Oscilloscope - Which One Should I Buy?

[Rowan]

I'm thinking about buying an oscilloscope and have absolutely no ideal where to start.

I've got a budget of upto £300/€400.

I'm looking for something that will last me a long time and I won't feel the need to replace in a few years time. Im happy to buy a secondhand scope as I'm sure I'll get more bang for my buck.

Has anyone got any suggestions as to models I should be looking at and key features?

[Shuriken]

I don't own one. But if i would buy one it would probably be a Rigol DS1052E. Second hand is also an option. But an analog scope does take a lot more space.

[Hawkeye]

What do you intend to do with it?

For anything to do with analog signals in the audio domain, these good old 10-50MHz scopes from ebay are sufficient. If you want to check timings on microprocessor level (e.g. debugging a display connection), you should invest in a digital scope, that has a higher bandwidth, otherwise you won't be able to see what is going on. Going for 2 channels is recommended in any case, so you can put probes on different parts of the circuit and see what is going on :).

Personally, for me, I invested ~40€ a few years back and got a retro Hameg HM-203 two-channel 20 MHz tube scope :). It looks cool and already helped in a few situations. But of course, it is not modern and might fail at some point in time. Then, on the other hand, I don't need higher bandwidth yet, and the investment was rather small :-).

 

Have a great day!

Peter

[Rowan]

I've just had all the parts for a Yocto 808 delivered and calibrating it requires a scope, so for the time being I only need to work in the analogue domain.

Maybe I should save my pennies and get a old secondhand scope off eBay.

What features besides at least two channels should I look for?

[Shuriken]

Besides two channels, the most important features are sampling rate and the amount of megahertz. If you are just interested in the analogue domain. The megahertz factor is less relevant.

[Macotronic]

This one https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ETCOhzU1O5A

[Altitude]

..

Maybe I should save my pennies and get a old secondhand scope off eBay.

..

No. Some purists will swear by analog scopes for this and that reason but if you want something that you can use daily for everything, a modern DSO cant be beat. Mine has a dozen different measurements it can display (p-p voltages, frequency, DC offset etc) and having those outweighs any benefit an old analog one might have. I have a cheapo Owon and that thing got used more in one week than the big giant relic I bought used to date.

[Rowan]

No. Some purists will swear by analog scopes for this and that reason but if you want something that you can use daily for everything, a modern DSO cant be beat. Mine has a dozen different measurements it can display (p-p voltages, frequency, DC offset etc) and having those outweighs any benefit an old analog one might have. I have a cheapo Owon and that thing got used more in one week than the big giant relic I bought used to date.

Altitude, I respect your option. So your input is welcome.

The Rigol DS1054z is looking like a contender, what are your thoughts?

Edited July 24, 2015 by Rowan

[Imp]

I use a Picotech Pico Scope 2208 at work. It's a 2 channel usb scope. Software runs nicely on my shitty Laptop.

You can easily set Trigger points, range, Samplerate etc in Software.

A big plus is the ability to make and store screenshots or save the whole measured dataset.

It can also be used as logic analyzer for e.g. i2c.

The one i use was about 700€, but the lowest Bandwith version (10Mhz) can be had for 129€.

Since this is my only experience with usb scopes so far, i can't say how they compare, but I'd definitely buy one, if i needed to.

[Shuriken]

The Rigol DS1054Z looks nice and the price level is the same as the DS1052E a couple of years ago. I would go for that one if i were you. If money is an issue, the Owon SDS5032E is like a 100 euro cheaper.

Personally i wouldn't buy a scope which requires a PC. You are totally dependant on the whim of the manufacturer. If they decide to stop supporting the scope you are stuck with a very expensive brick.

Edited July 25, 2015 by Shuriken

[Macotronic]

Well build, hackable upgrades that increase the specs as the major in the line saving 300 aprox, good display 4 ch, it really is the best bang for your $$. If you consider to work mostly with diy synths and get into something more advance do it.

[Imp]

You are totally dependant on the whim of the manufacturer. If they decide to stop supporting the scope you are stuck with a very expensive brick.

 

I agree that these dependencies are a problem, but it's rather a nuisance than a showstopper to me.

By the time they stop supporting new OS/Hardware, you can probably get some old stuff for free.

[Altitude]

owon or rigol are great entry level scopes and will do everything you need 

[audiomobster]

Have a look here:

http://www.bitscope.com/

[Rowan]

I've ordered a Rigol 1054z. It cost £282 inc shipping. 

I managed to calibrate my Yocto 808 without a scope but I've just about finished TTSH and that will definitely require a scope to get running properly. 

[Altitude]

A good DSO will change the way you work and debug.  Get real familiar on how to add various functions to the displays (duty cycle, DC offset, peak to peak, etc),  I find those functions as usefull as displaying the wave form,  Also one of these came in real handy for the TTSH: http://erthenvar.com/store/audio-cables/3.5mm-to-bnc/3.5mm-to-bnc-100

[Rowan]

 Also one of these came in real handy for the TTSH: http://erthenvar.com/store/audio-cables/3.5mm-to-bnc/3.5mm-to-bnc-100

Thanks for the tip on the cable, that will be very useful! I've ordered one. 

 

Ive got a feeling I'm going to end up down the DIY modular rabbit hole so it will get plenty of use.