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| Analog Discovery 3 or budget bench setup |
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| Aldo22:
--- Quote from: Smokey on June 20, 2024, 09:39:40 am ---And don't get Hantek stuff. At least not for the scope. Every time I've touched something of that grade it just feels cheap and buggy. If you cheap out that much it will end up in the drawer next to the Analog Discovery way faster than you would want. --- End quote --- It IS cheap! And it's good for the price. Just don't pay too much for it! I paid CHF 125.- shipped for my DSO2C10 (about $130.- at the time) The price is ridiculous. Even if you're not happy with it, it's not worth getting upset about it. You didn't lose much money. Maybe the AWG alone is worth the price. It's a usable first scope and of course you'll eventually buy a "better" one once you know your needs. In any case, mine is not in the drawer yet. ;) A product just has to be worth its price. If it was at the level of Siglent or Rigol for that price, Siglent and Rigol would have gone bankrupt. ;) A Siglent/Rigol is perhaps 10 times better than a DSO2000, but a DSO2000 is 1000 times better than no scope at all. ;) |
| Antonio90:
I wouldn't fret too much about these ending up in a drawer. The Siglent is a great option for $400, and probably the better choice right now for a low cost but fully featured oscilloscope. If you had a $600 budget, I would probably buy that scope and a cheap/used PSU, DMM and soldering iron. Then save for a cheap Feeltech or Uni-T AWG. With your budget, I'd say the Analog Discovery is the least likely to end up in a drawer when (if) you upgrade your lab. Don't be too impatient, you'll get there, and components, prototyping boards, consumables, and cabling really do add up. As for the HANTEK, it's actually more capable generally speaking than an old CRO, and you can get it often cheaper than a working analog 'scope. I don't have it, so cannot recommend it, but I doubt is as bad as people paint it. An analog oscilloscope might be a good option if you'd like the puzzle of a repair and find one for peanuts. I was defeated by a tek 466 with HV problems, and a more modern Hameg, and then too budget-strained by a Tek 2465 which I troubleshot correctly. Take that for what you will, but $100 on an old boat anchor might very well leave you without oscilloscope and $100 poorer. In any case, the AD3 is a real tool, actually useful, and will remain as such within it's bandwidth and input limitations. It's not a direct competitor to the newer Rigol and Siglent lineups. The third option presented by some other users is also valid: save for standalone, fully featured bench tools from recognized brands. It's your choice at the end of the day, but I would personally get the Analog Discovery unless you can gather $800 in a reasonably short term to get a basic bench. |
| hfleming:
Let us see… as a starter, the AD2/3 gives you the following instruments : 1) Oscilloscope 2) AGW 3) Spectrum Analyzer 4) Network Analyzer 5) Impedance Analyzer 6) Logic Analyzer 7) Pattern Generator Of course, it is limited, but more than adequate for learning electronics. Thereafter you can start by adding the basics, like a decent multimeter and PSU. After you decide in which field you want to go in, more epecialized equipment applicable to that field. Even though I have a lot of test-equipment, my AD2 is still connected to my development PC and find it useful for all sorts of things when my main equipment is occupied. |
| Aldo22:
--- Quote from: Antonio90 on June 20, 2024, 11:13:41 am ---As for the HANTEK, it's actually more capable generally speaking than an old CRO, and you can get it often cheaper than a working analog 'scope. I don't have it, so cannot recommend it, but I doubt is as bad as people paint it. --- End quote --- I think I can explain the bad reputation. 1. Hantek does not have the dealer prices under control. A product that's an amazing deal for $150 can be pretty garbage if you pay $450 for it because there is simply much better for that money. That's exactly what happens here. For example here they want €468 (VAT incl.) That's ridiculous, of course. If you buy at the wrong price, you will be disappointed. 2. As a "beginner's scope", it might be the first DSO someone buys. A lot of things are puzzling at first and you draw the wrong conclusions: "I wish I'd bought a better one." But the "problem" is perhaps quite normal. Maybe it's the cable, the termination, the probes... We remember: "Why Digital Oscilloscopes Appear Noisy" for example. 3. Of course it's cheap and has a bunch of bugs, it also has a bunch of features. But the basic things do work and "better" brands are not always perfect either, afaik. At least there are still firmware updates, the last one on 2024-05-07. So there is always hope! ;) |
| jasonRF:
Before purchasing anything, I would check into whether the school you are at allows you to go in and use the electronics labs on your own time. When/where I studied EE we were not, but it is worth checking. Assuming they don't... Unless you need higher voltages or frequencies than it can handle, if you were my kid I would recommend the Analog Discovery. There are a number of good reasons, most/all of which have been covered by others: It is small so can easily be thrown in a bag and taken anywhere, and college students tend to live in tight quarters and move a couple of times a year. For me this would be a big deal. It also includes Bode plots and other capabilities that would likely take a fair amount of work to implement with most stand-alone equipment that you could afford right now. If you eventually do buy a bench setup the AD3 could still be useful. If you ever find that you no longer use it then you can sell it; they hold their value quite well. The first handful of years I was doing hobby electronics (which I started many years after finishing school) I only had a Picoscope 2204a which is inferior to an AD. With an EE background I had the knowledge to make good use of the limited capabilities and it was perfectly fine. jason |
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