Products > Test Equipment
Best Brand Name for an Oscilloscope?
MrAl:
--- Quote from: pcprogrammer on November 28, 2022, 03:50:54 pm ---The lists are randomly compiled.
Owon has some interesting models but probably is on the low end of the good list. Don't have any experience with them though.
Placed Hantek on the avoid list because of the DSO2D10 I have and it is not very good. Believe they do have some older models that are not that bad, but for prices that get you Siglent or Rigol scopes.
The FNIRSI models can measure just shy of 100MHz based on the fact that they sample with 200MSa/s, but above somewhere in the 40MHz range, they start to calculate a perfect sine based on the measured frequency and amplitue and show that on the screen.
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Yes i realize that scopes can 'measure' beyond their actual tested bandwidth it's just that then the amplitude becomes reduced for those upper frequencies so it would only be useful on a sine wave. A square wave would show signs of high frequency cutoff and thus becomes somewhat rounded.
The test i had to use was with a square wave of known rise time because we didnt have a frequency generator that goes above 24MHz.
For my Instrustar scope they quote it at 20MHz BW but i measured 15MHz, a little different not too bad i guess, i didnt need it for high frequency work anyway so what the heck. It's a PC type though have to use it with a PC or Laptop which is sort of a pain.
I got a little guy with only 1MHz sampling rate and seems like it's not good for anything, but i was able to easily read all the signal patterns of every IR remote control i had. It was something like $24 dollars USD ha ha. One channel only the Instrustar has 2 channels.
nctnico:
'Best' is always related to requirements, money and -if possible- the ability to improve a product yourself and still get a good deal.
Sometimes I buy equipment from an A-brand, sometimes I buy equipment from a low cost brand and do some improvements to it. It all starts with careful research into what I need and how much money I can spend. Like most people I like to spend as little as possible. But sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and just spend the money to buy something good. Cry once and smile forever. Over the years I have bought various pieces of equipment (not necessarily electronics related) that I regret buying. But having the crappy machine also kind of prevents me from upgrading because I already have a machine that sort of works. IOW: it is easy to get stuck in your own momentum.
BillyO:
--- Quote from: MrAl on November 30, 2022, 01:07:43 am ---For my Instrustar scope they quote it at 20MHz BW but i measured 15MHz, a little different not too bad i guess,
--- End quote ---
You must have gotten a real good one. I picked one of these a few years back for shits and giggles because it was the absolute cheapest 20MHz (advertissed) scope. I think I paid $55 CDN for it and was going to use it on my vintage computer bench. However, mine measures a lot worse than yours.
The first shot is a 500KHz reference @ 5V amplitude. The cursors are set for -3dB.
The 2nd shot is at 10MHz. You can see it is well below the -3dB point. This is barely an 9MHz scope
As a backup, the 3rd shot is a 2ns rise time oscillator. You can see being as generous as I can the rise time on the Instrustar is 46ns, giving us a bandwidth of about 8.7MHz. Which agrees with the measurement above.
Not a stellar performer. And the bandwidth is just the beginning of the disappointment. Definitely should be added to the "Do not buy!!!!!!" category.
MrAl:
--- Quote from: nctnico on November 30, 2022, 01:25:00 am ---'Best' is always related to requirements, money and -if possible- the ability to improve a product yourself and still get a good deal.
Sometimes I buy equipment from an A-brand, sometimes I buy equipment from a low cost brand and do some improvements to it. It all starts with careful research into what I need and how much money I can spend. Like most people I like to spend as little as possible. But sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and just spend the money to buy something good. Cry once and smile forever. Over the years I have bought various pieces of equipment (not necessarily electronics related) that I regret buying. But having the crappy machine also kind of prevents me from upgrading because I already have a machine that sort of works. IOW: it is easy to get stuck in your own momentum.
--- End quote ---
Yeah that's what i am seeing it is coming down to, a tradeoff.
I also see some other functions which are nice too so it's a tough decision to make.
MrAl:
--- Quote from: BillyO on November 30, 2022, 02:18:49 am ---
--- Quote from: MrAl on November 30, 2022, 01:07:43 am ---For my Instrustar scope they quote it at 20MHz BW but i measured 15MHz, a little different not too bad i guess,
--- End quote ---
You must have gotten a real good one. I picked one of these a few years back for shits and giggles because it was the absolute cheapest 20MHz (advertissed) scope. I think I paid $55 CDN for it and was going to use it on my vintage computer bench. However, mine measures a lot worse than yours.
The first shot is a 500KHz reference @ 5V amplitude. The cursors are set for -3dB.
The 2nd shot is at 10MHz. You can see it is well below the -3dB point. This is barely an 9MHz scope
As a backup, the 3rd shot is a 2ns rise time oscillator. You can see being as generous as I can the rise time on the Instrustar is 46ns, giving us a bandwidth of about 8.7MHz. Which agrees with the measurement above.
Not a stellar performer. And the bandwidth is just the beginning of the disappointment. Definitely should be added to the "Do not buy!!!!!!" category.
--- End quote ---
Wow that's amazing, that it could be so much different than mine. Maybe it was made in a different place or a fake copy?
Are you using the right probes too? I use 100MHz rated probes.
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