Oscilliscope - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: daniel123
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2016, 11:06:10 pm
content: Hi my name is Daniel Vrolijk and i am 15 years old and I am a freshman in high school, and I was wondering if anyone has an old oscilloscope that they don't use anymore. What I will be doing with an oscilloscope you ask? I would be looking at the frequency of all my quartz crystals. I also would make my own frequency generator so I can see frequencies and different patterns. I would also use it as a learning tool so i can see what oscillators make what type of waves. I learned that its best to get an analog oscilloscope as your first scope because then you can actually learn how to use one rather than pressing the wave button and have the oscilloscope do all the work for you. So i would be looking for a MHz analog scope that works. If you have any suggestions or a scope that i could own please contact me at danielvrolijk55@gmail.com. I hope that someone can help me out on this. I also hope that I fixed my first impression here on the forum.Sincerely,Daniel J Vrolijk

author: tyguy2
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 01:57:26 pm
content: I don't think begging for a scope on the forum is a good idea. Try looking on ebay and criagslist. There are some great deals there

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 03:04:07 pm
content: And be patient; sometimes it takes a while for something good to show up.In the meantime, while you're waiting, you can cobble together something using your PC's soundcard:http://makezine.com/projects/sound-card-oscilloscope/You can learn quite a bit from something like that.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 05:04:00 pm
content: Quote from: tyguy2 on April 25, 2016, 01:57:26 pmIt's been done plenty of times and Dave encourages it.To OP, sorry I don't have one that I can part with

author: Cloud
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 05:56:00 pm
content: When I was starting, I thought, that I need a scope too. Than a teacher allowed me to use the scopes in our school lab. So I tested what I could at home and then brought all my circuits to school and was there for 4-6 hours and was repeating this almost every day. And later you'll met persons, that will be like: do you need a scope? Currently I have 4 or 5 scopes at home. And I paid like 40eur for one of them other I got for free.

author: daniel123
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 08:49:57 pm
content: So does anyone habe a oscilliscop that I can have?

author: Jwalling
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 09:30:19 pm
content: Quote from: daniel123 on April 25, 2016, 08:49:57 pmOh boy!Jay

author: Jwalling
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 09:34:48 pm
content: https://houston.craigslist.org/ele/5510847666.htmlThere you go for about what it costs to ship a scope. And your first project.Jay

author: daniel123
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 09:38:09 pm
content: Well I can't even afford 50 dollars worth of oscilliscope

author: Jwalling
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 09:55:34 pm
content: Quote from: daniel123 on April 25, 2016, 09:38:09 pmYou said "I live in Houston Texas I will pay for shipping."$50 bucks is a typical cost on shipping.(Am I just feeding a troll now?)Jay

author: daniel123
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 09:56:46 pm
content: No you are not feeding a trI'll I still don't understand shipping cost yet I'm still young

author: Dave
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 10:03:34 pm
content: You might get further if you at least put the effort in to write a couple of grammatically correct sentences. Nobody here knows you and the first impressions we get are from your writing.Second thing would be to introduce yourself, tell us what you do and explain why it is that you need an oscilloscope (notice the spelling). Give people a good reason to help you out.It might be nice to at least acknowledge the suggestions that people have given you in this thread.

author: daniel123
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 10:14:38 pm
content: I hope that the main message that I modified is better than before. I will modify my other posts also.

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 11:00:13 pm
content: 15 isn't very young...

author: daniel123
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 11:01:41 pm
content: well it kinda to me at least. it is i am not in college yet.

author: daniel123
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2016, 11:30:25 pm
content: well so any suggestions?

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2016, 01:31:06 am
content: Look for ham radio group meetings around your location. Still a 300MHz analog is going to be hard to find.Be respectful of course, don't go "hey I want a free scope" kind of tell them how you are interested on and maybe someone there will guide you.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2016, 01:39:49 am
content: Quote from: daniel123 on April 25, 2016, 11:30:25 pmPerhaps while your waiting you can link or attach a photo of the crystals you own and want to measure, also perhaps tell us about the other tools you have, such as your multimeter and Hakko Fx-888 soldering station. You could show us some of your soldering or projects built since you brought your iron.If you are urgently wanting to measure signals (the patterns) don't underestimate asking the teacher in charge of the electronics at school, most of them will bend over backwards to help someone eager to learn.The other thing is don't get hung up on this analog vs digital oscilloscope thing too much, you can easily learn what oscilloscopes are capable of with some persistence reading or watching thetraining class.Get in the habit of getting and reading the manual of equipment you own. If you are unsure of something note it down and give it a good google, then if still stuck ask someone.

author: daniel123
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2016, 12:18:24 pm
content: I do not have a electronics class at school. I even asked and it's a private school and they are like uhhh no.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2016, 02:11:27 pm
content: Daniel, don't be discouraged. As an aunt of mine used to say: "the 'no' answer you already have. If you don't ask, you will never know otherwise.". However, miguelvp's suggestion will go a long way to "break the ice" with potential helpers: a respectful and genuinely interested person will have higher changes of getting the doors opened.Now, on to the problem at hand. Oscilloscopes are usually heavy, large and fragile goods, which require good packing with lots of padding so there is a chance the equipment will survive the transportation. This increases the cost of any type of freight between point A to point B.Therefore your only true "zero cost" option is finding someone in your area that could give you one; otherwise you will have to either spend money on shipping (even if the oscilloscope is given away) or on the oscilloscope itself if you buy locally through Craigslist, a surplus store or a school that is replacing their equipment.I suspect you have a limited experience with electronic circuits (correct me if I am wrong), therefore another very interesting option, as Shock mentioned, is to find someone that is involved in electronics (a relative, a colleague, a teacher). They can help you have access to an oscilloscope (not necessarily give you one) and even teach you how to use it, which is much more valuable. You could even ask at the surplus store you mentioned inyour other threadto see if they know a teacher or a technician that could help you get your feet wet.

author: daniel123
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2016, 09:16:46 pm
content: Actually if anyone local will let me pick me up I would like that very much I live in the houston texas area

author: Cloud
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 27, 2016, 08:49:19 am
content: Quote from: daniel123 on April 24, 2016, 11:06:10 pmFor this, you can use simple quartz tester with a simple frequency counter (made with ATTiny 2313). I have made this few years ago and than sold it to the school. Probably still have schematics somewhere. And for starting the ebay DIY oscilloscope kits are good enough and even some homemade (ATMega, graphics display and few other components). Later, when you'll need some better accuracy and higher frequencies the cheapest (its not the best..) is a noface oscilloscope-scope, that plugs into computer. Something like PoScope, RedPitaya, PicoScope etc