These OWON brand scopes seem like a real bargain and as low as $329US for a 25MHz USB enabled color scope. Any opinions good or bad? I'd like to get the local Toronto vendor to carry them if they're any good as they're only $100 more than a simple 2MHz USB scope.

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Bill
Smart Kits build Smart People
http://www.blueroomelectronics.com/

 

I found the same scope for $369:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-7-8-Colo...QQcmdZViewItem
The manual is at:
http://www.owon.com.cn/eng/PDS5022S%20USER%20MANUAL.pdf

Tequipment was selling the 60MHz version for LT $700 on Ebay, but they seem to be out of stock.

I have already checked this out for a couple of different newbies at different forums looking for a "good scope". It has impressive features for the price. I read the manual online and got concerned because of the Chin-lish. This may be OK if you're already familiar with oscilloscopes, especially features and specs for digital sampling scopes. It has some of the same automated measurement options of my expensive Fluke scope. And more than twice the sampling memory! The blurbs say it has a USB port that allows saving out the display, but the manual was very vague about its usage. Also there is no picture of the back panel? They include a USB cable, so it's in there somewhere.

I'd say it's an OK beginner's scope, but the limited bandwidth and sampling rate make it useless for the bench tech, unless you're repairing guitar amps. If you're goal is to outdo a 2MHz scope for a little more money, then go for it.

Later!
kenjj

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All my pencils *used* to have erasers!

 

The $329 price was from a retailer in the USA
http://www.saelig.com/ cheaper than ebay!

__________________
Bill
Smart Kits build Smart People
http://www.blueroomelectronics.com/

 

I just purchased one. As a stand-alone scope, it's a great value for the money, however, the USB function doesn't work. I'm going 'round and 'round with the seller right now trying to solve the problem.

 

What OS are you using? Did it include software; can you download updated software from a website?
I never did wind up getting the OWON, the passive matrix LCD was a big turn off (who still makes non TFT displays over 5" anyway?)
I did get a hobbyscope and it's pretty neat.

__________________
Bill
Smart Kits build Smart People
http://www.blueroomelectronics.com/

 

I'm using XP. The scope included a software CD, but I've downloaded a newer version and the seller sent me new drivers. XP just doesn't like it, says the device is malfunctioning when you plug it in.

 

Hi Bill,

OWON scopes were tested extensively at ELEKTOR's e-labs (German electronics mag).

All of them have turned out to be an organized pile of junk.

If you are looking for working and low priced scopes check out http://www.uni-trend.com.

The company is located at Hong Kong. Sales are done by foreign importers.

Hans

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Do you happen to remember which issue of Elektor?

__________________
Bill
Smart Kits build Smart People
http://www.blueroomelectronics.com/

 

Hi Bill,

there is no article published yet. I just got the information from an ELEKTOR engineer. He warned me purchasing an OWON scope.

I'll ask him for a detailed describtion of all the negative aspects of the scopes.

Regards

Hans

__________________
Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance

 

Hi Bill,

I don't have that particular OWON scope but I do own an OWON HDS (handheld) scope.

Works great, really happy for what use I make of it.

Good luck.

Mark

p.s. EPE rated that model scope as "OK", i suppose it just depends on what use you make of it.

 

I'm happy to report that the USB functions on a replacement unit work fine. The bad unit reported "V3.4" in it's System Status display, and the good one "V3.7". I presume these are firmware versions. I don't know if the bad unit had an isolated problem, or if the problem was in that particular firmware version.

 

I bought one in Sept 08. I have had no occasion to use the usb port until now. My units status version is the dreaded 3.4. Is it changable for upgrade?

Otherwise the scope, although cheaply made, does what I want it to do.

 

Happy to report that the scope is great and best of all - it works great. Looks are some times NOT the best feature of this scope as it is kinda plasticy but I guess I am used to the old timer, metal CRT scopes.. LOL

More pics of the actual scope (no stock photos):

 

Looks OK from here ;-D

Right now I'm beginning to think I might as well buy Chinese junk as to buy a Tektronix. My Tek TDS2024B has failed twice, the screen goes dark, then fails to reboot on a power cycle. It 'fixed' itself the next day the first time. The second time was no joy after multiple reboots over two days. I sent it back under warranty. Two weeks later a Tek tech (couldn't resist) calls and says it worked non-stop the whole time, even with time in the oven. Well, yeah, it took over two years to show any problems! He asks want I want him to do. I point out that the 3 year warranty runs out in July this year and I don't want it back so I can wait for it to fail OUT of warranty and pay a $1G for later repairs! Good news, he says, if it doesn't break while in the shop, there's no cost to me!
THIS time, while under warranty, I get to use TEK's UPS account to send it in and ship it back. OUT OF WARRANTY, I pay the freight both ways, lose the use for 2 to 3 weeks, and risk spending $BIG if it DOES stay broke.
I mention this to the tech, who tells me he doesn't think his manager will authorize modules replacement on a whim, as there's no guarantee it will fix the problem. I tell him to keep it another week and watch it and give me a call later.

This does not bode well. I could have suffered the same fate with a Taiwanese knockoff with the same features and twice the memory for $800 less. So much for Tek superiority.
kenjj

__________________
All my pencils *used* to have erasers!

 

Looks good, the interface is virtually identical to my handheld.