Yet another...will the Hantek 6022BE USB scope work for me?

[Johndi]

Hello all,

Long time lurker, first time poster.  Looking to dip myself back into electronics as a hobby and I want to get started with some simple ones, like building a bench PSU and doing some simple audio stuff (headphone amp, desktop amp, modifying old car radio for aux in and pre-amp out).

From reading various posts here I know I can get by with a DMM and I've got one of your basic $15 cheapies, but I'd like to get a working scope.

I've read the following threads:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hantek-6022be-20mhz-usb-dso/
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hantek-6022be-will-it-work-for-me/

Given what I'd like to use it for, would this piece of gear be a good fit for my limited needs?  From reading other threads I know that the main consensus is to save your duckets and purchase a Rigol or comparable Siglent, Owon, etc for ~$300 but at this time I simply cannot justify spending that much on a hobby all in one shot.

I also happen to have a JDR 3500 CRO that I purchased for $15 that I know needs some repair, and I've downloaded the manual for it and 2 other fellow clones (Tenma 72-330, Hung Chang OS-635).  Need to get some probes for it then tear it apart to fix.  Perhaps getting off my rear and repairing this unit would be a better use of money?

The only high frequency use I would use the scope for would be to fix the Metcal RFG-30 power supply I recently purchased.  I've always wanted a nice Metcal iron, and ebay deals for working used Metcal stuff almost always mushrooms near the end of the auction.  Using a scope to verify its outputting 13.56Mhz is probably the only high frequency use that I'd use it for.

Well, enough rambling, and I appreciate the advice.

Thanks.

[Lightages]

That oscilloscope uses jelly bean parts and it should be repairable, except for the tube. I doubt you will find a replacement for the tube if it is bad. That scope is very useable for doing general electronics and audio work.

You should be aware that there will be some dangerous voltages inside and you should use the appropriate precautions. You will probably want a multimeter with better input protection than a $15 meter. I think some money would be better spent there so you have a good instrument you can trust and will be safe too. I suggest a Uni-T UT139C as a good cheap meter that will do everything you should need. It is only around $50 USD from ebay.

Don't bother buying probes for that scope until you get it working.

The Hantek 6022BE will be better than no scope, but I think the one you have if it is working will be more than adequate. You can then spend the money on a proper multimeter or two. Yes, two multimeters can come in very handy.

[Fraser]

Totally agree with Lightages on this.

I own the Hantek 6022BE and intended to team it up with their Logic Analyzer which is in the same case format. I own 'real' oscilloscopes, both analogue and digital and my honest opinion is that potential buyers of the 6022BE should keep saving and buy something better. The 6022BE has too many issues both in hardware and software for me to recommend it to anyone unless they were truly desperate for something/anything that could display a simple waveform.

I support your present plan to repair the Cathode Ray Oscilloscope. It is true that care is needed as the scope contains high voltages and is potentially deadly if common sense is not used, especially around the mains input. You will likely learn from the repair as well. Sadly sometimes you need a scope to fix a scope though. There is plenty of help available on this forum so you should be able to get advice and most respond well to someone trying to repair an equipment rather than just asking which cheapie replacement to buy 

It is also worth remembering that an analogue oscilloscope does not suffer the limitations of sample rate found in digital oscilloscopes. Unlike a digital oscilloscope the analogue unit is often capable of triggering and displaying signals that exceed its stated bandwidth. My 200MHz Hameg will trigger reliably at 300MHz  Amplitude accuracy is obviously compromised but sometimes you are interested in signal presence, frequency or shape so amplitude is not all important in all cases.,

Go analogue and have fun 

[Johndi]

Thanks for the advice.  I'll save my money and put it towards fixing my CRO. Thanks for the recommendation of the multi-meter as well. I guess I'll find myself a plotter and print out the schematics and start the teardown process.

On an unrelated topic and somewhat of a rant, one thing that I found interesting was the amount of time that it took me to locate my CRO for a reasonable price.....it seems that on both Craigslist and eBay most people (or maybe I should say liquidators?) want top $$ for broken or parts only CROs.  One auction some time ago wanted over $100 for a broken 20MHz CRO with no accessories, and it wasn't even your typical name brand like Tektronix, HP, Agilent, or Hitachi.  It was a rebadged clone unit not terribly different from my JDR 3500.

Now, to be completely fair, I hadn't looked into finding a Ham Radio meet or something else similar to go to in order to find the elusive $50 working CRO. *sigh*

Thanks again!

[Fraser]

I have noticed an increase in prices for CROs on eBay UK. No idea why. You used to be able to buy a working Hameg scope very cheaply but people are now asking serious money for them. Saying that, I have recently bought two very nice Hameg HM2005/200MHz units for £19 and £130. Bargains do still come along.

Aurora

[mccormickh]

Hi all,

Just a complete newbie post, so please bear with me. Decided to try out the Hantek 6022bl, despite some dodgy reviews.

Received it today, unpacked and plugged in. Nothing. Not a peep. I'm using a windows 10 machine, so that may be the issue, but the unit isn't recognised by the PC at all - it won't install drivers, find new hardware etc.

I'm not convinced the unit isn't completed dead - stupid question - can anyone who has one of these units tell me if there is a positive indication (led etc) that the unit is receiving power?

I don't want to start poking at the innards of the device I got to help me begin to poke at the innards of things

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

[alsetalokin4017]

I would suspect the Windows 10 first. Do you have access at all to an earlier Windows machine, for a temporary test? When in doubt.... fall back to XP!

The Hantek literature says it will work up through Windows 8 (but others have reported problems with the scope under Win8); I can't find anything about Windows 10 and this scope.

[Seekonk]

From what I've heard the problem is Windows10.  Too bad because I need a new laptop.  I like the 6022BE, a great value with a lot of capability. Subtract the two probes and it is only #30 for the scope.  It can be a problem if you have no idea what you are doing and don't know what to expect. 

[nbritton]

Given what I'd like to use it for, would this piece of gear be a good fit for my limited needs?  From reading other threads I know that the main consensus is to save your duckets and purchase a Rigol or comparable Siglent, Owon, etc for ~$300 but at this time I simply cannot justify spending that much on a hobby all in one shot.

If that's the case then you may want to choose a different hobby. I'm getting back into electronics myself and I'm budgeting no less than $2,000 to get quality 'hobbyist grade' test equipment. The cheapest scope I would even consider buying, the DS1054Z, is $375 over at tequipment.net with the EEVblog discount. Quality test equitpment is not cheap.

The Hantek 6022BE has a sample rate of 48 MS/s! I wouldn't expect more than 1 MHz of usable system bandwidth out of that turd. You would be better off buying a used analog scope off of eBay. If you're dead set on getting back into electronics with a budget that limited then I suggest getting the Analog Discovery by Diligent, Inc. It is $279 ($159 academic pricing), but for that you get a whole electronics laboratory in one box. It is a combination: 2-Channel Oscilloscope, 2-Channel Waveform Generator, 16-Channel Logic Analyzer, 16-Channel Digital Pattern Generator, ±5VDC Power Supplies, Spectrum Analyzer, Network Analyzer, Voltmeter, and Programmable GPIO. Best of all, it has twice the bandwidth (100 MS/s) of the Hantek 6022BE.

[nbritton]

I have noticed an increase in prices for CROs on eBay UK. No idea why. You used to be able to buy a working Hameg scope very cheaply but people are now asking serious money for them. Saying that, I have recently bought two very nice Hameg HM2005/200MHz units for £19 and £130. Bargains do still come along.

Aurora

It's because few companies make them anymore. It's simple supply and demand. In some ways they are collectors items. The same is true for 1970s era analog stereos, for example the Pioneer SX-780 from 1979 had a list price of $200, however, if you look at eBay it's still selling for $200.

[pickle9000]

Hi all,

Just a complete newbie post, so please bear with me. Decided to try out the Hantek 6022bl, despite some dodgy reviews.

Received it today, unpacked and plugged in. Nothing. Not a peep. I'm using a windows 10 machine, so that may be the issue, but the unit isn't recognised by the PC at all - it won't install drivers, find new hardware etc.

I'm not convinced the unit isn't completed dead - stupid question - can anyone who has one of these units tell me if there is a positive indication (led etc) that the unit is receiving power?

I don't want to start poking at the innards of the device I got to help me begin to poke at the innards of things

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Turn off driver signing authorization and try again. If it's a bench only comp you may want to leave it off.

[nbritton]

On an unrelated topic and somewhat of a rant, one thing that I found interesting was the amount of time that it took me to locate my CRO for a reasonable price.....it seems that on both Craigslist and eBay most people (or maybe I should say liquidators?) want top $$ for broken or parts only CROs.  One auction some time ago wanted over $100 for a broken 20MHz CRO with no accessories, and it wasn't even your typical name brand like Tektronix, HP, Agilent, or Hitachi.  It was a rebadged clone unit not terribly different from my JDR 3500.

The median 'Buy It Now' price on eBay for an analog scope is $175.

[mccormickh]

Thanks everyone for the replies. After what can only be described as random disconnecting and reconnecting the USB lead, windows finally decided something was connected to the PC. I was then able to tell it where to look for the drivers I had downloaded from the Hantek website. So success