November 16, 2008
Soundcard Oscilloscope
I found an Oscilloscope for soundcards yesterday while searching for a way to analyze the output of a tone generator I was helping to make. The software is simple and straightforward, its features resemble what you would expect of an oscilloscope, and it doesn't require any special hardware or drivers. Just a soundcard and your input into the mic or line in. The frequency analysis function (like a realtime fourier transform) was really useful in debugging the tone generator.
The software written in National Instruments LabVIEW isn't freeware, but it's free for non-commercial use. It also has a function generator and a sound recorder built in. Works great for low voltage signals in the 0-20kHz range. You have to make sure that you don't blow out your soundcard by connecting too high a voltage to it.
The picture happens to be me saying "aaaaaa."