Tektronix intros DC power supplies

BANGALORE, INDIA: Tektronix Inc. has announced two additions to its line of bench instruments: the PWS4000 Series programmable DC power supply and the PWS2000 Series DC power supply.

These power supplies smoothly integrate with other Tektronix bench instruments such as oscilloscopes and digital multimeters and deliver wide current and voltage ranges for maximum versatility across a variety of applications.

These new power supplies are ideal for design engineers who require high performance, feature-rich power supplies at competitive price points. The PWS2000 and PWS4000 Series offer performance and ease-of-use advantages compared to similar offerings currently on the market.

The new power supplies compliment the FCA3000/3100 and MCA3000 Series timer/counter/analyzers also introduced by Tektronix in a separate announcement.

“The addition of these power supplies, as well as counter/timers, to our family of bench instruments underscores our commitment to ensuring our customers are fully equipped to tackle today’s complex design problems,” said Mike Flaherty, general manager, bench instruments, Tektronix. “Our objective is to make life easier for engineers by giving them a complete set of instruments all designed with the same quality, ease-of-use and familiar operation they expect from Tektronix. And, we’ve ensured all of our bench instruments can easily connect through a common PC software for integrated test tasks.”

With wide current and voltage ranges, plus up to 0.1 mA and 1 mV resolution, engineers using the PWS2000 or PWS4000 Series can precisely generate the power needed for a variety of applications. A numeric keypad for direct key-in entry, and up to 40 user-defined setup memories, makes voltage and current selection fast and precise.

The PWS4000 Series offers up to 72V output voltage with .03 percent basic voltage accuracy and .05 percent basic current accuracy. The PWS2000 Series also provides up to 72V output voltage with .05 percent basic voltage accuracy and .2 percent basic current accuracy. Combined with a specification of less than 5 mVp-p noise and ripple on the output, these models provide accurate, clean power delivery.

To facilitate the execution of test procedures, the PWS4000 Series provides a built-in list mode that allows users to define up to seven lists with up to 80 steps per list. Lists can be configured to step through the sequence based on external triggers or front panel button presses. Alternately, users can specify the duration for each step and the instrument will automatically step through the sequence.

Unlike most competitive offerings, the PWS4000 Series provides plug and play connectivity to a personal computer with its USB device port. Since the instruments are USBTMC compliant, they can be easily controlled using any software development tool that supports this industry standard protocol.

To automate tasks requiring multiple test instruments, customers can use the included LabVIEW SignalExpress Tektronix Edition software from National Instruments to remotely control supported Tektronix instruments from a Windows-based personal computer.

This offers the ability to perform measurements, analyze data across multiple instruments, capture and save results, and create reports. A more advanced version of SignalExpress software is available at additional cost and adds additional analysis, data logging and simulation capabilities.

Available now, pricing for the PWS2000 series starts at $389 MSRP. The PWS4000 Series starts at $865 MSRP, and includes LabVIEW SignalExpress, Limited Tektronix Edition from National Instruments. All models are backed by a three-year warranty.