I'm just playing and learning.
Including, I hope, the first two lines of my .sig
You do realise that 100MHz was just adequate for digital logic in the early 80s, don't you? Modern jellybean logic is much faster than that, and important features on the waveforms will simply be invisible.You keep repeating this but in the real world you rarely run into situations where you need more than 100MHz.
You keep failing to understand the only reason for needing a scope for digital logic is to ensure signal integrity. Once that is ensured, flip to digital domain tools.
You do realise that 100MHz was just adequate for digital logic in the early 80s, don't you? Modern jellybean logic is much faster than that, and important features on the waveforms will simply be invisible.You keep repeating this but in the real world you rarely run into situations where you need more than 100MHz.
You keep failing to understand the only reason for needing a scope for digital logic is to ensure signal integrity. Once that is ensured, flip to digital domain tools.I understand what I need to do my daily job just fine. And what you call digital domain tools have been integrated into DSOs a very long time ago. The first ones from HP where discontinued more than 20 years ago. If you think a DSO is not good at decoding, then I strongly suggest to get a modern day DSO from a decent brand and give that a spin. You'll be in for a pleasant surprise. There is no way I'm going to mess around with a clunky USB device.
There are quite a few assumptions about what the OP want/needs in this thread. I'll admit that I made the assumption that he wanted something very inexpensive that he could "learn the ropes" of an oscilloscope on. Not something that would be intended to be the last scope bought. That's often the approach I take with new tools - it gives the opportunity to figure out what I really need/want in a tool before spending the usually high price for a quality item. Or if I need the high priced item at all.
But I could certainly be wrong about what the OP is looking for. Anyway, the OP has not responded to this thread since the first post; I think I'll wait for that before posting here further.
@tggzzz: I understand what you mean, but we're in the "under $300" thread here and we're not talking about the same thing.
I'm talking about a first somewhat "complete" scope that opens a door to a new world.
I'll sell you a very "complete" working recapped Tek 2465 4-channel 300MHz scope for £300. I have two, and ought to reclaim the space.
so I don't need to buy another one for a few years.
Some have digital signal protocol decodes, so you can see the characters/digits being transmitted serially.
But the decodes only work with what is displayed on the screen, i.e. a few characters at best.
Better to use a separate tool dedicated to that, e.g. a cheap protocol analyser.
My oscilloscope just sat there constantly decoding, all I had to do was upload the program and turn to look at the result on screen at each iteration.
so I don't need to buy another one for a few years.You have to give up on that idea Getting something cheap is a good idea to begin with and test the water but you'll either outgrow it or choose a different path. Either way you'll likely sell it in a few years.
Some have digital signal protocol decodes, so you can see the characters/digits being transmitted serially.
But the decodes only work with what is displayed on the screen, i.e. a few characters at best.
Not true of the DHO800.Better to use a separate tool dedicated to that, e.g. a cheap protocol analyser.
Do you know of one that does constant real time triggering/decoding/updating?
Last month I was coding a bit-bang I2C function; I think it would have been a real pain in the ass to constantly hit record on the LA, upload the program, wait a few seconds, press stop, then go mousing around looking for the data packet to see if it was OK or not.
My oscilloscope just sat there constantly decoding, all I had to do was upload the program and turn to look at the result on screen at each iteration.
Relatively inexpensive, good for learning on but also useful for most beginner-to-intermediate level projects, so I don't need to buy another one for a few years.
Buying an old, 8-bit, 4-channel old entry-level rigol/siglent devices isn't the way to go, at least while people continue to ask for about 300 bucks.
If budget is really tight, it would be wise to follow tggzzz's advice and to buy something that does fewer things but does it right. At least it will continue to be useful in the future and you won't think about throwing it in the trash bin.
I have a different view.
You can very well buy a Zeeweii as your first scope, then a Hantek and later a Rigol or Siglent or R&S and continue to use all the devices.
A Zeeweii DSO2512G has clear advantages over a benchtop scope (and of course also many disadvantages).
It is portable, light and robust. You can take it to the DUT and not vice versa. It's easy to use, and it starts up in 3 seconds etc.
In principle, this is a different category of device and you can still use both types.
Even a Hantek DSO2000 has a few advantages over a DHO800. It starts up in 12 seconds, has no fan and is therefore noiseless, it consumes less power and has a signal generator. This may not be important for everyone, but there is no reason not to continue using all these devices in certain situations, especially if they are not a financial burden.
I have a different view.
You can very well buy a Zeeweii as your first scope, then a Hantek and later a Rigol or Siglent or R&S and continue to use all the devices.
A Zeeweii DSO2512G has clear advantages over a benchtop scope (and of course also many disadvantages).
It is portable, light and robust. You can take it to the DUT and not vice versa. It's easy to use, and it starts up in 3 seconds etc.
In principle, this is a different category of device and you can still use both types.
Even a Hantek DSO2000 has a few advantages over a DHO800. It starts up in 12 seconds, has no fan and is therefore noiseless, it consumes less power and has a signal generator. This may not be important for everyone, but there is no reason not to continue using all these devices in certain situations, especially if they are not a financial burden.
I have a different view.
You can very well buy a Zeeweii as your first scope, then a Hantek and later a Rigol or Siglent or R&S and continue to use all the devices.
A Zeeweii DSO2512G has clear advantages over a benchtop scope (and of course also many disadvantages).
It is portable, light and robust. You can take it to the DUT and not vice versa. It's easy to use, and it starts up in 3 seconds etc.
In principle, this is a different category of device and you can still use both types.
A couple of years ago I was stupid enough to spend 2500 euro on a Siglent scope which ended up in the trash. A useless POS and the (authorised!) Siglent distributor didn't want to take it back.
IMHO the key should be that a piece of test equipment behaves consistently and what is implemented, works well. If the bandwidth is not as advertised, I don't see a really big problem (unless ofcourse the bandwidth is needed but for tinkering this typically isn't the case). Those Zeeweii scopes are cheap enough not to cause a major pain in your wallet.
A couple of years ago I was stupid enough to spend 2500 euro on a Siglent scope which ended up in the trash. A useless POS and the (authorised!) Siglent distributor didn't want to take it back.
A couple of years ago I was stupid enough to spend 2500 euro on a Siglent scope which ended up in the trash. A useless POS and the (authorised!) Siglent distributor didn't want to take it back.Oops!
I hope to be able to post a short review in a few days. Don't expect a video but some photo's and some screenshots.
A couple of years ago I was stupid enough to spend 2500 euro on a Siglent scope which ended up in the trash. A useless POS and the (authorised!) Siglent distributor didn't want to take it back.Oops!Oops indeed, Nico's memory cells are in failure mode, it was 10 years ago ! !
Relatively inexpensive, good for learning on but also useful for most beginner-to-intermediate level projects, so I don't need to buy another one for a few years.