Drinking a 4th one of these @ 7.8% to try and help
Budget of $600-1k+ and 100Mhz 4ch to go brand name secondhand 5-10'ish year old or buy disposable Chinese origin new with 'apparently' better features I have hated with a passion any Chinese based PC interface software but not so sure the early 2000's stuff running Windoze 10 will be any better
No coincidence there. Mr Pease was a big influence in my interests
And from the cover of Troubleshooting Analog Circuits, which looks more like what is currently in that box:
I'm sure Bob's breadboard above was relatively neat to start with
As the owner of a currently 'working' Feeltech Sig Gen Yep chinese sh1T I know about. Their software blows!
Short List is an Agilent 54622D MSO as the oldest I am prepared to spend my $$ on to a brand new Siglent or even a couple of year old 4ch Agilent.
The Secondary school I went to had a couple of Hitachi's and mainly Tek scopes so I was just after the Japanese sh1T thing. Give the Chinese origin product 3-5 years more exposure to the Western requirements and I wouldn't want to have any shares in Keysight-Tek-Fluke etc.
I have been buying from mainland China for well over 20 years and the thing I have stressed all along is that the price is important but the quality and usability is more important. (Not Electronics)
My first DSO was a Tek TDS2012B after having several CRO's and then I knew DSO's were the future. That was long before I got into bed with Siglent in 2013. I still believe that those that have first used a CRO have an advantage of better understanding scope use despite the risk one takes today in buying something well past its 'best before' date.
Today, well pick your poison, but do your homework first. Check and recheck specs, that's what I did before going down the path that has lead me here.
Chinese shite I see you mention, well when I was a kid it was Jap shite and remained that way right through most of my teens.
One thing you mightn't see is how this forum's exposure and publicity of the failings and successes has really helped the Chinese to get their shite together for the benefit of us all.
That can't be anything to do with radio frequencies, it'll be full of birdies, whistles, lossy, cross modulation, you name it, makes my resistance decade box a piece of art by comparison [emoji23][emoji23]
As the owner of a currently 'working' Feeltech Sig Gen Yep chinese sh1T I know about. Their software blows!
Short List is an Agilent 54622D MSO as the oldest I am prepared to spend my $$ on to a brand new Siglent or even a couple of year old 4ch Agilent.
The Secondary school I went to had a couple of Hitachi's and mainly Tek scopes so I was just after the Japanese sh1T thing. Give the Chinese origin product 3-5 years more exposure to the Western requirements and I wouldn't want to have any shares in Keysight-Tek-Fluke etc.
I have been buying from mainland China for well over 20 years and the thing I have stressed all along is that the price is important but the quality and usability is more important. (Not Electronics)
QuoteMy first DSO was a Tek TDS2012B after having several CRO's and then I knew DSO's were the future. That was long before I got into bed with Siglent in 2013. I still believe that those that have first used a CRO have an advantage of better understanding scope use despite the risk one takes today in buying something well past its 'best before' date.
Today, well pick your poison, but do your homework first. Check and recheck specs, that's what I did before going down the path that has lead me here.
Chinese shite I see you mention, well when I was a kid it was Jap shite and remained that way right through most of my teens.
One thing you mightn't see is how this forum's exposure and publicity of the failings and successes has really helped the Chinese to get their shite together for the benefit of us all.
Going to have a mini-rant here. I don't think we're anywhere near something I'd classify as a good experience yet.
..............
Fast forward merely 25 years, and the Chinese aren't even half way there, at least with my DS1054Z and all similarly priced competitors. They're slow, buggy, noisy, unreliable, low quality and the usability is down the toilet. And on top of that we have licensing games now. Much like the Japanese, the software sucks monkey dick.
My 'Taiwanese' coffee roaster is a great example of what can be done with good feedback. This company has relocated to mainland china now but maintains a much more proactive response to product issues.
I took delivery of the second one in the country and within 3 months almost all of my feedback had been acted on for the next model. This company continues to thrive and keep pace because it listens.
Owning your issues and working to improve a product is tough for some.
I think it's fair to compare entry level equipment now with professional stuff made 25 years ago.
Otherwise what is the market proposition for buying something made in 2017?
And thats partly why my brain hurts
Heart says 10-15 year old Agilent but Brain reading specs on face value says otherwise.
Whatever I decide on will generally be more than I need.
Update on the current state of my lab. HP8657A on it's way to be added later.
Idea is that I am going to build a bunch of 19" wide racks on top, 4 or 5U high, and have above that be shelves. That way big rack gear can sit in a rack safely, and I have shelving above it to put smaller stuff, parts bins, etc.
Really happy how this turned out, massive depth (1m30 iirc). about 1m05 high so I can work while standing up. The thing is so deep my girlfriend can't easily reach any gear ('tis not a bug, its a feature!).
I've just been given a 30" LCD monitor that is allegedly not working, not tested it as yet but it does come with seperate 24v 5A power supply which is working. So if I'm unable to resurrect the monitor, the power supply will find a new use supplying power to another T12 soldering station so thats an added bonus
I've just been given a 30" LCD monitor that is allegedly not working, not tested it as yet but it does come with seperate 24v 5A power supply which is working. So if I'm unable to resurrect the monitor, the power supply will find a new use supplying power to another T12 soldering station so thats an added bonus
That's a win either way. That's a pretty hefty power supply.
I found my other box of power supplies earlier (hiding in the larder). Actually found a Toshiba charger that already has the right plug and is 20.6V out at 3.42A. Hopefully plug and play, or burn fingers no doubt
If anyone is thinking about buying a desoldering station, then now might be a really good time to do, CPC have this Duratool ZD-915 on offer in their sale and it really is a good tool and will even clean SMD pads and leave them perfectly flat ready for mounting new parts onto. I have one of these and it has one of my best purchases to date. Sale ends 9th Feb.
If anyone is thinking about buying a desoldering station, then now might be a really good time to do, CPC have this Duratool ZD-915 on offer in their sale and it really is a good tool and will even clean SMD pads and leave them perfectly flat ready for mounting new parts onto. I have one of these and it has one of my best purchases to date. Sale ends 9th Feb.
Is this the same desoldering station as this one?
https://www.tme.eu/gb/details/sp-1010dr/desoldering-stations/solder-peak/
To me, it is looking very similar.
I've just been given a 30" LCD monitor that is allegedly not working, not tested it as yet but it does come with seperate 24v 5A power supply which is working. So if I'm unable to resurrect the monitor, the power supply will find a new use supplying power to another T12 soldering station so thats an added bonus
That's a win either way. That's a pretty hefty power supply.
I found my other box of power supplies earlier (hiding in the larder). Actually found a Toshiba charger that already has the right plug and is 20.6V out at 3.42A. Hopefully plug and play, or burn fingers no doubtYou'll be OK, every confidence in you.
Well I've checked the list that mnementh suggests but he's looking at reusing the linear power supply from a fake Hakko 936 or similar so its going to be a reasonably good sized item once assembled.
In all honesty the only things I think I could and probably will go with is the "Blue" controller he recommends and the handle, the enclosure I'll stick with the same as I already have with the IEC connector not the "clover leaf" as the one he suggests (unfused) as I have loads of IEC leads to spare, and I'll use another psu same as in the Quicko as I know it works and I also know to earth the system safely. Total cost will be £36.15 or if I reuse the monitor psu, £26.38. I'll have to change the plug over from the current 4 pin din type to a 5.5 x 2.1 plug but I have plenty of those and sockets in my parts bin. That psu is too long to fit inside the enclosure so it will have to be external and I could remove the IEC to prevent some clown plugging a power cord into it.
Now to have a look at the monitor and see if I can salvage it before I order the parts for T12 MK2 as the sale ends soon.
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