I've only ever used analogue scopes, so I am used to seeing that smooth wave representation and instant response.
The USB scopes are interesting since modern computers are tiny and most packages like the Picoscope are built with proper BNCs in a box.
That Digalent item seems like a toy in that regard.
I guess MrW0lf is referring to the sin/x interpolation not being correct. This is a bit of a fail. BTW the GDS-1054B MrW0lf is referring to can be unlocked to 300MHz and have protocol decoding as well.
I guess MrW0lf is referring to the sin/x interpolation not being correct. This is a bit of a fail. BTW the GDS-1054B MrW0lf is referring to can be unlocked to 300MHz and have protocol decoding as well.This was discussed in the other thread over the last few days. The real problem is that an unlocked DS1054Z can have an analog bandwidth too high for the 250MSa/s you get with four channels turned on.
250MSa/s gives a Nyquist limit of 125MHz and a DS1054Z can easily go past that (we were seeing one 'scope with a response close to 200Mhz in that thread).
The non-gaussian response came from the analog circuitry being too good!
For audio work you'd probably want the 20Mhz bandwidth limiter on most of the time anyway (or just don't unlock all the extra bandwidth, stick with factory supplied 50Mhz).
With the hack you have the choice to lower the bandwidth or not.
Besides that the GDS-1054B can do input filtering so the input signal can be filtered further to get rid of unwanted noise.
Not to mention an 8 bit adc is an 8 bit adc regardless of your display. If you like how it looks fine, but even if you assume infinite resolution it's still displaying the same 8bit data.
I was trying to find out what the "resolution" of an oscilloscope CRT is but could only find a reference to the front face having a phosphor coating. "Coating" suggests an evenly applied film rather than a pixellated application, like the dots for a TV with specific beam positioning. A scope can have a randomly positioned dot on the face, as far as I can tell, which contributes to the smooth wave presentation. I don't believe you can ever get this with the modern monitor resolutions unless it is a high number of pixels and a smallish screen?
This could be called "DSO for linear use"...
I work primarily with audio signals
Third is vertical resolution. 8-bits is really a joke. 256 increments compared to whatever the phosphor-dot density of an 8x8cm analogue screen? I see people in your threads here wonder why someone wants 12-bit or more resolution? Well, I do but I don't need that resolution out to 100MHz; rather, for the audio band plus a bit more - 100kHz would be fine but you do need reasonable resolution into MHz to find certain noise and transients.
I saw the Keysight G-version scopes can do Bode plots, which is pretty nice.But you have to spend 300$ over the base model to get that and still it is an 8-bit 50MHz scope.
The non-gaussian response came from the analog circuitry being too good!
As for planned obsolescence, i still have my first Picoscope from 2003, 12 bit ADC212/100. They kept providing software updates for it until February 2016, and then they stopped because it is parallel port product. All software updates are free, and in those years, that little thing gained many new features, like decoding of dozens protocols, persistence mode etc etc...
I was trying to find out what the "resolution" of an oscilloscope CRT is but could only find a reference to the front face having a phosphor coating. "Coating" suggests an evenly applied film rather than a pixellated application, like the dots for a TV with specific beam positioning. A scope can have a randomly positioned dot on the face, as far as I can tell, which contributes to the smooth wave presentation. I don't believe you can ever get this with the modern monitor resolutions unless it is a high number of pixels and a smallish screen?
James-s: The thing that bothers me about the "pixelly" (but not Pixley) look of DSO waves is that if I saw the same wave on a CRT I would think there is a high frequency riding on top of the low frequency. So, the smoothness of the wave tells you something about the purity of the signal, and that is something relevant to what i do with a scope and the type of equipment I work on.
There usually is a high frequency (noise), it's just that the CRO is hiding it from you:
DSOs have a 20Mhz (or thereabouts) filter that you can enable to get them back to CRO noise levels.
Personally I think 8 bits is fine for a scope. A scope is pretty much just a good time domain diagnostic tool but a crappy analytical tool. If you want an analytical tool, it's worth looking into something specifically designed for the use case. Spectrum analysers, distortion analysers etc. Or pay for a high end MDO with SA built in.