buying a scope?

[2camjohn]

I am going to buy an oscilloscope shortly.

My budget is £150 - £250.

I have been looking into it and I can see there are many options, not all within my price range. I think I need some opinions off you guys before I spend all my money.

I am not measuring high frequencies(but may do in the future),currently I am only comparing the analog outputs of several sensors.

It needs to be portable too!


Can anyone reccomend a PC based scope (preferably two channel) I can use with a laptop prefereably USB ? The laptop isnt very fast!


Are there any two channel standalone scopes which suit my requirements and are within my price range?


Many thanks
John

 

[Optikon]

I am going to buy an oscilloscope shortly.

My budget is £150 - £250.

I have been looking into it and I can see there are many options, not all within my price range. I think I need some opinions off you guys before I spend all my money.

I am not measuring high frequencies(but may do in the future),currently I am only comparing the analog outputs of several sensors.

It needs to be portable too!


Can anyone reccomend a PC based scope (preferably two channel) I can use with a laptop prefereably USB ? The laptop isnt very fast!


Are there any two channel standalone scopes which suit my requirements and are within my price range?


Many thanks
John

If you consider the used/refurb market, there almost certainly will exists something in your price range meeting your requirements. The only suggestion I would have is a personal preference of mine. That is to make sure you get one that has digital storage capabilities. Waveform capture is very easy with these types and lends itself better to math operations. The price is higher however, but I think you have a good idea going for a PC based scope. I am not familiar with these. I am a tektronix fan myself.

 

[williB]

https://www.picotech.com/40_42_100.html

this one is only 69.00
plus they have some nice software which i might try out..

 

[crust]

50kHz of bandwidth is really too low. It won't have the ability to capture transients very easily, and your square waves will be more sinusoid looking. I would definately suggest something with higher bandwidth. I would not suggest anything lower than 50MHz as a general purpose scope.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I would not suggest anything lower than 50MHz as a general purpose scope.

50MHz would be nice, but it's hardly needed for a general purpose scope, I've currently got two a 20MHz, and a 30MHz (I gave a 10MHz one away yesterday) - all three are perfectly fine for a general purpose scope.

I've got a 50MHz one at work, which is probably used most days, I probably need the 50MHz bandwidth once every couple of years.

 

[zachtheterrible]

did u look @ ebay yet?

 

[2camjohn]

There are certainly some cheap scopes on Ebay.


But as you can probably tell I dont know much about the manufacturers or features.

I dont want to have wasted my money buying something that was cheap rubbish.

Can anyone direct me to a website which covers the features of oscilloscopes so that I can get an idea of what I want???

Thanks
John

 

[mechie]

One man's 'scope is another man's scrap ?

I've currently got two a 20MHz, and a 30MHz (I gave a 10MHz one away yesterday)

My "best" oscilloscope is a 15MHz Telequipment D65 :!: [1970's technology I think? - not sure, don't care]
A service manual is a good idea - see if one is available for your proposed purchase, the main disadvantage to using old gear is the fact that they may need more TLC than something brand new.

This is one of those issues that if you ask 20 people you will almosy certainly get 20 different answers.

Whilst I will agree that the better your gear is the more future proof it will be; I use my tiny Thandar SC110A almost weekly because it is so convenient (an obsolite 10MHz battery-powered 'scope with a 1.5 inch screen). Do you need a storage 'scope? could you be better off with a storage adapter if/when you finally find a use for that sort of thing?

My only fear of EBay-type purchases is you could be buying a lemon; if you are willing to take the risk and can scrap or repair whatever arrives then great! - and don't trust its calibration, you don't know who has played with it - at least give it a check with a few known signals, better still go through the service manual's set-up procedure.

The old 'scopes have lasted this long without failing and they are really cheap -- £30 ? (or free if you know Nigel :wink: )
I would rather have a real oscilloscope than some sort of computer plug-in if only because it can be connected up to an experiment for weeks (the sort of things I do) keeping my laptop free for more 'office-type' duties (and 'scopes stack better).

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Re: One man's 'scope is another man's scrap ?

My "best" oscilloscope is a 15MHz Telequipment D65 :!: [1970's technology I think? - not sure, don't care]
A service manual is a good idea - see if one is available for your proposed purchase, the main disadvantage to using old gear is the fact that they may need more TLC than something brand new.

The one I gave away was a Telequipment D61, as you say 70's technology, but fully transistorised - and I gave the service manual with it as well!.

I ALWAYS try and get a manual for anything like that, I've also bought one for my Hitachi 30MHz scope, but I've not managed to get one for my 20MHz scope, it's made by GW (Goodwill from Taiwan).