Digital Oscilloscope sub $200 buget, preferably sub $150 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Isaac-1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 12:35:13 am
content: I find myself in need of some type of digital oscilloscope for a minor electronic project related to another hobby, I have an older vintage analog scope (Tektronix 7603) that I bought at a flea market about 20 years ago, it still works good enough for my occasional need, as most of my electronics tasks can be handled with a good multimeter (Fluke 87V, etc.). However this new project requires me to be able to capture semi random pulsed output and measure its approximate voltage and duration (need to resolve in the sub 100 microsecond pulse length range).Ideally I would like something more portable than my 7603 which is portable in much the way a lead acid deep cycle battery is portable (published numbers show its weight at 30 lbs / 16KG, but that may just be the frame without the 3 modules inserted). Anything under 10-15 pounds would be fine it does not have to be hand held.On the low end I can find 20 year old working used CRT type DSO scopes on ebay for under $100 delivered rated for 20 Mhz and 20 Ms/s sampling rate usually with 1K sample size. Where I find myself unsure is knowing if this is enough sampling resolution, or if I should get something newer and more portable, for example a 10 year old OWON 6062 or a 15 year old Tektronix TDS210, TDS320 or TDS340 for around $150-$175.thanks for your thoughts on the matter

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 12:58:29 am
content: There are none that would not be total unusable junk.$250 is the minimum budget at which you start to see usable devices.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 01:31:28 am
content: For your first DSO the capability of saving screenshots to USB should be a nonnegotiable as it was when I got my first some 15 yrs ago a TDS2102B.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 01:36:08 am
content: Those old Tek DSO are the most overpriced scopes for what they are IMHO.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 01:43:04 am
content: Quote from: wraper on January 30, 2021, 01:36:08 amCertainly by todays standards they are very basic and even when I brought mine second hand the Asian DSO's were just starting to emerge and I could've brought a new UniT for similar money but of course the Tek won on the day.However it's busted now and sits in a box under the bench maybe to never go again.

author: rvalente
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 02:19:54 am
content: On that budget id say a crappy hantek usb scope...

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 02:31:45 am
content: Quote from: Isaac-1 on January 30, 2021, 12:35:13 amTo start, "sub-100uS" is not a problem for any scope, even an old Scopemeter can handle that with 20MSa/S and 256 points. 100 microseconds is nearly forever in the scope world.The CRT-type DSOs, if you are referring to the Tektronix hybrid 22xx series (2221, 2221A, etc) would work, but you aren't likely to get an actually working one for your budget and certainly not under $100 shipped. You'll get junk and your first task will be repairing and adjusting your new scope. Whether they are overpriced or not is a matter of opinion, as there are some that like them for valid reasons, but in your case the bang-for-buck isn't there. I have two refurbished ones that I'll sell, but I don't think they are what you want.The other Teks you mention, like the TDS340 (which I also have...) are a lot more than 15 years old, more like 25 or 30. Same deal--they'll work if they actually work.If you must have a standalone box, look for a used Rigol DS1052E or something similar. You can get something new for a bit less than $250https://www.tequipment.net/Instek/GDS-1102-U/Digital-Oscilloscopes/?v=7401but anything below that will be utter rubbish.If you really need to stick to a low budget, a PC-based solution is your best bet.https://www.tequipment.net/Pico/2204A-BASIC/PC-Based-Oscilloscopes/?v=7401

author: Algoma
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 02:33:29 am
content: So far the new Hantek DSO2C10 look promising as a base level option for a desktop oscilloscope. New product. bit buggy, but there may be hope, at least the hardware looks promising so far.

author: Isaac-1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 04:41:29 am
content: Any thoughts on an HP 54603B with 54659B Storage and Measurement card, clean looking pull, basic power on test from what appears to be a larger group of pulls for $125

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 05:13:13 am
content: Quote from: Isaac-1 on January 30, 2021, 04:41:29 amIt's an outdated sampling oscilloscope with 20 MSa/s real-time sampling rate. Useless for any high frequency signal that is not repetitive. Waste of money for a favor of obtaining a boat anchor.

author: Isaac-1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 07:48:14 am
content: Well for better or worse I have made a purchase at $175, it is a slightly dinged but apparently functional Agilent 54622a (missing a couple of knobs, though the knob shafts appear to be intact so I should be easy to find some workable replacements). 2 channel 4MB Mega-Zoom memory, 200 Msa/s sample rate. Looks like it was introduced in 2004, and discontinued in 2007, so less than 20 years old, which beats the age of all of the other sub $200 contenders I had found so far by about 5-7 years. Hopefully it will be as described and not get destroyed by Fed Ex, I guess I will see when it gets here in about a week.

author: Shannon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 04:53:57 pm
content: Quote from: Isaac-1 on January 30, 2021, 07:48:14 amI have an old 54624a as well, it's awesome.I still remember I spent about $150 for a broken one two yeas ago, and then I spent more than one month spare time to repair it without schematics, and in order to get parts to replace those broken components, I spent about $80 for another broken 54622a.54622a is really a very good choice for daily use, the sample rate is 200Msps, and the bandwidth is 100MHz, which means agilent use bandwidth sampling tech in this serial, the detal would be lost in the very fast sampling mode.And the other issue is the noisy fan, no thermal control loop, please take care, but we can diy a thermal control fan

author: Shannon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 04:59:46 pm
content: The other thing I want to emphasis is 54622a use a CRT display, but it's a real DIGITAL oscilloscope or Mixed oscilloscope , I have tried to use a LCD to replce the big heavy CRT display.To be honest, the quality of those CRT display is quite good!

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 05:55:59 pm
content: Quote from: Shannon on January 30, 2021, 04:53:57 pmSo it cost you 150+80 =230 USD for scope and spares and in work, say, 40 hours at minimum wage of 2,5 USD per hour that gives 100 USD for work, say 330 USD altogether.I sold my, barely used, 2 year old DS1104Z with original bag and 4 brand new Testec probes for 250 USD to a student...That is why I, and Blueskull, and many others here advise strongly against buying old crap if you want to save money when buying your first scope.It is rarely a good deal, if you just want a working scope.There are many people that romanticize these old instruments, and collect them as collectibles. Their hobby is restoration of old scopes...Which is fine, really, but cheapest way to buy your first scope is to buy new (or near new) modern scope that works.

author: Isaac-1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 08:05:49 pm
content: So you consider a scope that was discontinued 13-14 years ago, and is still new enough to have recently produced youtube videos designed to teach students how to use it for specific classes, old crap? I would hate to see what you think the replacement cycle should be on home electronic repair equipment.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 08:12:42 pm
content: It actually is. There is a reason this thing was on the market for just 3 years. The scopes made huge progress in that time. And even more progress in the last 5 or so years.You can justify your purchase however you want. This does not change the fact that in reality people should be paying you for getting rid of their ewaste.

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 08:13:26 pm
content: In short, yes, it's old crap. When you receive it, I hope it will work for you...Fact that any working scope is better than nothing doesn't make it good in comparison with entry level scopes of today...As I said, I hope that one you bought works and it will be useful to you.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 08:19:10 pm
content: Quote from: Isaac-1 on January 30, 2021, 08:05:49 pmIt's like a 14 year old cell phone. Sure, if you just want to make calls it may work, but it should cost $5 not $200. Some technology stays economically viable much longer than others. My 17 year old car is still perfectly useable even by modern standards. A 17 year old laptop, not so much. There is an entire era of scopes, starting with the earliest full-digital models and ending about the time of the CRT color scopes (TDS 6xx or so) that just have no particular redeeming features--they aren't analog, they aren't particularly durable or reliable and they have very low performance for a DSO. The only reason to acquire one is if you find them very, very cheap.The eBay prices on some of this 'old crap' has gone ballistic in recent times, the worst sector being the 'as-is', 'missing parts', 'powers on' and 'pulled from a working environment but we can't test it' types. Oh yeah, I forgot 'acquired from a reliable source'. So your scope isn't all that bad for what you want to do--if it works properly--but it is hard to see the value proposition. You may find the Mega-Zoom to be useful and 4MB isn't bad for memory. You could do worse, but the acid test will be whether it functions properly. If it does, you got lucky.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 08:22:04 pm
content: Quote from: Isaac-1 on January 30, 2021, 08:05:49 pmClassrooms are typically filled with old crap. Remember teachers usually have to develop the course material in their own spare time so they won't be very keen on changing it. About 3 years ago I went looking at a technical school with my youngest son. At one of the schools I visited they had 30 year old analog scopes in the lab.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 08:35:09 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on January 30, 2021, 08:22:04 pmWould you have been more impressed if they had brand new analog scopes?https://www.bkprecision.com/products/oscilloscopes/2160C-60-mhz-analog-oscilloscope-with-probes.html

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 08:38:19 pm
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on January 30, 2021, 08:35:09 pm"B&K Precision's model 2160C is an oscilloscope with many features at a low cost. " ---- MSRP $1,199. LOL."For sale in the United States only. For international customers, we recommend our digital oscilloscopes which can be found here."This is some sort of a scam where those specific scopes can have no substitutions, similar to TI scam with calculators.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 08:43:58 pm
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on January 30, 2021, 08:35:09 pmI'd probably be more sad

author: rvalente
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 11:40:19 pm
content: C'on dude, you live ib the usa, the meca of electronics and surplus stuff. Everything there is cheaper and easier to get than anywhere in the world.Just save up a little and get a nice brand new machine. I leave in brazil and anything cost 2x the cost to import due to taxes.

author: Isaac-1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2021, 11:55:58 pm
content: If I were going to be using it regularly I would buy a newer model, but chances are it will get used 4-5 times per year at most, as most of the things I deal with are electrical in nature, or lower end electronic stuff. Today for example I was troubleshooting an electric meat smoker, all that was needed was a basic multimeter to read AC volts and Ohms, I used my Fluke 87 V as it was handy. I was expecting an bad control panel, as they are notorious for failing on this brand, but instead it turns out the heating element and meat temperature probe had both failed. One simply does not need a state of the art digital multi meter for such stuff. Where even a basic digital oscilloscope will come in handy is another project I have been putting off, diagnosing and repairing control signal inverter board used to bridge between two different brands of equipment, control side uses positive pulses, motor controller side uses inverted pulse for speed control. Again a 15 year old digital meter with 4 megs of memory should be more than overkill.p.s. If you want to talk about meca of surplus electronic stuff, I have an SGI Indigo Iris Elan sitting in the corner of the half bathroom in my house.

author: Shannon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 31, 2021, 01:43:27 am
content: Quote from: 2N3055 on January 30, 2021, 05:55:59 pmHi 2N3055, you are right, digital oscilloscopes have a lot of progress in recent years, high precision DMM is opposite, the performance is frozen about thirty years ago.If the goal is a scope for work, buying a new one is better choice, $350 is enough for a Asian scope.Actually, I'm trying to sell my 54624A before there are still some guys have interest in these old style, and to get the other digital, morden, small, quiet one

author: Isaac-1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 06:32:06 am
content: Just thought I would post back, the oscilloscope arrived Friday, seems to be in mostly working order, though the soft keys under the screen are a bit flaky, I have found a couple of youtube videos on the issue, appears to be a common problem which can often be fixed with a simple cotton swab and some alcohol on the contacts.

author: bob91343
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 06:46:28 am
content: Good that you are happy with your purchase. Had I seen your post right after you made it, I would have offered my Tek 2440 which is supposed to go to 300 MHz. I don't know about its single shot storage capability, as I haven't really used it. It's a lot smaller than many but is not exactly portable.

author: Old Printer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 01:56:42 pm
content: A couple years ago I scored an original Analog Discovery on ebay for $50. Even though your current needs have been met, keep your eye out for one of these for the future. Many thousands were sold to EE students on the cheap ($100) and pop up from time to time. A very solid USB scope along with many other tools.

author: 1966
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 11:08:30 pm
content: I don't believe you will find anything worthwhile for that price unless it's a used analog boat anchor, which do work well. I am looking for a second scope to go with my main scope which is a Sencore 3100. I am looking at several models but as I look around it appears that not much has been done in the way of newer models, just the same tired looking, Rigol, Hantech and others. I am looking at the Siglent 1202X-E for my next purchase but also like the looks of the black Keysight scopes. Any thoughts appreciated.

author: zachik
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 11:39:54 pm
content: Quote from: 1966 on February 08, 2021, 11:08:30 pmI got my Siglent 1202X-E from amazon, through their warehouse deals. Paid $285 or so (incl. tax).After comprehensive inspection, my conclusion is that someone returned it after using it for a few hours, and the scope is in perfect condition! No signs of use at all.Others may have different experience, but I recommend (and you can always return to Amazon within 30 days if you're not happy with it or its condition).

author: ZeeCaptain
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 15, 2021, 11:21:23 pm
content: Quote from: Algoma on January 30, 2021, 02:33:29 amI bought DSO2D10 on aliexpress like 2-3 weeks ago for ~230USD. DSO2C10 was available for as low as 175USD with free delivery. Unfortunately via DHL carrier and they always charge you with customs and paperwork fee, but I could find one for 195USD without DHL delivery. Worth mentioning is the fact it can be easily hacked to get 150MHz and it has an option to decode UART, CAN, LIN, I2C. For occasional use in hobby projects I think it's a good deal. The other option I was considering was also Hantek DSO5102p, but it's hard to find new one below 200USD price point.