Author Topic: MultiMeter  (Read 3142 times)

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Offline leftyTopic starter

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Re: MultiMeter
« Reply #25 on: January 27, 2020, 10:39:45 pm »
Thanks so much guys. You've given me a lot to go on and I appreciate it. This is by far the most helpful forum to which I belong. Having a ball trying to figure this stuff out.
 

Offline leftyTopic starter

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Re: MultiMeter
« Reply #26 on: January 28, 2020, 04:34:14 am »
I apologize if this has moved off-topic and if it just belongs somewhere else but I probably started in the wrong sub-forum to begin with...so here goes.

I have a bunch of PC's, some really old and some just a little old. Up until now, I would usually just pull out some things I would find useful for spare parts, cables, fans and such. Hardrives and power supplies if they were of substantial enough size. But I'm starting to think there may be way more usable parts but I'm too new to really know. Should I hold off and keep them around for when I really start to learn? Is there anything good in there that may come in handy?
 

Offline rstofer

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Re: MultiMeter
« Reply #27 on: January 28, 2020, 04:45:32 am »
A lot of people unsolder motherboards with a hot air tool.  I can't see the effort involved for the cost of components that may or may not be marked.  I can buy all of the small parts for pennies and I'll know what they are.  Then again, I'm lazy.

As I said, a lot of people do strip the boards...
 

Offline AVGresponding

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Re: MultiMeter
« Reply #28 on: January 28, 2020, 07:06:48 pm »
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xtds420a.TRS0&_nkw=tds420a&_sacat=0

That TDS420A is priced all over the map at eBay.  Some for a couple of hundred bucks and some for nearly a couple of thousand.  That's it's 4 channels and 200 MHz makes it very useful for the hobbyist but they first need to sort out the difference between the $200 versions and the $2000 versions.

While the TDS420A is 'digitizing', I'm not sure how it compares to a modern DSO.  These new fangled scopes do everything!  I bought the DS1054Z primarily to do decoding of SPI (without having to drag out my logic analyzer) and it works well for microcontroller projects.

The measurement capabilities of the modern DSO make it far more useful than a traditional CRO.  My 350 MHz Tek 485 is still here because it has bandwidth.  There's no way I would want to buy a DSO with similar bandwidth.

In any event, these are choices for the newcomer to make.  There are some old-dog scopes around that are perfectly adequate for those just starting out.

eBay has the DS1054Z for a couple of hundred bucks more that Amazon!


Yeah prices are all over the place, it probably depends on what options it has fitted and as I said, mine is fully loaded. To be fair I probably dropped a bit lucky on that.
As for the digitizing part, well, at a measly 100Ms/s, the absolute best you can expect is 40MHz bandwidth, with a regular waveform and a following wind!   ;D
It goes into ET at the drop of a hat...

When I was working as a workshop EE testing/diagnosing/repairing UPSs in the way-back-when, all I had was a 20MHz Hameg and a Fluke 83, yet somehow I managed to fix stuff!
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Offline rstofer

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Re: MultiMeter
« Reply #29 on: January 28, 2020, 08:56:52 pm »
So, it might get down to "buy a used analog scope for a couple of hundred bucks" or "buy a new Rigol DS1054Z for $350, with 4 channels and a warranty plus advanced features".   Or perhaps one of the newer Siglents.  I just don't see a future in having a CRO other than bandwidth and equivalent time sampling doesn't interest me at all.  Too much of what I do is "one and done" in terms of data transfers.  I REALLY like the "One Shot" feature of a DSO.

I remember building all of my early equipment:  Heathkit Oscilloscope, Heathkit VTVM, Heathkit VOM, Heathkit Power Supply, Heathkit Frequency Counter  - there's a theme here!

I actually built my first oscilloscope from a project in the ARRL Handbook circa 1958.  It was an interesting project for a 13 year old kid.
Over time, my early gear has migrated to storage and has been replaced by better stuff but much of it is still around.
 

Offline grizewald

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Re: MultiMeter
« Reply #30 on: January 28, 2020, 09:20:42 pm »
I may be biased (because I already own one), but the Rigol DS1054Z is great for the price. I bought mine as a "nearly new" directly from Rigol's EU web site so it came with a full warranty and a decent cut off the new price.

After receiving it and checking that it worked OK, I immediately unlocked it so that it now shows as a Rigol DS1104Z and has the full 100MHz bandwidth and all decoding options. With four channels, you can happily use the 'scope as a logic analyser and debug I2C and SPI bus traffic with full decoding.



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