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Tech discussion => General info - Tools,How to - => Topic started by: Artur D'Assumpção on March 21, 2013, 03:01:04 PM

Title: Oscilloscope buy opinion
Post by: Artur D'Assumpção on March 21, 2013, 03:01:04 PM

Hi there fellow SSLians! :D

I'm thinking on buying an oscilloscope soon for the purpose of assisting my daily-basis SSL maintenance duty in the studio. I was thinking in not expending to much money in one, so I've done a little research and I found this relatively cheap alternative, the PicoTech USB Oscilloscopes, which left me very surprised because they are actually very good. Lots of options and powerful software, and also work as an FFT analyser:

http://www.picotech.com (http://www.picotech.com)

For the particular task I was thinking of buying a 2200 range model, more specifically a PicoScope 2205, which has 2 inputs, 1 signal generator output and can handle up to 25MHz signal. By your experience, do you think this is more than enough?

Specs sheet: http://www.picotech.com/document/datasheets/PicoScope2200.pdf (http://www.picotech.com/document/datasheets/PicoScope2200.pdf)


Opinions are much appreciated! :D

Cheers,

Artur

Title: Re: Oscilloscope buy opinion
Post by: kilmister on March 22, 2013, 05:15:27 PM

Personaly I prefer Scopemeter kind of measurement device. I have Fluke Scopemeter 99 (http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/4313/20120205143813.jpg) and it's very handy as it has batterys. Hassle-free compared to any laptop based solution.

Basicly it's very good multi-meter with basic scope functions. My normal view is VDC, VACrms and Freq. It also shows wave at same time. Old but reliable. Bet you can find one from eBay with decent money and battery pack is very easy to DIY.

When ever I need to see wave very accurately I turn on my Tektronix 465 analog scope  ;D

-Paavo

Title: Re: Oscilloscope buy opinion
Post by: Artur D'Assumpção on March 22, 2013, 09:40:04 PM

Fluke is Fluke! What else... 

I confess that gadget is much more handy since it has everything packed in one unit, when compared with a desktop/laptop solution.

A friend of mine has a PicoTech and he says that he is very satisfied and impressed with it (he also has a big 5000 euros digital oscilloscope). The software is really good and it's not only a oscilloscope, but also a Frequency Analyzer. It also has lots of signal generator function, and signal combining (summing). I'm very temped to buy one for precision applications. But I agree that Fluke rocks and is really handy when you want to troubleshoot a problem quickly. I might also buy something like this.

One question, do you think 25MHz is more than enough for this application, or do I need a bigger sampling frequency, like 50MHz?!

Cheers,

Artur

Title: Re: Oscilloscope buy opinion
Post by: kilmister on March 24, 2013, 12:37:10 PM

25Mhz is high enough for audio applications. Oscillations are usually in range of few hundres kHz.

-Paavo

Title: Re: Oscilloscope buy opinion
Post by: Artur D'Assumpção on March 24, 2013, 02:36:08 PM

THanks Paavo!

That's what I wanted to hear! :D

And thanks for the Fluke tip, I will look into it for sure! It's just a matter of finding the right deal! :)

Cheers,

Artur

Title: Re: Oscilloscope buy opinion
Post by: kilmister on March 24, 2013, 02:42:17 PM

One more thing popped in my mind.
If you have to buy probes spend some money on them and get high quality ones. The cost is like 40-50€ / each.
Every now and then you need to measure microvolt range and then you don't want to see surrounding noise. 1x/10x switch is mandatory imo.

-Paavo

Title: Re: Oscilloscope buy opinion
Post by: pascal.verdet on March 24, 2013, 04:32:09 PM

Hi,
Personally, I use a HAMEG HM203.
For me, is high enough for audio applications : mixer, recorder and amplifier.

Title: Re: Oscilloscope buy opinion
Post by: Matt Sartori on March 24, 2013, 07:50:28 PM

what about this....

http://www.oscilloscopeapp.com/

M.

Title: Re: Oscilloscope buy opinion
Post by: Matt Sartori on March 25, 2013, 09:42:18 AM

I have just noticed it can only be fed with maximum 1 V ...so useless.
I have been thinking about something like this for a while:

http://www.batronix.com/shop/oscilloscopes/digital-oscilloscope-hds1022m.html

Mattia.

Title: Re: Oscilloscope buy opinion
Post by: Artur D'Assumpção on March 25, 2013, 03:51:05 PM

Thanks for the tips!

The probe is in fact very important! What do you think about Pomona probes?

Title: Re: Oscilloscope buy opinion
Post by: kilmister on March 25, 2013, 04:55:30 PM

Never heard about Pomona.
I have Testec TT-LF312 http://uk.farnell.com/testec/tt-lf312-2-6-10020-2-6/probe-oscilloscope-double-low-freq/dp/4308098

-Paavo

Title: Re: Oscilloscope buy opinion
Post by: kilmister on March 26, 2013, 02:37:48 AM

Spotted this on evilbay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140939043097

-Paavo

Title: Re: Oscilloscope buy opinion
Post by: Artur D'Assumpção on March 26, 2013, 11:00:38 AM

I've already scattered the evilbay! :D There are nice deals for that Fluke oscilloscope! :D

Those probes look nice, they are also much cheaper than the Pomana ones which are really really expensive.

I'm already making a shortlist of oscilloscope stuff to buy! :D Getting ready for the big truck to arrive! eheheh :P

Cheers,

Artur