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The Fluke 9500B
Oscilloscope Calibrator
The world’s highest performance, fully automated,
upgradeable oscilloscope calibration workstation
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9500B Calibrator
The world’s highest performance, fully automated, upgradeable oscilloscope calibration workstation.
Full automation provides totally hands-free oscilloscope calibration—even on today’s ultra-high
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performance, multi-channel, feature rich instruments.
Continuous upgradeability helps you protect your investment in the tools you need to manage ever
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changing workload demands.
Leveled sinewaves to 6 GHz and edges to 70 ps provide all the performance and flexibility you need
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to fully calibrate today’s and tomorrow’s high performance oscilloscopes.
Fluke’s unique Active Head Technology™ generates calibration signals right at the oscilloscope
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input—now there is no doubt whether waveform aberrations are down to connecting leads or the
oscilloscope itself.
Oscilloscope calibration can be complex, time
consuming and expensive. A significant amountof
skilled operator interaction and interpretation is
often required to complete the job, and today’s
multi-channel instruments frequently mean that
a great deal of lead switching is required. Even
automated systems require significant manual
intervention to complete elements of the most
simple calibration procedures. Worse still, switching
systems or multiplexers used to enable a degree
of automation often contribute more errors and
aberrations than the instrument being calibrated.
To compound the problem, rapid developments
in oscilloscope technology make it difficult to keep
up with performance trends without substantial
re-investment on a regular basis.
The Fluke 9500B Oscilloscope Calibration
Workstation breaks that paradigm. It means that the
benefits of hands-free, fully-automated, accurate
oscilloscope calibration are readily available to
everyone at a price and performance level that your
needs and budget can support, while ensuring that,
through performance upgrades, future needs will
be met when the time demands it.
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Automation
Full automation
Automating oscilloscope calibration is possibly one
of the biggest productivity enhancements that can
be realised in many calibration labs. Performed
manually, this work requires skilled operators to
spend a substantial amount of time performing
what are essentially repetitive tasks. Semi, or
partial automation solutions apparently address this
issue and free skilled technicians to perform more
valuable tasks. However, in practice, these partial
solutions present their own problems.
Over the last decade, the oscilloscope of choice
has migrated from a two-channel instrument to a
more complex four-channel device.
Active heads
The Fluke 9500B addresses these issues, and
provides true, full automation through the use of
its unique active heads. With the 9500B, all the
signals required to fully calibrate the oscilloscope
are generated in detachable heads, remote from
the calibrator mainframe. The heads are connected
directly to the oscilloscope input without the need
for additional cables. All control and switching of
waveforms are performed under the control of the
When calibrating these instruments, it is
necessary to move the calibrating signal from
channel to channel as the procedure progresses.
This can be achieved by physically moving cables,
though this requires operator intervention. In
high performance instruments, this may introduce
additional measurement uncertainties as cables
and connectors are handled. An alternative is
to introduce a switching matrix to route signals,
though this may result in problems with signal
reflections, poor contacts and path differences that
materially impact calibration uncertainties.
mainframe, yet within the head itself—typically
only a matter of millimeters away from the
oscilloscope input and amplifiers. With each
9500B mainframe able to control up to five heads,
all the signals required to calibrate a 4-channel
oscilloscope with an external trigger can be
supplied, controlled and switched without operator
intervention or the need for external switching.
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Automation
MET/CAL® Plus Calibration Management Software
The final link in the chain of full automation
is software. The 9500B Oscilloscope Calibrator
can be used with Fluke’s powerful IEEE-488
(GPIB) based MET/CAL Plus automated calibration
management software.
While allowing you to automate the calibration
process, MET/CAL also documents results, manages
your calibration inventory, and allows you to
develop new oscilloscope calibration procedures.
If you want to use the same system to calibrate 14
other categories of test equipment (ranging from
handheld DMMs to frequency counters and chart
Procedure support
We know that any automated calibration system
is only as good as the calibration procedures
that can run on it. That’s why every procedure
is written by a skilled calibration engineer and
Gold Support Program
To keep pace with the fast changing oscilloscope
market, Fluke is continuously writing new
calibration procedures. For a one-off, low-cost
payment (less than it would cost you to have three
or four DSO oscilloscope calibration procedures
written), you can buy into our MET/SUPPORT
Gold Software Support Program which gives you
access to every new procedure written by Fluke’s
software support team during the next 12 months.
On current performance, that’s upwards of 100
new oscilloscope calibration procedures per year.
And you won’t have to request updates or wait for
delivery; every new procedure we write is available
for download from our web site (www.calibration.
fluke.com).
In addition to the free procedures library, you will
receive 60 days priority support to get you up and
running with MET/SUPPORT Gold. You also have the
option to buy into our MET/SUPPORT Gold program
which offers you various advantages, including the
opportunity to download new procedures from our
web site or even obtain custom written procedures.
If the oscilloscope calibration procedure you
require is not available and you need it quickly, we
can write it for you at very competitive rates as part
of our fast-track procedure writing scheme.
recorders), the software will also drive Fluke’s
5500A, 5520A and 9100 Multi-Product Calibrators.
Running under Microsoft Windows® and
supporting multi-user networking, the software
implements advanced features such as ISO 9000
and ISO 17025 compliant traceability, custom
certificate and report generation, and high-level
procedure programming.
The result is higher workload throughput, better
calibration consistency, minimization of human
error, and less requirement for operator training—
in short, higher quality calibration at lower cost.
checked against the oscilloscope manufacturer’s
specifications—ensuring you get plug&play
convenience and guaranteed results.
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