In magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy, knowledge of the magnetic field gradient behavior is very important. This work describes a simple way to characterize the temporal and spatial dependence of the main magnetic field when a gradient is switched. Records are performed with a home-built magnetometer. This device is controlled by a personal computer for recording and processing the NMR signals from an array of small probes spatially distributed and switched by the magnetometer. We present results of measurements on a 2-T superconducting magnet. These results show the residual defects of an active shielded gradient coils system.