need a new scope...

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juniorhifikit
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need a new scope...

Post by juniorhifikit »

So, I moved to the land of 220V and need a new scope. What should I get for basic analog sleuthing? I was considering something portable like this:

http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/micro- ... p-512.html

Suggestions welcome...
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JR.
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Re: need a new scope...

Post by JR. »

The specs look adequate, and price seems cheap enough, but the unknown is how good does the triggering work? It would be useful to research on some DIY forums to get some first hand feedback from other people who bought one to use for stuff similar to you plan to.

JR
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juniorhifikit
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Re: need a new scope...

Post by juniorhifikit »

I'll ask around. I wonder if the screen resolution is good enough...
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JR.
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Re: need a new scope...

Post by JR. »

All digital scopes show some quantization, it goes with territory... if you want to see smooth waveforms buy a used analog scope, many are pretty cheap.

JR
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XAUDIA
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Re: need a new scope...

Post by XAUDIA »

JR. wrote:many are pretty cheap. JR
Indeed. In the past couple of years I pulled a working Tektronics storage scope out of a skip, and picked up another two channel scope for about £60 / $100. (Universities can be good hunting grounds!)

The storage on the Tek is erratic, but I have a digital camera for that!
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juniorhifikit
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Re: need a new scope...

Post by juniorhifikit »

I kinda figured as much - sounds like an analog scope for me. Now to try and find one for a decent price in France :roll:

Thanks guys!
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JR.
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Re: need a new scope...

Post by JR. »

Not all 60 Hz gear will be happy running at 50 Hz over there... a lesser concern is the built in mains frequency sync may not work correctly.

It depends on how conservatively the 60 Hz power transformer is designed, since it will have to pass roughly 15% more current each cycle of the waveform.

JR
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juniorhifikit
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Re: need a new scope...

Post by juniorhifikit »

It's already long gone - gave it to my brother. I'll have to find something on this side of the pond... Smaller/more portable is better at this phase in life :D
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mediatechnology
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Re: need a new scope...

Post by mediatechnology »

I'll have to check but I think many of the used Leaders can be made to run on 220V. SInce they're Japanese they run fine on 50Hz.

I have a collection of Tek, Leader and Philps analog Scopes as well as a Velleman USB scope. Though I like the Velleman - and used it for a lot of the Phantom Menace II work to capture transients - the front end leaves a lot to be desired. MCM has some new 20 MHz analog units for around $350 IIRC. For me, the free-standing analog and PC-based digital scopes are two entirely different tools.
juniorhifikit
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Re: need a new scope...

Post by juniorhifikit »

Just to repost back, I bought the little Nanascope I linked to earlier. It's a nice little thing to chuck in the toolbag and very handy to see if you're getting what you think you ought to in a circuit, but it's no replacement for a real scope. It weighs nothing, costs very little, and does as advertised - nice. I'll be keeping my eye out for a used Tek or Rigol in the future.
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