Good, yet inexpensive O-scope?

[gvarndell]

I am looking to buy a oscilloscope -- either PC/USB type or maybe a handheld.
I found a handheld that looks adequate (Velleman HPS40).
Also a few USB types that seem useful but won't break the bank.
Some of them have logic analyzer functionality -- don't need that.
Basically, 2 channels, large-ish buffer, fast enough for the typical robot troubleshooting - whatever that is.
Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

[Stuart]

I use a 1/8th inch audio cable that I plug in to my computer with this (http://zeitnitz.de/Christian/Scope/Scope_en.html)

total cost $5 for the cable

[Chris Hibner]

I've used bitscope (http://www.bitscope.com) quite a bit and it works quite well.

[MrForbes]

I guess I'm old fashioned...I have a $20 swap meet Tek scope that's about 25 years old, which replaced my $40 swap meet Tek scope that's about 50 years old.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

You have to give us a price range. Hamfests are ideal places to pick up inexpensive scopes. My daddy told me not to buy cheap tools, they will fail you when you need them the most.

[ebarker]

The 1st thing you have do so when shopping for test equipment is to adequately specify its performance. Measuring things really small, really big, or for a long time / lot of samples run up the price.

So to bring it home you could probably use something with a bandwidth of less than 5 or so MHz to do basic robot debugging.

If you can look around and find something like a Hitachi V-212 scope (about 25 or 30 years old) it is a great beginners scope with straightforward controls and just a great place to start to learn how scopes work without getting bogged down in a thousand features, plus it has a nice bandwidth.

An alternative is one of the new handheld devices.

Personally I still like the green glow.

[gvarndell]

You have to give us a price range. Hamfests are ideal places to pick up inexpensive scopes. My daddy told me not to buy cheap tools, they will fail you when you need them the most.

One of my favorite truisms -- a poor man can't afford cheap stuff.
I'm willing to spend anywhere from $200 to $500, including probes and whatever.
Ease of use is important to me -- if I have to guess how to do something, I'll always guess wrong.
And I really don't want a bulky, heavy thing with a green screen on it.
That's why I like the idea of a USB unit that my laptop can connect to.

[gvarndell]

I've used bitscope (http://www.bitscope.com) quite a bit and it works quite well.

I like it.
Slightly beyond the cost I had in mind.
The LA features *could maybe* come in handy.

[gvarndell]

I use a 1/8th inch audio cable that I plug in to my computer with this (http://zeitnitz.de/Christian/Scope/Scope_en.html)

total cost $5 for the cable

I'm guessing this would tax my creativity if not my wallet.
I'm just not that resourceful when it comes to 'making do'.
Thanks though.

[Chris Hibner]

I like it.
Slightly beyond the cost I had in mind.
The LA features *could maybe* come in handy.

Perhaps you could find a deal on eBay.

[BLAQmx]

Maybe an NI solution?

NI USB-6008 (http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/14604)

FIRST teams should qualify for academic discounts.

[rfolea]

Check out the "Singray" here: http://www.usb-instruments.com/oscillo_stingray.html

It is a basic, inexpensive USB O-Scope. I like it because I can carry it around in my laptop case and do basic debug.

They also have a higher end version called Swordfish.

[Mike9966]

I have been thinking about a scope too. I have and have used many in my life, but as someone pointed out, the nice green glowing ones aren't too portable.
I really like the bit scopes and will probably get one based on what I've read on the web.
If you want a stand alone unit, this is one I was thinking of getting for my son. http://www.tequipment.net/OWONEDU5022.html

Good luck,

Mike

[DonRotolo]

A 30-year-old Tektronix analog scope with dual trace and delayed trigger - like a '465B - can easily be had in your price range, and is far superior to any digital thing you can get in that price range.

But, try the $5 cable first, see if it doesn't meet your needs.

Don

[MrForbes]

This is what my $20 scope looks like. It's surprisingly light weight.

http://www.slack.com/images/TE/Tek2215.jpg

Of course the brother of the guy who made the scope clock (http://www.cathodecorner.com/) famous will go for the green glow every time...

[jimsmith2354]

If it doesn't have knobs to twist and turn, then it just isn't a scope. IMHO

[jskene]

I've bought a couple of very good 100MHz scopes for ~ $100 from here:

http://www.govliquidation.com/

[Mr. Freeman]

This website has an incredibly useful tutorial about oscilloscopes.
In the third video he gives a recommendation for an oscilloscope. It's a 2 channel Digital storage scope, nice specs for about $400. I have class in a second so I can't pull the data from the video and give you a link, but it's toward the end of the 3rd video.

http://www.afrotechmods.com/groovy/oscilloscope_tutorial/oscilloscope_tutorial.htm