my first choice is the Tektronix ths720a (used)
priced at around ~170$
im leaning on the tektronix because its a more name brand, but its a handheld one, will this make me lose alot of features or not?
Atten is terrible, crap products and virtually no support.
If you can up your budget a little bit the Rigol and Siglent offerings are another league entirely.
Have a look at those, there are plenty of post in this forum
my first choice is the Tektronix ths720a (used)
priced at around ~170$
im leaning on the tektronix because its a more name brand, but its a handheld one, will this make me lose alot of features or not?
Regarding the Tektronix, as its used and probably aged enough (a decade or more) and there is no warranty, its known as aged affects it's offset and accuracy, also the backlight is also the weak point as its CFL, not LED.
Just ask your self are you ready for trouble shooting it ?
If you are, 2nd question, are you confident and qualified to fix or repair it ?
if u say am i qualified to fix it, probably not im just a uni student and a hobbyist,i wouldnt say im sure that the thing works perfectly fine nor do i have the equipment to calibrate the thing if its off.i have bought things previously from the seller and he seems like a trusted guy,and for buying other brands and saving up, the thing is the cheapest rigol/siglent in my country is at least (3~4)x the price of the tektronix
if u say am i qualified to fix it, probably not im just a uni student and a hobbyist,i wouldnt say im sure that the thing works perfectly fine nor do i have the equipment to calibrate the thing if its off.i have bought things previously from the seller and he seems like a trusted guy,and for buying other brands and saving up, the thing is the cheapest rigol/siglent in my country is at least (3~4)x the price of the tektronix
Make sure if the seller is willing to refund you should the THS720A out of cal, as this is used, and also officially discontinued, don't think the seller able to fix it.
No, just turned on and shows no error doesn't mean it its still in calibration, also an accurate/new scope even its Atten, is better than branded scope but not accurate, as all your measurements becomes meaningless.
I own THS720A and there is a big thread discussing it in this forum, just search for it read thru it, especially common problems.
Good luck on your quest.
Atten is terrible, crap products and virtually no support.
If you can up your budget a little bit the Rigol and Siglent offerings are another league entirely.
Have a look at those, there are plenty of post in this forum
'Scopes are a bit of a multi-tool, they're not perfectly suited to any one high accuracy measurement (but you can be pretty close).
I've found the main thing I need is for the channels to agree with each other thus being able to see signal shape and compare signals.
The next 'scope I buy will probably have serial bus decode and possibly logic analysis features, I have a feeling that'd be a useful feature for a mechatronics student too.
One problem with digital 'scopes is that the technology moves on, a $2000 digital scope from two decades ago is likely to be matched or even outclassed by a brand new modern $400 'scope so don't fall for the 'big name must be better'...
Check all the functions work, that all the controls feel nice, don't bother updating firmware unless you know it fixes a problem that affects you or it adds a feature that you need.
If I were a student, and I'm not, I would say "None of the above!"
I really believe the Digilent Analog Discovery 2 is the way to go for all student and most hobbyist instrumentation.
It is my favorite tool! I have the Rigol DS1054Z (and it's a great scope) and a Tek 485 350 MHz scope but I use the AD2 more than the two of them combined. Imagine doing mechatronics with a Raspberry Pi 4. You can run the Digilent Waveforms software on the same board you are troubleshooting with the AD2 connected to one of the USB inputs. Everything involved with the project runs on the Pi. Pretty slick!
Mechatronics? I'll bet you get involved with the SPI and I2C protocols. Some modern DSOs will do something that resembles a decode but, generally, when the time/div is large enough to see the decode, the number of packets on the screen is very limited. The AD2 does all that but it also produces a table of every byte in the transaction. You don't look at traces, you look at what is sent and received. Very handy, especially when a transaction is more than just a few bytes.
Two channel scope, two channel arbitrary waveform generator, 16 channels of digital IO that can also be used as a Logic Analyzer plus a BUNCH of software defined tools like the spectrum analyzer, Bode' plot (network analyzer), dual adjustable power supplies (limited to 5V), etc.
Before you make a decision, spend some time looking for AD2 videos. Digilent has an entire series of them.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSTiCUiN_BoLtf_bWtNzhb3VUP-KDvv91
This is not a toy! It is a very serious piece of equipment, particularly for the student. Drop it in a backpack along with a laptop and you are carrying a pretty decent lab - anywhere you want to go.
The Pro Bundle is the way to go because you will need the BNC adapter and scope probes if you want to work above 5V. I have it but I'm mostly working with uCs so it isn't necessary.
https://store.digilentinc.com/analog-discovery-2-pro-bundle/
Student discounts are available but I had to pay full price!
I totally agree regarding the Analog Discovery. It's certainly not a toy.
I have three of them, a result of being out in the field without one, and unexpectedly needing to purchase yet another one when on site to fix or diagnose something.
The difference between the I and II is that the II has variable power supplies, the I is fixed voltage.
I find I get by perfectly well without the BNC adapter board & probes.
The main feature it lacks is deep memory, but otherwise it's a super handy bit of kit. It's a Swiss Army Knife for the electronics engineer.
I would think that for Mechatronics, you might get more use from a logic analyzer than from a scope. Decoding SPI and I2C. There are some $11 logic analyzers on eBay like:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Logic-Analyzer-24MHZ-8-Channel-12C-UART-SPI-IIC-CAN-1Wire-Debug-For-ARM-FPGA/124238666414
You rip the driver from Saleae (the device enumerates as a 'Saleae Logic' type of device) and you can use the open source SigRok | Pulseview software. It takes a lot of time to get up to speed.
In any event, the gadget is cheap and will decode all the standard protocols. I bought one a couple of weeks ago and have it running on my Raspberry Pi 4. I can debug the I2C protocol coming off the Pi 4 header and this seems important. Yes, I have other ways to do it but I wanted to see if the cheap LAs are worthwhile. I guess they are but they sure don't compare to something like the Analog Discovery or, better for digital, the Digital Discovery. Still, they're cheap!
I do not prefer this device.
'Scopes are a bit of a multi-tool, they're not perfectly suited to any one high accuracy measurement (but you can be pretty close).
I've found the main thing I need is for the channels to agree with each other thus being able to see signal shape and compare signals.
thanks for the input this really puts me into a new light,i will need a scope that has that many functions. but scopes of such caliber must cost a fortune!
Not really, Rigol and Siglent both offer 'scopes with serial decode and logic analyser functions, they're a bit outside your price range new but they're not a fortune, if all you need is serial decode then they're far more affordable and if you can find one second hand then it'd be worth trying to stretch the budget a little if possible.
Calibration certificate is nice to have but not terribly important for a student or hobbyist as long as the 'scope is fully working, chances are it'll be pretty close, they tend not to drift much unless they've got a fault or been abused
Most cal certificates are just a statement of error, when I ran a department with ISO accreditation we *never* paid for gear to be adjusted unless it was outside of manufacturer's specified tolerance.
*edit* after taking a look at the Analog discovery 2, I'm impressed...
Google for 'Arduino oscilloscope' or
'Raspberry Pi Oscillosope;
Or, check out this:
https://www.instructables.com/id/PiScope-Raspberry-Pi-based-Oscilloscope/
Sound Card Oscilloscope:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Use-Your-Laptop-as-Oscilloscope/
For Mechatronics, I wouldn't think high bandwidth is required. There are always other ways to get things done.
Do the decoding thing with a cheap logic analyzer and use a laptop for a scope. That would have been a LOT better than what I had back in college.
I think the software has matured/steadily improved over the years....
https://store.digilentinc.com/waveforms-download-only/
Beyond the oscilloscope and waveform generator these (and more in the series) are impressive:
Voltmeter
Network Analyzer
Spectrum Analyzer
Logic Analyzer
Protocol Analyzer
Im on my 3rd semester uni studying Mechatronics engineering, i was thinking to buy an Osciloscope but confused which one to buy between 2 scopes
my first choice is the Tektronix ths720a (used)
priced at around ~170$
and the second choice is ATTEN Digital Oscilloscope ADS 1022CL+ (used but like brand new )
priced at around ~240$
im leaning on the tektronix because its a more name brand, but its a handheld one, will this make me lose alot of features or not?