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| Choosing an oscilloscope |
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| PurpleAmaranth:
Hello, I'm new to the forum (and to electronics in general), and I hope I'm allowed to make a post like this given that there is already lots of info about oscilloscopes on here. Anyway, I'm debating between three scopes of around the same price: Tektronix 2235 AN/USM 488, Fluke PM3370A, and an old Soviet C1-99. I've read lots of good about Tektronix in general, and not much about Fluke, but the Fluke is analog and digital (and has something called Z-Axis input), so I am wondering if that is a good thing. As for the Soviet one, it's just got so many buttons, maybe it has greater functionality, I've read good stuff about it too? (it looks really cool lol) Which one would you pick? Or none of them, and wait for something better to come up? Idk much about this stuff, but I am going into electrical engineering, so I figure I'll learn a lot more as the years go by! Thanks! |
| Gandalf_Sr:
Don't buy an old scope, at least not one that old. For your target budget, you really can't go far wrong with a Rigol DS1054Z which can be 'upgraded' to a DS1104Z with all options unlocked simply by googling "riglol". Rigol usually give you everything but the bandwidth upgrade. |
| PurpleAmaranth:
Thanks for the advice. But the Rigol seems to cost about double what I can afford to spend. Are the older ones really that bad? Should I just wait until I can afford one? |
| george.b:
If you can get them for cheap, well, then I say go for it. I think I'd go for the Tek 2235, because, well, it's a Tek, service information about it is plentiful, etc. A Soviet scope sounds interesting for the novelty factor, but if Soviet scopes are anything like their calculators, then I wouldn't expect it to be reliable. The PM3370A has only 100MSa/s on the digital side, which makes it not terribly useful in that function beyond some 20MHz, but the ability to take single-shot captures is very nice to have nonetheless. Whether that's enough to tip the scales against the Tek depends on what you'll mostly be using it for. The problem with buying old scopes is that sooner or later there'll be something to repair. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Especially with the Philips (Fluke, whatever), you're looking at a re-cap soon. I have a PM3055 myself and the Philips axial capacitors in there are crap. Oftentimes, to repair an oscilloscope, you need another one, and if that's going to be your only scope, you might find yourself without an usable scope one of these days (it may be tomorrow, or it may not happen for years - who knows, they're old). If the price isn't too far from the DS1054Z, I'd suggest you go for it instead, as it'll run circles around any of those 3 in features and reliability. The usage cases where analog scopes are better are, IMHO, very marginal. |
| nctnico:
To the OP: This question has come up a million times already so it is better to search for 'oscilloscope' in this section. If money is an issue then this is something to consider: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fnirsi-1013d-100mhz-tablet-oscilloscope/ At least it has storage and some decent memory depth. BTW I disagree about the RIgol DS1054Z. It is very outdated; people keep recommending it out of momentum but there are better options out there nowadays. Just search this section a little. |
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