Not sure what sub forum to place this.....
I read I should get one that is a minimum of 50mhz for servo work.
I would like one but not sure how much I would use it.
And.... is this a decent beginner scope?
Hanmatek
Thanks.
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What kind of work do you do ?
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What is your budget ?
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What hobbies do you have ?
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What test equipment do you have now ?
Mainly robotics type projects with arduino, servos and motors. I really like using the 555 for small projects. I plan on doing some guitar projects, some small amp and pedal projects.
Ive got a Fluke multimeter that I use all the time, It has your typical voltage and, continuity, ohms, capacitor reading capabilities. Ive got other basic equipment like a transistor tester, Servo tester Etc..
I could go as high as $200 US. Just dont know how much I would use it to justify the purchase but it would be fun to have another tool. It might be one of those things that you buy and didnt know you needed it until you use it. LOL.
You can do a lot with a logic probe, even a DIY version.
You might want to save up until you can easily afford something from $500 to $800; but even then, you need to decide if the investment will be something that you will often use. 
I've been an electronics hobbyist for a long time and so-far I've gotten-by without one. But I also work in electronics and one or two times I've brought a hobby project into work work to use the 'scope. Sometimes I "lust" for one but it's an expense that I can't really "justify" and and I've already got "too much stuff". I always tell myself if I need one I'll buy one, but so far I haven't really needed one.
In reality a 'scope isn't all that useful with digital electronics because things like data & address lines just look like "garbage". But, you can see if there is data or if a line is stuck-high or stuck-low, and sometimes you can tell if two lines are shorted together if you see a signal half-way between 0 and 5V, etc. So it's not totally useless with digital. Oh... I once had a shorted Arduino output (serial data) and that would have been easier to find & diagnose if I had a 'scope to look at the signal. (The Arduino survived!)
I think I'd be happy with that one. I don't like the little gizmos that plug-into a computers USB port to use the computer's display. (A USB port is fine for optionally capturing the waveform image or other data.) And I don't like those little portable hand-held 'scopes unless you really need a small one to carry around in your toolbox.
I rarely need a scope since I bought a cheap 8 channel logic analyser.
The free Pulseview software makes it easy to use and the included decoders (UART, I2C, SPI, and many others) make the logic analyser very useful.
2 Likes
50mHz you could do with a blinking LED 
I have owned many scopes and while working in EE research lab, these devices were absolutely necessary. But my home scope is not a day-to-day tool; sometimes a project will need a scope available during the entire prototyping stage - but, mostly for microcontroller use, a scope is a luxury and not a necessity.
As mentioned previously, a digital logic (8 chan) analyzer is used far more often. I own a Saleae which is an excellent device but as anyone will tell you, less expensive options exist. I use the Saleae with an i7 Windows 11 notebook that also doubles as my ArduinoIDE machine.
There are o'scopes with built-in logic analyzers which I find a very interesting combination for advanced use on protocol issues. Also, two other important considerations which may be of interest is FFT and "waveform" storage. The value of a storage scope is the ability to walk backwards in time from the trigger point.
Lastly, you may want to ensure that you can "move" the waveform storage from the scope to a PC for further analysis, for inclusion of "clips" into documentation, and for printing the waveform on paper.
As you mentioned you have a Fluke, it is apparent you want a quality o'scope too. Prior to my current Rigol import, I owned a Tek-422 which gave me 40 years of loyal service. I have found the Rigol to be just-fine for my desk use and far easier to move around than the all steel and aluminum Tek. The Rigol may be all plastic, but the TFT display is excellent and the performance is an order of magnitude better than the Tek. The Rigol is nearly 10 years old and has been a solid unit.
Ray
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I find that I use the scope a lot more when doing analog work. I have A $500 scope and a $15 8 channel logic analyzer (see some of the previous posts). I find that for my digital projects I tend to get more use out of the logic analyzer. I only get out the scope when I need the 1GHz sample rate or to see the actual waveform.
I am building an alarm system. Aggravation #1 in alarms is the false trigger. the trick is to use an overly sensitive sensor to trigger a less sensitive but power consuming sensor to verify the first sensor. The second sensor does not consume battery power constantly, and the system triggers only when the two sensors agree there is something happening.
Pseudocode:
If PIR sensor says "look at that"
TRIGGER Ultrasonic sensor
read ECHO
if ECHO then ALARM
so you want to verify the sequence of
PIR
TRIGGER
ECHO
ALARM
So in my rarely humble opinion you need at least a 4 channel scope to verify and observe a system which monitors two inputs, with an IF condition
I need a scope I can use on a ladder or a tower or a roof or in a tunnel, so battery operated portable
I need a digital scope that retains the traces so I can trigger off the PIR and capture the other traces
I need this:
I have a 30 year old 2 channel 100 MHz analog scope that I use all the time. It is absolutely invaluable for some projects. You don't need to buy a new one!
That said, those dirt cheap 8 channel logic probes and free PulseView software can be more useful for digital/Arduino projects.
I also would love to have a decent scope But common sense tells me that I don't need one now 
One of those cheap logic analysers (already mentioned) has been a great investment.
I bought a scope pretty much as soon as the compact desktop units became available (a Tek TDS210.) It wasn't so much a matter of cost, as space - the "cheap used old-fashioned scopes" that were widely recommended for hobbyist use just wouldn't fit in my work area.
It's since been replaced by a fancy (and cheaper) color 4-channel Sigilent scope.
I haven't used either one very often, generally finding SW debugging techniques more useful. When I do use it, it's important, though...
I read I should get one that is a minimum of 50mhz for servo work.
I think that's pretty ridiculous. Servos are quite slow by scope standards. (1.5ms (middle Servo pulse width) divided into 256 pieces needs less than 1MHz bandwidth to measure accurately.)
OTOH, "50MHz is a "low-end" scope these days, and I'm not sure anyone should buy anything lower. (there is scope software that uses you sound card. They would NOT be sufficient to measure those servo pulses. An "old" 20MHz analog scope would be fine, though.)
You don't need one - you want one.
But that's fine. Get one.
If your using Wokwi, could use Pulseview with their 8-Channel Digital Logic Analyzer and use a chip Scope I've developed ... total cost $0.00. Stepper and Servo example.
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For analyzing voltage <= 5v, I think the logic analyzers look like a good solution. If you want to directly monitor servo voltages or have communication lines that are higher than 12v, you'll probably want a scope. E.g. automotive LIN/CAN bus communications, 24v industrial applications, etc. Most people don't need one though.
If the 12V does not go negative and is a pulse signal, you could drop the higher voltage to less than 5V for the logic analyzer with voltage dividers.
I just got a 'scope for Christmas -- was in the same boat wondering if it was something I'd use if I had one or not. So far I still use my multimeter way more, but I did use the 'scope to identify an issue with one of the breadboards I was using -- my I2C bus kept locking up and I couldn't figure out why. All the signal lines looked correct, power looked fine (to the multimeter), but looking at it with the scope, I found that Vcc wasn't staying consistent, but was dropping up and down like it was being influenced by a digital signal (not dropping to 0V, but dropping about 0.4 V in regular, pulsed fashion).
(Purple line is the correct 3.3V signal it should have been, yellow is what I was seeing.)
Turns out it was the breadboard - something about the bus lines was dodgy. Still not sure if it was that the connections were too lose or if there was some sort of pinchpoint in the internal wiring that was limiting the current carrying capacity. But don't think I would have found this without the 'scope!
To a point that someone else posted here... this particular scope happens to have the ability to decode signal lines like I2C (and I think several other types). I haven't used it more than seeing how it worked, but that seems like it could be handy at times and definitely allows you to do more with high speed signal lines like that.
You could. But you'd have to be sure you remember to use it. Also some circuits are sensitive to having the line pulled to ground so you need to have very high resistance values.
Staring at a 7 inch display of 800*480, no thank you.
The reviews indicate a lack of quality.
A USB scope with included Logic Analyzer can do a lot more than a standalone oscilloscope.
The resolution of the screen of a desktop computer is higher, scrolling is easier. It saves a lot of time trying to find that single glitch. And you can easily share a screendump with us
PulseView is free and has many decoders that can decode and analyze the signals for you.
I'm very fond of my LHT00SU1 in combination with PulseView/sigrok, but the analog channel is a gimmick.
The good brand USB scopes are expensive. If you want something good, then 200 dollars is not enough.