Oscillope Uses

Over the years I have acquired various audio units and I have been doing repairs. I had been told by several technicians to pick up an oscillope along with a signal generator. I have never used an oscillope and I have no knowledge of them. I understand I can balance speakers and use them to trouble shoot sensitive circuits. What I have is a Tektronix 2445B, 200 MHz and an RCA signal generator. I have the manual but is there anywhere that I can find the information associated with what I am doing? I am a retired commercial electrician and have a lot of experience with test equipment and control circuits.
Thank you.

 

An oscilloscope shows the waveform, and can measure DC levels and AC peak-to-peak levels, but the most useful attribute is to display distortions in the waveform. This can be used to measure maximum output levels before clipping, to show an amplifier's behaviour into clipping or when driving different loads.

Signal tracing is also far far easier if you can see the waveform and when it gets distorted or disappears. It's less useful for making detailed measurements, an audio millivoltmeter is far better for measuring levels, and a distortion meter is better for actually measuring the distortion rather than just estimating when it's visible.

A 'scope isn't the only tool you need, but it's by far the most useful, even essential for audio work.

S