Products > Test Equipment
"Best" scope for ~ $1200 ?
bdunham7:
--- Quote from: knave on January 18, 2023, 05:35:26 am ---The probes are mediocre. I might get some other probes, I'm not in a hurry to spend though if I don't have to.
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The PP215 probes are the dreaded 1X/10X switchable and they aren't particularly deluxe feeling or appearing, but they do have a complete accessory kit and used properly, their overall performance is actually very good. I wouldn't be in a hurry to swap in some other 10X probe. I still have 4 of them attached to my scope by default even though I have other probes like the Tek P6139. You might want a 100X probe or two and if you can find one, a Tek P6156 10X/500R that works with the 50R inputs.
--- Quote ---Is there any point getting 500MHz probes over 350MHz? Unclear how good the front end is.
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There's almost no point in getting high-impedance probes like that anyway, as 2N3055 explained. What you should be looking at are the input capacitance and whether the compensation range matches your scope. I'm not aware of any 10X/10M probes that are going to be a significant improvement over your PP215s in most real life cases.
If you want to probe higher frequency circuits, there are 100X probes like the Staubli Isoprobe IV/100X (500MHz/4.6pF) and then there is the aforementioned Tek P6156 (3.5GHz/<1pF). The front end of the SDS2104X is more than up to the task as long as you use it as a 2-channel scope. With 3 or 4 channels activated, you are probably better off sticking with the original probes.
knave:
--- Quote from: bdunham7 on January 18, 2023, 03:42:15 pm ---The PP215 probes are the dreaded 1X/10X switchable and they aren't particularly deluxe feeling or appearing, but they do have a complete accessory kit and used properly, their overall performance is actually very good. I wouldn't be in a hurry to swap in some other 10X probe. I still have 4 of them attached to my scope by default even though I have other probes like the Tek P6139. You might want a 100X probe or two and if you can find one, a Tek P6156 10X/500R that works with the 50R inputs.
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I'm not in a hurry, it's mostly an observation that the build quality of the scope feels decent, the probes much less so.
2N3055:
--- Quote from: knave on January 18, 2023, 07:53:56 pm ---
--- Quote from: bdunham7 on January 18, 2023, 03:42:15 pm ---The PP215 probes are the dreaded 1X/10X switchable and they aren't particularly deluxe feeling or appearing, but they do have a complete accessory kit and used properly, their overall performance is actually very good. I wouldn't be in a hurry to swap in some other 10X probe. I still have 4 of them attached to my scope by default even though I have other probes like the Tek P6139. You might want a 100X probe or two and if you can find one, a Tek P6156 10X/500R that works with the 50R inputs.
--- End quote ---
I'm not in a hurry, it's mostly an observation that the build quality of the scope feels decent, the probes much less so.
--- End quote ---
As I said, they'll do fine for time being. Probes are consumables, they get damaged etc.
And despite you say they look cheap to you, they have very respectable specs.
Buy new ones when you wear them out.
Like Bdunham7 says, buy some other, specialty probes. For instance, I would rather buy Micsig HV diff probe than that Probemaster you pointed out.
That will give you very important capability no passive probe will..
I have one passive 100X probe (Hameg) that has very low capacitance on tip and is 1500V.. That is interesting too.
I also have an RF demodulating probe, that was very useful to look at RFID ASK modulation for instance...
So plenty other capability to be had for the same money you would spend on probe that will pretty much measure same things as the one you have.
knave:
--- Quote from: 2N3055 on January 18, 2023, 08:25:23 pm ---
Like Bdunham7 says, buy some other, specialty probes. For instance, I would rather buy Micsig HV diff probe than that Probemaster you pointed out.
That will give you very important capability no passive probe will..
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That's a good point, I might look at that as it's "on the list".
--- Quote from: 2N3055 on January 18, 2023, 08:25:23 pm ---
I have one passive 100X probe (Hameg) that has very low capacitance on tip and is 1500V.. That is interesting too.
I also have an RF demodulating probe, that was very useful to look at RFID ASK modulation for instance...
So plenty other capability to be had for the same money you would spend on probe that will pretty much measure same things as the one you have.
--- End quote ---
I have some 100x probes elsewhere, I don't know if they will compensate I haven't tried, I forget the bw. I got them when working with inverters and wasn't keen on using 10x near the scope limit.
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