Hello gang,
I am cuurently starting my electronics education in a
self-study/read-any-book-I-can-grab mode and, realizing an oscilloscope
is an important piece of equipment, what would you recommend as a basic
start-up piece for the beginner?
You input is greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Don Cesaretti
"Donald F. Cesaretti" <ces…@gbsias.com> wrote:
> I am cuurently starting my electronics education in a
>self-study/read-any-book-I-can-grab mode and, realizing an oscilloscope
>is an important piece of equipment, what would you recommend as a basic
>start-up piece for the beginner?
"Elenco" offers several models at reasonable prices. Note that
the price goes up STEEPLY as you add MHz and/or digital storage.
Look in any electronics magazine. Note also that it is a bit
fallacious to look for a "starter" scope since you will wind
up exceeding its limits very quickly and be left holding a
dinosaur. If you are gonna buy a scope, buy the best one you
can possibly afford.
Those Fluke "ScopeMeters" are pretty nice too – though I have
wasted time studying a "waveform" that was really just a
digital alias of the *real* waveform. Digital and analog
scopes each have their advantages and disadvantages. LCD
screens and CRT screens again have their own strengths.
For "fiddling around" I still use my analog CRT scope quite
a bit – shifting to the digital only for fine-tuning.
-jim
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
jma…@iu.net wrote:
> "Donald F. Cesaretti" <ces…@gbsias.com> wrote:
> > I am cuurently starting my electronics education in a
> >self-study/read-any-book-I-can-grab mode and, realizing an oscilloscope
> >is an important piece of equipment, what would you recommend as a basic
> >start-up piece for the beginner?
> "Elenco" offers several models at reasonable prices. Note that
> the price goes up STEEPLY as you add MHz and/or digital storage.
> Look in any electronics magazine. Note also that it is a bit
> fallacious to look for a "starter" scope since you will wind
> up exceeding its limits very quickly and be left holding a
> dinosaur. If you are gonna buy a scope, buy the best one you
> can possibly afford.
> Those Fluke "ScopeMeters" are pretty nice too – though I have
> wasted time studying a "waveform" that was really just a
> digital alias of the *real* waveform. Digital and analog
> scopes each have their advantages and disadvantages. LCD
> screens and CRT screens again have their own strengths.
> For "fiddling around" I still use my analog CRT scope quite
> a bit – shifting to the digital only for fine-tuning.
> -jim
You could save money by purchasing a used scope at a hamfest.
Use it till you outgrow it and then sell it. You might break
even or make a few dollars. Make sure it is working before
you buy it. Note: My e-mail address altered to thwart spammers
To reply swap order and delete period from worldnet.
-Mike
> > "Donald F. Cesaretti" <ces…@gbsias.com> wrote:
(Looking for oscilloscope)…
Donald, I have always bought used ‘laboratory’ class scopes that were
in the $100 to $200 range and had good results. Find out where the
‘hamfest’ or ‘computerfest’ swap meets are in your area. Find out who
is in a Ham Radio club or Computer club. Even go to a meeting and be
bold
and say you’re starting out and looking for a scope. Lot’s of good
scopes are lonely at somebodys house where they are ignored for years
at a time. Those owners will often sell one cheap if they think you’d
use it. You can even consider a Tektronix boat anchor like a 485 which
is
still a good triggered scope. They are about 25 cents a pound (That’s
$25 for a working scope). I recently sold two 485′s with 4-traces and
probes and manuals for $75 each, so keep looking.
The scope is the one most important serious piece you need.
–
Regards, Terry King …In The Woods In Vermont
Equipment Engineer
Little Castle Studio
Box 633 2173 Shelburne Road
Shelburne, Vermont 05482
tk…@together.net
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
In article <32FFA815.1…@together.net>, tk…@together.net wrote:
> > > "Donald F. Cesaretti" <ces…@gbsias.com> wrote:
> (Looking for oscilloscope)…
> Donald, I have always bought used ‘laboratory’ class scopes that were
> in the $100 to $200 range and had good results. Find out where the
> ‘hamfest’ or ‘computerfest’ swap meets are in your area. Find out who
> is in a Ham Radio club or Computer club. Even go to a meeting and be
> bold
> and say you’re starting out and looking for a scope. Lot’s of good
> scopes are lonely at somebodys house where they are ignored for years
> at a time. Those owners will often sell one cheap if they think you’d
> use it. You can even consider a Tektronix boat anchor like a 485 which
> is
> still a good triggered scope. They are about 25 cents a pound (That’s
> $25 for a working scope). I recently sold two 485′s with 4-traces and
> probes and manuals for $75 each, so keep looking.
> The scope is the one most important serious piece you need.
> —
> Regards, Terry King …In The Woods In Vermont
> Equipment Engineer
> Little Castle Studio
> Box 633 2173 Shelburne Road
> Shelburne, Vermont 05482
> tk…@together.net
I think (hope) that Terry meant the 547, the most popular and best "boat
anchor" ever produced. The 485 was and is one of the best portable
250/350MHz scopes. If someone has a 485 working or not (even if the
touchy power supply unique to this model has caught fire) for $75, please
drop me a line. Kurk
In article <5dgvet$…@news.atlantic.net> jma…@iu.net writes:
> "Elenco" offers several models at reasonable prices. Note that
> the price goes up STEEPLY as you add MHz and/or digital storage.
> Look in any electronics magazine. Note also that it is a bit
> fallacious to look for a "starter" scope since you will wind
> up exceeding its limits very quickly and be left holding a
> dinosaur. If you are gonna buy a scope, buy the best one you
> can possibly afford.
I would disagree. You don’t need a GHz scope to get started. Something
with a 10 MHz bandwidth can suffice for a couple years and can probably
be had for $100 used. A used Tek or HP is better than any new analog
scope of another brand IMO. It doesn’t make sense to spend $1000s on
something especially if you are not sure if electronics is a long term
hobby or career.
— sam : Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.paranoia.com/~filipg/REPAIR/