BOAR 5504 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: ramonest
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2015, 08:15:34 pm
content: Hi to all I've visited eevblog for a while and I'm starting with electronics. I was looking for a second hand oscilloscope that i could use. And I came across an acution for a dual chanel 40MHz. The seller says it's 100% woking and in good condition and the last bid is not high. So I were interested but I couldn't find any information on the model he says it's a BOAR 5504. Somone knows if it's good? I'll leave the images below. If you could give me advice and help me decide I'd be really gad.Thank!

author: forrestc
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 03, 2015, 09:29:22 pm
content: I've used a couple of oscilloscopes which look like that over the years - in fact I'm pretty certain I've used an oscilloscope which looked exactly like that but not boar brand.There was a period that several manufacturers sold what looked like identical scopes with different labels on them (and yes this still happens). MCM electronics shipped quite a few under the tenma brand for instance.Quite frankly, if you would be happy with an analog oscilloscope, and it's cheap, there probably isn't a lot of downside to it. This isn't a recommendation for that specific scope, just a statement that my experience is that with an analog scope, it's fairly hard to screw up basic functionality. Others will probably disagree, but for me, the work I'd use an analog scope for would be relatively low frequency analog work, and perhaps to verify if a pulse train is present, etc.In this case, the cal output looks good, the screen looks sharp, the intensity doesn't seem to be ramped way up, the focus knob seems centered, etc. So i'd be tempted to give it a shot if I just needed a basic analog scope.-forrest

author: ramonest
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2015, 10:40:55 pm
content: Ok,forrestc thanks! I might try to get it then.

author: karoru
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2015, 10:48:14 pm
content: I think I used exactly the same scope labeled as "Hung Chang" somewhere at Uni. And it survived students trying to do all the "innovative things" using every connector you could stick some piece of wire inside and every voltage source you could find in your usual school lab.These were the times when even Won Hung Low scopes were semi-decent, so don't worry:)And unless the CRT went bad, old and crusty (and that's not the case looking at the photos), they're repairable with good choice of hammer and elbow grease. The only thing I would do if I had a chance to visit the seller (and skip the 'mail' route) is checking them knobs and pots if they aren't too dicky, they wear out and it isn't easy to find a replacement for some of the more fancy ones (if the intensity pot is dicky then it's not an issue, not so much with these timebase switch&pot thingies). But judging at the state of BNCs, this unit hasn't got much of abuse nad wasn't sitting in someone's barn for years, so that probably should be ok. .

author: JoeB83
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2015, 12:12:05 am
content: Personally, I wouldn't recommend it, but if it's cheap (<$100 or so) and you think an analog scope will work for you, go for it.

author: ramonest
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2015, 05:29:52 pm
content: Quote from: JoeB83 on October 04, 2015, 12:12:05 amWhy?:/ You're makeing me be indecisive jeje

author: JoeB83
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2015, 08:59:07 pm
content: Quote from: ramonest on October 04, 2015, 05:29:52 pmIt can be fairly limiting using an analog scope instead of a digital one. I don't have anything against this particular scope, just the fact that it's analog and the bandwidth is only 40 MHz. But, if you're only using it for slow signals, it may be just right for you.

author: ramonest
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2015, 09:35:09 pm
content: I don't think 40MHz would be a problemfor what I can do for now. But I found a couple of hameg ones with similar price. The seller is near so I could go and pick it I'll try to go for them.Thanks anyway.Should I do something now about the topic I started? Delete or something?

author: JoeB83
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2015, 09:56:59 pm
content: I'd look at the Hameg ones before making a decision on this one. Having a scope with a brand name that people are familiar with may be helpful in the future if you're having trouble with the scope or need repair parts.Just leave the thread open, it may be useful to someone in the future.