Total noob!

[ScottD]

This is my first experience with an O-Scope.  I have watched all of the Digilent videos and tried to learn what I could before asking.  I am trying to reverse engineer a remote by using a 433mhz receiver connected to an arduino and then measuring the pulse on pin D13 of the arduino per the sketch.  I have tried connecting that pin to OSC1 and also a digital pin on the logic analyzer.  I can occasionally see the voltage spike but I cannot break it down to the resolution needed to decode it.

I don't know if I'm setting up the scope wrong or the scope is too slow (not capable) of measuring this.  Any thoughts would really help.

Thanks

[xc6lx45]

Hi,

>> Any thoughts would really help.

and

>> This is my first experience with an O-Scope

>> a 433mhz receiver connected to an arduino

maybe your post doesn't really reflect the work you have already done and you're skipping over the "obvious" details (except that they can't be "obvious" since it doesn't work).
That said, my first impression is what you're trying is completely over your head.

For example: "433 MHz" is a frequency band (so-called ISM band). There is no such thing as "a" 433 MHz receiver for remote controls. Both ends of the radio link need to agree in a myriad of details, e.g. modulation, coding, protocol before you can look at bits with a logic analyzer.

[ScottD]

xc6lx45, Thank you for the insightful response.

[xc6lx45]

You could have a quick look here: https://www.rtl-sdr.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2233

They suggest looking up the device by its FCC registration number to get basic info (channel frequencies, modulation format). The point is, it's quite a reverse-engineering project.

Unless you have additional information e.g. some tutorial for the for the specific device you're looking at, this is not not a simple hacking project. And probably not a fun project since the main problem is that adequate tools are out of reach (e.g. just grab the whole band as IQ capture on a power trigger, all channels at once, for later analysis in Matlab. It's a fairly basic job but the required "adequate" instrument comes with a $50k price tag, give or take some).

Ham radio enthusiasts might take a different view but they'll probably have at least a RF spectrum analyzer at hand to e.g. visualize the spectrum.

 

[ScottD]

In case anyone else happens to look at this thread I'll add more details that I thought were probably obvious.  I am using a 433MHZ rf module with an arduino nano, I am able to receive packets from a remote transmitter and decode them using an arduino sketch.  I just bought an open scope MZ and was hoping to use it, 1 to learn about using a scope and 2 to use another method to decode the binary data.  I am a noob as disclosed in the title and am trying to learn something new.  I'm not asking someone to do it for me. I am concerned based on the reviews that this device may not be able to handle this task.  I have been able to decode it using SDR software and audacity so I know it doesn't take 50K dollars worth of equipment. Thanks for looking at this. 

[xc6lx45]

OK, that's plenty of new information. So forget all about "radio":  You have a bitstream coming out of an Arduino sketch and want to show it on a scope. The question is whether

>> 2 oscilloscope channels with 12 bits at 2MHz bandwidth and 6.25 MS/s max sampling rate

are up to the job. My guess is "probably yes" - I wouldn't expect MBit rates from a remote.

Maybe if you show the result you're getting, someone can tell what's happening.

Considering yourself a "noob" is no excuse to be lazy with your posts :)

 

[xc6lx45]

one detail that would help is if you find out what kind of "bitstream" this is supposed to be. This is, unfortunately, not "obvious".
E.g. UART => use the known baud rate for timescale. Or SPI-ish => first look at the associated clock signal and check that it looks right.