Products > Test Equipment

PicoScope 2000

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midix:
Thanks for the review, jasonRF.

I just tried Picoscope 7 software and the demo mode felt very intuitive for a beginner, unlike AD2 software which has its specifics to keep in mind. Considering I'm debugging mostly some simple stuff (audio, video, Arduinos) and I already have a cheap logic analyzer, 2204A might be enough for my needs? Or would I be overpaying and there are better choices with software that does everything I would ever need?

I currently have OSC482 (which seems to be the same thing as SainSmart DS482) and the software is clumsy, zooming is awkward, and you have to stop the device after capturing a signal with a trigger and then use scrollbars to select previews from PC cache, and only then you can zoom with your mouse (and scroll wheel works opposite way to all the other software).

But if 2204A is not any better hardware-wise than OSC482 (comparing not only specs on paper - OSC482 looks good there, but actual behavior and quality), then I'll have to live with OSC482 limitations. I might go for 2205A or Analog Discovery 2 sometime later.

jasonRF:
Hi Midix,

I am not familiar with the scope you have, and a quick google search landed me on pages with pretty sparse descriptions.  It is of course difficult for us to know what your use-cases will be, but if I were you I would be thinking about what measurements I want to do and how convenient I want them to be.  I would also be reluctant to spend real money on new equipment that is only a small improvement over what I already own - I'm not sure if the 2204a falls in that category or not for you.   But for basic audio stuff, at least, the 2204a is fine as long as you aren't dealing with the high voltages required for most tube circuits.  The actual analog bandwidth of mine is about 25 MHz, so is pretty good for a lot (but not all) of the stability concerns with audio circuits.  When I had the 2204a, I purchased a reasonable external audio interface to do high resolution distortion measurements before bothering to look for a better oscilloscope. 

Anyway, if you are willing to purchase used equipment, then you can sometimes pick up an Analog Discovery 1 on ebay for less than the price of a new 2204a.  The used Picoscope 2204a models don't seem to sell for that much of a discount it seems, but the higher (and older) model Picoscopes do.  You just need to be patient and may need to keep your eye out for a number of months to find the really good deals. 

jason

mtk:
Is it possible to make PicoScope 2204A to work with 2205A firmware, the boards seems the same ?

jasonRF:

--- Quote from: mtk on November 19, 2022, 03:19:52 pm ---Is it possible to make PicoScope 2204A to work with 2205A firmware, the boards seems the same ?

--- End quote ---
Interesting question.  Before now I did not realize that the boards looked the same.  Photo of the 2204a
https://sigrok.org/wiki/Pico_Technology_PicoScope_2204A
and the 2205a
https://community.element14.com/products/roadtest/rv/roadtest_reviews/1272/picoscope_2205a_osci_2
The board shown on the sigrok site even has a sticker that seems to indicate it is for both.

My understanding is that the Picoscope software takes care of firmware updates automatically, but I could be wrong about that.  In any case I haven't found any useful information about updating firmware on picoscopes. 

jason


_Wim_:

--- Quote from: mtk on November 19, 2022, 03:19:52 pm ---Is it possible to make PicoScope 2204A to work with 2205A firmware, the boards seems the same ?

--- End quote ---

I was thinking exactly the same for my 5000 series scope: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/picoscope-hack/

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