PC Based Scopes, DSO, DPO - Which One?

[adamey]

Looking for a new scope and have been getting very confused. I have been using a Fluke Scopemeter 192 for several years now (it finally crapped out and needs replacement).

I have seen a lot of PC based scopes recently that seem to offer a lot of features for very cheap. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with them and could relate their capabilities to my Fluke (what's better, what's worse).

Also, I recently had a chance to play around with a Tek DPO3014 and I really, really liked it. I found the WaveInspector feature to be something I'd use extensively in my work and the time it would save almost makes the price of the scope worth it to me for this single feature. It seems like some PC scopes with their long record lengths could offer a similar feature, if the software was there to offer it.

 

[kjennejohn]

If the DPO3014 seems right enough to justify the cost, go with it. My only gripe with TEKs is the small record length. 2500 slots per channel is typical, and quickly becomes a real limitation. I'm not familiar with the DPO, though, and if it has adequate memory in it for your needs then don't worry about it.

I have a TEK TD2048B which hardly ever sees light of day anymore, my home bench is light on space. I use a Hantek DSO1060 on my home bench now. It is 60MHz, 2 chan, battery operated for true portability, has loads of features - all for less than $600 at Global Specialties. Nice thing is, it also has a decent multimeter built in. It lacks the WaveInspector feature. It does have several automatic measurement capabilities, for voltages and timings.

IIRC, the DPO stands for "Digital Phosphor Oscilloscope". The phosphor part refers to the ability to show multiple traces, old ones slowly fading with each retrace. The Hantek has this feature. This is an aid to show the operator "trends" in the signal as it changes continuously. This used to be the main justification for buying the old phosphor screen o-scopes, as the user could see things over time that are now easily doable with digital scopes and their data logging capability.
Later.
kenjj