Hioki 8835-01 Memory Hicorder, worth getting as a beginner oscilloscope?

[TheAmmoniacal]

I have a very good offer on the table for an Hioki 8835 Hicorder with two 8936 analog units (i.e. 4 channels), is this a good choice for a beginner scope? I'm not very knowledgeable about this unit, and still not entirely sure what it is. As far as I can tell it's just an oscilloscope with a built-in printer? Meant to be used in the field I guess?

Info and specifications here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15526481/docs/8835-01E12-91B-00P_web.pdf

How does it perform as an oscilloscope? What would be the bandwidth with those modules? Are the trigger options okay?

It looks small/compact and portable, decent LCD screen, easy to use. What do you guys think about the unit as an oscilloscope?

[tautech]

BW, well all you've got to go on is the model #.....35 MHz ? 
At least it has 400V inputs 

Most of its capabilities will be hidden in menus so unless you can trial it there's much that'll be left to chance.

But it looks a nice clean tidy unit and if cheap enough could be well worth a punt.
Without some documentation don't spend much on it.

[TheAmmoniacal]

The specifications for the analog input unit is:

Frequency characteristic:
DC to 400 kHz ±3 dB (DC coupling)
7 Hz to 400 kHz ±3 dB (AC coupling, low cut-off frequency: 7 Hz±20%)

How does this translate to real-world usage? How will a 1 MHz sine look like?

[Fungus]

The specifications for the analog input unit is:

Frequency characteristic:
DC to 400 kHz ±3 dB (DC coupling)
7 Hz to 400 kHz ±3 dB (AC coupling, low cut-off frequency: 7 Hz±20%)

How does this translate to real-world usage? How will a 1 MHz sine look like?

If the -3dB point is at 400kHz then there'll be almost nothing left at 1MHz.


A square wave will suffer at much lower frequencies. A 100kHz square wave is probably about the limit of what you can look at and still see something reasonably square.

Bottom line: It's a really cute looking device, but ... audio frequencies only.

PS: How much are they selling it for?

[TheAmmoniacal]

They are asking $180, which is still significant. And yeah, I'm skeptical of the limitations. Very niche product.

[Fungus]

Very niche product.

I'd say it's very useful if you're in a line of work where you have to measure a value over several hours/days.