hi,
ive been using and struggling with a pocket size single channel one, think its time to move on to a 2 Chanel scope could someone please recommend me one please, possible something i could grow into as my as my knowledge gets greater, seen lots of Chinese ones look good value, wondering about their longevity
thank you
ive stumbled across this one, looks good
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161007461332?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
what kind of signals the scope be able to handle?
Note that you can make a relative simple scope / logic analyzer with an Arduino yourself !
Also other tools can be made with Arduino, did a freq and duty cycle sketch this weekend which works well for me.
If choosing Owon stick with the SDS series, the screen is much better.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-OWON-SDS5032E-30MHz-Digital-Storage-Oscilloscope-SDS5032EV-VGA-Port-/271126030675?pt=BI_Oscilloscopes&hash=item3f205ee953
For reference, this page has a bunch of different scopes, and some of the handhelds are
2-channel. However, the server appears to be down right now,
http://www.kitsusa.net/phpstore/html/Oscilloscopes-73-1.html
ive also got this as a contender as well, a pc based scope really keen price
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251202113780?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Think carefully before you commit - you may find that a logic analyser is a cheaper and more effective purchase.
you may find that a logic analyser is a cheaper and more effective purchase.
Yes jonisonvespaa, what is it you want to look at? For most embedded stuff at the Arduino level (SPI, I2C, PWM etc) an LA is far more useful.
So please tell us exactly what you plan to do with said test instrument.
Rob
You should try and work out the bandwidth you need - what are you going to use the scope for? What
speed signals do you need to be able to see (and remember you'll need bandwidth at least 3x signal frequency
to see rectangular pulse as vaguely rectangular).
Also digital scopes have both a bandwidth (which is the -3dB point of the input amplifier) and a sampling rate.
Either can limit the effective bandwidth of the device (my scope is 100MHz and 1Gsamp/s.). The sampling rate is
usually quoted as the sum of sampling rates for each channel, so that means each channel has a Nyquist limit
of 250MHz (this ought to be well above the analog bandwidth to reducing aliasing artifacts).
thanks for the advice, ive mainly been using my scope for building / testing power supply's and such, not really touched it for anything else yet maby i should be getting a logic analyser as well
what about the Tek TBS1022?
It's the cheapest Tek at < $500 and it's made in China. How does it compare to the Owon etc?
it's interesting that the $286 Owon is rated 30MHz and 250 MSPS, while the Tek is rated 25MHz but 500MSPS. Only has 2.5K samples compared to the Owon's 10K. But it does look like the Owon is over-optimistically spec'ed.
I kind of lean toward it because it's a Tek. but...
maby i should be getting a logic analyser as well
Not if you are working on power supplies.
In fact if they are linear all you need is a DVM unless you are really keen to look at the noise in which case you should look closely at the vertical specs of a scope.
A scope is handy with switchers though.
Teks are good, but I'd say the a cheap ones probably come out of the same factory as the Owons/Rigols etc. Maybe not but some do that.
30MHz and 250 MSPS, while the Tek is rated 25MHz but 500MSPS
I usually look for about 10:1 oversampling, the Tek's 20:1 is good and I'm more likely to believe their specs.
Rob
well iPhones are made in China.
judging from the appearance of the Tek TBS1022 and the Owons i would strongly suspect they come from the same factory. but the Teks probably have better QA and are more conservatively rated.
one good thing though is that the $400-odd price of the Tek is retail in-country. With a 5-year warranty and no shipping back to China in case of warranty claims. It's almost 2X the Owon price though...
Look around. You should be able to find usable old surplus Tektronics for much less than $100 USD.
30MHz Tek 424, dual chan. analog for $80 (& maybe another $20 shipping), and you'll have a decent scope for just about anything you run into with Arduinos (except some RF).
i can actually get a dual or 4-channel analog scope in-country for $80. just drive to pick it up.
but those are big heavy ^%^$$@#$ and my wife wouldn't tolerate even more junk coming home.
I use a Tek 2235 100 MHz dual-channel scope that I've had for years. The timebase switch is a bit intermittent (spares aren't available) but it works OK.
I have a 2213 Tek analog scope and it just keeps on plugging along after several decades now. However modern micro based digital sampling scopes have features and functions that an analog scope just can't do.
Lefty
I have a TENMA 25 MHZ that I swapped for ($50 value)and it works for most things. Usually you don't need to measure the freq of a signal you need to see of if is there or if it is changing. For Finding noise it is quite sufficient. But an LA is another matter.
A good entry-level scope that is stable, hobbyist friendly & cheap would be the Rigol DS1052E
2 channels 50 MHz 1 Gsample/s
Can be software "unlocked" to 100 MHz.
I LOVE mine.
// Per.