Got a Oscilloscope for free - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: DrHouse101
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 04:14:07 am
content: So I was trying to find something small and compact to replace the Tek 468 I had (Which by the way is a good oscilloscope which i got for 100$) as I have no room for it lol.Which instead I got this nice little piece of kitOnly wish it had the Module which lets me hook it up to a controller or a PC with the proper IEEE-488 port but hey it was free! Works great too, way more compact then a 468.Also is there really a huge loss going from a 100MHz BW to 60MHz?

author: Fsck
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 04:17:01 am
content: picture doesn't work for me.

author: DrHouse101
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 04:25:38 am
content: Heh didnt notice, i fixed it lol.

author: kizzap
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 05:43:33 am
content: Quote from: DrHouse101 on May 28, 2015, 04:14:07 amAbout 40MHz?It really depends on what you are using the scope for as to whether you will notice the Bandwidth limits. If you are working on Audio stuff up to a handful of MHz stuff it will be fine. If you start to try working on really high speed circuits, then that scope might not cut it.

author: R_G_B_
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 06:00:17 am
content: The -3db point is 60MHz but it will go well beyond that its just not going to be accurate. So you should still be able to check clock frequencies at 100MHz or more but you would not be able to check the signal integrity at these higher frequency.R_G_B

author: tmbinc
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 08:36:11 am
content: Regardless of what people say, the TDS2xx-series is/was a reasonable scope. It was eye-opening for me when I first got it, because I was finally able to look at digital busses in single-shot captures. Sure, it has limitations, but so has everything in life.Regarding the bandwidth limit, unfortunately I'm not aware of any schematics. But I'd guess it's just a passive filter. But then again, as people said, when you start looking at faster stuff, this may not be the right type of scope anyway.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 09:00:34 am
content: It's the 'scope mentioned in the latest EEVBLOG:

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 09:37:39 am
content: Quote from: DrHouse101 on May 28, 2015, 04:14:07 amThat will depend on what you are using it forandon the probes you are using.As noted in the various references herehttps://entertaininghacks.wordpress.com/library-2/scope-probe-reference-material/the scope's risetime will be 0.35/bandwidth. Thus 60MHz->6ns whereas 100MHz->3.5ns.The risetime of ordinary modern digital signals is 1ns-3ns, and high speed signals are ~5 times faster. Hence you could use the scope to look at well-behaved or "slow" digital signals, but it would be of limited use looking for glitches or for investigating signal integrity.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 09:58:11 am
content: Quote from: Deathwish on May 28, 2015, 08:41:05 amNotquitetrue.The people developing tomorrow's equipment are using the very best 'scopes available today. People lower down the scale will have to wait a year or two before their 'scopes can be used on those circuits. Hobbyists will have to wait even longer than that.Yesterday's test gear can definitely be useless for today's equipment.If you're an audio engineer then your basic oscilloscope needs were met a decade or two ago. Even so you might be forced to upgrade to a) Get more features to make your job faster/easier (life is short!), and b) So you can stay competitive with whippersnapper audio engineers who have better equipment than you and can charge less money for the same job.

author: R_G_B_
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 10:14:25 am
content: Also it's not just about bandwidth as I have discovered comparing the TDS1002 with the owon sds7102V and analogue discoveryin the frequency domain using the fast fourier transfer. For a 1KHz square wave The TDS1002 showed alias components. Both the analogue discovery and SDS7102V display the FFT correctly. But this is down to how tektronix written the software with respect to sampling vs time base settings someone please correct me if im wrong about this?

author: Wuerstchenhund
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 03:49:39 pm
content: Quote from: DrHouse101 on May 28, 2015, 04:14:07 amNot bad for a free scopeHowever, considering that there are many people willing to pay insane prices for these old Tek scopes, you could easily sell this one off and use the money for a new Rigol DS1054z (and maybe even some money left). Which essentially means getting a free DS1054z O0

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 04:01:06 pm
content: Maybe even a 100MHz version of the DS1000Z.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 04:09:24 pm
content: Quote from: Wuerstchenhund on May 28, 2015, 03:49:39 pmI thought you were kidding but I just checked on eBay and noooo, it looks like there's plenty of people willing to pay $400+ for one of those.

author: R_G_B_
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2015, 04:58:01 pm
content: I'm struggling to sell a tds1002 cheap. It has the built in FFT function which the tds210 and 220 lack. And they are robust as Dave Jones has demonstratedR_G_B