Combiscopes: Did only Philips make those?  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: SaabFAN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 12, 2015, 09:51:28 pm
content: HiI wanted to upgrade from my first Scope (PM3350) to another, similar scope and made the mistake of not buying a PM3355, which went for 112€ on ebay a few days ago, and instead went for a PM3382A (which now stands at 226€ and thereby outside my budget).I already have a Rigol DS1054Z (Fully upgraded), but based on my experience with the PM3350, I feel that I shouldn't rely on digital scopes only.As there are no more reasonably priced philips combiscopes available in germany at the moment, I was wondering if Tektronix made scopes of this type too, or any other manufacturer. I know Hameg made them until a few years ago, but their prices are just way out of proportion here in germany (A HM205 20Mhz Scope costs usually over 100€ here in germany and for the higher spec'ed ones the sky's the limit)!

author: sync
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 12, 2015, 10:30:35 pm
content: Why do you want a combi scope when you have already a DSO? Is an analog only scope not enough then?

author: SaabFAN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 12, 2015, 10:43:38 pm
content: I like the instant transition between both modes, also gives me 2 (or 4) more digital channels, forming an 6 or 8bit "manual" Logic-Analyzer if necessary (with Clock connected to the external Trigger).

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 12, 2015, 10:56:56 pm
content: Tektronix 2211/2220/2221/2224/2230/2232 ... but I suggest holding out for a PM3394.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 12, 2015, 11:02:30 pm
content: Gould had those too

author: Wuerstchenhund
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2015, 05:04:58 am
content: Quote from: SaabFAN on May 12, 2015, 09:51:28 pmFrankly, in this day and age I wouldn't rely on anything else than a digital scope. The DS1054z certainly isn't the epitome of DSOs but it's still a decent scope, and while the Philips CombiScopes were great scopes at their time there's little they can do that your DS1054z can't.If you really need a second scope and you're cash strapped then try to find a very cheap or free analog scope. And if all you need is a Logic Analyzer then just get one of the cheap USB devices instead.Philips CombiScopes are more or less collector's items these days, and that is reflected in their price.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2015, 01:08:37 pm
content: Hameg sold combi analog/digtial scopes too.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 13, 2015, 01:37:44 pm
content: Quote from: tom66 on May 13, 2015, 01:08:37 pmThey did:

author: macboy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2015, 02:00:48 pm
content: Quote from: SaabFAN on May 12, 2015, 09:51:28 pmYou probably know that Fluke bought out Philips test and measurement division, so you will find "combiscope" models under the Fluke brand. Later Tek bought Fluke.I have a very old Tek analog/digital scope, perhaps their first: the 468. It is similar to a 465B 100 MHz analog scope, minus the DM44 multimeter, plus the addition of digital storage at a whopping 25 MSps (and no equivalent time oversampling mode, so 25 MSps is all you get). Within that big limitation, it works well. It has that old school Tek design, CRT in the middle and a scattering of funky looking dials and slide switches all over the place, love it or hate it.

author: pascal_sweden
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2015, 02:20:06 pm
content: I have a friend who scored recently a brand new Fluke Combiscope.The box was never opened. I witnessed how it was packaged, when he opened it.The scope was packaged in a hermetic sealing, and packaged like a tank.I have never seen anything like this.The scope works like a charm. It is a 4-channel scope with 100 MHz bandwidth.According to my friend, the seller had one more New Old Stock, so I have asked now my friend to contact the seller, as I want to get the same scope as well.Although I am a favorite of digital scopes, I believe it makes sense to have an analog scope, to have it at hand in case I have doubts about the readings on the digital scope. Moreover it looks very nice on my bench, and if you are a real engineer you need some good looking gear on your bench

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2015, 03:14:09 pm
content: Iwatsu also had these kind of scopes with a reasonable amount of memory (32ksamples IIRC). However I strongly suggest to sink the money into a Rigol 1000Z series though. The analog mode of a combi scope doesn't add anything to the features; you'll probably have the scope in the digital mode all the time and at that point you are using an outdated boat anchor.

author: Howardlong
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2015, 03:39:01 pm
content: I guess the HP 1980B was a combiscope if you had the money and strength. Not much change from $20k with the storage and 4 channels back in the 80s, equating to about $65k in 2015 money.For your trouble you got a 100MHz bandwidth 501pt waveform storage facility, which would single shot up to 1ms/div and then used repetitive sampling all the way up to 5ns/div for an equivalent time sampling rate of 10Gsa/s.

author: SaabFAN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2015, 09:17:38 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on May 13, 2015, 01:37:44 pmThose scopes are frequently on ebay here in Germany, but the prices are absolutely ridiculous! Even defective one's can easily go beyond 70€!There seems to be some kind of cult around the Hamegs here that generates these prices. A 60Mhz Philips Combiscope with 250MS/s (PM3355) was sold for 112€ earlier this week. A 205 regularly goes for just a few Euros less.Keep in mind here, that the Philips Unit has automatic Measurements, advanced aquisition-methods like Envelope and triple the bandwidth as well as 10-times the sample-rate!As I said: Crazy!Quote from: Wuerstchenhund on May 13, 2015, 05:04:58 amSeems like it. In my opinion, they also had one of the best designs, at least the one's made in the late 80s (The dark color-set with the red stripe). The Last ones, which basically were Flukes, aren't that pretty.