oscilloscope.......pico,fluke,rigol  help please - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Grahamsparky
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 21, 2015, 01:10:19 pm
content: So as the subject saysA little about why the questionI am hgv sparky working for a main dealer and looking at getting an oscilloscope for myselffor me this is like going from testlight to dmmThe company i work for (at the moment) have a pico 4ch which is franchise specific.it as samples of 99% of the waveform i need to seeso must of the work is static ie in the garagebut have taken pico/laptop out on road test for finding faultsand in the near future i can see this happening more ofteni am looking at something thats a bit more portable so fluke 125, list price £1500 ish plus vat but can get one for £750pico no one seems to like them on here (usb)so after reading on here looked at rigol DS1054Z which you all seem to like , and is cheapest but not portablebut can you run it from a 100w inverteri am not electronic expert and do not want to be if you know what i meani just mend hgv's and like to make it as easy as possible for myselfso help please which way do i go

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2015, 03:30:04 pm
content: If a modern desktop oscilloscope takes a knock to the front or drops or falls over you can probably kiss it goodbye.If the Fluke does what you need then I think it would be a superior tool for the job, they also work well as multimeters are easy to lug around and you don't have to worry about dangerous mains cables being slammed in doors etc.As long as the Pico doesn't use custom software then I can't see it being as useful. You probably have a laptop anyway but not getting it out or moving to a tablet might be more fun. Make sure if the Pico is used as a signal generator (to imitate sensors/senders) you have that covered as well.

author: gojimmypi
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2015, 04:12:27 pm
content: Quote from: Grahamsparky on October 21, 2015, 01:10:19 pmHere's a link to the manual. Chapter 18 "Specifications" indicates Maximum 50W. I think Dave's video showed more like 25 or 30W:http://assets.tequipment.net/assets/1/26/MSO1000Z_DS1000Z_UserGuide.pdfSee also:http://www.rigol.com/prodserv/DS1000Z/Indeed "Battery operated" for maximum portability would be a cool (but unlikely) feature.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2015, 05:55:25 pm
content: A quick search on ebay for 'Oscilloscope battery' reveals quite a lot of hits for battery powered Owon scopes. I can't offer anything useful beyond that though.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2015, 06:04:51 pm
content: For basic electricians use, especially as you are in the UK, (230 VAC mains)I'd suggest you look for a DSO with 400V rated channel inputs.All these compact DSO's use SMPS so powering them from an inverter will be OK and offer some isolation if you are careful.Most manfacturers offer some kind of padded carry case if you will be transporting it a lot and if you are worried about damage get a rigid instrument case.You haven't disclosed the range of scope use that you do, mains, control systems, VFD's, LVIf you will do lots of mains work I'd recommend you also have 100:1 probes for greater voltage headroom and thereby more safety for yourself and the instrument.

author: Grahamsparky
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 21, 2015, 06:43:38 pm
content: Thanks for the replystautech .....i am autoelectrician not mains, the most i get upto 24v dc working on trucks,wagons semi trailers etcmostly used for checking sensors , and can busthe pico we have in its software has sample of the traceso i dont need to know what the trace is doing just if its there if you know what i meanam correct in thinking that auto stuff is slow compaired to what you gents do ,,,so would the fluke 125 be an overkill and would it pick up canbus etclike i said not into electronics , mostly the faults i deal with is wiring

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2015, 07:06:17 pm
content: Quote from: Grahamsparky on October 21, 2015, 06:43:38 pmOK hgv... Heavy Goods VechicleYep, I know what you mean.....confirmation that signals of interest EXIST.CAN requirement will be your determining factor, not sure how fast CAN can be, others will know.I'd imagine for HGV it will be on the slow side of what CAN will do mainly for the long runs and preserving signal integrity.To be sure of meeting your needs I'd look for up to 100 MHz units.

author: Grahamsparky
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 21, 2015, 08:04:38 pm
content: thanks again tautech its a bit clearer nowstill dont know if fluke or pico