Re: Oscilloscope recommendation?
 

I've found that buying an older scope off eBay isn't as bad as it sounds. You can find a 50MHz scope (much higher bandwidth than is needed for FRC robots) for about $80-$100 from a seller with a return policy. I have a tek 2230 just like jspatz1 (100MHz dual channel) that I bought w/ a refurbished power supply for $200. It also came with a service manual and two 100mhz probes. It's interesting because it has a completely analog mode where you can see the dot move across the display when you have set a slow sweep speed and it's just like an old scope, and it has a digital storage mode, which lets you perform measurements.

Re: Oscilloscope recommendation?
 

Mike,
Can't help it, it's my job. Seriously though, I haven't had a 453 to use in a while, we are currently using Tek TDS2024B. Takes almost as long to boot as an old tube type to come on but it is so much lighter. It sits on my bench instead of a cart on the floor. Of course there is nothing like an old 524 to sit next to on a cold morning. For that matter we still miss the old Ampex 1000 or an RCA TRT-1B for a nice warm feeling in a cold tape room. http://videopreservation.conservation-us.org/museum/

Re: Oscilloscope recommendation?
 

Al,
I thought that all this new digital TV was just a bunch of ones and zeros, so what's sync have to do with it? :rolleyes:

I agree, the 453 was a TV man's scope. The 465 is a nice all round unit for general use and it'll sync to NTSC, just not as simply, especially when you're focusing on vertical sync or closed captioning data. (Would I be showing my age by mentioning Teletext?)

Re: Oscilloscope recommendation?
 

Yes those older scopes can be a bargain for what you get these days, but be sure to consider all of your needs. Do you have a place to easily store it? Will you want to take it with you? How reliable will it be. Some older scopes can become cantankerous after many years of use and they are not for everyone. There are several inexpensive scopes out there that will do any work needed for FIRST robotics, and come in a small easily portable and easy to use package. They are well worth considering.

I had an older analog scope at home and it was more trouble than it was worth. All those analog switches and knobs were well past their useful life, and they also did not like sitting around in an unheated sometimes damp basement. I would need to twist all the knobs a bunch every time I used it and then it might still flake out a few times while I was using it. I rarely would completely trust the result. It got to the point where I was spending more time tinkering with the scope to get it working correctly than on what I was supposed to be fixing. I find the new crop of small modestly priced digital scopes to be ideal for home electronics use. just my opinion.

Re: Oscilloscope recommendation?
 

I 3rd the Rigol if you are buying new. I've got one of their fancier models with the local analyzer functions and it was tough to beat for the price.

I also have an older HP 100MHz DSO, 2 HP older 300MHz oscilloscopes, 5 Tektronix scopes and I sold my old dog house scope complete with cart and vintage accessories to someone with the spectrum analyzer module out in Dayton in 2000 (funny part was I drove the rig to Dayton, OH and sold it to a guy that lives really close to me in NJ just by chance...could have saved the cart and put up an ad at the supermarket). I got the FFT function in the newer Rigol scope but I have all the crazy modules (including the microwave modules) for my old HP mainframe spectrum analyzer (cell phones sort of fix the need for the old scope cameras).

Re: Oscilloscope recommendation?
 

I have a PicoScope 2204 that I like. Google it.
If you get one, make sure you get 15% off at Newark.

Re: Oscilloscope recommendation?
 

Tektronix is the 'gold-standard' for oscilloscopes from my short-lived career so far. NASA SSC uses them, my University uses them, and I know of a few businesses that use them as well.

Agilent, another well known electronics company, produces them too. However, I do not recommend their oscilloscopes based on the experience I've had with the ones in our senior design lab. They do not have a very responsive UI, which drives me insane when moving the waveforms. Do they work? Yes. I just don't like the UI responsiveness of the ones we have (I can't remember the exact model). Agilent makes great bench multimeters, and they are the 'gold-standard' for function generators, just not oscilloscopes.

For a cheap, new oscilloscope, I would recommend the Quant Asylum QA100 USB Oscilloscope. We also have those in our senior design lab. They work pretty well, and the software works much the same as a normal oscilloscope. They run $350, which is cheap for an oscilloscope, but they do have some restrictions, so check to make sure they'll work for your application. http://www.quantasylum.com/content/Products/QA100.aspx

Re: Oscilloscope recommendation?
 

I have the same one! It was given to me by my fiancée which was given to her by a good friend, who is now my friend. Not the newest of technology, but still works quite well! My only gripe is that it's huge compared to the LCD oscilloscopes of today, and I have to do some guesswork to figure out the frequency and amplitude rather than having the oscilloscope do it for me. It does provide a great learning experience though.