Oscilloscope purchase - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: jdesa38845
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 06, 2015, 04:45:41 pm
content: Hi, I'm looking to purchase an oscilloscope and wanted to know if anyone has had any experience with either the BK Precision 2190D or the Rigol DS1054Z. Recognizing that the Rigol is a 50MHZ / 4 channel scope and the BK is a 100MHZ 2 channel scope, I am still undecided as to which specifications would suit me better, I just wanted to see if anyone has used these at all and whtat they could provide me in the way of feedback.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2015, 05:13:43 pm
content: Quote from: jdesa38845 on April 06, 2015, 04:45:41 pmThis topic comes up at least twice a week. I suggest you look at past threads. Be aware that you will get a flame-fest of people with very definite opinions; it is up to you to judge the balance of their statements.For your own purposes, you ought to define what type of signal you are going to be measuring, because different scopes and probes have different advantages and disadvantages. Expect to be unpleasantly surprised at how much some probes cost; the reasons for the cost can be illuminating.

author: JohnnyBerg
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2015, 06:06:18 pm
content: Quote from: tggzzz on April 06, 2015, 05:13:43 pmAt least

author: George_Race
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2015, 12:42:52 am
content: Everyone is correct, you can write and read on this subject for months, and it gets more confusing the more you read.Some very simple advice from an old timer who has been using scopes since the very first HeathKit scope hit the market back in the 1950's!I am still an experimenter, and like to buy, repair, and resell old high quality test gear, mostly HP.The last time I changed scopes I decided that it would be my last scope purchase, (turned 79 a couple of days ago) so I did one heck of a lot of research to come up with what I thought would be my ideal scope.In the end I settled on having two scopes. My primary scope turned out to be a TEK-2445B Analogue. In addition I wanted one that would display and store high speed digital signals as well. For that I settled on a TEK-2440.Have been using them both for about 3 years and have yet to find something that I could not display.If I was going to purchase just one today it would be the TEK-2445B. It is a real pleasure to use, and all the auto features blow me away. Makes it so easy to do waveform observation I wonder why I did not look for one sooner! It displays, numerically, frequency, amplitude, and just about any thing else you need to know about the waveform you are looking at.You can purchase either one for a very good price on eBay, and there are a lot of very reputable sellers out there that will stand behind their sales.Here is a link to my current test bench setup.(The 2445B is on top of the 2440.)http://www.mrrace.com/product_pages/other_items/MyTestBench/index.htmHope this helps,George RaceRace Consulting

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2015, 12:49:54 am
content: Do not buy Rigol, you will be sorry. That is my feedback.

author: Muxr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2015, 01:07:02 am
content: Quote from: jdesa38845 on April 06, 2015, 04:45:41 pmThere are tons of posts on this topic but I will summarize it for you.Rigol DS1054Z is the best bang for buck digital scope at this moment. You get a quality scope with a ton of features for a great price. It's everyone's favorite entry level scope.But it gets better. It can be easily unlocked to 100Mhz with a hack. It's a no brainer.

author: Fsck
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2015, 01:09:22 am
content: Quote from: Muxr on April 07, 2015, 01:07:02 amplus the BK is just a chinese rebrand.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2015, 01:11:16 am
content: Quote from: Bud on April 07, 2015, 12:49:54 amMust you pile into every thread with this?

author: tec5c
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2015, 01:12:22 am
content: Quote from: Bud on April 07, 2015, 12:49:54 amIf you're going to provide "feedback" like this, you could at least give a more detailed reasoning.

author: Wmacky
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2015, 01:27:57 am
content: Canadian hit and run?

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2015, 01:32:11 am
content: Rigol is winning 12 - 0

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2015, 04:44:28 am
content: Quote from: tec5c on April 07, 2015, 01:12:22 amI gave plenty of it in Rigol jitter problems thread (Blog #683) in Blog Specific section. If you have couple spare evenings you can have yourself a informative read.@Monkeh - may be next time you could try to post on Topic.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2015, 05:39:55 am
content: Quote from: Bud on April 07, 2015, 04:44:28 amJitter which:(a) Nobody even noticed until a couple of months had passed and somebody accidentally stumbled across the pathological case where it shows itself.and,(b) Can be fixed with a freely-downloadable firmware update.

author: LaurenceW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2015, 03:03:25 pm
content: Bud, your "feedback" is youropinion- nothing more. Some of us don't share it.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2015, 03:06:30 pm
content: Shame my message, the second in this thread, was so prescientNot very edifying.