First Oscope

[Markie]

Hey everyone,

I'm in the market for a budget Multimeter/Oscilloscope, and after watching various videos and reading reviews, I've narrowed down my options to three:

FNIRSI 2C23T (priced at 77 EURO)
ZOYI ZT703S (priced at 90 EURO)
Owon HDS242S (priced at 130 EURO)

My usecase is measuring audio waveforms from audio amplifiers to look for distortion or clipping. Additionally, I'm interested in learning proper techniques for repairing amplifiers and other electronics, as my current methods are hacky and have limitations.

Any guidance or other recommendations regarding my options would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[jonpaul]

got old 1980s analog scopes in Paris at fleas, street sales...

Hameg made in Germany.  France 1 or 2 ch 10 or 20 MHz

Paid EU 5, 25, 40.

All worked fine.

Try a flea mkt/street sale or Ham radio flea depending  on your (unknown) location,

Jon

[Markie]

Heyo yeah sadly in Cyprus you can't really find them as flea markets I've been trying to track down an old scope but to no avail

[Wallace Gasiewicz]

Like jonpaul says, try to find a HAM club

[nctnico]

IMHO the OP is better served by choosing one of the digital storage scopes. I would have traded my old analog scope in a heartbeat for one of those devices. Having storage and measurements makes life so much easier.

My recommendation would be to look for a device which is targeted to be an oscilloscope. FNIRSI 1014D or 1013D could be a better option and get a seperate DMM.

[Aldo22]

If you want a cheap scopemeter, I would go for DSO3D12 or the Owon.

However, like nctnico, I personally think that separate devices are the better buy. As a DMM, for example, the Aneng 870.

[axantas]

To start with a "traditional" Scope, I would not chose the Owon or Finirsi, you list. You need a model with knobs to turn. These handheld scopes rely on menus and "push up" push down". This does not give you the feeling, using such an instrument.

Go into the direction, nctnico shows. These are "cheap" scopes, if you talk to a pro, but they just do, what you need to start with. I started with a chewing-gum green "Kiprim DS1202" - some relabeled Owon for about 130€. I did not regret it.

[tunk]

FNIRSI 1014D or 1013D could be a better option and get a seperate DMM.

These are known to have wildly exaggerated specs (real bandwidth 20-30MHz)
and a minimum 100mV/div vertical resolution.
Alternatives to the three first could be Zeeweii DSO3D12 and DSO2512G.

[bdunham7]

My usecase is measuring audio waveforms from audio amplifiers to look for distortion or clipping. Additionally, I'm interested in learning proper techniques for repairing amplifiers and other electronics, as my current methods are hacky and have limitations.

Getting meaningful measurements on audio signals is a challenge even with "real" oscilloscopes and probably near impossible with those small-screen "toy" scopes.  The line-in or microphone input on almost any PC, along with some free software, will give you better results than any of the ones you have listed.  If you want to look at power amp outputs you'd need a load and an attenuator which are both easy enough to build yourself.

[Markie]

Hey thanks for the response i need something portable and I'm also in the market of a multimeter

[Markie]

I should have probably said my budget is very limited

[naiclub]

https://th.aliexpress.com/item/1005006329135606.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.202b379aYsyOv5&mp=1&gatewayAdapt=glo2tha
Hanmatek Digital Oscilloscope, 5 mv/div Oscilloscope 4 Channels 110MHz Bandwidth 1GS/S Oscilloscope 7 Inch TFT Storage Desktop
Is it interesting to play?

[wasedadoc]

I'll second the suggestion of the Zeeweii DSO3D12.

[Markie]

its sadly out of my budget !

[wasedadoc]

https://th.aliexpress.com/item/1005006329135606.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.202b379aYsyOv5&mp=1&gatewayAdapt=glo2tha
Hanmatek Digital Oscilloscope, 5 mv/div Oscilloscope 4 Channels 110MHz Bandwidth 1GS/S Oscilloscope 7 Inch TFT Storage Desktop
Is it interesting to play?

That photo is nonsense.  There is nothing on a RaspberryPi that measures 100 Amps.  Nor does one measure such currents with the type of probe shown.  And I'm fairly confident there is no point on a RaspberryPi where a triangular waveform can be observed.

[wasedadoc]

its sadly out of my budget !

The DSO3D12 is cheaper than the Zoyi and Owon  you claimed to be considering in your opening post.

[Markie]

The cheapest I found is 180 ?

[Aldo22]

The cheapest I found is 180 ?

Why? I showed you the link above.

[Markie]

Wth the price is higher when i check on my PC when I check on my phone its 90 euros

[axantas]

Hey thanks for the response i need something portable and I'm also in the market of a multimeter

If your limited budget is determing your strategy, you need something portable and want to add a multimeter:
Have a look at the FNIRSI 2C23T All-in-one. It is honest regarding the specs and works quite good. Also the "logic" of the buttons is quite self explaining and good. Available at AliExpress at a good price quite below 100 €.

[wasedadoc]

Wth the price is higher when i check on my PC when I check on my phone its 90 euros

I bought a DSO3D12 from an Aliexpress vendor last November for just under £90 including shipping and 20% VAT.  I've checked just now using PC and the listing is £73.73 plus VAT and free shipping.

Be aware that while almost any scope will easily show clipping and gross distortion, few if any are suitable for checking that an amplifier is actually giving the really low levels of THD that a modern Hi-Fi amp is capable of.

[Aldo22]

If your limited budget is determing your strategy, you need something portable and want to add a multimeter:
Have a look at the FNIRSI 2C23T All-in-one. It is honest regarding the specs and works quite good. Also the "logic" of the buttons is quite self explaining and good. Available at AliExpress at a good price quite below 100 €.

The Zeeweii DSO3D12 is better in almost every aspect.
Sample rate: 250M vs. 50M
Vertical sensitivity: 10mV-10V vs. 20mV-10V
Time base: 5ns~10s vs. 50ns-10s

[axantas]

If your limited budget is determing your strategy, you need something portable and want to add a multimeter:
Have a look at the FNIRSI 2C23T All-in-one. It is honest regarding the specs and works quite good. Also the "logic" of the buttons is quite self explaining and good. Available at AliExpress at a good price quite below 100 €.

The Zeeweii DSO3D12 is better in almost every aspect.
Sample rate: 250M vs. 50M
Vertical sensitivity: 10mV-10V vs. 20mV-10V
Time base: 5ns~10s vs. 50ns-10s

I withdraw my posting, you are right. 
I overlooked, that this is an all-in-one too

[wasedadoc]

If your limited budget is determing your strategy, you need something portable and want to add a multimeter:
Have a look at the FNIRSI 2C23T All-in-one. It is honest regarding the specs and works quite good. Also the "logic" of the buttons is quite self explaining and good. Available at AliExpress at a good price quite below 100 €.

The Zeeweii DSO3D12 is better in almost every aspect.
Sample rate: 250M vs. 50M
Vertical sensitivity: 10mV-10V vs. 20mV-10V
Time base: 5ns~10s vs. 50ns-10s

Also slightly larger screen and comes with two x1/x10 probes rathe than one probe and one cable with croc clips.

[naiclub]

Zeeweii DSO3D12 can directly measure 220V electricity? Are the signal lines overflowing the screen or not?