UNI-T UT81B any good for basic robotics?

[SuperMiguel]

UNI-T UT81B any good for basic robotics?

Mostly to check timers, delays, and basic troubleshooting

I like the idea that it is portable =) and less than $200 =)

Also was looking into the DSO nano/quad which are way more portable! and color screen! but they got bad reviews so thats why i moved a bit to the unit-t ut81b

[LEECH666]

Did you already watch this review?

[SuperMiguel]

yup just finished it, looks good to me... But i also saw youtube videos for the DSO nano, and the guy said it was the best scope he used but when looking in forums like this one people hate it

[LEECH666]

Most people who are at least semi serious about electronics will conclude that the DSO Nano is a toy.
It's only real sale point is that it's pretty portable (fits in your pocket) and that might make it handy for "on site checking/scoping" if the signals you're going to meassure aren't too fast/complicated to trigger.

Most people will also prefere dedicated buttons over clicking your way through complex menus with only three hardware switches.

I'd go with the Uni-T.

[SuperMiguel]

is there anything for around the same price comparable (or better) with the unit-t?

[T4P]

There is, but it's unproven yet.
http://www.precisegauge.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=53&products_id=385&zenid=13u9qalvllmu8o3oib270ulro3

Or twice the money and you get a 200Ms scope
http://www.precisegauge.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=53&products_id=439&zenid=13u9qalvllmu8o3oib270ulro3

[SuperMiguel]

There is, but it's unproven yet.
http://www.precisegauge.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=53&products_id=385&zenid=13u9qalvllmu8o3oib270ulro3

Or twice the money and you get a 200Ms scope
http://www.precisegauge.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=53&products_id=439&zenid=13u9qalvllmu8o3oib270ulro3

interesting, ya $300 is abit more than i wanted to spend, and that first one there isnt alot of info on it

[SuperMiguel]

may pull the trigger with this guy: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&actionType=singinformore&item=320906600786

Not sure if anyone else sells it in the US

[T4P]

150Ms on the DSO1060 but it's not a bad one because it's 2ch!
If you are willing to pay more ... 400bucks 

[SuperMiguel]

but then again at school(university) i have access to very high scopes, that if i needed something that needed alot of precision i would use that one instead...

Was just trying to get something i can have at home, wont use much space, could put it in my backpack and use it for quick testing, so i dont have to go to the lab

[SuperMiguel]

Thats why my first option was the DSO Quad or the nano because size and portability, not sure if i want to buy a toy though

[SuperMiguel]

umm some friend just told me about this: http://www.digilentinc.com/Products/Detail.cfm?Prod=ANALOG-DISCOVERY i can get it for $99 as a student.. Any good?

[T4P]

Looks great but software? won't know. USB scopes are the least i will touch

[SuperMiguel]

Looks great but software? won't know. USB scopes are the least i will touch

k

[vk6zgo]

I'm not a big fan of UNI-T,but it looks like it might do the the job--not well,but do it!

A USB scope might be better--they are pretty lousy for general work,but they do give a reasonable display,with better triggering options.
I guess the size would count against them,as a laptop is still fairly large.

The best really small portable Oscilloscope I ever saw was years ago,when a workmate had a tiny analog  unit about the size of a
lunchbox.
It was good to 5MHz,had proper triggering,& came with its own rechargeable battery pack & charger.
I have no idea who made it,but it would be ideal for your job.

[Spawn]

The best really small portable Oscilloscope I ever saw was years ago,when a workmate had a tiny analog  unit about the size of a
lunchbox.
It was good to 5MHz,had proper triggering,& came with its own rechargeable battery pack & charger.
I have no idea who made it,but it would be ideal for your job.

Sorry to bring up a old topic here, but I was reading about handheld DSO’s and came across this topic, vk6zgo it was probably one of the Tek 200 series, I really like those but can’t seem to find one for a nice price. Tektronix start to make them in the beginning of the 70’s and later on they even had one with 40MHz if I am not mistaken.

The model with 5MHz was the Tek 221

Below Tek 214 with digital storage and here a link with some pictures, doesn’t it look nice

[Fraser]

I own several of Tektronix handheld CRT oscilloscopes from the first to the last model in the series. My latest purchases were an 'as new' 222 and a rather battered 213. The 213, with its built in multimeter with CRT readout,  was famous for its versatility and accuracy. Only specialist calibration labs could deal with it.

These beautiful little scopes are of excellent design and build quality (gold plated PCBs and component leads), but are very old in terms of their capabilities especially when compared to more modern portable or handheld oscilloscopes.

The Ni-Cad batteries often need to be replaced but these are simple AA packs in each side of the CRT. The mains power supply is a little scary on these....a capacitive dropper that uses the batteries as a smoothing and voltage limitation device ! Do not power these units from the mains unless the batteries are fitted and operational. The probes are calibrated to the individual units and are hard to source if missing. The bandwidth is really only fit for audio work. I didn't think any of the early ones could manage more than 500kHz and the later 222 that I have is better in this respect but still a very low bandwidth for what you will have to pay for one. Remember...any storage version has a true one-shot capture capability of only one tenth of its sampling rate, even if the analogue bandwidth is greater.

I collect fine engineering and small equipment that I find 'cute'. These oscilloscopes definitely have the 'cute' factor but others also think so, leading to crazy resale prices.

Fraser

[SeanB]

I still have a Thandar SC110 scope around ( not working of course, but it is 30 years old and was made by Sinclair...........) that I used for years.

[Spawn]

I collect fine engineering and small equipment that I find 'cute'. These oscilloscopes definitely have the 'cute' factor but others also think so, leading to crazy resale prices.

I like these also for same reason, I am not a collector but I like fine engineering in these scopes, I get old equipment time to time if I can find one for right price.

SeanB, I just look up the Thandar SC110 and that look nice too with its 10MHz back than was it a good equipment.

[Lightages]

Nice conversation on old scopes, except......

The UNI-T UT81B is nice little scope for looking at waveforms, and a usable multimeter. Is it good at ether of these? Not really. As a general quick check instrument it will pass as good enough. Note that there are no screen cursors for measuring anything. If you only want to see a waveform and use the eyeball method of measuring the waveform using the grid and divisions then it does that.

I probably would have purchased one by now if I already didn't have a couple of low end hand held scopes.

[SeanB]

Well it was better than nothing, and very portable so got a lot of use, though the screen is tiny, realllllllllly tiny, and the trace is pretty big and hard to focus into a smaller beam that will be focused all over the screen. Single beam as well, but it was really useful. I did change the back panel pots for certain functions to 10 turn devices as they were easier to adjust and less noisy.

[Wytnucls]

In case you didn't know, there is also a UT81C model (16MHz), which should be more useful with a decent probe, but I don't have a price for it.
http://www.uni-trend.com.cn/cp-show.asp?yy=%D6%D0%CE%C4&ProductNO=730

[ErikTheNorwegian]

In case you didn't know, there is also a UT81C model (16MHz), which should be more useful with a decent probe, but I don't have a price for it.
http://www.uni-trend.com.cn/cp-show.asp?yy=%D6%D0%CE%C4&ProductNO=730

Nice website, except, lacking one vital subject..

No, whatsoever any trace of support, download, drivers FAQ..

I would not buy anything from such a company that clearly is only  for sales, not supporting what they sell.

But that's my opinion, feel free to feel different. 

[Wytnucls]

Support is not as bad as you make it sound. There is a whole list of e-mail addresses on the site. Of course, this is nowhere near Agilent or Fluke standards, but that service comes at a hefty premium.
One could probably correspond with an Engineer, but language will be a main stumbling block.
When I noticed that my UT71B was giving incorrect readings for 'Peak Hold', I sent an e-mail in English, explaining the problem, with some supporting evidence. I had a reply the next day, asking me to send it to one of their offices to have it repaired. I was in the fortunate position to be able to drop it off in Shanghai and it was fixed 2 weeks later, at no charge.
If you are in Europe or the US, you should buy from UNI-T's partners, like Conrad or Tenma, for proper local support.
Nevertheless, one should be able to get a one year warranty, when buying on eBay. In fact, a Hong Kong seller, if he bought the meter locally (slightly more expensive), should be able to give a three year warranty with the instrument.
UNI-T is actually privately owned, with their headquarter in Hong Kong and there is a repair center in the city, where English is spoken, unlike most UNI-T offices in China proper.
The problem is that most people buy at the cheapest price, often from unscrupulous sellers on eBay, sometimes receiving old stock equipment that doesn't work properly and are now faced with the cost of postage to the Far-east.
I would recommend buying online from a brick and mortar shop in Hong Kong like WELC or from a known seller with a track record on this site, like Franky, for peace of mind.
http://www.weclonline.com/eng/index.asp?