Oscilloscope, useful for modding?

[pnguin]

Do you have a scope and if so what circuits do you use it on, your ecig mods, other hobby stuff, or for professional use. Is a scope necessary for the more sophisticated mods? If so is an analog scope like a Tektronix 465 (100 Mhz) , around$100 on ebay, good enough or is a  digital storage scope like the Rigol 1102e (100 Mhz, 1 GSa/sec max sample rate, 1 Million point deep memory) $399.00, needed. Thinking low price hobby level here.

[CraigHB]

Well, I use the hell out of my scope.  As far as mod building, I'm using it to look at digital IO for the MCU and on the DC-DC converter to evaluate performance in the PWM portion.  For looking at outputs for PWM regulated mods it's handy.  It's also handy to use as a secondary voltmeter and to evaluate noise in DC levels.  They're accurate enough for that.  It's pretty much part of a basic toolkit for any electronics hobbyist.  I think mods qualify there.

I actually have an analog scope.  The digital storage scopes can be pretty handy for recording waveforms, but to be honest, it's pretty rare that I have a real need to do that.  An analog scope will cover you for 95% of what you need.  However, the digital scopes are really nice and the Rigol is a good one for the price.  It's the same one I have an eye on, but have yet to spring for it.  Otherwise, even a 20Mhz scope will get the job done for you.  Unless you're working with radio stuff or high speed digital, you don't need a huge amount of bandwidth.  The Tektronix is the one to get and there's tons of them on eBay.

[fsors]

real handy for strobe tuning instruments

[pnguin]

I have been thinking about upgrading. The DPScope SE I have only has a 300 Khz range and 1 Msa/sec sample range, but it was great fun to put the kit together and learn how to use a scope. I would recommend it for anyone as a first scope to learn the operation of a DSO type scope, have not gotten around to learning how to use the included logic analyzer and data logger yet . Also great for learning the internals through upgrades like installing AC coupling and doubling the sample rate. Wolfgang and all the folks on the DPScope board are great and always willing to help, just like the folks here. I have been using the Agilent 54622D DSO  and the TEK 645 at school. The Agilent is really nice but I don't have $6000 to drop on a scope. Heard good things about the Rigols and the TEK 645 is pretty much bulletproof.

[Breaktru]

Buying an Oscilloscope off of eBay

[vaporhead]

Buying an Oscilloscope off of eBay

Now you scared me off from buying from fleabay. At least from buying sensitive equipment.

[CraigHB]

Calibration is that big of a deal with scopes.  They only need to be close unless you need one for precise frequency and amplitude measurements which is not often.  Most of the time, you use a DMM for that kind of thing since it offers much better precision.  For sure you can get a bad deal on eBay, but you can also get a decent working scope for $100.  Though, it's worth spending some money to get a new one.  That's true for just about any test equipment, isn't it?

[pnguin]

After reading the buyers guide I think I will save my pennies for the Rigol, but keep an eye out for a calibrated used scope with probes on ebay cheap. LOL

[pnguin]

Score!! Got a refurbished Tek 465 with the DMM on top for $165 on ebay. Can't wait till it gets here.

[Tameron]

Score!! Got a refurbished Tek 465 with the DMM on top for $165 on ebay. Can't wait till it gets here.

Good for U. Looks like you made a nice score 

[pnguin]

Got the "refurbished" scope. CRT was dead. Luckily they cheerfully refunded my money, minus return shipping. So I went ahead and got the Rigol DS1102E from a US vendor (Saelig) with a 3 year warranty. So far so good. Love the ability to zoom in on a one time event. Easy to use, and a ton of how to's on youtube. Also if ordering from Saelig you get a very nice padded case and a 5% education discount if you have a student e mail.

[Breaktru]

Got the "refurbished" scope. CRT was dead. Luckily they cheerfully refunded my money, minus return shipping. So I went ahead and got the Rigol DS1102E from a US vendor (Saelig) with a 3 year warranty. So far so good. Love the ability to zoom in on a one time event. Easy to use, and a ton of how to's on youtube. Also if ordering from Saelig you get a very nice padded case and a 5% education discount if you have a student e mail.

Glad you got your money back on the reburb.
Cool, a Rigol. Have fun with it.

[steamEngine]

Looks like someone is going to have a lot of fun. Happy tracing

[CraigHB]

I've had my eye on that one for a while.  I'm envious.  Sounds like you landed a good piece of test equipment.

[pnguin]

Now 2 months in with the Rigol. Works great, I have used it on a ton of circuits for school, both analog and digital, never a problem.  It has a bunch of features I have not even tried yet. As far as I can tell it has everything I will ever need for hobby type electronics, minus the logic analyzer. For that I got the Arduino Lab from Hobby Lab for $39.50. All in all I would definitely recommend the Rigol DS1102 100 MHz. Some folks are paying a little less for the 50 MHz DS1052 and hacking the system to 100 MHz but that voids the 3 year warranty.