Gave myself an xmas gift - OWON HDS1022M-N Scope

[DrG]

So, this time of year brings all the usual umm "good will". The same movies on TV, the incessant repetition of the same songs (I sometimes fight back by changes the words to the classic xmas tunes such that they are quite obscene, I doubt I am alone in that) - the massive public overcrowding - seasonal commercialization of every erg of mental space. To get some relief, I usually buy myself a little gift...for myself and by myself.

I have a toy O-scope. This one in fact, and I payed that price - maybe it was US$20 at the time (or sale). A semi-kit, it went together well and, it works. I have used it many times over the last few years. As you can tell, it is limited.

So, I was ready for an upgrade. At this point, I could never justify several thousand dollars for a scope. More than the price, I like to adhere to a principle of what is appropriate for one's needs and expertise.

I have been "tracking" various small o-scopes - $200-$500 price range. But didn't decide on anything...until now.

I bought this one - 20MHz, 2-channel. Except, I got it for US$212 and free shipping at Arrow (I think they are out now, but I did get a confirmation). They had several OWON scopes at ~ half price.

I debated whether to get a single channel 60MHz ($150) or 100 MHz ($170), but decided I wanted two channels and I did not have the option of faster 2 channel ones on sale.

My thinking, rightly or wrongly, is that two channels would be particularly useful for interface work (like I2C).

I will see, but I think I did ok and I do like my toys.

What do you think - CCJ (cheap chinese junk) or legitimate beginner's tool, or both.

 

[JimB]

What do you think - CCJ (cheap chinese junk) or legitimate beginner's tool, or both.

Well, the Chinese certainly know how to make cheap tat, mainly because that is what we (the west) ask them to make.
On the other hand they know how to make some reasonable stuff at a keen price to suit the keen amateur experimenter.

I debated whether to get a single channel 60MHz ($150) or 100 MHz ($170), but decided I wanted two channels

Two channels is usually a better choice over single channel, but 20MHz bandwidth may be a bit limiting sometimes. but certainly beats no scope at all, and if it is what fits your budget then that is what you get.

Earlier this year I decided to buy myself a nice big birthday present and replace my ageing spectrum analyser.

Olden but golden, 30 going on 40 years old, and a lot has changed in those years. No I did not buy it new, it was about 20+ years old when I got it.

A new replacement would have to come from the far east, would it be any good?
So with great trepidation I bought this:

Quite coincidentally, both pictures show the frequency response of the same 60MHz lowpass filter (the little tinplate box).

Do I have any regrets buying a Chinese spectrum analyser?
None whatsoever.

It is a delight to use, somethings about it seem a bit quirky after the old one, but that is just progress I guess.

And the new owner of my old analyser is very happy with it.

So, enjoy your new scope when it arrives and let us know what you think about it.

JimB

 

[DrG]

So, enjoy your new scope when it arrives and let us know what you think about it.

Will do, thanks. Now though, I am wondering whether I will get it in the end. While I received an order confirmation as I mentioned, I do not see the inventory updating online. I am preparing for a disappointment email tomorrow, but I shall see.

 

[be80be]

I got a OWON scope to replace the old one i had lost in moving it's been very good scope only thing i don't like is there software is only
for windows so i have to boot windows to use there software.

 

[atferrari]

My own Owon, few days ago started acting funny in channel 2. Vertical amplitude, when I turn the encoder, does not change in the right 1 - 2 - 5 sequence (or vice versa). It seems to me, corrupted firmware but for now I can live with that.

Planning to buy me a nice chair for the bench.

Merry and productive Christmas to everyone.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

My own Owon, few days ago started acting funny in channel 2. Vertical amplitude, when I turn the encoder, does not change in the right 1 - 2 - 5 sequence (or vice versa). It seems to me, corrupted firmware but for now I can live with that.

I would imagine it's more likely a dodgy encoder?, a common fault on such devices is excessive noise causing random multiple pulses, and so upsetting the controller.

 

[Ian Rogers]

I would imagine it's more likely a dodgy encoder?, a common fault on such devices is excessive noise causing random multiple pulses, and so upsetting the controller.

Agreed!! My microwave has just started doing the same... counts up down or changes mode... I'll pull it apart in Jan.

Merry Christmas....

 

[gophert]

I gave myself a present as well (but ended up with two). I finally got tired of my fluke 87 occupying bench space and looked for a proper bench meter. Not needing a 5 1/2 digit accuracy, nearly any bench meter would have been an improvement. I scanned the local used options and the only bench meter listed was some poor sod with a stack of Fluke 8842a and one Fluke 8840a/AF that he bought in bulk from a local industrial equipment auction house with the thoughts of selling them on eBay for a profit. Unfortunately for him, all but one* were throwing errors when he powered them up when I arrived.

I managed to talk him out of the one good one, Fluke 8840a/AF, for a very good price (we both agreed his supplier must have found something wrong with the 8840 if the others all have problems).

Now my bench has some free space and I have more digits of accuracy than I needed.

Interestingly, on the way home, my wife wanted to stop by an estate sale for her hobbies. To my complete surprise, I stumbled upon a Fluke 8600a sitting in a box of tools in the garage for $5. Now I have two meters.

The 8600a is surprisingly accurate and stable for a 1975 era meter with auto-ranging. It matches the 87 and the 8840 within 0.7mV on 2v scale. Only the 8840 had any evidence of being calibrated ( 2014) - I bought the 87 used ten years ago and ive never calibrated it. Amazing if they are all off by the same amount - good enough for me without calibration.

Merry Christmas to me!

Then, I told my friends a funny story about my wife...

GT

 

[dr pepper]

Looks Ok,
Can you Ac couple the i/p, some you cannot.
Most of my work was done with a 10mc antique 'scope till it went bang, I only use the 100mc now & again.
I do some work on vehicles & mobile pkant, one of those would be nice for looking at sensors & can buses.

 

[Tony Stewart]

I have an old Le Croy 300MHz if some wants to pay for shipping it (weighs a bunch) otherwise dumpster

 

[DrG]

Well, I did not get a "Bah Humbug" email today, but instead, I got a tracking number (yay). Should be here tomorrow with a little luck. I am excited!
I really wanted a small/portable unit. The only thing that I see that is missing is a lipo (~US$35) - of course it includes an adapter.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91d4qyrrL5L._SL1500_.jpg

Plus, it comes with a cool little aluminum nerd case.

This model, while not new, is being sold all over and is frequently priced at twice what I payed. Arrow was running a big time sale. This came to my attention from an eevblog thread. There was a lot of hubub about $188 for the XDS3202E and other items. Many were already sold out when I got there and the one I bought has sold out as well,

The timing and the price were right. I'll find out (and it will take me a while to start playing), but right now, I am [mildly] excited.

..and kudos to others for giving themselves a present once in a while - it's not to late

 

[Mickster]

It has been quite tempting to upgrade my TDS220 to a Rigol DS1054Z or similar, due to shiny-syndrome, but the Tek & knock-off Salae 8-ch LA do all I need them to do right now.
And with that said, it's sacrilege to me, to see Dave drag this Tek through the mud:

Nooooooooo!

 

[gophert]

I have an old Le Croy 300MHz if some wants to pay for shipping it (weighs a bunch) otherwise dumpster

Where is it shipping from?

 

[DrG]

Looks Ok,
Can you Ac couple the i/p, some you cannot.
Most of my work was done with a 10mc antique 'scope till it went bang, I only use the 100mc now & again.
I do some work on vehicles & mobile pkant, one of those would be nice for looking at sensors & can buses.

yup

 

[DrG]

Tah-Dah!

Have only finished the Quick Start guide and browsed the manual. I plan on doing some testing tomorrow (and BTW it does have a battery, don't know what I had looked at earlier).

So far, so good!

 

[dr pepper]

It has bnc's as well as bannana's?

 

[DrG]

It has bnc's as well as bannana's?

Yeah, it has Multimeter mode (bananas) separate from the Oscilloscope (BNCs) - see the DMM / OSC button? The DMM has all the regular stuff, including diode and capacitance testing. Auto-ranging or manual. It has a relative measurement that I am not quite certain of yet - "A currently measured result relative to the defined reference value is displayed in a relative measurement".

Just moving through stuff slowly.

 

[dr pepper]

So far not so bad for the readies.

 

[DrG]

Having finished a tour of the Multimeter (with component testing), it is time to move on to the main feature - Oscilloscope.
It came with a pair of P2060 (60 MHz) probes and I can see the blurb on frequency compensation. First though, I wanted to get a little probe background with my coffee. For me, these two were worth watching.

... and because, like bluetooth, everything goes better with Dave.

BTW: the last vid made me aware of a potential advantage of using it from the battery - no earth ground.

 

[DrG]

Frequency compensation accomplished. These quick phone pics were not, "as it happened / before and after", I am fiddling with the variable capacitor on the probe to make sure I am following the process correctly. Edited to add: That is a 5V 1.0 KHz reference that is provided as a plug-in brick.