Equipping the lab €2-3k

[LPaul]

Hello,

I am currently building my small semi-pro electronics lab.


Usages:
Short-term needs:

• dc power supply repair and design
• Noise on <=100khz SMPS
• <20MHz logic (serial, little to no parallel)
• analog troubleshooting (simple stuff on furnace control boards and engine control boards)
• No to precise voltage and current measurement, ...

Long run:

• <=100Mhz logic (FPGA, 32bit MCU)

Current equipment:

• soldering stuff (hakko)
• "lab" PSU
• el cheapo Handheld multimeter

Based on that I made a basic list of the equipment I consider buying.

Oscilloscope: DS1054Z (planning on unlocking software options). The most bang for bucks as far as I know. Though I am afraid it will soon be limiting and hard on the eyes. Not sure I need 4 channels and there is a lot of good options in the €500-2k 2ch range.
I’d really like to get a good brand (Keysight, Lecroy, R&S) if I can fit an appropriate model in my budget.

Signal generator: Rigol DG1022 (non-A) €300
Seems more than good enough for my needs (100s khz square). Maybe other brands have cheaper/better options for this price?

DMM:
Main use on digital circuit. Might get used on high power circuits (main, 3ph), not quite sure whether a €50 or €100 meter is good enough in terms of input protection.

I have budgeted about €200 in test leads and accessories.


From this base I have about €900 to improve whatever is worth it. (a bit more if necessary).
Obviously not paying VAT and considering an rebate.
Any ideas/advices ? Questions I should ask myself before buying the stuff?

Thanks !

[nctnico]

If you can spend 500 to 2k euro on a scope look at the GW Instek GDS2000E series.

Feeltech makes some nice low-cost function generators (see the other threads) so for less than 100 euro you can have a nice function generator nowadays.

For use on mains I recommend to get an A-brand (Keysight, Fluke, etc) multimeter with the proper CAT ratings and at least 4.5 digits. This will set you back about 200 euro.

Good HP/Agilent/Keysight lab PSUs can be bought from Ebay and there are good deals for those with a bit of patience.

[Fungus]

Oscilloscope: DS1054Z (planning on unlocking software options). The most bang for bucks as far as I know. Though I am afraid it will soon be limiting and hard on the eyes. Not sure I need 4 channels and there is a lot of good options in the €500-2k 2ch range.

Definitely the most bang for the buck. I think you'll take a while to outgrow it.

If you're 100% sure you don't need four channels then you might want to look at the R&S 1002 as well:



It's desirable scope, it's small, it's silent ... but it costs about 800 Euros and the 100MHz bandwidth and serial decoder options aren't free. It's well within your budget though.

DMM:
Main use on digital circuit. Might get used on high power circuits (main, 3ph), not quite sure whether a €50 or €100 meter is good enough in terms of input protection.

Choosing a multimeter for mains work is easy: Get a Fluke 101.

Only $42 delivered to your door and as much input protection as you'll find on any handheld multimeter (it's currently the leader in the robustness testing thread)

Now that "mains work" is covered you have a much wider choice for a second meter for the digital work.

(You should probably get at least two multimeters anyway.  )