How Do I Add Phosphor Trails to an Oscilloscope Video?

To add phosphor trails in BeamTracer OSC-1, choose VECTOR DISPLAY or AMBER CRT under SCOPE PRESETS, then raise Persistence in BEAM PROPERTIES. Give the figure some movement so you can see the older trace fading behind it. BEAM EFFECTS → ROTATE is a simple way to do that.

Hi, I'm Trina with BeamTracer.com. Watch the edge that the figure has just moved away from. The trail should show that movement while leaving the current outline readable.

AMBER CRT, Persistence +0.80 and ROTATE Speed 0.25. The same 3:4 generator supplies every settings comparison. These demonstrations are silent.

How do I make the moving figure shown here?

The generator starts when you apply its preset. STOP stops that source. If you have stopped it, press GENERATE to resume. The Lissajous generator guide covers the other patterns.

What changes when I raise Persistence?

At −0.80, the old trace disappears quickly. The rotating outline stays clean, with little history behind it.

VECTOR DISPLAY, Persistence −0.80. ROTATE remains at 0.25.

At +0.80, earlier positions remain visible for longer. The moving corners leave a fan of fine lines. Persistence controls the screen's fading; it does not add new shapes to the generator pattern.

VECTOR DISPLAY, Persistence +0.80. The source, rotation speed and beam color are unchanged from the short-trail example.

Persistence changes from −0.80 to +0.80, then returns to 0.00. The picture keeps moving while the slider changes.

Why doesn't every scope preset leave the same trails?

VECTOR DISPLAY and AMBER CRT keep fading history from one frame to the next. Other scope styles can soften the older part of a single drawing pass without leaving the same moving trail. HITACHI V-650F, for example, has a long within-pass afterglow, but it does not accumulate trails between frames.

Choose the display style first, then tune its visible controls. The scope preset guide explains which controls apply to each style. A still figure can hide the difference, so keep ROTATE on while comparing.

If the trace becomes a bright haze, reduce Persistence or slow the movement. Adjust Intensity separately when you need less brightness. A slower rotation leaves the old outline closer to the current one; changing speed and persistence together makes their effects harder to judge.

How do I save the trails in a video?

Open EXPORT → VIDEO, choose the frame and resolution, then press RECORD LIVE INPUT. Let the figure move through a few orientations. Return to the export panel and press STOP RECORDING to download the WebM.

The saved native recording, shown silently here. The downloaded WebM contains the app's audio too; this article's demonstration removes that soundtrack.

Play the downloaded file before recording a longer take. For the recorder's sound and format options, follow recording oscilloscope video with sound. Phosphor persistence is a screen treatment; it does not establish how a physical oscilloscope or laser projector will look.