PC Based Storage Oscilloscope Recommendations

[rjmusto]

I've noticed that there are quite a lot of PC based storage 'scope bundles on eBay, some for as little as £30 or so. Since my bench 'scope is elderly and not storage, I was thinking of getting one of these.

Since there is quite a variety, mostly no doubt from China, has anybody got experience of using one of these and any recommendations?

Thanks,
Ralph

[evingar]

I did have a quick look at these a while ago (although on reflection it may have been quite a while ago ) Anyway, at that time, the really cheap ones were not going to have enough bandwidth to be very useful for much above audio frequencies. Additionally, the "affordable" ones I looked at were strictly low voltage devices and would be vulnerable to some of the voltages found in vintage equipment.

In general electronics terms, there is certainty a place for digital scopes, and they are really an essential piece of equipment in a modern R&D department (replacing the the traditional storage scopes and logic analysers in many applications). However, these are really a different category of equipment to the items you appear to be considering.

My personal view though is a good quality analogue 2nd hand 'scope ( > 50MHz B/W) is really more appropriate for repairing vintage equipment in terms utility / £ spent

[Bazz4CQJ]

I agree with all of Evingar's comments; don't be too quick to ditch your traditional scope. I'm not familiar with the budget price USB scopes, but I've somehow managed to acquire a British Picoscope model and an Amercian USB Instruments model. As well as the spec of the instrument, you should try to experience the software that comes with it before buying, which may range from very friendly to quite unfriendly. Unless you really have a need to have a scope that will work away from the bench, I'd be wary about going down this route.

[rjmusto]

Thanks. Useful comments.

My old scope will always be part of the workbench I think, but there have been a couple of occasions lately when I wanted to capture a transient event and it was that that led my thinking.

Perhaps I should go back to the old trick of fitting a camera on the front of the 'scope and using it on single trigger. I remember doing this way back with a Tetronix scope and a polaroid camera.....

Ralph

[cmjones01]

Originally Posted by rjmusto

Perhaps I should go back to the old trick of fitting a camera on the front of the 'scope and using it on single trigger. I remember doing this way back with a Tetronix scope and a polaroid camera.....

Just working in a darkened room can help with this, letting the phosphor and your eyes and brain do the storage. A reasonable digital camera can be useful, too, if it allows you to set a long (several seconds) exposure. The nice thing is that it's free to experiment with!

Chris

[GMB]

I have a fairly high-spec USB scope but I use it quite rarely. I find the traditional "real" scope much easier to use for most purposes.

I only resort to the digital scope to look for very specific one-off events. I find the PC software fiddly to use and just not the same as a real scope. It's way easier to spin a knob than fiddle with drop-down menus.

I also worry a lot about high voltages with the USB scope. It has a lowish rating and I am also aware that my PC is hanging off the back of it.

[rjmusto]

Think you've convinced me not to bother. I know what you mean about using a PC to fiddle with settings; I do use a PC audio spectrum analyser with a simple RF downconverter to check spectral purity on the Ham Radio stuff and it has proved to be very useful, but is clumsy to use.

This has prompted me to try re-visiting the old days and see what can be achieved with a camera; digital as you say allows a lot more freedom to experiment.

Ralph

[dave cox]

There is a long thread over on the EEVBLOG site on the Hantek 6022BE.
This goes for about £50 so falls into the lower cost bracket. There a quite a few issues with this device but none the less it offers some usefulness ...

I occasionally use a 16bit / 350k sample PICO scope and I would agree with the things GMB has said regarding computer based scopes but this ones very high accuracy and single shot capture allow me to see things that just don't show up on an analogue scope (even storage).

dc

[rjmusto]

Thanks Dave - EEVBLOG is a new site for me.

Have seen the 6022BE on eBay for £40, so despite the limitations, can see it being handy in some situations.