Products > Test Equipment
Building my own scope
balnazzar:
--- Quote from: Fungus on October 20, 2022, 12:35:32 pm ---
--- Quote from: balnazzar on October 20, 2022, 11:34:09 am ---1. I'm dissatisfied by commercial scopes within my financial reach (say 1 grand).
--- End quote ---
What don't you like?
Building something better is going to cost much more than $1000 of your time.
(unless you're in prison or something...)
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No I'm not in prison, but building the scope would be a wonderful way to waste my time ;D
Anyway, about what I don't like, see that long thread of us about bode plotting on the MSO5K..
By having used the AD2 and various bench scopes, I decided I definitely like the usb scopes much more. It's one of those I want to build. A whole lot of hassle removed (screen, knobs, etc...).
balnazzar:
--- Quote from: pcprogrammer on October 20, 2022, 01:17:39 pm ---Here are some threads on this forum
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/a-high-performance-open-source-oscilloscope-development-log-future-ideas/
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/500-mhz-8b-2gss-oscilloscope/
The first one shows what it takes and it was never finished due to not having the time to work on it anymore.
This kind of development takes a lot of time and money for something better than store bought.
As a learning project I would suggest cheaper modules that do at max 100MSa/s and a simple FPGA connected to a simple MCU.
I started a project to make both a scope and a function generator. Due to shifting interests I left it as is, after finishing the FPGA part for the function generator. Might continue with it someday. https://github.com/pecostm32/Lichee_Nano
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Thanks! I'll start from there! :)
alm:
Don't forget the analog front-end. You'll want a 1 MOhm in parallel with 10-25 pF or so input impedance to work with standard 10x probes, and some amplification and/or attenuation to extend the range beyond the native range of the ADC. Especially since you value low noise, which presumably means you want to look at low-level signals.
You also may want some input protection so you don't blow up your expensive ADCs.
balnazzar:
--- Quote from: rob77 on October 20, 2022, 12:19:10 pm ---
you will not build a better scope with the same money... it doesn't work that way.. people tend to underestimate the effort and overestimate their capabilities ;) i have a few "long running" projects myself.
if your motivation is to learn, then go ahead full steam ! but expect much higher cost than buying the scope and what's more important, expect a giant investment of your time.
and just a small piece of advice ... always quadruple your time estimate to get closer to reality ;D
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The idea started from just wanting to have a scope without the issues which bother me. But then I indeed thought that it would be interesting and fun per se. Even if it'll take years. Or a decade. I mean, I can think of worse ways to employ one's time.
Have you talked about your projects here? If yes, could you point me towards the relevant threads? Thanks!
balnazzar:
--- Quote from: alm on October 20, 2022, 06:07:23 pm ---Don't forget the analog front-end. You'll want a 1 MOhm in parallel with 10-25 pF or so input impedance to work with standard 10x probes, and some amplification and/or attenuation to extend the range beyond the native range of the ADC. Especially since you value low noise, which presumably means you want to look at low-level signals.
You also may want some input protection so you don't blow up your expensive ADCs.
--- End quote ---
Well said. In the end, low noise amounts to a well-thought front end. I don't have the faintest about how to learn concocting good front ends..
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