Cheap DSO suggestion - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: kiltro
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2018, 02:14:46 pm
content: Hey everyone!I need help on a good cheap DSOI basically need it for audio projects so I think a 2-channels, 70Mhz 1 Gsa/s would be good. Right?I live in europe so if it's easily available here it would be even better.thanks

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2018, 04:27:10 pm
content: For about 60 years or more most electronics was designed / tested with anlog scopes of a bandwidht of 20MHz or less...As you are in Europe, I had a look at batronix:https://www.batronix.com/shop/oscilloscopes/DSO.htmlTheir "cheapest" is a PC scope box without knobs, which is not really my thing.Second cheapest is the Rigol DS1052E which I have myself. Even though it is much better in many (not all) ways then the old analog scopes, it has become pretty stale in the 10 years or so it has been on the market. I can not really recommend it anymore. (Same for DS1102E).Next on the list (sorted by price) is the Siglent SDS1102CML+ and that seems to be a pretty good scope with excellent value for the money. Well worth spending the extra EUR60.These Siglent scopes (often) have a much better bandwidht than printed on the box. I would not be surplrized if this one goes upto 250MHz. (-3dB). From demo video's I have seen it runs out of ADC oohmpf before the analog frontend gets to it's bandwith limit.If this is too expensive you might have a look at Owon on Ebay / Ali / Etc.Over there Owon scopes (with big screen and decent bandwith) start around EUR230 but boxes of this value usually do not pass customs without a hefty penalty (VAT + handling costs) and that makes the price difference with the Siglent mentioned above very small.If this is above your budget you have 2 options left. Second hand or a PC USB box without knobs and TFT.That Siglent is probably the reference to compare all others to.Just had a laugh at conrad. They are still trying to sell some ancient analog single channel toy for EUR250Also had a peek at Reichelt:https://www.reichelt.com/be/en/Oscilloscopes-Spectrum-Analyser/2/index.html?ACTION=2&LA=2&GROUPID=5898They have some cheaper scopes (UNI_T / GWinstek), but these seem to lack so much features and bandwith that you should probably only consider them if you are afraid you get lost in all the features and options of the Siglent scope.I buy a lot of stuff from Aliexpress, but it does not seem to be much cheaper than buying local.If I wanted to buy a new scope now it would very likely be the 4 channel Siglent (which is still EUR100 more expensive than the 2 channel version).

author: Keysight DanielBogdanoff
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 26, 2018, 08:25:31 pm
content: Depending on what you're looking for in a scope and your budget, our 1000 X-Series scopes might fit the bill:https://www.keysight.com/en/pcx-2759552/infiniivision-1000-x-series-oscilloscopes?cc=US&lc=engEasily available in Europe, and runs the same ASIC as our higher end InfiniiVision oscilloscopes.And, if you wanted to get creative with it, Dave figured out a 70 -> 200 MHz bandwidth hack.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2018, 08:48:49 pm
content: Quote from: Doctorandus_P on June 26, 2018, 04:27:10 pmYes, before the X-E's were released CML was good value for money and I sold many of them but now SDS1202X-E whips their hide by such a great margin I no longer even stock CML.If 2 ch is enough for your purposes SDS1202X-E is hard to beat.

author: Andreas
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 27, 2018, 09:08:02 pm
content: Quote from: kiltro on June 26, 2018, 02:14:46 pmHmm,for audio I would go for a low noise (low bandwidth) and high resolution (12 to 16-Bit ADC) scope.Or do you mean digital audio?with best regardsAndreas

author: StillTrying
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 27, 2018, 10:17:57 pm
content: Quote from: Doctorandus_P on June 26, 2018, 04:27:10 pmYes, you'd be lucky, I've never found any video review of CML+s. (I might get one)

author: Discotech
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 27, 2018, 10:43:55 pm
content: Quote from: Keysight DanielBogdanoff on June 26, 2018, 08:25:31 pmDoes the hack not void warranty ??Quote from: Doctorandus_P on June 26, 2018, 04:27:10 pmI'm curious if I can get a GW-2074e for more than half price (around £200) does it suddenly become something to consider ? It's also hackable

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 27, 2018, 11:27:02 pm
content: For audio frequencies you can use a PC soundcard.(and it might even have 24 bit resolution and 192kHz sample rate).There's also the Analog Discovery solution - 14 bit sampling, bode plots, etc. and much cheaper than an oscilloscope.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/analog-disovery-as-audio-analyzer/

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2018, 09:11:51 pm
content: Quote from: Discotech on June 27, 2018, 10:43:55 pmYes. Get it immediately! It has firmware which works (so no hidden surprises) and lots of useful features like input filtering, free form math and many other tiny details which make life easier.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2018, 10:24:40 pm
content: If you can get a GDS-2074E for 200GBP, I'd also votegrab it immediately(it's a steal at that price).As per a DSO specifically for audio however (analog), you really do need true 12bit or better vertical resolution to capture the detail. These are much less common however, which makes them more expensive. So if you find yourself wanting for this particular usage, get a cheap CRO in working condition.Otherwise, go DSO all the way for general purpose.