I just bought my first analog scope! Do you have any piece of advice for me?

[Jurgen]

Hello everybody!

This is only my 2nd topic that I have opened here, so please be patient with me  ! So I just got my Hitachi V-1565 and this is my first time using analog scopes. Are there any dos and don'ts when it comes to analog scopes?
I am inexperienced and I do not want to blow up my new (or rather old I guess  ) scope!

Also, the screen slightly flickers, is there any problem? Sadly my p6100 probes are still on the way and I cannot see the beatiful square wave just yet, so I am a little worried!

Jurgen

[Fungus]

Connect the test signal to the BNC with a piece of wire, you'll see if it works or not.

How much did you pay for it? 

The only real danger is not knowing that the outside of the BNC connector is connected directly to mains ground inside the 'scope. When your probes arrive and you connect them, don't attach the ground clip to anything that doesn't like being shorted to ground.

eg. The 5V USB voltage from a desktop PC won't enjoy being shorted.

There's not much danger apart from that. Fiddle away.

[james_s]

Watch Dave's video on how to not blow up your oscilloscope. For now I would recommend you stay away from any mains powered devices unless they have a separate power supply, if you follow that bit of advice then it's pretty hard to blow anything up.

Then watch some videos on how to use an oscilloscope, as was mentioned already a piece of wire poked in the input will work as a probe for relatively low frequency work. It's not ideal but will be sufficient for exploring the features and learning how to use it.

[Cerebus]

It will be blindingly obvious to some, but it may not be to younger players: don't poke your fingers inside with the covers off and the power on! The accelerating voltage on CRTs is measured in kilovolts. That's obvious to me and anybody who has lived with CRTs, but may not be to someone brought up on LCDs running on all of 5V.

If you ever have to do any maintenance inside the box (1) wait a few minutes between powering off and taking the covers off to give bleeder resistors time to discharge high voltage capacitors and (2) follow safe procedures at all times. If you don't know how to work safely on high voltage equipment get taught by someone who does - preferably first hand so they can watch for you making any potentially lethal mistakes. If you're lucky most mistakes are merely painful and educational, but if you're unlucky it'll be your last mistake.

[N2IXK]

Aside from the earth grounded BNCs and high voltages inside that others have mentioned, the main "Don't" that applies to CRT scopes is "Don't set the brightness/intensity control higher than needed!".

Running the intensity at high levels (particularly in a single area of the screen, or even worse, when collapsed to a single tiny spot) can actually burn the phosphor coating on the inside of the tube face. This will leave an ugly, permanent scar on the screen that will appear darker than the rest of the screen, and can only be fixed with a new CRT.

The level of intensity needed for a viewable trace will vary with sweep speed.  The faster the sweep. the higher the intensity needs to be set to get a good trace.

[wolfp]

Another hint: If the scope can do XY-mode the beam should not stay at one point to long. This will destroy the CRT.

[Jurgen]

Connect the test signal to the BNC with a piece of wire, you'll see if it works or not.

How much did you pay for it? 

The only real danger is not knowing that the outside of the BNC connector is connected directly to mains ground inside the 'scope. When your probes arrive and you connect them, don't attach the ground clip to anything that doesn't like being shorted to ground.

eg. The 5V USB voltage from a desktop PC won't enjoy being shorted.

There's not much danger apart from that. Fiddle away.

I got it for 85 bucks. I guess it was a bit expensive but it was the best option that I could find for my country that did not have insane shipping costs!

I should connect it to the center of the bnc, righr? Do i need to connected the ground of the bnc to the ground connector on the scope panel?

Jurgen

[Jurgen]

Aside from the earth grounded BNCs and high voltages inside that others have mentioned, the main "Don't" that applies to CRT scopes is "Don't set the brightness/intensity control higher than needed!".

Running the intensity at high levels (particularly in a single area of the screen, or even worse, when collapsed to a single tiny spot) can actually burn the phosphor coating on the inside of the tube face. This will leave an ugly, permanent scar on the screen that will appear darker than the rest of the screen, and can only be fixed with a new CRT.

The level of intensity needed for a viewable trace will vary with sweep speed.  The faster the sweep. the higher the intensity needs to be set to get a good trace.

I am not quite sure how much intensity is too much . I am trying to set it at the lowest possible intensity that is still good enough to see !

Jurgen

[Jurgen]

Watch Dave's video on how to not blow up your oscilloscope. For now I would recommend you stay away from any mains powered devices unless they have a separate power supply, if you follow that bit of advice then it's pretty hard to blow anything up.

Then watch some videos on how to use an oscilloscope, as was mentioned already a piece of wire poked in the input will work as a probe for relatively low frequency work. It's not ideal but will be sufficient for exploring the features and learning how to use it.

Oh yes, I do remember seeing that video before. I do not quite recall the specifics, so I guess I will have to watch it again .

Jurgen

[Jurgen]

It will be blindingly obvious to some, but it may not be to younger players: don't poke your fingers inside with the covers off and the power on! The accelerating voltage on CRTs is measured in kilovolts. That's obvious to me and anybody who has lived with CRTs, but may not be to someone brought up on LCDs running on all of 5V.

If you ever have to do any maintenance inside the box (1) wait a few minutes between powering off and taking the covers off to give bleeder resistors time to discharge high voltage capacitors and (2) follow safe procedures at all times. If you don't know how to work safely on high voltage equipment get taught by someone who does - preferably first hand so they can watch for you making any potentially lethal mistakes. If you're lucky most mistakes are merely painful and educational, but if you're unlucky it'll be your last mistake.

I will peak inside the scope tomorrow if I have time! The only device that had a crt that I remember was an old tv. That was replaced a long time ago and that was the last time I had a crt closeby, until today that is  .

Jurgen

[cheeseit]

I should connect it to the center of the bnc, righr? Do i need to connected the ground of the bnc to the ground connector on the scope panel?

Center, right. Ground, not needed.

I am not quite sure how much intensity is too much . I am trying to set it at the lowest possible intensity that is still good enough to see !

Lowest intensity where you can comfortably see the trace is fine. The key is to just not let it display either a dot or trace that is stationary for too long, and at an intensity level that is too high.

Also, it's a good idea to just turn the intensity all the way down while not using it during a session, instead of power cycling it all the time which is bad too. I'd advice to turn it off if you leave it for longer periods or go to bed though, both for energy and safety concerns.

Enjoy your new (old) scope! And be prepared to buy more scopes in the future, because apparently you can't have too many scopes and one tends to lead to another.. and another.. and so on.. I'm not sure how many scopes is optimal but it appears to be in the double digits.

[Brumby]

I should connect it to the center of the bnc, righr? Do i need to connected the ground of the bnc to the ground connector on the scope panel?

Center, right. Ground, not needed.

Just to be clear, you do not need to connect the ground of the BNC to the ground on the scope panel - as they are already connected internally ... and these are connected to mains earth!

You WILL need to connect the ground on the probe to a suitable point on your circuit - which is where watching Dave's video on the subject is worth another watch:

[Jurgen]

I tested both channels with a piece of wire connected to the probe adjust and they both seemed to work! I also tested my other buttons on the scope panel and they worked! I guess I have a working scope .
Jurgen

[Old Printer]

Do you have or can you get a manual for it?

[apblog]

I tested both channels with a piece of wire connected to the probe adjust and they both seemed to work! I also tested my other buttons on the scope panel and they worked! I guess I have a working scope .
Jurgen

Glad it works but you shouldn’t stick wires in the BNC connector, it is easily damaged or degraded.

Also try to get in the habit of not twisting the BNC connector when attach and detach your probes.  Of course it is ok to twist the locking ring.

[Gyro]

Do you have or can you get a manual for it?

Try https://www.eserviceinfo.com/download.php?fileid=31141

Edit: or a direct PDF link... http://people.virginia.edu/~cas8m/classes/phys3150/2012/scopemanual.pdf

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

Put it in X-Y mode, download oscillofun (see the links in the video description) and have some nerd's fun :-)

[woodchips]

Buy five more!

[radiolistener]

I am inexperienced and I do not want to blow up my new (or rather old I guess  ) scope!

Do not connect your oscilloscope directly to high voltage circuit