PC-based oscilloscope? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Jussi
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 07, 2016, 01:18:57 pm
content: Hi everyone,I am looking for a new oscilloscope using mostly on business trip.Since I always carry a laptop with me I'm considering to buy a pc-based scope. That would be easy to carry and store data.What I need is 2 channels, >40MHz bandwidth with sufficient sample rate and memory.I have never used any usb scope so I'd like to hear your comments is it worth of buying. How to compare e.g. better models of Picoscope to basic handheld oscilloscopes.I also saw some reviews of Digilent scope. Guite good specs for value but maybe not the best choice for outdoor use.-jussi

author: mos6502
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2016, 01:37:35 pm
content: The Analog Discovery (2) is very cool if you can live with the 100MSPS and 30MHz bandwidth.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2016, 03:03:25 pm
content: How about the MicSig tablet scope?http://www.tequipment.net/MicSig/TO102/Digital-Oscilloscopes/?v=0PC based oscilloscopes seem clumsy to me. I have used a Picoscope before but the controls are tedious and the screen update rate is rather low.

author: ADT123
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2016, 06:36:24 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on March 07, 2016, 03:03:25 pmMost of the PicoScope have screen update rates of > 100,000 per second which is hardly "rather low"?https://www.picotech.com/library/oscilloscopes/fast-waveform-update-rates

author: Dielectric
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2016, 07:18:59 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on March 07, 2016, 03:03:25 pmThat actually looks really useful. Has anyone used one?As for PC scopes, I've got a Syscomp CGR101 that is way under the spec that OP wants. It's OK, pretty rugged and hasn't given me trouble, although you do need to pay attention to the trigger settings.If I were in the market, I'd be looking at the Bitscope BS10:http://www.bitscope.com/product/BS10/Look carefully at the analog input and sampling specs. It does some trickery to get high sample rates so, if I interpret this right, one-shot stuff won't be as good as repetitive waveforms. Either way, for the price it looks pretty darn capable, although I would use the digital inputs as much or more than the analog so maybe my criteria are a little different. In fact, I may just get one...

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2016, 08:12:52 pm
content: Quote from: Dielectric on March 07, 2016, 07:18:59 pmI think there is a user review of the MicSig tablet scope somewhere in the test equipment section.

author: Jussi
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 08, 2016, 09:41:17 am
content: Thanks for the replies. That tablet scope was a new thing for me.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2016, 10:30:37 am
content: Quote from: Dielectric on March 07, 2016, 07:18:59 pmI'd take time to find hands-on reviews by knowlegable people before buying something like that. Lists of numbers and pretty photographs don't tell you anything.

author: Dielectric
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2016, 09:20:15 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on March 08, 2016, 10:30:37 amThat's sort of why I'm asking. The forum search results are kind of a horror show. I like the pinch/swipe UI ideas but that software is going to make or break the scope.In other news, I downloaded the Bitscope software and played around with it in offline mode, as I couldn't get it to talk to the networked "sydney" scope. I'm not terribly impressed. Freezes a lot (or is working in the background and doesn't let me know?) and seems to hit my CPU really hard. I've got an i7 and the fan comes on as soon as I get the DSO program launched.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2016, 11:23:59 pm
content: The best way to find out if test equipment works as expected is getting it on trial and take time to test it using a test plan.

author: D3f1ant
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2016, 04:34:10 am
content: You can play with the picoscope software, it goes into a demo mode without hardware so you can do a quick eval. I don't mind it, others hate it. One thing in picoscopes favour is they been doing usb scopes for a very long time, and IMO they do it better than anybody else. Software is constantly updated, and its free, and can decode almost anything. If you must have a usb scope then it's really your only option that's not intended for only lab use, or more of a hobbiest product. You say it's for business and travel, picoscopes are well built, mine has had a huge amount of abuse and it still goes (5444B).