Inexpen$ive scope recommendations

[Analog Kid]

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

That's a total of $307.98 including shipping. Too rich for my taste.

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

Yeah, but that's you, Dave, not me, and you're definitely not just a hobbyist.

OK, I'm setting a hard limit of $200 for me here. Nothing over that, please!

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

Now that definitely looks interesting ...

[EEVblog]

OK, I'm setting a hard limit of $200 for me here. Nothing over that, please!

$199 or best offer, insane deal:
GW Instek GDS-2202A Digital Oscilloscope – 200 MHz, 2 CH, 2 GS/s, Color Display
https://www.ebay.com/itm/168556406211

I could buy that and flip it for a profit.

[tautech]

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.

Then sell your once desirable Tek 475 .......

Many have seen the light and moved away from CRO's years ago....it was 15yrs for me and I ain't never going back. 
Once I moved on from CRO's I've never needed a 2nd scope to fix those old analogue things.

[wilfred]

OK, I'm setting a hard limit of $200 for me here. Nothing over that, please!

$199 or best offer, insane deal:
GW Instek GDS-2202A Digital Oscilloscope – 200 MHz, 2 CH, 2 GS/s, Color Display
https://www.ebay.com/itm/168556406211

I could buy that and flip it for a profit.

This same seller seemed to sell one, the same one(?), a few weeks ago. And another was sold for US$190 in May and claims 3 have been sold and this is the last one. https://www.ebay.com/itm/177190693101

What makes you so sure you could flip it? Especially since the shipping is higher than the asking price.

[EEVblog]

This same seller seemed to sell one, the same one(?), a few weeks ago. And another was sold for US$190 in May and claims 3 have been sold and this is the last one. https://www.ebay.com/itm/177190693101

They have multiple units for sale, obviously they got a pallet full of them as bulk lot at an auction.
Very common.

What makes you so sure you could flip it? Especially since the shipping is higher than the asking price.

Because I have almost 1000 ebay feedback based largely on flipping test gear from the US into the Australian market. This was one of my side hustles before I started the blog.
People in Australia a very wary of buying from overseas sellers, and they will pay a premium over US based prices to buy it locally.

[coromonadalix]

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

That's a total of $307.98 including shipping. Too rich for my taste.

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

Yeah, but that's you, Dave, not me, and you're definitely not just a hobbyist.

OK, I'm setting a hard limit of $200 for me here. Nothing over that, please!

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

Now that definitely looks interesting ...

you knew from the start where this thread would go  ... it was just a matter of searching within your bracket price, instead of creating this post ...  fleabbay will be your answer

[nctnico]

OK, I'm setting a hard limit of $200 for me here. Nothing over that, please!

$199 or best offer, insane deal:
GW Instek GDS-2202A Digital Oscilloscope – 200 MHz, 2 CH, 2 GS/s, Color Display
https://www.ebay.com/itm/168556406211

That is a very good deal indeed. And it has the option to add digital channels.

[armandine2]

OK, I'm setting a hard limit of $200 for me here. Nothing over that, please!

$199 or best offer, insane deal:
GW Instek GDS-2202A Digital Oscilloscope – 200 MHz, 2 CH, 2 GS/s, Color Display
https://www.ebay.com/itm/168556406211

I could buy that and flip it for a profit.

..just pulled the trigger on this - will update when it lands (or otherwise) 

[nctnico]

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.

That may be but you do not know the state of the firmware. IMHO the GW Instek Dave found is a much safer bet. The UI of GW Instek is quite effective and just looking at the photo's of the Zeewei dso3d12 I know for sure the GW Instek will be much more convenient to use.

[Aldo22]

That may be but you do not know the state of the firmware. IMHO the GW Instek Dave found is a much safer bet. The UI of GW Instek is quite effective and just looking at the photo's of the Zeewei dso3d12 I know for sure the GW Instek will be much more convenient to use.

The Zeeweii handhelds are okay for what they are, but the GDS-2202A is in a completely different league.
250 MSa/s vs. 2 GSa/s is enough to realize that a comparison is pretty pointless. 

[armandine2]

OK, I'm setting a hard limit of $200 for me here. Nothing over that, please!

$199 or best offer, insane deal:
GW Instek GDS-2202A Digital Oscilloscope – 200 MHz, 2 CH, 2 GS/s, Color Display
https://www.ebay.com/itm/168556406211

That is a very good deal indeed. And it has the option to add digital channels.

It appears to be approx. 10% of a new RS Pro version
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/oscilloscopes/1241953

[wilfred]

It appears to be approx. 10% of a new RS Pro version
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/oscilloscopes/1241953

Yes, I looked that up and the selling price and that it seemed to be relisted. It seems too cheap. And I assume someone bidding on a scope that cheap would go through with the sale, although what do I know. Good luck. I'd like to hear how you get on good or bad.

Dave doesn't seem too troubled by it and I'm prepared to bow to his far greater experience.

[armandine2]

...yes, my success rate with these "good deals" is zero - however Dave is the master of them so, who knows.

..my last half decent deal was a Japanese Hakko de-soldering gun which was new half priced (for which I already had a step down auto transformer). it apparently made to the UK but "our" postal service couldn't manage to deliver it. 

I will pleased if I net this one, but I have little expectation. 

[EEVblog]

That may be but you do not know the state of the firmware. IMHO the GW Instek Dave found is a much safer bet. The UI of GW Instek is quite effective and just looking at the photo's of the Zeewei dso3d12 I know for sure the GW Instek will be much more convenient to use.

The Zeeweii handhelds are okay for what they are, but the GDS-2202A is in a completely different league.
250 MSa/s vs. 2 GSa/s is enough to realize that a comparison is pretty pointless. 

Yep, the GW Instek's are excellent scopes, totally different league indeed.
To get a professional brand 200MHz 2GS/s scope with serial decoding and logic/generator expansion capability for $200 is a complete no-brainer.
Ok, so postage on top, and it'll needs two probes, but either make an offer or just eat that cost.
3 units left.
https://www.gwinstek.com/en-global/products/downloadSeriesDownNew/1018/94

[ledtester]

So what do yo think about that Zeewei dso3d12 I mentioned in that other thread. ...                               

That may be but you do not know the state of the firmware. ...

Can you elaborate on the firmware state?

[EEVblog]

Dave doesn't seem too troubled by it and I'm prepared to bow to his far greater experience.

There is always risk when buying on ebay.
In this case there is more risk than usual as it's a private seller that rarely lists stuff and not an established test gear refurbisher. The seller has 54 feedback, but nothing recent, and no feedback on the 4 units already sold.
And the image is not real, the bench one is AI generated.
But there are no obvious signs of the usual scams, no contact them outside of ebay etc. And Chino Hills, California would be the kind of place where you would get bargain pallet loads of used scopes like this.
Old 2010 account.
The latest feedback from 6 months ago talks about calibration, so obviously test gear related.
Slight possibility of it being a hijacked account, but like I said, no signs of that, and they usually target very niche higher priced gear people have on their watch lists. If you hijacked an ebay account you wouldn't be selling seven $200 scopes through the ebay buyer protection system. And practically no one will have a GW-Instek on their watch list.

So I would personally take a chance on this, but that's just me.
A desparate price point calls for some risk IMO. Otherwise just buy a $100 toy and be happy.
Ebay is supposed to have decent buyer protection, which is why the scammers try and get you to buy outside the ebay system.

[EEVblog]

This same seller seemed to sell one, the same one(?), a few weeks ago. And another was sold for US$190 in May and claims 3 have been sold and this is the last one. https://www.ebay.com/itm/177190693101

They have one still available for $190, with probes and real photos, and supposedly free shipping?
3 sold already, and have many other random related things for sale, so looks genuine.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/177190693101
That's insane.

[EEVblog]

Established test equipment seller with 5000 feeback has a 200MHz GDS-1202B for $369 with warranty.
So that basically sets the market baseline price for these GW Instek scopes.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/297556796002

[armandine2]

There is always risk when buying on ebay.

And the image is not real, the bench one is AI generated.

I'm now watching a lot of GW Instek content - and thinking about the logic and function gen options. The older model is a bit ugly, but still more than a bargain.

[ed. to  add MetaRadiator link, YouTuber who uses GDS 2000A series oscilloscope]

[Sorama]

This same seller seemed to sell one, the same one(?), a few weeks ago. And another was sold for US$190 in May and claims 3 have been sold and this is the last one. https://www.ebay.com/itm/177190693101

They have one still available for $190, with probes and real photos, and supposedly free shipping?
3 sold already, and have many other random related things for sale, so looks genuine.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/177190693101
That's insane.

Did that bnc connector from CH2 take a hit?
Might explain price…

[factory]

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.

Then sell your once desirable Tek 475 .......

Many have seen the light and moved away from CRO's years ago....it was 15yrs for me and I ain't never going back. 
Once I moved on from CRO's I've never needed a 2nd scope to fix those old analogue things.

Or don't sell your CRO, as not everyone gets on with modern scopes, including at least two people in this thread;

https://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=382269

David

[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.

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

I agree you can get a better scope for twice the cost of a (brand new) Zeewei, but I don't know whether that is a better choice for OP. Earlier he mentioned that he does not need a "very good scope", and that he's on a tight budget. And those two factors made me suggest the Zeewei.

[Analog Kid]

you knew from the start where this thread would go  ... it was just a matter of searching within your bracket price, instead of creating this post ...  fleabbay will be your answer

Yes, you're right I knew where this thread would go, which is where most threads like this go here:
People responding from the POV of their requirements and the hell with what mine are.
Production types or dev engineers who impose their requirements for gear and don't pay attention to what mine are.

Regarding eBay, no, that would be my last preference. I'd rather buy something new, even Chinesium if it's decent quality, from AliExpress, Temu, whereever, and get a brand-new item in a box rather than a potentially problematic piece of gear that I'd have to fix or return. (I don't mind fixing or tinkering with stuff, but a working on a DSO is not my idea of fun.)

So now that everyone knows what my requirements are, can you please give answers that fit them and not yours?

Like I said, if it turns out that my requirements are unrealistic, I can live with that. But I don't think that the entire universe of DSOs out there has yet been exhausted. F'rinstance, those Zeewei units look very interesting.

Oh, and regarding "why don't you just look online for what's available?", the whole point of the exercise is to invoke the knowledge of people here who have experience with such gear, rather than wading through hundreds of online listings and trying to factor out the marketing claims as opposed to actual performance (like with the Fnirsi 'scopes). I don't think that's too much to ask of an online forum such as this.

[Doctorandus_P]

Th Zeewei I mentioned a few times is "a little pocket scope" (Although it's form factor is more a bit in between).

The big problem here is that it's hardly possible to buy a good "regular" bench sized scope for EUR200. There are some who come near that price point (Peaktech, Uni-T) but these all have quite severe limitations (memory depth screen update rate, extra measurement functions, connectivity, etc) compared to to the scopes in the EUR 300 or up price range. And those limitations are quite severe compared with the price difference.

And that brings the choice down to either living with a severe compromise, or saving up some more and then buy a "real" scope.
And how to weigh the "compromise factors" (smaller screen, UI limitations, bandwidth, price, etc) is a very personal choice.

[KungFuJosh]

So now that everyone knows what my requirements are, can you please give answers that fit them and not yours?

The only requirement you've made clear is the price. Besides that, unless I missed something, you haven't specified a use case.

I assume from your name that you like working with analog circuits, and probably audio. Is that not correct?

If that is correct, then you'd want a decent DSO with a good Bode plot, and FFT. If that's not correct, please specify what you actually want to use a modern scope for that you can't use your Tek 475 for.

Saying "I'm a hobbyist" in response to a $400 scope doesn't tell us anything. A ~$400 scope is for the hobbyist market. Professional scopes sell for 10 to 100 to 1000 times as much.

Thanks,
Josh