Electronics > Beginners
Is An Oscilloscope Practical
vk6zgo:
--- Quote from: jazper on January 04, 2019, 03:33:19 am ---You can spend $50 for a used analogue scope and it will let you see sinewaves.
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Square waves, rectangular waves, sawtooth waves, analog video, modulated RF, DC levels (used as a large
screen centre zero voltmeter), all with frequency content depending upon the 3dB down point of the vertical amplifier.
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You can spend $100 for a USB scope
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which, depending on what you buy, will probably battle to look at complex analog signals.
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You can spend $250 or so on a two channel scope
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which, if it is a DSO, will be either about the same as the USB scope, or a bit better
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You can spend $300-350 (maybe less with a 20% eBay deal or something) on a 1054z with 4 channels
You can spend $500 on a siglent 1104x-e
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Now you are talking about fairly decent DSOs!
--- Quote ---You decide what you want.
I would go a 4 channel over a 2 channel any day of the week, I would go for higher frequency if it fits in my budget. 4 channels has gotten me out of trouble a few times.
The siglent 1202, 1104 and the rigol 1054z are all good scopes. Ultimately it comes down to your budget
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Kasper:
Scopes are nice to have, even for a beginner.
A cheaper and safer option is a simulator. LTspice is a good free simulator. It takes a bit of effort to learn but there is lots of help out there.
Fungus:
--- Quote from: tvl on January 04, 2019, 03:39:15 am ---For what it is worth:
1- I really would rather not "hack" something to gain better features. Paying makes more sense, but it also increases the cost of the Rigol DS1054z
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You wouldn't need to hack one to look at the sine wave of mains AC. The base model has about 1000x the bandwidth needed for that.
The "hack" is no big deal, just enter a number by pushing buttons on the front panel and everything unlocks. It can also be reset/removed if you want.
--- Quote from: tvl on January 04, 2019, 03:39:15 am ---2- From what I've read, I had thought the Siglent SDS1202X-E received the best reviews when compared to the Rigol DS1054z
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Both have pros and cons but they're really very similar at the end of the day.
OTOH the Siglent costs more and you only get two channels.
james_s:
Looking at the sine wave coming out of the wall or a generator will keep you entertained for about 5 minutes, then what? *Any* scope will work for that, even one of those ancient Heathkit, Eico, etc vacuum tube scopes that have about a 500kHz bandwidth.
Maybe you can borrow a scope from someone for a bit to play around and decide if it's something you want to spend a few hundred bucks on? It doesn't make sense to buy an expensive instrument if it ends up collecting dust once the novelty wears off.
Fungus:
--- Quote from: james_s on January 04, 2019, 04:46:25 pm ---Looking at the sine wave coming out of the wall or a generator will keep you entertained for about 5 minutes, then what? *Any* scope will work for that, even one of those ancient Heathkit, Eico, etc vacuum tube scopes that have about a 500kHz bandwidth.
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Or get one of these.
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