Best Hobby Oscilloscope
#1
Posted 26 August 2010 - 04:05 PM
- terrorgen likes this
#2
Posted 26 August 2010 - 07:02 PM
http://www.seeedstud...l?cPath=104_108
It looks to me like the one you linked to on ebay is the older version. If it was me I'd probably try to get the newer one when it comes back in stock. If you do end up picking it up I'd be curious to hear feedback, it seems like a steal.
#3
Posted 26 August 2010 - 08:02 PM
I know nothing about that scope, but I was on the seeedstudio website the other day and it caught my eye.
http://www.seeedstud...l?cPath=104_108
It looks to me like the one you linked to on ebay is the older version. If it was me I'd probably try to get the newer one when it comes back in stock. If you do end up picking it up I'd be curious to hear feedback, it seems like a steal.
That does look good. I've got a notification warning when it comes back into stock. Anyone have experience with the first one?
#4
Posted 27 August 2010 - 02:27 AM
Any suggestions? I'm looking for something small, and easy to move around since I do my work in various parts of the house where I can get some space. :-)
If you can afford it, I suggest the Rigol DS1052E. It has the bandwidth and sampling rate needed for most microcontroller project. The sampling rate for the DSO nano is often too slow
If you are just going to look at digital signals, you can consider USB logic analyzer. There are a few companies that makes them.
#5
Posted 27 August 2010 - 05:36 AM
If you can afford it, I suggest the Rigol DS1052E. It has the bandwidth and sampling rate needed for most microcontroller project.
There was some hack to double the sampling rate to 100Mhz (but it no longer works with new firmware)
http://www.eevblog.c...100mhz-ds1102e/
I found it on http://www.dealextre...ls.dx/sku.30573
But what you think about this one? http://www.dealextre...ls.dx/sku.36153
If you are just going to look at digital signals, you can consider USB logic analyzer. There are a few companies that makes them.
I was thinking to buy this one http://www.saleae.com/logic/features/. Is it good enough?
#6
Posted 27 August 2010 - 07:17 AM
For the price difference, I'd go with the Rigol. It's better value.But what you think about this one? http://www.dealextre...ls.dx/sku.36153
It seems like a really nice package. I've just tried out their software.The user interface is clean and easy to use.I was thinking to buy this one http://www.saleae.com/logic/features/. Is it good enough?
Many comments on sparkfun product page (http://www.sparkfun....roducts_id=8938) are very positive.
#7
Posted 31 August 2010 - 10:50 PM
#8
Posted 01 September 2010 - 01:00 PM
Upgrade is still possible with the newest firmware, as described (e.g.) in Changing the Rigol DS1052E to DS1102E using USB, the dummy guide. IMHO even the unmodified (50 MHz) DS1052E is well worth its price. JOOC, Agilent DSO1000 series are rebranded Rigol instruments.There was some hack to double the sampling rate to 100Mhz (but it no longer works with new firmware)
#10
Posted 31 March 2011 - 11:57 AM
My biggest problem is the price. When I see an oscilloscope with 3 digits in it's price, I can't afford it. Simple like that
For me it doesn't need to be of superb quality. It's just like the rest of electronics I own, it's more or less just to experiment. Any advise on this?
I came across this one: DS0201 2.8" LCD Pocket Mini Oscilloscope V1.5 with better firmware, but Chris Seto said it's not that good. But will it be good enough for me?
My .NETMF projects: .NETMF Toolbox / Gadgeteer Light / Some PCB designs
#11
Posted 31 March 2011 - 12:44 PM
An oscilloscope with a single channel is too poor. As soon you will enjoy inspecting some logic circuit, you also realize that it needs *at least* two channels.
As an example, consider the inspection of a simple SPI message: without a double channel, it's a dream to see something. Don't think ever on a 2nd signal: there is also the trigger needs.
The bandwidth (usually strict related to the sampling frequency) is also important. A model with 1MHz of bandwidth, probably will have difficulty to read logic signals over 100-200KHz. Remember that a square wave has lot of harmonics, whose amplitude is decaying slowly (1/N).
To play with Netduino stuffs, I'd suggest a 5-10MHz min of bandwidth.
Maybe you don't care about the analog side of the circuitry, but it is also important and very funny indeed. A logic analyzer is very powerful for digital signals, but unable to read the waveform on an analog input.
There are still tons of features that should be take in account, but here is not the context of K€/K$.
I really don't know which is better for a bunch of Euro/Dollars.
As soon I'll have this one in my hands, I promise to make a deep review, testing it with one professional oscilloscope we have in our labs.
http://www.seeedstud...525feecde4a68bf
I am one of the lucky(?) 200 users have pre-ordered this toy (at $150).
I am waiting since January, but it seems the delay will be longer and longer...
Cheers
#12
Posted 31 March 2011 - 12:51 PM
My .NETMF projects: .NETMF Toolbox / Gadgeteer Light / Some PCB designs
#13
Posted 31 March 2011 - 01:03 PM
It depends on what you want to do - please note the difference between 'cheap' (e.g. <$100) device and hobby-grade oscilloscope (such as Rigol DS1052 mentioned above, which IMHO has unbeatable price/value) is basically in number of inputs (channels) and bandwidth + sample rate. Single channel is enough for trivial signal checking, but any more serious work requires at least two channels. Low bandwidth (~1 MHz vs. >50 MHz) does not allow the scope to resolve high-frequency changes, so the displayed waveform will be distorted (see Agilent's Application Note, page 6). Also, with low sampling frequency the scope will completely miss parts of the input signal. Just for illustration, there is a "5 times" rule of thumb to calculate bandwidth for digital circuits measurements (that gives around ±2% error) - so if you want to measure 5 MHz signal, you'd need ~25 MHz scope to see reasonable results.But will it be good enough for me?
However, you may consider getting a logic analyzer instead (e.g. Saleae, Scanalogic, Mini Logic, or similar). They are cheaper and better suited for working with multiple digital signals than oscilloscopes (some scopes have logic analyzer modules built-in or available as optional extra).
#14
Posted 31 March 2011 - 01:15 PM
My .NETMF projects: .NETMF Toolbox / Gadgeteer Light / Some PCB designs
#15
Posted 31 March 2011 - 01:23 PM
#16
Posted 31 March 2011 - 01:25 PM
My .NETMF projects: .NETMF Toolbox / Gadgeteer Light / Some PCB designs
#17
Posted 31 March 2011 - 01:44 PM
No doubt. My consumer experience shown that even €1 thrown away is worser than €100 for a good purchase.A logic analyser of €50 compared to a scope of €300 is a big difference.
Today evening, at home, I'll take a look at ebay or something like that, to find an used machine, maybe.
Cheers
#18
Posted 31 March 2011 - 02:06 PM
My .NETMF projects: .NETMF Toolbox / Gadgeteer Light / Some PCB designs
#19
Posted 31 March 2011 - 06:20 PM
#20
Posted 31 March 2011 - 07:45 PM
Slightly off-topic: There are also various FPGA-based logic analyzer projects available, for example at sump.org: it has 16 (resp. 32) channels with sampling rate up to 200 MHz (resp. 100 MHz). Of course this is not meant as a replacement for a commercial device which you probably need now to get the work done, but it can be a great opportunity to learn completely different programming paradigms. Although the Xilinx development board is way too expensive, the existence of Ward's FPGA Shield makes it a lot more interestingI'll wait a moment before I decide to buy something then.
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