Donate Oscilloscope Please - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Cameron Kover
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2015, 02:27:37 am
content: .

author: Isad
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2015, 09:40:25 am
content: Quote from: Cameron Kover on February 25, 2015, 02:27:37 amDam i would love to give a scope but i am on the other side of the world.Try and search a bit moreon ebay and if u cant find it try cragslist i found quite some scope there and on ebay i foundsome but for 50+20 shipping to u.I hope somone can help you.This looks nice but idk if its near u or nothttp://columbus.craigslist.org/ele/4842560832.html

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 25, 2015, 11:20:50 am
content: Hi Cameron,Welcome to the forum.Why do you not start a crowdfunding campaign? Prove to us you are not a troll (picture/video of your bench or about an electronic project you did) and I think you will find the help you need.I lived in USA 3.5 years, and one of the things I took home with me is Americans are generous people. I think maybe you will find even some heroes from outside your country.Now it would be very difficult to find someone with a old oscilloscope ready for you. I would guess about 10-12 people with a good heart and 10$ in theirs pocket is much easier.May be you will get a Rigol ds1054z...Never stop dreaming...http://www.gofundme.com/success/Take care,

author: macbreak
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2015, 06:02:10 pm
content: Quote from: zucca on February 25, 2015, 11:20:50 amWhy on earth does he need to "prove" ANYTHING to ANYONE? If the guy needs a 'scope, give him a break and stop being so judgemental.@OP: I'm in the UK, I have a tek 2445A in perfect condition. If you were nearer, I'd give you it in the blink of an eye, no messing about. It's just a material possession, folks, and doing good to others is GOOD FOR YOU TOO.OP, keep asking - someone GAVE me this 2445A too, and didn't ask a penny for it, so I believe one hundred percent, you WILL get one

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2015, 06:04:30 pm
content: lemme see what i can dig up in my garage.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2015, 08:09:00 pm
content: Be patient, as you'd be amazed at what members have and are willing to do.If that happens to come up empty, then try asking your local middle and high schools, and even universities (worth asking, and I think preferably in person as they have to look at you when they say no).Crowd funding suggestion could be another way to go as well, particularly if all else fails.

author: Cameron Kover
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2015, 08:12:47 pm
content: .

author: nidlaX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2015, 08:35:48 pm
content: Quote from: Cameron Kover on February 25, 2015, 08:12:47 pmTo be fair, your local craigslist is pretty much devoid of good test equipment. Do try lowballing some of those old ads with analog scopes though, you never know if they might still be available.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2015, 09:59:16 pm
content: Before sending gifts of electronic test equipment to minors which under certain circumstances used incorrectly could easily kill, I'd be asking for the contact details of a parent, in this case mother.The other point I'll make out, is while the OP's post is heart touching, it lacks any substance, which is not dissimilar to other "first time" posters asking to have their test equipment collection funded.Since the OP was actively seeking to purchase a scope I suggest rather than offering a scope for free, instead sell it for a reasonable price and perhaps use those funds to pickup another bargain at the next swap meet etc, then rinse and repeat. This way it fosters community, pays it forward and avoids bottom feeders abusing the charity model, which as much as we would like it not to, does exist on this forum.While I'm not telling anyone what to do with their money or generosity, I'll just point out also that if someone on hard times and barely struggling paying the bills, buying old test equipment is probably the last thing they should be doing.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2015, 10:05:39 pm
content: He's 15, has a part time job and wants to tinker with electronics. So he's trying to scratch out a future for himself. I'll check tonite if i can find a scope. i may toss in some other stuff i don't need. maybe a power supply and some other goodies.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 25, 2015, 11:13:26 pm
content: Quote from: macbreak on February 25, 2015, 06:02:10 pmSorry I just get robbed on the Internet so my "firewall" is on red alert. Now it is hard for me to think there is always a good person behind... Give me sone time I will surely stop to be such an asshole.

author: janaf
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2015, 11:42:21 pm
content: Good initiative Cameron! Take care of your future and your mom. PM coming.

author: Cameron Kover
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2015, 02:37:27 am
content: .

author: Isad
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2015, 06:38:36 pm
content: Quote from: Cameron Kover on February 26, 2015, 02:37:27 amHope the best for u my friend.I am 16 but i havent had the same history well probably havehad a litlt better but i would have given u my scope in a blimp if i were any were near the US.Best Regards.

author: Cameron Kover
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2015, 11:29:52 am
content: .

author: Cameron Kover
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2015, 06:31:08 am
content: .

author: aargee
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2015, 09:12:13 am
content: ... as for asking his mum's approval... when I was 15, my mum (or dad for that matter) had no clue as to what electronics was about or what I was tinkering with.I think it would be largely an uninformed decision coming from the OP's mother.Good luck with your search!

author: ehsmeng
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2015, 11:51:12 am
content: Mothers may be right in their worries. I was six years old when I blew a fuse and darkened the house the first time. Took ages before mum let me have broken household appliances again.

author: Isad
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2015, 04:13:25 pm
content: Quote from: ehsmeng on March 08, 2015, 11:51:12 amLol thats what happend to me but i was 8.I couldnt get anywear near 220v for 1 year or 2.

author: JoeB83
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 03:00:51 am
content: You have a PM, Cameron.

author: Cside
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 03:44:27 am
content: Quote from: Cameron Kover on February 25, 2015, 02:27:37 amAsk dave he hoards all kinds of equipment

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 04:14:58 am
content: Quote from: Cside on March 09, 2015, 03:44:27 amThat cost a fortune to ship overseas.Often cheaper for me to just buy them a scope locally on ebay and have it shipped locally.

author: Vgkid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 04:17:44 am
content: Your Craigslist looks a million times better than mine.https://dayton.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=oscilloscope&sort=rel

author: Cameron Kover
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 05:31:12 am
content: .

author: Cameron Kover
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 05:34:14 am
content: .

author: Cameron Kover
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 05:35:12 am
content: .

author: Cside
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 08:45:48 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on March 09, 2015, 04:14:58 amThe old "too expensive to ship" trick.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 01:51:41 pm
content: Quote from: Cside on March 09, 2015, 08:45:48 amIn Australia it is and the postal service are still whinging.

author: AlfBaz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 01:55:37 pm
content: It costs less to ship something from the states to Sydney than it does to ship something from Sydney to Melbourne and the fuckers are still going broke

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 04:37:39 pm
content: You are not alone. In South Africa your postal prices look cheap, and even taking the exchange rate into consideration sending stuff international to Australia is cheaper by quite a bit than sending stuff from Aus to ZA. $70 per kilo is a typical cost. Small letter ( basically under 200g) costs $20. Why do you think I send Dave the smallest antistatic bag I had, it was both light and made good protection, plus he could use it ( like I have often) as a camping blanket.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 04:43:06 pm
content: i found something usable in the 'pile' i'll see if it works fully tonite. i also found a power supply.

author: Fred27
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 05:14:54 pm
content: Whilst I appreciate the generosity of some of you guys, the first question I'd ask is "why do you need a 'scope"? I've been playing around with electronics for years (mostly digital / microcontroller stuff admittedly) and only just found myself in a position where I could justify buying a scope. Even then it was more want than need.Cameron - are you working on something and have got to the point where you've said to yourself "Damn! I really can't go any further with this without knowing exactly how the voltage is varying over time?" If so, let us know what. Multimeters, LEDs, cheap Chinese knock-off logic analysers can usually get you a long way. Sheer stubbornness and just trying stuff too.

author: LabSpokane
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 06:27:14 pm
content: I have no issue with a young person having an o-scope. The issue is "free." We value what we sacrifice to obtain. It doesn't have to be money, but it should be something.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 12:58:49 am
content: Quote from: LabSpokane on March 09, 2015, 06:27:14 pmFirst born?Here is your new oscilloscope Cameron, cheap shipping as well.http://www.ebay.com/itm/391078601096

author: Cameron Kover
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 01:22:12 am
content: .

author: Cameron Kover
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 01:51:55 am
content: .

author: LabSpokane
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 03:12:31 am
content: Cameron,No one asked you for money. Nor did I ask you for justiification.Compensation could have come in the simple form of doing another good turn for someone and passing the good deed forward. Society helps you, and in turn, you kick into the hat. I wouldn't care if it was as simple as mowing an elderly person's lawn for the summer. If you're an urban dweller, it could have been working the cafeteria line at a homeless shelter. Instead, you have not received instant gratification and have subsequently thrown a fit.And honestly, if you are truly hard up for scratch, the first thing you should do for yourself and your mother is to rectify that situation. That is where you spend your energy, not doing electronics projects.Priorities, my friend.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 03:44:25 am
content: Give the guy a break, he is going to school, working to make ends meet and he deserves downtime specially in something that could be his career goal.He is full of good karma in my book and has paid his deeds forward and I'm sure he will keep doing that.He doesn't need to explain more than he already has, specially to someone that for what I can tell is not going to give him more than their own perspective of morality.

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 03:48:44 am
content: Quote from: miguelvp on March 10, 2015, 03:44:25 amWell said.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 04:21:02 am
content: Nothing wrong with what LabSpokane said. Learning how to overcome obstacles, especially financial ones (other than through dishonesty, relying on charity etc) especially at 15, is one of the most important concepts that you could pass on to someone.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 04:43:22 am
content: As far as I know he probably can school us on overcoming obstacles, do not assume anything.Don't know many at his age having to do that. 50 years ago it was common to bring your paycheck to help out, but not so much these days.I did it, my parents did as well but not my kids, they where fortunate enough to keep all the money they earn on the side.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 05:47:03 am
content: I had to do it also, watched most of what I earned even as a student go into the kitty, literally as we owned a cat as well.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 06:04:32 am
content: But at least we got to keep some of it, doesn't seem to be the case here.And of course is not that bad, Many others have it worse and I get that, but he seem to be learning his life lessons just fine like we all did without others telling us how to.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 06:24:22 am
content: Quote from: LabSpokane on March 10, 2015, 03:12:31 amDude works and brings home his paycheck. Seems like his priorities are in working order. Aside from that, he wants to tinker with electronics instead of laying in the couch. Doing so, he will learn more about electronics than he ever will at any school. All ok iny book.And if you can not imagine being in a place where you can't see having 100$ to spare in the foreseeable future regardless of how much effort you put into it, perhaps you should abstain from comments.

author: Cside
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 07:11:16 am
content: Quote from: Cameron Kover on March 10, 2015, 01:51:55 amStop whining you are making more money than me.

author: Fred27
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 11:49:54 am
content: Quote from: Cameron Kover on March 10, 2015, 01:51:55 amNobody is asking you to write a book, but if you join a website and immediately start asking for free stuff it seems reasonable to explain why you think you need it. Maybe you need one. Maybe you've just connected a lightbulb to a battery and someone told you that a oscilloscope is the cool tool you need for doing electronics. I've no idea.No - you don't have to say why you think you need one. But I also don't have to send you one.Quote from: Cameron Kover on March 10, 2015, 01:51:55 amRight now you sound like some whiny kid whoreally, really, reallywants ice cream. Go eat your vegatables.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 12:38:22 pm
content: Interesting to see how differently people reacts when someone asks for help...

author: Pasky
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 12:40:00 pm
content: What ever happened to saving up what you make to pay for something yourself?

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 12:57:44 pm
content: I had a job since I was 12. Helped to pay the mortgage on the house we lived in. When then the house was sold I got my share back and bought my Bridgeport mill at 17, still have it 45 years later.

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 01:19:44 pm
content: Times have changed dramatically and we can not really compare 1:1.When I grew up, nobody had any spare instruments at all and everything I wanted or needed, I had to earn through work and service I performed for other people. Today, so many people have extra components, tools and even test instruments and it is kind of easier to give something away.But, I do not know, if it is the right thing for the person receiving it. For some might, but not for all. Earning something yourself is very special and should not be underestimated. I have lots of good experiences by giving something away. But many years ago, I sent a free oscilloscope to a guy who needed one badly and the first reaction I got when he received it was: "I am disappointed, it has no connection to a PC". So, it is not so straight forward.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 02:01:36 pm
content: look . he goes to school ,works a job want to learn something to try to get forward.i emailed him and he asked if the scope was analog. So he wasn't even 'demanding'.Anyway. He'll get a nice 54600 series Agilent scope 60MHz two channel 100Ms/s and two probes ( not agilents but decent probes ) a power supply and bag of thru hole components i have laying around.Makes me some room in my lab.

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 02:25:16 pm
content: Good job Free_electron

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 02:31:45 pm
content: Votefree_electronfor Silicon Valley President!

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 10, 2015, 06:50:43 pm
content: Free_electron, as you bless others, you will be blessed in kind. Good on ya as Dave would say.

author: Cside
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2015, 02:36:48 am
content: Quote from: Cameron Kover on February 27, 2015, 11:29:52 amOnly amateurs use scopes. Real engineers put their finger on the wire to feel the waveform.

author: pinkman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2015, 03:05:19 am
content: I remember wanting a DMM soooooo bad. I got my first job at 11 and saved for about 2 years to get my Kelvin model 200 meter (I believe that's what it was called). Felt so good! I used that meter for more than a decade. I wish you luck. Things have changed and there is a lot more equipment out there than there used to be, but with the (real) unemployment rate here nearing 14%, people seem to be holding on to things and asking a pretty penny when they do sell them.Keep an eye on craigslist and ebay, and in the mean time, save every penny you can.

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2015, 03:17:20 am
content: Awesome FE

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2015, 04:47:04 pm
content: good news. i checked out the scope yesterday and it is fully working. so we are good to go.

author: Cameron Kover
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2015, 07:32:14 pm
content: .

author: DavidDLC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2015, 08:43:26 pm
content: Kudos to Free_Electron.David.

author: Muxr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2015, 10:44:15 pm
content: Indeed, kudos free_electron! That's very kind and generous of you.