Can anyone suggest an oscilloscope that will work from both 240v AC and 12v or 24v DC? I'm looking for something that will serve as a replacement for my bench scope but can also be used as a portable scope powered from a car or light aircraft supply. Bandwidth preferably 50MHz or greater.
hmm
and why do you want to use a 'scope in the plane?!?
To debug ancient analog autopilot systems. I've become somewhat of an expert in the field.
hee hee
what do you fly?
(I have an AA5 based at Holmbeck)
Usually from Blackbushe or Thruxton. The autopilots are Century III and Altimatic III types, which are prone to failure after all these years. And I learned to fly on AA5s!
Couldn't you use a cheap 12v to mains inverter?
Power for a scope isn't high.
Yes, I had considered that. The scope I had in mind is http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ATTEN-ADS1102CAL-100MHz-Digital-Oscilloscope-1102CAL-/150620675417?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item2311b11d59#ht_2392wt_1396 but I thought I'd look for something that didn't need an inverter first.
Wow! That's cheap!
It does look cheap for that specification, although there will be VAT to add when it is imported. I found a couple of reviews (both favourable) at Atten ADS1102CAL Oscilloscope.
crikey it does look good
sad thing is there's probably a power suppy inside to convert nasty mains down to 12 or even 5 volts!
I have 2 Real scopes, both Tektronics. The 475A is line power only and the 474 is both. I bought the 475A for 100.00 on Ebay. Had capacitor issues in the power supply, but were nothing to fix.
I'm kinda curious - when you order from such a vendor located halfway around the world - do you use an escrow service or what? I mean, 200+ euro for something isn't exactly chump change. I've order parts and such from chinese suppliers, but never anything more than $50.00 USD or so - I'm not sure I would trust sending that much money to an unknown supplier without some kind of assurance...
Like you, I've only ordered low value parts from HK or China before. eBay reports that they have almost 100% positive feedback based on 4000+ transactions, and I guess that's worth something - or is that easy to fake?
I bought one of those a few months ago from eBay (not from that seller).
On the positive side, it arrived promptly, undamaged, and worked.
It does what it claims to do, and takes screenshots at the push of a button, which you can save onto a USB stick in BMP format. Handy for posting to forums!
On the negative side, attempting to find software upgrades on the Atten website is an exercise in frustration. Perhaps there aren't any, but it's hard to tell. Minor quibbles are:
- It seems a bit sluggish to adapt to changes, unlike my old Tektronix scope
- The adjustment knobs are a bit twitchy - I wouldn't mind more debounce or something
- Some things, like adjusting vertical position, have quite fine increments, and there doesn't seem to be a way of doing it faster
Overall, I would say that, for the price, it performs pretty well. You may want to browse their web site, just imagine the scope is on your desk and you want to upgrade to the latest firmware. Can you download it? Do you care if you can't?
dc42:
Like you, I've only ordered low value parts from HK or China before. eBay reports that they have almost 100% positive feedback based on 4000+ transactions, and I guess that's worth something - or is that easy to fake?
No its not at all easy to fake. I always look for positive feedback like that when real money is involved.