What is a Good Beginner Oscilloscope?

I'd just buy a secondhand one on an internet auction site and post it back on that site when I had finished with it to recover the value, so it actually costs nothing.

Then, I'm funny that way.

Something like a Tektronics 2 channel digital storage scope (DSO). The bottom of the range ones are V good and it's what I use at work, although I can't remember the exact model.

My one has good functionality and is relatively user friendly.

TDS 2001

IMO an old fashioned second hand cheape analogue only non storage would be a poor second best and would be a mistake. Any microprocessor based work needs a DSO.

Let us know what you go for.

I think the Tektronix is made in China, but I expect they all are these days.

Del

Thank you for the recommendation.

Iv'e been doing a bit of searching and reading up on oscilloscopes but the info Iv'e seen does not give the reasons why the person uses or recommends the particular scope unless it is in reference to a specific capability.

So, now that it has been narrowed down to a DSO, time to find an affordable one!

Just found the info on the series I use. No longer on sale new, but it gives an idea of spec' and you may find one second hand.

The auto set function is quite handy when you've lost the trigger level cursor and don't know where you are... it gets you back to square one. There are still plenty of facilities I've never used

Del

I have extensive experience using megga buck HP units on check weighers. When the last HP that we had died, we bought a Fluke hand held. Awesome scope.

Click Here

Well said...

Thank you for the information!

There's an app for that.

Oscilloscope - Android Apps on Google Play

Oscilloscope Applications - Android - free download

Yeah, I should have said, the fastest I clock my circuits at is 8Mhz and many of 'em run at "watch crystal" frequency 32,768 Hz to save on power and to run a real time clock.

I'm only working on simple pump control stuff, so my recommendation may be too slow for telecoms work etc (spits on floor... I hate telecoms and RF)

Del

There several PC based oscilloscopes on the market that are very reasonably priced.

Because they utilize a PC/laptop for the display function you can get a lot of bells & whistles without spending near as much as you would for a stand-alone unit.

Using a quality PC based O-Scope allows a much larger view of the DATA and waveforms as well as higher quality resolution.

Look here: http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/98281

Check out Picoscope. I find them excellent and very reasonably priced.

The most important feature you forgot to mention, how much should it cost?

That has often a stronger bearing on the choice than anything else.

If say up to around $500 is acceptable, try one of these Chinese ones from ebay, with both "storage" and software to allow downloads of images onto a PC.....

Some even can be (illegally) upgraded to a higher frequency, though I would not recommend that. You might "kill" it!!

At least 10Mhz or more should do most of what you need.

I just looked on ebay, and they start far cheaper that I thought, and can even be bought on installments, so it is far less likely to be a scam I feel.....

See here:-

New-Hantek-DSO5072P-Digital-Oscilloscope-70MHz-1Ghz-2channel-7-TFT-WVGA-800x480

Do not buy secondhand today unless you are in the market for one less than $100, its simply a waste of money!

Do check the credentials of the ebay seller carefully....Best of luck!!

This Hantek unit looks pretty good. The plastic looks China cheapo, but it does look like a real O-scope. I'm not sure how they can engineer/design and build this for $256!

The three year warranty is probably worthless, but if it does what it says, you won't find anything with these functions/capabilities for this price.

To those naysayers who say that China isn't going to be the next world leader, just look at stuff like this - and yes, they will soon be building reliable cars!

Blimey Andy, indeed there are some good scopes on there.

I'd still go for my old friend

You are prob' right, a new one may be safer!

Del

We have some Rigols at work and we are happy with them. They seem to hit that "sweet spot" of being "low end" but far enough off the bottom that you can trust them. An Amazon search will yield scopes with a little more performance for a little less money, but they are less well known names with the risk of a black hole when you need repairs/support.

Do a Google search on "Rigol Distributors" and have their models and prices in a dominant place on your comparison shopping list. If it arrives with a problem then having a domestic distributor to deal with could be very helpful.

As stated by others, bandwidth should be at least twice the highest frequency of interest.

You can never have too many channels. Many times 4 channels will be preferred over 2.

The ability to dump images to a USB thumb drive is very handy. When documenting problems or writing procedures the ability to add clean images to a report/document is very helpful.

Sometimes deep memory is helpful. Long pulse streams, needles in haystacks and events that occur long after a trigger are all times when deep memory pays off.

Not true. You need more than 2X the highest frequency.

I think this myth has been propagated by the Nyquist frequency, but that really applies for things like the playback of audio signals where repeated cycles of data can be used to reconstruct the waveform.

That's not the case for an oscilloscope where you are looking events that maybe a one-time affair or signals that are not periodic in nature.

I have seen this myself where a low frequency limited scope completely missed a glitch that was killing a circuit. You give up after spending hours trying to chase down something you can't see that a higher bandwidth scope would reveal in minutes.

A scope is a good investment, but you should also consider what your future needs might be and try to buy something that will be useful over its working life.

Selecting a scope takes some research to understand all the important parameters you should consider or you will be paying for an expensive education if you don't.

Here is one of many tutorials on things to consider when buying a scope. It's not the most comprehensive, but a Google search will bring on many others.

I have just bought a modern one

2 channel colour - to compare input/output of circuits.

100mhz but 20/50mhz would do.

Probes good for 400v.

Data capture digital storage. Portable (it hand a carrying handle) but 230vac with lead.

I avoided computer based. It seem they tie up the computer when used as a scope. I wanted to run a continuous test for hours at a time to capture an 'event'.

Hence a range of trigger functions were needed.

So a modern digital storage stand-alone one seemed best. The 'event' could then be analysed later - with results displayed on-screen - or even down-loaded to computer for integrating with other programmes - mainly to print wave-forms.

I have not used it yet - just got to read the manual - a bit of a learning curve for me - the last time I used a scope was circa 1958.

After all this time I can't say I needed one to be honest, but I like to be able to 'mend' things - or design things - and it was something I've always wanted

Hundreds were available on eBay. I decided to pay a bit more for a modern one - rather than save money on an old second hand one.

Sounds cool what was it eh? eh?

You've got us all curious now

Del

That's just because you are a cat.

It is a:

TENMA 72-8240 Digital Storage Oscilloscope (DSO)

2Channel. 100MHZ, 500MSPS.

230vac. Complete with 2 probes, instructional manual and USB software on DVD.

Sold as NEW (by a private dealer on eBay)

Interesting... that looks very Tektronix in style.

Checked out the retail price (Farnell) looks good value for money.

Del

Dtc #28

If the Farnell retail price is typical and competitive then I got a bargain winning a bid on eBay at less than half that price.

I have to keep my fingers crossed that there is nothing wrong with it.

Do tell!

Thank you all for all the great information.

The one I have been looking at is about $200 more than what I want to spend so either I look for a cheaper one or save up a bit.

Can't just throw money around.

Thanks again

Bryan

What is your opinion of this mini pocket sized O-scope on eBay?

Is it worth the $70.00 or should I bite the bullet and drop a few more hundred $$

Mini Pocket-Sized Handheld Digital Storage Oscilloscope ARM DSO Nano DSO201

Here are the specifications:

Product Description

• DSO 201 is a pocket size digital storage oscilloscope fulfills basic electronic engineering requirements. It is based on ARMCortexTM-M3 compatible 32 bit platform, equipped with 320*240 color display, SD card capability, USB connection, and chargeable batteries.
• Super portable and lightweight. Basic 1 Msps sample rate with 12 bit resolution
• 2.8" color 320*240 display, Micro SD card Waveform Storage
• Various measurement markers and various trigger mode
• Build-in test signal, Usb chargeable battery, and open sourc

Specifications:

• Display:2.8″ Color TFT LCD
• Display Resolution:320×240
• Display Color:65K
• Analog bandwidth:0 - 1MHz
• Max sample rate:1Msps 12Bits
• Sample memory depth:4096 Point
• Horizontal sensitivity:1uS/Div～10S/Div (1-2-5 Step)
• Horizontal position:adjustable with indicator
• Vertical sensitivity:10mV/Div～10V/Div (with ×1 probe)&0.5V/Div～10V/Div (with ×10 probe)
• Vertical position:Adjustable with indicator
• Input impedance:>500KΩ
• Max input voltage: 80Vpp (by ×1 probe)
• Coupling: DC
• Trig modes:Auto, Norma, Single, None and Scan

Function:

• Automatic measurement: frequency, cycle, duty, Vpp, Vram, Vavg and DC voltage
• Precise vertical measurement with markers
• Precise horizontal measurement with markers
• Rising/falling edge trigger
• Trig level adjustable with indicator
• Trig sensitivity adjustable with indicator
• Hold/run feature

Information

• Test signal:Built-in 10Hz～1MHz (1-2-5 Step)
• Waveform storage:SD card
• PC connection via USB:As SD card reader
• Upgrade:By boot-loader via USB
• Power supply:3.7V Chargeable Lithium battery / USB
• Dimension (w/o probe):105mm X 53mm X 8mm
• PC connection:Mini USB B-Type

Package:

• 1x DS0201 Digital Oscilloscope Device (3.7V Li_Battery(ATL) mounted)
• 1x Probe (x1/x10)
• 1x Mini USB Cable
• 1x CD

It's not $70, it's $470.

$70 today and another $400 later after you realize that it doesn't do what you really wanted it to do.

I'm thinking you are correct!

Time to save up for my new toy!

I have a lifetime of those types of experiences. As a general rule of thumb it is better to not cheap out.

Lots of good advice here. I got this one and it was fine for what I was doing (and it was PIC-based which endeared me somewhat), which was quite rudimentary. However, at the price, I couldn't beat it.

http://www.pdamusician.com/dpscope/overview.html

This would give you initially something low-cost to see how it would do for your applications.