature above we would like to introduce the new…….
Waveform Navigator
• With multiple waveforms captured, click on the waveform buffer control to open the Waveform Navigator control panel (Thumbnail Viewer)
• Click on the “Show” button to reveal a thumbnail view of each waveform captured in the waveform buffer
• The Thumbnail Viewer allows for configuration of the thumbnail views, providing simplified navigation of all captured waveforms
• The Thumbnail Viewer opens a new Viewport in which to review all waveforms captured in the waveform buffer. This viewport can then be pulled out into a new window and re-docked in your chosen position about the graph or, dragged to an additional monitor
• The target number of waveform buffers can be also be amended within the Thumbnail viewer. N.B. The maximum number of waveforms will depend on how many samples are collected within each waveform
• Waveform Thumbnails can be resized to assist with ease of view and location of required waveforms
• Timestamps can be added to thumbnails and the graph if required
Image 5
The following video will help clarify the process above:
• Click on the Rulers button in the left-hand tool panel to open the Rulers Options Panel where we can now Show/Hide Graph rulers to assist with the location of all active rulers
• Phase Ruler off/on option allows the user to temporarily hide active Phase Rulers that have been dragged into view from the bottom LH corner of the graph
• The Phase Ruler boundaries can be edited and customised along with the relevant units
• The time span between the Phase Rulers and any selected partitions now include alternate shading to assist with identification of boundaries within the graph
• The Partition Counter can be incremented to divide the time span between the Phase Rulers
• The Wrap feature enables the Time Rulers to remain fixed to the range set by Phase Ruler boundaries. For example, if the phase rulers are set to 0° and 720°, the value of a time ruler just to the right of the 720° phase ruler will be 0°, and the value of a time ruler just to the left of the 0° phase ruler will be 719°.
Image 6
A short video on the operation of the Phase Rulers can be found below:
The priority for PicoScope 7 is to add as many missing features as possible such as the Waveform Library, Serial Decoding & Maths etc. along with great new features that were not possible to implement within PicoScope 6. As a result, tweaks such as Full Graph Mode and Tool bar relocation may fall behind the priorities mentioned above but once again, will come to fruition ASAP.
PicoScope 7 is a platform for the future to suit modern PCs & Monitors (Inc. Touchscreens) however, PicoScope 6 may be preferred for some older laptops and will continue to be available for those who are accustomed to the functionality and analysis tools we have grown to love.
I hope this helps and I will post more new PicoScope 7 features ASAP
Hello Steve always guiding us, but in my humble opinion I still prefer PicoScope 6, this 7 I already downloaded and found the Zoom a little strange, which in the 6 is fantastic, since the probes are also strange to me the ways
A nice feature will be, that when you select zoom mode, when you press right click of mouse, to put you in move mode, when released, to move back to zoom mode. Thank you!
hope you can handle some constructive criticism. as this 7 has been built from the ground up you should have taken into consideration that most of us that use a scope to diag vehicle problems are also trying to earn a living out of it, as time is money we need ease of use and speed, we've not got time to 00ck about with, click this, push that, drag that, open this, click on that, also being a scope the most important thing is the trace, why fill the screen with unnecessary large icons, the screen should be clear of everything and then click in what we need when we need it, not have to click out what we dont need as that is wasting time, surly its not about screen presentations or how it looks, its about usability!
Last edited by Liteace on Tue Mar 03, 2020 8:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Looks impressive to me and I see it as a learning curve to work with it to understand the new layouts and functions. I like the idea of leaving pico 6 separate so that we can use that where unfamiliarity is the case. I like the new design of the rulers if I've understood their functions correctly. It now seems that one does not need to zoom in to correctly position the rulers as the software seems to do that for us now.
Looking at the new pico 7 properties showing channel selections etc I have not yet managed to find a way of closing that section off the screen once the necessary channels etc have been selected. This function was easy on Pico 6. I also like the new note book idea where a technician can click it and add notes directly to the scope traces at hand, the screen area appears adequate here. Regarding Pico 6 when subjects like Add Measurements were selected and added then a small window appeared at the lower tool bar area of the screen, which to me was difficult to read. I've not yet tried this function on 7 but hopefully that too will be much larger and clearly view-able.
Change is not every-ones cup of tea, but changes in designs and technical specifications means that technology must move on, and I think Pico are doing a really good job, we have to just put the effort in to keep up to speed.
Recent feedback since the release of PicoScope 7 has seen requests to include “Full Graph Mode” to enable the entire graph view to be displayed without the Tool Panel at the left-hand side of the screen.
As seen in the picture above, using the full width of the screen for the graph has more value. With the introduction of the 8 Channel scope this is of more importance now.
To enhance the size of the Graph I would have thought that smaller Icons would be more helpful rather than Pico's move to bigger ones ?
Whilst the graph area of PicoScope 7 is already larger in the Y-axis and X-axis than PicoScope 6 (with the properties panel visible)
There is a disclaimer if there ever was one !!!
Last edited by Iver on Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I would like to express my appreciation for making the Picoscope 7 automotive more touch-screen friendly. I don't work out of a cart like many people do; I mostly use a rugged touch-screen windows tablet. I would guess that many mobile diagnosticians use touch-screens, and the larger buttons make it a lot easier to use with fat fingers. I especially like the size and redesign of the start/stop button. Hitting those tiny icons in Picoscope 6 was tricky without a mouse, even with the tablet stylus. Thank you!!
The "invert", in the channel options is a nice, long-awaited feature, too! Now we no longer have to use a math channel, or flip our current clamp around in those tough to reach spots.
And yes, there is going to be a bit of a learning curve trying to figure out where everything is at, but that's technology for you.
