Products > Test Equipment
set out to buy a Rigol DHO800, ordered a Vevor SDS1102 for $93 instead!
<< < (4/5) > >>
J-R:
Good deals make a lot of people happy, although sometimes the deal is too good to be true.

Hobby use purchases can have complex aspects.  We choose to spend our own money in different ways.  Priorities differ, and as mentioned so do skill/knowledge levels.  So this discussion needs to keep that in mind.

A friend and I bought similar 2-door econoboxes with 13" wheels maybe 25+ years ago and while I've had a dozen vehicles since then, they can't be convinced to get anything else. "All I do is drive back and forth to work every day and it still does that just fine."  I try to invent excuses to give them a ride in one of my Audis but they always make excuses.  Like I'm asking them to join a cult or something.

So test equipment purchases can be similar to that analogy sometimes!

Anyway, for scopes, based on my limited knowledge, I think a typical hobbyist could be interested in such things as trigger types, decoding, mixed signal (digital), math functions, 50 Ohm termination, network connectivity...the list goes on quite a bit further.

However, I've watched a lot of videos from such people as CuriousMarc, IMSAI Guy and IanScottJohnston and quite often all they need the scope for is viewing a trace.
djacobow:

--- Quote from: Aldo22 on June 25, 2024, 08:30:34 am ---Can somebody explain? Thank you!

--- End quote ---

Perhaps in the beginner hobbyist realm there aren't that many things that you could measure with a better scope that you could not measure at all with a lesser one, but it could be much easier. For example


* cheaper scopes have slower waveform update rates, so there is more dead time between opportunities for the scope to trigger. If you are trying to catch an infrequent strange pulse, the better scope is just an easier instrument to work with.
* if you are trying to measure signal parameters, you can always measure them just by looking at the waveform and counting graticule lines (as we did in the CRO days) but better scopes do a nice job of doing all that for you -- and there is variation in how well they do it.
* if you are trying to figure out what is happening on an i2c or SPI bus or whatever, you can eyeball the bytes, and work out the acks yourself, but decoders sure sure are nice, especially when the errant  byte or nak comes after 1000s of correct ones.
* more sophisticated triggering makes it easier to get a picture of what you're after
* remote control lets your automate some measurements
But I still want to point out that there are quality-of-life differences also matter. Like, when you press a button or turn a knob, having the scope react instantly without 100ms of delay. Those little delays when turning a gain or time base knob can actually be confusing.

Another "nice" thing is the DPO / phosphor grading color displays that make it easier to see what the variation of the waveform is from scan to scan. You can see the same without the color, but it's a nice visualization.
Aldo22:
Thanks for your answers!
There are certainly a few important points, but I don't really see THE compelling reason why I absolutely need a new scope after one or two years.

It's probably more about quality aspects than hard limits on features.
I guess it depends on how often you use it and what you use it for.
Just like you would choose a different car for shopping once a week, than if you were driving a cab every day.

Perhaps many people don't realize that even the cheapest scopes these days have many of the features you mentioned:


--- Quote from: J-R on June 25, 2024, 11:03:29 am ---trigger types

--- End quote ---
DSO2000 has: Edge,Pulse,Video,Slope,Overtime,Window,Pattern,Interval,Delay,UART,LIN,CAN,SPI,IIC


--- Quote from: J-R on June 25, 2024, 11:03:29 am ---decoding

--- End quote ---
DSO2000 has: RS232/UART、I2C、SPI、CAN、LIN. "Hello world" in the attached image.


--- Quote from: J-R on June 25, 2024, 11:03:29 am ---math functions

--- End quote ---
DSO2000 has: +, -, x, /, FFT. FFT Demo in the attached image.


--- Quote from: djacobow on June 25, 2024, 11:31:04 am ---
* if you are trying to measure signal parameters, you can always measure them just by looking at the waveform and counting graticule lines (as we did in the CRO days) but better scopes do a nice job of doing all that for you -- and there is variation in how well they do it.
--- End quote ---
DSO2000 has Automatic Measurements: PkPk, Frequency, Average, Max, Min, Period, Vtop, Vmid, Vbase, Vamp, RMS, R-Overshoot, Period, Rms, F-Preshoot, PeriodRms, PeriodAvg, RiseTime, FallTime, + Width, - Width, + Duty, - Duty, FRR, FFF, F-Overshoot, R-preshoot, BWidth, FRF, FFR, LRR, LRF, LFR and LFF



--- Quote from: djacobow on June 25, 2024, 11:31:04 am ---remote control lets your automate some measurements.

--- End quote ---
DSO2000 has SCPI. I made a bode plot script with it.

I think that even a cheap(-est) scope will keep you busy for a while.  :)
But don't get me wrong, the DSO2000 really is a cheap device and it is a bit rough at many points.
I wouldn't want to work with it every day, but it does have a lot to offer for beginners.
Shock:
If your budget for a new 2 channel digital scope was only $100 then you can't complain. Spending $300-400 (based on your previously defined usage case) you could have had a fully featured 4 channel unlockable model. Personally I would have done the latter as my budget is different.

But, spending $100 though isn't exactly a huge investment and you'd probably get about $50 for it secondhand. So worst case you're down $50, best case you further your electronics education and it becomes a useful tool.
J-R:
• Trigger types: edge, edge then edge, pulse width, pattern, OR, rise/fall time,
Nth edge burst, runt, setup & hold, video, and USB.
• Serial decode/trigger options for: CAN/LIN, FlexRay, I2C/SPI, I2S,
UART/RS232, and MIL-STD-1553/ARINC 429. Lister for serial decode
• Math waveforms: add, subtract, multiply, FFT, d/dt, integrate, and square root.
Ax+B, square, absolute value, common logarithm, natural logarithm,
exponential, base 10 exponential, low pass filter, high pass filter, magnify,
measurement trend, chart logic bus timing, and chart logic bus state.
Navigation
Message Index
Next page
Previous page
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...

Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod