Inexpen$ive scope recommendations

[Analog Kid]

I hesitate to ask this question here, knowing how this thread might end up blowing up all kinds of ways. But here goes:

I'm looking for possible recommendations for a 'scope at or under $200. (Let's say ± $25.)

I realize this isn't very much money. I'm hoping I might be able to get a real bench 'scope instead of one of them little pocket scopes for that amount. If I'm wrong about that I'm sure someone'll let me know.

No special requirements: just a basic scope. Of course, more featues = better.
But I'm interested in something basic that works well.
Extremely high bandwidth not a requirement, as I don't mess with RF (at least not yet). Maybe 50MHz? does that sound realistic? Less would be OK.

I'm a hobbyist, not in production or R&D.

Any make OK, including Chinesium, if it works well enough and is reliable.
In other words, not a POS that needs to be sent back because it doesn't work, or needs tweaking, or whatever.

Again, I don't need a lot of ins and outs here, hairsplitting over features or performance. If you know of a particular unit that you can recommend, let me know.

Thanks in advance!

[Analog Kid]

Found this on Ali Express, Fnirsi combo 'scope/signal gen., currently $152:

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802252728023.html

Ratings are generally favorable, except regarding voltage accuracy, which is apparently slightly off (10%?).

[nctnico]

I hesitate to ask this question here, knowing how this thread might end up blowing up all kinds of ways. But here goes:

I'm looking for possible recommendations for a 'scope at or under $200. (Let's say ± $25.)

I realize this isn't very much money. I'm hoping I might be able to get a real bench 'scope instead of one of them little pocket scopes for that amount. If I'm wrong about that I'm sure someone'll let me know.

No special requirements: just a basic scope. Of course, more featues = better.

It is probably better to focus on less features and have something that is useable. But this largely depends on what kind of projects you are working on. And is second hand an option?


You'll probably get a lot of flack for suggesting the Fnirsi  But in all honesty that oscilloscope can probably do a whole lot more compared to an old analog scope from the 1980's. IMHO the most important things are stability and ease of use. Features come after that. There is no point in having 90 features from which only 10 are somewhat useful. Some DSO manufacturers try to get as many features (checkboxes) in their datasheet but forget to implement these in a meaningfull way.

[KungFuJosh]

Make this guy an offer: https://www.ebay.com/itm/227467449140

Even if it's broken, it's better than Fnirsi.

[abeyer]

My 2c is that $200 is not a great price point to be looking. Anything at that price is going to have some serious compromises. And going up just another $100 to around $300 gets you into a significantly better class of options at the base level of modern siglent and rigol models.

If possible, I'd prefer to wait and save a bit longer and get a solid modern design at the slightly higher price. Or if you need something in the short term, go for a very cheap pocket meter for now with a plan to upgrade later.

If you are going to stick at that budget, just saying "No special requirements: just a basic scope" isn't particularly helpful, as you need to decide what you are willing to compromise to get there.

[ledtester]

An ongoing discussion...

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/recommendations-for-a-budget-digital-oscope/

The Zeewei DSO3d12 has an extensive thread here:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/another-dsodmm-zeeweii-dso3d12-claimed-120mhz250msps/

Someone has been able to decompile the firmware and make some improvements to it:

https://github.com/taligentx/ZeeTweak

A test of XY-mode video:

ZEEWEII DSO3D12 xy mode test
https://youtu.be/TLD76o5OjS8

It would be interesting to run the audio through a Siglent / Rigol scope for comparison.

[rhodges]

My first answer is... NO.

But I see your flag is US and shipping may not be a problem.

I have a Tek 465 that I have not used in some time, just gathering dust.
If it will do what you need, it's yours. We'll figure out shipping costs.

But I really hope and expect that any new scope buyers will look at the Siglent SDS1104XE as the starting point.

[abeyer]

It would be interesting to run the audio through a Siglent / Rigol scope for comparison.

There's a bunch over at https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/oscilloscope-music-on-dsos-post-your-results/

[wilfred]

I know you said a real bench scope but what about something like the  Zoyi ZT703S combination multimeter and oscilloscope. I see them available on AliX for as little as AU$108. With your modest requirements it might be a way to establish just what your requirements are should you need more in future.

I have one and it is fine. It is handy for working on the car. Battery life could be better but it's OK.

[tautech]

................

But I really hope and expect that any new scope buyers will look at the Siglent SDS1104XE as the starting point.

Sorry but the X-E's are yesterday's favorite child and once our best seller but......now the SDS800X HD series has replaced them.....
SDS804X HD is a good bit cheaper than the previous lowest BW X-E model and available in a fully featured 2ch version too.

[Sorama]

Have a look at the voltcraft dov thread?

[Doctorandus_P]

Another very recent thread with the same question:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/recommendations-for-a-budget-digital-oscope/

[Aldo22]

Found this on Ali Express, Fnirsi combo 'scope/signal gen., currently $152:

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802252728023.html

Ratings are generally favorable, except regarding voltage accuracy, which is apparently slightly off (10%?).

This is truly the worst oscilloscope you can buy.
Even the Hantek DSO2000 is miles ahead of it. But the Hantek is also outdated by now. It’s a matter of price.
Just the maximum sensitivity of the FNIRSI 1014D alone is a joke: 50 mV/div or 500 mV/div with probes at 10x. Any Zeeweii can do better than that.

[Analog Kid]

OK, I'm convinced: the Fnirsi (WTF did that name come from???) is a POS.

I'm still hoping that maybe there's something out there in that price range (~ $200) that might work for me.

It is probably better to focus on less features and have something that is useable. But this largely depends on what kind of projects you are working on. And is second hand an option?

Agree about features vs. usability. Regarding used, um, I guess not: I wouldn't want to have to mess around getting something used working where, presumably, something new should just work right out of the box.

I have a Tek 465 that I have not used in some time, just gathering dust.
If it will do what you need, it's yours. We'll figure out shipping costs.

Thanks for the generous offer. However, I have a working Tek 475 sitting here. Just looking at DSO options.

[KungFuJosh]

The best thing you can do is not waste your money on trash. Save up longer, and buy an SDS804X HD when you're ready. In the meantime, you've got a working scope that's better than the $200 junk.

[Analog Kid]

The best thing you can do is not waste your money on trash. Save up longer, and buy an SDS804X HD when you're ready. In the meantime, you've got a working scope that's better than the $200 junk.

Yabbut, $461 is a lot more than I want to spend ATM. (Current price from a quick search.)

Remember, I'm a hobbyist, not a production engineer.

I'll wait for any replies that may indicate what I'm hoping for is possible. If it isn't, it isn't.

[KungFuJosh]

It sounds like a lot, but if you compare what it can do, it's a fantastic value. ATM you don't sound like you need anything immediately, so I wouldn't recommend that you buy anything ATM. There's also an eevblog discount you can ask for to use at saelig.com when you're ready.

You should look through this thread for more thoughts on the subject: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/recommendations-for-a-budget-digital-oscope/msg6332770/#msg6332770

[Smokey]

Do you really have 4472 posts on an electrical engineering forum and you don't own an oscilloscope of any kind?  You have 4472 posts worth of interest in electronics and you can't bring yourself to get the entry level of decent scopes as recommended by knowledgeable people here?  If you've really gotten this far without a scope, then probably anything will be amazing and probably keep you busy for the foreseeable future. 

Get a FNIRSI DPOX180H.  $140 at amazon right now.  Two channel, 180MHz, with a basic sig gen. 

[abeyer]

Do you really have 4472 posts on an electrical engineering forum and you don't own an oscilloscope of any kind?

I have a working Tek 475 sitting here. Just looking at DSO options.

[Smokey]

Do you really have 4472 posts on an electrical engineering forum and you don't own an oscilloscope of any kind?

I have a working Tek 475 sitting here. Just looking at DSO options.

Sorry.  My bad.  Missed that post.
That does make more sense

[tautech]

The best thing you can do is not waste your money on trash. Save up longer, and buy an SDS804X HD when you're ready. In the meantime, you've got a working scope that's better than the $200 junk.

Yabbut, $461 is a lot more than I want to spend ATM. (Current price from a quick search.)

Remember, I'm a hobbyist, not a production engineer.

I'll wait for any replies that may indicate what I'm hoping for is possible. If it isn't, it isn't.

And our hobbyist market in NZ keeps snapping up our SDS804X HD stock....but not all need or want a 4ch scope so instead chose the good bit cheaper SDS802X HD.

These things are amazing in ability and the feature set offers a lot to grow into.

This is mandatory reading:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/sds800x-hd-review-demonstration-thread/

[Analog Kid]

And our hobbyist market in NZ keeps snapping up our SDS804X HD stock....but not all need or want a 4ch scope so instead chose the good bit cheaper SDS802X HD.

These things are amazing in ability and the feature set offers a lot to grow into.

That's just a lot more 'scope than I need, or will need in the foreseeable future.

[EEVblog]

There are many used older Rigol E series dual channel scopes on ebay for under $200.

This DS1102Z-E is $238 or best offer:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/398253236421

The Z-E series is pretty modern with 24M sampel memeory, 30k/wfms/sec, UltraVision, 800x480 screen.
https://www.batronix.com/files/Rigol/Oszilloskope/DS1000Z-E/DS1000Z-E-Datasheet-EN.pdf

[Doctorandus_P]

So what do yo think about that Zeewei dso3d12 I mentioned in that other thread. It's got a lot going for it.

* It's got a decent bandwidth.
* It does not lie in their spec such as the fnirsi garbage.
* It's two channel, so you can compare input and output of a circuit.
* It's got dedicated timebase and voltage pushbuttons.
* In it's dedicated thread pictures of the inside (frontend) also look decent.
* It's got a usable DMM as extra (with big fat numbers on a clear TFT screen.
* Internal hardware (& frontend) also looks decent in the dedicated thread of the thing.
* Battery powered with around 7 hours of battery life (and plastic case) are nice for the occasional floating measurement. (Put a plug over the remaining BNC / metal parts)

And sure, it looks a bit toylike and screen resolution is a bit low, but it's good enough to be a usable instrument, and considering it cost only (around) EUR 100 it seems to punch above it's price range.
I've already got a Siglent SDS1104X-E  myself, but am still considering to buy this Zeewei. Partly out of curiousity, and partly because of the annoying fan noise of my Siglent.

[EEVblog]

So what do yo think about that Zeewei dso3d12 I mentioned in that other thread. It's got a lot going for it.

I'd personally rather spend the $240 and get that Rigol Z-E