Electronics > Beginners
An oscilloscope with no earth (crappy wiring in house)
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loiphin:
Hi all,

I am an electronics newbie, and have been playing with Arduino circuits for a bit now. I decided to buy a Rigol DSO to hopefully further my education into electronics.

The problem is that my house does not have earthed sockets in most of the house (80's house in Norway.... what were they thinking when they built it???)

So my new Rigol would be plugged in without an earth. I only intend to use the scope for low voltage stuff, ie, less than say 24v.

Would having an unearthed scope pose a problem for my needs? Could I blow anything up in the scope?


Thanks in advance,

loiphin.
tautech:
If you go forward as you have said, you will be fine.
As you develop greater needs you will need greater knowledge and care to protect yourself and equipment.
Do a "how to use" + your thread name Google search for more info to asses the risks.
GeorgeOfTheJungle:
If the scope itself ever breaks and develops a leak to ground, then you're at risk... and the differential isn't going to kick in to save you until it's -perhaps- too late. But only *if* the scope *ever* breaks *and* develops a leak to ground. It helps that today's scopes are mostly made of plastics everywhere... but at the BNCs!

But I sometimes have disconnected the scope's earth from ground in order to be able to connect the probes' crocodile anywhere in the circuit... *sometimes* And you still have to watch out because while floating both probes' "grounds" are still tied together, keep it in mind.
steverino:
In the USA, a GFCI receptacle is used in these situations for personal safety. 
Thor-Arne:
You really need to get grounding in your lab, both for your own safety and esd dissipation.

Preferably get a certified electrician to fix it, or at least "borrow" some earth ground from a waterpipe or something.
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