Newbie Looking for Some Help Finding a First Scope. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Bobajake
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2014, 04:09:27 pm
content: Hi I am 15 and am new to the eevblog forum so i dont know if there are any people that have asked this, but i am looking for a scope (analog or digital) cheap. I have looked at the ds1052e, but that is even too much money right now... i know that is pretty much the cheapest scope out there. That is why i came here! Dave has said in a few of his vids that some people on the forums might be willing to sell one of there old analog scopes, so that is what im asking. Does anyone out there want to sell me their analog scope? Im looking for something under like $200, but the lower the price the better. I may even take it even if its broken!Any help would be greatly appreciated!JakeAnd Please no bs posts, i know its fun to pick on the newbie but i am being serious here...

author: ProBang2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2014, 02:02:55 am
content: Really, no BS post.Just a question: (At least) Continent?

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2014, 03:01:27 am
content: I bought 2 of my scopes from eBay and paid $50 for the 20Mhz one, and $80 for 100Mhz. I would look in ebay and pick up an old analog CRO to learn on. You can't go wrong, make sure the seller can show you it powers up and at least generally tested to work, but even some really cheap "non-tested" scopes from schools or surplus auctions actually are fine. You should also check out local classifieds like Craigslist and Kijiji or electronics shops, surplus and Ham radio clubs. All are sure to have you pointing in the right direction. Seems like rule of thumb is get a 20MHz analog CRO to start, expect to pay anything from free to $50-100. Watch Dave's YouTube video on buying a cheap CRO... no excuse, they are out there. Just be patient and don't buy the first auction you see and overbid. CRO=cathode ray oscilloscope for you Young players, as opposed to the digital LCD display ones.

author: edy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2014, 03:09:52 am
content: Oh yeah, and don't buy a broken scope. You are not going to learn anything from it and you will probably need a working scope to fix a broken one anyways.If you are just starting there is no sense paying for a digital scope, unless you have money to burn. If you want a "toy" there are plenty digital handheld "scopes" extremely cheap from eBay China, usually fairly low Mhz, handheld like tablets. But if you want to feel like a real mad scientist electronics experimenter and work on equipment that used to cost many hundreds if not thousands of dollars when they first came out, adopt an old analog CRO and learn how to really use it and understand the functions and limitations. Perhaps the only other question is what are you planning to do with it? Digital protocol sniffing or basic oscillating circuits?

author: KD0CAC John
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2014, 02:28:45 pm
content: There usually all kinds of used analog 15mhz - 100mhz , the tricky part is finding one in working order .But some times like hamfests etc. you can find one of these starting around $25 and and then about one dollar per mhz from about 50mhz up .Some links to help ,http://www.tek.com/learning/oscilloscope-tutorialhttp://tone-lizard.com/Oscilloscopes.htmhttp://www.nj2x.com/2012/01/oscilloscope-school.html

author: Seekonk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2014, 04:57:08 pm
content: Just don't buy one offered by a school. I was on vacation and was searching on ebay by distance closest. They had a real cheap price on a 100mhz scope at the college I graduated from. Hadn't been back in 30 years so I thought it would be an interesting trip. Spent more on gas going there than I did for the scope. Forgot how abusive students are to equipment. The switches were really beat up.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2014, 03:32:45 am
content: Just go buy an Analog Discovery for the $99 student price.