Hi all. I'm looking for an entry-level oscilloscope to for learning. I was considering a $25 kit oscilloscope then found this for $45 shipped:
Does it cover the range of frequencies that would be useful in an Arduino project? For instance, debugging PWM from the Arduino itself or from sensors? Or ensuring that voltage supplies are both accurate in their voltage and also putting out a nice flat voltage. Those are my current use cases, but I'm sure as I advance I'll need to debug other uses. Is this a good scope for learning in this price range?
Rather than posting a review it would be far easier to comment if you posted its specification. You can't really expect us to watch a half hour video to answer your question!
For that price you might be better off with either a higher specification second hand machine or a thingy that plugs into your PC and uses that as an oscilloscope.
Whatever you buy at that price expect to want something better before long, I suggest £250 minimum and anything up to £1000, with maybe £400 being reasonable for a new machine.
I think if you want constructive comments, asking people to have to view a video to get the data on the unit is not going to encourage them.
The key parameters are min/max volts/div from say 2mv to 10v; choice of dc or ac input coupling; vertical bandwidth (at least 20MHz needed for good pulse fidelity and preferably 100MHz); and horizontal time/division going from say 5uS to 10s. Dual trace is almost essential for serious digital troubleshooting. Good choice of trigger modes. BNC input connectors so standard 'scope probes can be used. There's another thread on 'scopes wheree a somewhat better unit from FNRSI was shown which is more in the $150 range and looked very capable, I have a Hantek DSO5102 which costs a bit more but is more-or-less equivalent.
I was in the same position as @dotancohen around 6 months ago. I've used scopes in the past where I used to work and I was lucky enough to be able to borrow them for home use.
That time has now passed. I started looking for simple scopes. The cheap PC based ones (<£50) that I looked at were mostly only useful for audio work. I looked at various other ones before I eventually discarded them and went for a Rigol DS1054Z. It cost me around £350 but it's been worth it so far.
Far too slow for all but the most basic use, but for $45....
Save up and buy something better, you will be disappointed in no time.
I would think that oscilloscopes like that have their uses for very specific tasks, for example you might want to mount one in some piece of equipment when you know it's specification is enough for some limited, pre-specified purpose. Not really suitable for general testing use.
I see it's 10mv as opposed to the suggested 2mb. I suppose that Div is delta-voltage, e.g. voltage difference? Vpp I was able to find from Google, it's Peak-to-Peak voltage. It's got 200 kHz bandwidth, far less than the 20 MHz you suggest. What will that effect, exactly? I'm buying this scope to learn, so I just Googled for what this might affect, but I'm not sure. Could you clear that up?
The horizontal time is 10μs, twice your recommended value. That's still within a magnitude at least ))
The truth is, even $45 is pushing the budget as I don't need a scope, I just want to learn. I'm able to push the budget a bit further if necessary but certainly not to the $100+ range.
Thanks. I'm sure that I would love such a scope but it's an order of magnitude more expensive. I don't need a scope, I'm just playing with a new hobby that I enjoy. Perhaps I'll just forego an oscilloscope if the $45 scope is not adequate.
I tell people getting into the guitar hobby that they should not buy a cheap guitar - it will just make playing not fun. Perhaps the same is true of the oscilloscope.
No, but some cheap plastic thing might sound so horrible you give up. There must be reasonable quality guitars for learners that sound good without costing a fortune.
I've found Xoscope that will run on my Debian machine. There is very little documentation for it. If anybody has actually used it I would love to hear a bit. Does it support the features mentioned previously? May using it damage my motherboard if I connect something wrong? Do I just solder a sewing needle to an audio jack to use it?!?
Huh? Doesn't the man page talk about hardware connections? Edit - I see, no. It assumes you have some idea what you're doing... like what was normal back in 1990.
I told you already, in the first message, no such software can measure DC. It's because sound is AC. But it's a free toy that you can learn from. You could do that and it would help you understand what you want to purchase. From your hardware comments, I think there is a lot of basic learning you need to do.
Put on your thinking cap. What does an audio card normally connect to? Audio cables. They become your test probes. You only have to connect some alligator clips to the ends. Can you blow up your sound card with this? You bet! So use a shop computer not your $4000 game machine.
BTW, when you choose a first scope, look for at least 20MHz bandwidth. 100MHz or more is better but more expensive.
