Author Topic: How thievable are oscilloscopes?  (Read 6351 times)

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Offline FaringdonTopic starter

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How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« on: July 09, 2022, 08:58:15 am »
Hi,
Just taken over a workspace in London. Wondering whether to leave the Rigol 40MHz (£90 many years ago) scope in there or not?
I deffo wont leave my laptop in there.
Its (workspace) got a Yale lock.....and main door security could be "tailgated".
Provious users may have got duplicate keys done.
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Offline pcprogrammer

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #1 on: July 09, 2022, 09:34:59 am »
Go and ask your local police what the risks in the area are. They can also advice on what measures to take on prevention.

Online tggzzz

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #2 on: July 09, 2022, 09:41:24 am »
They are 82.5% "thievable" in some parts of London, but only 68.2% in others, and 24.9% in the best parts.

The obvious solution is to cart anything valuable (including soldering iron) back to your flat every night. Make sure your landlord doesn't spot them and think you are doing soldering for business purposes.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
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Offline jonpaul

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #3 on: July 09, 2022, 11:40:31 am »
Of course anything can be stolen especially in a big city. The low life's don't know or care what they steal.

The police will do nothing.

Jon

An Internet Dinosaur...
 
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Offline bd139

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #4 on: July 09, 2022, 11:45:11 am »
They are 82.5% "thievable" in some parts of London, but only 68.2% in others, and 24.9% in the best parts.

The obvious solution is to cart anything valuable (including soldering iron) back to your flat every night. Make sure your landlord doesn't spot them and think you are doing soldering for business purposes.

Having had 11 oscilloscopes thieved from my personal possession in London I conclude that your statistics are accurate. Last one was only last week. Was just sitting in the pub with it and turned away for a moment and it was gone. Police didn’t even call back it’s so common these days. Long gone are the days of nicking bikes.

Someone is now sitting there in their scummy flat enjoying that Tektronix 465B and I am deprived and angry about it. 
« Last Edit: July 09, 2022, 11:47:51 am by bd139 »
 
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Offline NiHaoMike

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #5 on: July 09, 2022, 12:38:09 pm »
A 40MHz scope is not going to be worth much. It might not even be worth chaining it to the bench.
The obvious solution is to cart anything valuable (including soldering iron) back to your flat every night. Make sure your landlord doesn't spot them and think you are doing soldering for business purposes.
Unless the area has next to no security (which doesn't seem to be the case given the description), the risk of accidental damage during transport would outweigh the reduction in risk of it being stolen. Also, the landlord isn't going to care if you're doing business stuff at home (particularly after working from home has become more popular) as long as you're not disturbing the neighbors or damaging the property.
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Offline bd139

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #6 on: July 09, 2022, 12:41:29 pm »
Not so sure about that. My landlord has a clause about storage of certain classes of chemicals for insurance purposes. That pretty much excludes things like fluxes, etchants and solvents which is a big bulk of chemical required for EE work. Even my ex wife, a hairdresser, is in violation of those clauses. Of course there’s the “no commercial uses” clause as well.

Of course these things only become and issue if (a) you get caught or (b) the place burns to the ground.

Arguably my 20 year old Henry vacuum cleaner is probably more of an insurance risk due to the explosive X2 capacitor in it.
 
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Offline NiHaoMike

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #7 on: July 09, 2022, 01:30:38 pm »
Not so sure about that. My landlord has a clause about storage of certain classes of chemicals for insurance purposes. That pretty much excludes things like fluxes, etchants and solvents which is a big bulk of chemical required for EE work.
The intent is to prevent using the space for storing drums of such chemicals, in the small quantities used for hobby work, one could easily argue that it poses less risk than, for example, a can of cooking oil spray.
Quote
Of course there’s the “no commercial uses” clause as well.
The intent is to prevent disturbances to neighbors due to noise or smells, or introducing more traffic than the area is designed for by bringing in customers. If the setup is for use by only one person, one could always argue that it's for working from home.
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Offline bd139

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #8 on: July 09, 2022, 01:32:13 pm »
I’ve worked in the insurance sector. They would use it instantly to void the policy.
 
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Offline Psi

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #9 on: July 09, 2022, 01:52:12 pm »
If you do leave it there, throw an airtag in it   :-+
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Offline bd139

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #10 on: July 09, 2022, 01:59:24 pm »
Now AirTags are definitely nickable!
 
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Online tggzzz

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #11 on: July 09, 2022, 02:00:41 pm »
Not so sure about that. My landlord has a clause about storage of certain classes of chemicals for insurance purposes. That pretty much excludes things like fluxes, etchants and solvents which is a big bulk of chemical required for EE work.
The intent is to prevent using the space for storing drums of such chemicals, in the small quantities used for hobby work, one could easily argue that it poses less risk than, for example, a can of cooking oil spray.
Quote
Of course there’s the “no commercial uses” clause as well.
The intent is to prevent disturbances to neighbors due to noise or smells, or introducing more traffic than the area is designed for by bringing in customers. If the setup is for use by only one person, one could always argue that it's for working from home.

The intent is to provide justifications for not paying out if a claim is made. No more, no less. If a claim is made, the insurance company will try to find a way of not paying out.

Example: I was rear-ended in a queue of cars. I pulled forward and stopped, the person behind pulled forward and didn't stop soon enough. The first thing the claims assessor did was to check the depth of tread on my tyres. If insufficient, the car would not have been legal and therefore he wouldn't have needed to look at the damage done to my car, let alone assess it.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 
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Offline Cerebus

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #12 on: July 09, 2022, 04:48:22 pm »
Arguably my 20 year old Henry vacuum cleaner is probably more of an insurance risk due to the explosive X2 capacitor in it.

Well, you could probably be prosecuted under the Firearms Act 1968 for mere possession of a "section 5 prohibited weapon".

Quote
5 Weapons subject to general prohibition.

(1)F14A person commits an offence if, [F15without authority], he has in his possession, or purchases or acquires ...—

...

(b)any weapon of whatever description designed or adapted for the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas or other thing;

 :-DD
Anybody got a syringe I can use to squeeze the magic smoke back into this?
 
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Offline tom66

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #13 on: July 09, 2022, 04:54:57 pm »
In my experience they're negatively thievable.  Despite my best efforts I seem to have slowly accumulated oscilloscopes.  No one has so far tried to retard this by stealing them.
 
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Offline bd139

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #14 on: July 09, 2022, 05:02:22 pm »
Arguably my 20 year old Henry vacuum cleaner is probably more of an insurance risk due to the explosive X2 capacitor in it.

Well, you could probably be prosecuted under the Firearms Act 1968 for mere possession of a "section 5 prohibited weapon".

Quote
5 Weapons subject to general prohibition.

(1)F14A person commits an offence if, [F15without authority], he has in his possession, or purchases or acquires ...—

...

(b)any weapon of whatever description designed or adapted for the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas or other thing;

 :-DD

Under this description I could be prosecuted for possession of a 9 year old
 
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Online tggzzz

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #15 on: July 09, 2022, 05:12:35 pm »
Arguably my 20 year old Henry vacuum cleaner is probably more of an insurance risk due to the explosive X2 capacitor in it.

Well, you could probably be prosecuted under the Firearms Act 1968 for mere possession of a "section 5 prohibited weapon".

Quote
5 Weapons subject to general prohibition.

(1)F14A person commits an offence if, [F15without authority], he has in his possession, or purchases or acquires ...—

...

(b)any weapon of whatever description designed or adapted for the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas or other thing;

 :-DD

Under this description I could be prosecuted for possession of a 9 year old

Strangely my daughter applies that in reverse.

I'm unrepentant. "Where ere you be / let the wind blow free / For t'was the want of that / that kill'ed me".
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 
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Offline rsjsouza

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #16 on: July 09, 2022, 05:28:32 pm »
Example: I was rear-ended in a queue of cars. I pulled forward and stopped, the person behind pulled forward and didn't stop soon enough. The first thing the claims assessor did was to check the depth of tread on my tyres. If insufficient, the car would not have been legal and therefore he wouldn't have needed to look at the damage done to my car, let alone assess it.

I had a very similar occurrence. Once I was rear ended with the company car and I had to file a police report. In Brazil it is mandatory to have a small (5kg) fire extinguisher on the car, but rarely anyone remembers it even exists, let alone do the proper maintenance on it. When I arrived at the Police station, the first thing the cop asked was to look at the extinguisher - he was trying to do exactly what you mean: catch me on an infraction to get some cash on the side. Fortunately the company maintained the car in tip top shape and the extinguisher was ok.

On a similar note on the insurance side: a friend of mine was involved in an accident where his (big) truck hit another car wrongly taking a left on a crossing (light was green for my friend, and he has a dashcam). Since both cars involved were from the same insurance company, they tried to "double dip" and assume fault to both parties. A fight ensued and my friend was finally vindicated with no fault at all. Ah and that is also why he disables the speedometer on the dash cam as well: if it is 40.5mph on a 40 he would open this door for litigation.
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Offline Cerebus

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #17 on: July 09, 2022, 05:39:48 pm »
Under this description I could be prosecuted for possession of a 9 year old

You probably should be. When I remember what I was like as a 9 year then I have to conclude that it's an irresponsible thing to let a 9 year old out onto the streets to create havoc.  >:D
Anybody got a syringe I can use to squeeze the magic smoke back into this?
 
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Offline pcprogrammer

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #18 on: July 09, 2022, 05:43:24 pm »
Interesting how this went from getting a scope possibly stolen to farting :-DD

Offline SiliconWizard

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #19 on: July 09, 2022, 06:11:37 pm »
They are 82.5% "thievable" in some parts of London, but only 68.2% in others, and 24.9% in the best parts.

The obvious solution is to cart anything valuable (including soldering iron) back to your flat every night. Make sure your landlord doesn't spot them and think you are doing soldering for business purposes.

 ;D
 
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Offline Wallace Gasiewicz

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #20 on: July 09, 2022, 06:41:53 pm »
Perhaps as a deterent to theft, add a Biohazard sticker
Then add Monkey Pox
Then add the name of your favorite politician?????
 
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Offline Bud

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #21 on: July 09, 2022, 07:42:04 pm »
The last thing thieves would do is to look at stickers.
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Online bdunham7

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #22 on: July 09, 2022, 07:47:22 pm »
Take your oscilloscope to a low-rent pawn shop and ask how much they'll give you for it.  That will tell you how 'thievable' it is.
A 3.5 digit 4.5 digit 5 digit 5.5 digit 6.5 digit 7.5 digit DMM is good enough for most people.
 
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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #23 on: July 09, 2022, 08:30:09 pm »
Not so sure about that. My landlord has a clause about storage of certain classes of chemicals for insurance purposes. That pretty much excludes things like fluxes, etchants and solvents which is a big bulk of chemical required for EE work. Even my ex wife, a hairdresser, is in violation of those clauses. Of course there’s the “no commercial uses” clause as well.

Of course these things only become and issue if (a) you get caught or (b) the place burns to the ground.

Arguably my 20 year old Henry vacuum cleaner is probably more of an insurance risk due to the explosive X2 capacitor in it.

I think it would refer to a certain amount of chemical, if one wants to be pedantic most household products have dangerous chemicals if the quantity and concentration were high enough.

My school chemical lab had sulfuric acid, but intentionally diluted to a point you had to be wanting to do harm to do harm with it.
 
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Offline bd139

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Re: How thievable are oscilloscopes?
« Reply #24 on: July 09, 2022, 08:45:24 pm »
No the clauses are very open. If the fire investigator, that they appoint, finds anything traceable as an accelerant you're fucked even if it's a bottle of meths under the sink.

This is why you need to be able to afford to replace everything you own, not rely on insurance as a fallback. Alternatively, avoid owning stuff.
 
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