Assistance with choosing equipment - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: ardenrice
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 01, 2025, 03:36:17 pm
content: Hello all,I got an internship over the summer that became a long term co-op while I'm in school.I am working for a older school engineering firm with next to none infrastructure on the ECE side. They focus on forensics, weather, structural assessment.My task while I am there is to modernize and refine some equipment and systems for more streamlined use and improve noise and issues with current systems by upgrading and eventually redesigning/designing replacements.While they understand I am a lowly student with no real background, they may not understand the complexities of re designing and refining testing equipment and creating apps, websites, and database infrastructure.I have figured out a lot of what needs to be done but they lack some of the lab equipment I need for some of the systems and other things I am slowly integrating and planning out. But, I have been given the go ahead to source some stuff that they will purchase.For hardware I am working with ADCs, amplifiers, general components, load cells, potentiometers, encoders, linear actuators, rpi, and will be getting some variant of STM32 or another mcu involved soon.I need a scope but unsure what to choose with the plethora of options and price points. I don't really want to have them buy something too expensive right out the gate so maybe the 500-1000 usd price point.Also looking for a decent logic analyzer and signal/function generator.I am also wondering a good source to get lots of general components for a range of prototyping and eventual finished product for a decent price. Not needing 1000s but a good variety of 100s would work well.All the testing equipment they want me help with and apps and such are internal use and not being sold so I feel like that gives me some more leeway on certain things.Anybody with decent experience with this kind of problem that would be able to lend some advice?also, I recently came across this forum so I apologize in advanced if this is a non-typical question to ask here.If I missed any important clarifications please do inquire and I will update the post or reply promptly.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2025, 04:35:16 pm
content: Honestly, since we can now get very fast shipping of parts from distributors that carry everything under the sun (Digikey, Mouser, Newark/Farnell, etc.) I don’t think it’s a good idea to try and build a serious assortment of parts. IMHO it’ll take you a months or a year to get a feel for what kinds of parts you actually would benefit from having around.* The applications you describe are quite broad, actually, so it’s hard to make predictions of what you’ll need. For the love of god don’t get assortments of components from eBay/Amazon/aliexpress — the quality is all over the place. For commercial stuff you need predictability in parts, so stick to name brand purchased from reputable distributors. All the big distributors do have assortments of quality parts, just be aware that they cost a LOT more than no-name.Pro tip: keep a running list of items (components, tools, supplies) that you want or need, but don’t needurgently, which you can then use to pad orders to get them over free shipping thresholds.*That was the approach I took when I started my current job almost 2 years ago: wait and see what the work actually looks like. And that was a good decision, because I don’t use much of many things I initially might have stocked up on, and I figured out that I frequently need very specific parts, not standard ones, so I have to order them anyway. So I let Digikey keep the stock rather than me. Where I did find the need to stock more is connecting material: cables, wires, certain connectors (banana plugs, crimp terminals, ferrules), and things like WAGO lever nuts, WAGO and Phoenix Contact terminal blocks (DIN rail and standalone, plus associated miscellaneous hardware), heat shrink tubing, zip ties, zip tie anchors, hex standoffs, etc. as well as specific spare parts for repairing certain equipment that we have hundreds of units of, and thus have the same failures over and over. What specific materials you benefit from will be different for you.

author: Grandchuck
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2025, 06:36:14 pm
content: This is a valuable resource:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/sds800x-hd-review-demonstration-thread/

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2025, 10:51:52 pm
content: The very first thing you need is a good lab power supply.2 x 0...30 V, 3A outputs and perhaps an additional +3.3/5 V output is generally useful.

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2025, 11:26:58 pm
content: Huge... Time... Out....It sounds like this is stuff for an established business, not some dude in his garage like the usual question comes from.If I worked for a company and an intern was somehow given the task of buying new test equipment and he got all his info from some random dudes on the internet without talking to anyone else at the company, I would lose my shit both on management and on the intern.Is there really no one at this company that is technically capable of informing any of this?What are they using now and why does it require "upgrading"? If this is production stuff, don't mess with test stations that aren't seriously broken. I don't care if it's running windows 98. Leave it alone if it's working.We have no idea what your company does and what the specific requirements are for any of this so there is no way we can make any realistic recommendations (which you shouldn't be listening to anyway since you have no idea who we are and what our qualifications are and being an intern with no experience you can't independently verify what we are saying anyway). The usual "get some Arduinos and Siglents and maybe buy a bunch of 555 timers from ebay" isn't very good for the hobby guy in his garage, and it's terrible advice for a business.If you are serious, you need to go find someone at the company that actually understands the requirements of every piece of equipment you are thinking of purchasing and work with that dude to make a big spreadsheet of requirements. Then make your purchases based on meeting those requirements and not on the lowest price or what some random dudes on the internet said.