Hi. First time user here. I was considering getting a cheap oscilloscope to investigate some issues I've been having with the mains power in my house (flickering lights, etc...) and I wanted to be able to view the 120v waveform. Searching on amazon, I was able to find some <200kHz oscilloscopes for ~$35. However, after looking at some reviews online, most people suggested that cheap (<$300) oscilloscopes just aren't very capable. Now, I do dabble in electronics, and it's not inconceivable that I might want to more seriously use an oscilloscope in the future. I'm quite confident that even the cheapest scope will be able to handle a 60Hz sine wave, but I'd like to justify the purchase of such an oscilloscope by knowing that I can also use it for electronics work in the future. So my question is, what are the limitations of a sub $60 (I'm not willing to spend more) oscilloscope? Would it be useful for some electronics work, or would attempting to do so be futile? At what point would I reach the limits of what such a scope could do?
Thank you.
P.S. I am aware of the safety concerns of dealing with mains electricity, as well of the fact that you can't just plug 120v into any oscilloscope. My question just pertains to how far a <$60 oscilloscope will take me.