First hobbyist oscilloscope.

[nanofrog]

I am thinking about buying a Rigol DS1054Z. Is there still a way to get it for less than $399 on TEquipment's site?

Also, Amazon has the Siglent SDS1052DL for $279 shipped from Amazon or TEquipment. Very tempting! However, I may just go cheap and get the tiny, open-source DSO Nano Oscilloscope v3 by Seeed Studio for under $100 and upgrade later. (http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/DSO-Nano-v3-p-1358.html)

Any comments about these three options & getting a discount on the Rigol?

Yes, the code is still active, and there's a few ways to get it.

• Initiate a Live Chat during business hours.
• Pick up the phone and call during business hours.
• Or wait on the generosity of others to send you a PM.

Regarding Siglent v. Rigol, I'd hold off if possible to see what shakes out, as another member recently indicated Siglent has a new model coming out to compete with the DS1000Z series (tautech, who also happens to be a Siglent dealer in NZ).

I'd skip the DSO Nano Oscilloscope by Seeedstudio entirely.

[BillyD]

Avoid the DSO Nano unless you want to have your enthusiasm for electronics crushed.
The only suitable place for the DSO Nano and that general family of devices is the rubbish bin.

[tautech]

Regarding Siglent v. Rigol, I'd hold off if possible to see what shakes out, as another member recently indicated Siglent has a new model coming out to compete with the DS1000Z series (tautech, who also happens to be a Siglent dealer in NZ).

Thanks for the plug but IMHO it's a bit early to recommend waiting for the new Siglent. We dealers are often offered pre-release units for evaluation, then we know accurately how it is spec'ed and how it measures up against the competition. 
AFAIK it's a few months away yet.

I'm a new hobbyist, and just getting started. As an example, I am still trying to fully understand the 555, and I thought I was hot stuff when I controlled the brightness on an LED with a pot-controlled transistor. Total noob.

Also, Amazon has the Siglent SDS1052DL for $279 shipped from Amazon or TEquipment. Very tempting!

@ frizz
Welcome to the forum.

As it seems you are still finding your way  I'll give you a few things to consider.
A flag in your profile can help with local recommendations.

  for choosing to go with a new DSO.
DSO sampling rates:
The ADC determines this, let's say 1Gsa/s shared between 2 or 4 channels. Obviously the 4 ch DSO will be limited to 250 Msa/s with all channels active while a 2 channel unit will have 500Msa/s that will be much better at capturing and displaying non-periodic waveforms like the glitches and fast spikes encountered when troubleshooting.
While little DSO memory will accomplish most tasks, 2 Mb is considered a good minimum choice.
I've also believed 400V capable channel inputs to be better for newbies, just in case usage mistakes are made so your precious new DSO has less chance of being   .

[Lightages]

If I may, I would like to also suggest you avoid Mastech multimeters. I would buy almost anything else other then that brand. For $50 you can get the Uni-T UT139C shipped to your door. I know it is almost twice your budget but I am sure it will make you much happier in the end.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Uni-T-UT139C-True-RMS-Digital-Multimeter-with-Temperature-NCV-Backlight-/171213085325

Or consider this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digitek-DT-4000ZC-TekPower-TP4000ZC-Data-Logging-Multimeter-with-Temperature-/200912705694
You get a PC cable with it too.

[Muxr]

Another vote for the Rigol DS1054Z. 

For a few bucks more, you get 4 channels, and it can be hacked to 100MHz and enable all of it's software options. 

PM sent (makes it less than $400).

I'm a new hobbyist, and just getting started. As an example, I am still trying to fully understand the 555, and I thought I was hot stuff when I controlled the brightness on an LED with a pot-controlled transistor. Total noob.

I am thinking about buying a Rigol DS1054Z. Is there still a way to get it for less than $399 on TEquipment's site?

Also, Amazon has the Siglent SDS1052DL for $279 shipped from Amazon or TEquipment. Very tempting! However, I may just go cheap and get the tiny, open-source DSO Nano Oscilloscope v3 by Seeed Studio for under $100 and upgrade later. (http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/DSO-Nano-v3-p-1358.html)

Any comments about these three options & getting a discount on the Rigol?

Every hobby has a barrier of entry, and you will find in electronics just like in any other hobby if you buy cheap you will be buying twice on most items.

Rigol DS1054Z has the best bang per buck on the market right now, and possibly for the foreseeable future. Anything cheaper or more expensive is less for your money.

Now that Siglent for $279 is a usable scope. It is not great but it's usable. Anything that calls itself a scope cheaper than what Siglent offers with SDS1052DL is not a real scope. Yes you can get a discount on the Rigol from Tequipment. You're looking at less than $100 difference between the two scopes (with the discount). Would I go for a Rigol over that Siglent for less than $100 difference. In a heart beat, it's a much much better scope.

Get yourself a Rigol with a discount through Tequipment and an Amprobe 510 or the UNI-T lightgages suggested. And you will have a setup many of us would have dreamed off when we first started.

edit: The only other way to spend less on a scope would be to go for an old analog $50-$100 scope. These scopes are great for repetitive signals, but you can't do single shot capture with them, which is really handy. However they are definitely usable. The problem however is. Ebay is hit or miss, and I often see decent old analog scopes on ebay go for way more money than what they are worth, people tend to buy them for nostalgia not as a bargain. Also you probably won't be able to judge what's a decent analog scope bargain, because all the good scopes we can suggest are the popular choices which usually command a premium. So really your options are: Rigol DS1054Z (one option).

[ez24]

From a newbie

I started with used analog scopes first and out of 3 all 3 had problems, one busted in the mail, one was busted, and the third one has so many problems I hate getting near it.  Lost a lot of money trying to get an used analog scope, so I would suggest do not try.  But if you like to gamble, go for it.

The fourth and five scopes were a Rigol DS1054 and a DSO 112 and I like them both, and I use the DSO 112 more just because it amazes me and is very "cute" and I use the Rigol to keep the DSO 112 honest (and so far it has been).   I would be happy to have just the DSO as a beginner.   For example I can see the ripple from a buck converter on the DSO 112 but not the high freq signals on the ripple (need the Rigol for that).  You can do a lot of learning with a 2 meg bandwidth.   If you get a DSO 112 make sure it has a battery, most do not.

I also took advice on getting used Power Designs power supplies, and got 2 out of 3 good ones.  I like their look better than new crap.  I could suggest going this route.  I think you could get to 90% good luck if you ask the seller to turn the voltage dial and see if the meter moves.  But this takes time, look at ebay SOLD listings to get the values, not Buy It Now prices.

If you want to go cheap on a ps, try a laptop supply and some buck converters.  Hard to beat them and you can learn a little, this is what I am doing. 

I went for a couple $50 multimeters (found on the multimeter spreadsheet - I wanted ones that use AA batteries) and am happy with them.  I use cheap Harbor Freight meters for current measurements because I am a newbie and I do not want to blow up my $50 meters when measuring currents.

[Fungus]

Guys I worked with digital scops for years now I am not going analog. I already bought the rigol  and I think it is a very good scop for the money. I have been getting emails saying oh you should buy analog bla bla. I don't know why so many people in this forum have personal agendas toward analog scopes lol.

a) They grew up with them, and
b) there used to be a much bigger price difference between an old CRO and a decent DSO.

But these days the CROs are all old/failing, the price difference has almost vanished (thanks to the DS1054Z), CROs take up a lot of bench space and ... there's not much point. DSOs are just better.

Unless you can score a CRO at a real bargain price (ie. very close to 'free') and get to try before you buy to make sure it all works then just keep saving up for the DSO. A few months waiting to score a brand new DS1054Z vs. spending (wasting?) $100 of your savings on an old analog 'scope? Not a difficult decision.

[Wuerstchenhund]

Guys I worked with digital scops for years now I am not going analog. I already bought the rigol  and I think it is a very good scop for the money. I have been getting emails saying oh you should buy analog bla bla. I don't know why so many people in this forum have personal agendas toward analog scopes lol.

a) They grew up with them, and

b) they are stuck in their ways and incapable to make the leap into the digital age

Unfortunately the last point is pretty common with many older EEs. When they were taught there were no digital scopes just analog ones, and after completing their education they often worked for decades on some analog circuitry where analog scopes were good enough for the task. They might even have looked at analog scopes briefly somewhere in the very early 90's when DSOs were slow and limited (inferior to analog scopes for most general tasks while being much more expensive), but then quickly dismissed them as some kind of fancy toy.

Many of these EEs are great analog engineers, but completely lost with anything digital, and they are regularly completely overwhelmed when asked to perform some basic measurements on a modern advanced DSO. They only know a scope as a device for looking at waveforms, not as a signal analyzer that can give you signal information that with an analog scope you wouldn't even know it's there, and often have zero appreciation for how a DSO works and how it is used sensibly. Which is fair enough in some way.

All that for itself weren't that bad, however some of these oldtimers try to spread their ignorance by telling newcomers to EE to forego all progress in test and measurement equipment made within the last 25 years or so and follow their "old ways", while telling anyone who disagrees that they are simply "too young" (and supposedly stupid I guess). Sometimes they embarrass themselves by citing articles from the 90's talking about why analog scopes are better.

The really sad part is that they might very well end up completely ruining a beginner's experience with electronics, if that poor guy made the mistake of not treating their "advice" the same way as great-grandpa's wartime stories.

But these days the CROs are all old/failing, the price difference has almost vanished (thanks to the DS1054Z), CROs take up a lot of bench space and ... there's not much point. DSOs are just better.

Unless you can score a CRO at a real bargain price (ie. very close to 'free') and get to try before you buy to make sure it all works then just keep saving up for the DSO. A few months waiting to score a brand new DS1054Z vs. spending (wasting?) $100 of your savings on an old analog 'scope? Not a difficult decision.

I can't agree more