Oscilloscope advice - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: deSales327
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 02, 2020, 07:47:48 pm
content: Hello everyone, new guy here!Hope everything is well with you in this complicated times.I've been looking for a cheap (sub 150$) decent scope for some time now but I don't know what I should look for.Two scopes that have been on my radar - one got on it yesterday ahahah - are the Hantek6022BL and the FNIRSI-1013D.It's not for work, it's just for some playing around with oscillators, amp-ops and... Watching waves (yup that's me).I do know my way around a scope so I'm not a total noob... But I am a noob.What are your opinions about the scopes I mentioned? Do you perhaps know of others I should look for?Thank you very much for the attention and have a good day!

author: tunk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2020, 08:15:00 pm
content: The Hantek 2000 series (e.g. 2C42) could possibly also be an alternative.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2020, 08:23:36 pm
content: I would recommend the Owon VDS1022I(galvanically isolated version) over the Hantek 6022BL that you mentioned. It's a much better scope, and the Hantek logic analyser capability can be mostly replaced by an ebay $10 24MHz Logic Analyser clone and open-source Sigrok Pulseview s/w (it sounds as if you're not really interested in LAs at the moment anyway).https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/owon-vds1022i-quick-teardown-(versus-the-hantek-6022be)/P.S. Welcome to the forum.

author: deSales327
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 03, 2020, 01:45:13 am
content: I got lost in the thread you created ahahah. It seems like you guys have been developing the software for five years now, is that right?It all got me very interested in the scope although I might have some issues with it since I’m a Mac user. Do you think bootcamping or a VM would do the trick?

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2020, 10:24:08 am
content: I'm sorry, I honestly can't remember whether you could get the Owon to work on a Mac. The manufacturer's S/W is windows, but it's actually written in Javascript. Irrc, the biggest problem with porting it to Linux etc. was getting the FPGA image to download to the unit, that's the only problem that you might get under a VM.Your best bet is to ask the question in the VDS1022 thread that I linked, somebody will probably have done it, or know the answer. [Edit: there are a few Mac references in the thread, it looks as if you can but I can't see a definitive answer.]

author: Adrian_Arg.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2020, 01:34:53 pm
content: Hello, if I remember correctly the Hantek 6022BL also has a logic analyzer, which is a good option.https://es.banggood.com/Hantek-6022BL-PC-USB-Oscilloscope-2-Digital-Channels-48MSas-Sample-Rate-16-Channels-Logic-Analyzer-p-1132982.html?cur_warehouse=CN

author: deSales327
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 03, 2020, 10:01:56 pm
content: From what I’ve seen I’m more inclined to purchase the Owon. That being said I bring you another question.Digilent has approved me for academic pricing so I could get the Analog Discovery 2 for, around, 150$ which is pretty much all the money I can spend right now. My question is, would it be worth it? Or should I get a cheaper scope and maybe a power supply?

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2020, 10:10:45 pm
content: As far as I know there are no decent scopes in that price range.You can get a Siglent or Rigol starting at around EUR300, and for that price you have 20x the scope of the toy's you are looking at now.The Owon's or GW_Instek can be a bit cheaper I believe and there are some no-name brands in the price range around EUR200 which may or may not be decent, but below that price it's just toys.

author: deSales327
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 03, 2020, 11:57:15 pm
content: I know that, and fundamentally what I want is something to play with and learn more but can also rely on, even if to a point, when prototyping. And maybe someday I will know enough to feel worthy of arealoscilloscope ahahaha

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2020, 03:08:05 pm
content: Quote from: deSales327 on June 03, 2020, 10:01:56 pmI have jokingly been labeled the "Analog Discovery Team Coach" by another member because I just won't shut up about the thing. I really should dial it back a notch.I just bought another AD2 from Amazon for nearly $300 when tax was included. That's what happens when you give away your only device and you are far too old to get an EDU discount.You can do just about everything required in a college EE program with that one simple tool. Dual channel scope, dual channel arbitrary waveform generator, dual channel (but limited) power supply, 16 channels of digital IO including protocol decoding. One thing that isn't often mentioned is that you can use the device to carry on a complete conversation with an I2C device. That's truly handy for debugging.There are 4 examples of things I consider important that are easy to do on the AD2 and nearly impossible on a scope. Start with Reply 52 here:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/starter-scope/50/It might be worth your while to watch a bunch of AD2 videos and make up your own mind. I have a DS1054Z, a Siglent AWG and a Rigol PS but if I'm playing with small circuits, I am more likely to use the AD2. Among other things, a 27" screen is pretty cool.My latest project: Play with GPIO on the Raspberry Pi 4 while using the AD2 to watch what's happening. Of course, the Waveforms software for the AD2 is also running on the Pi.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2020, 04:37:14 pm
content: Yes, I've consciously dialled myself back on the Owon. I still defend it as the onlynon-toyDSO at the sub $100 level though. It is a perfectly viable tool when low budget dominates (and beyond, when galvanic isolation is a requirement).P.S. I just realized (I'd completely forgotten!) that Florentbr's S/W has a Mac installer script.https://github.com/florentbr/OWON-VDS1022P.P.S. If you have found that youdoqualify for the academic pricing for the Analog Discovery 2, within your budget, then that may well be the the correct choice for you.

author: wizard69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2020, 08:40:21 pm
content: Quote from: deSales327 on June 03, 2020, 01:45:13 amI'm a former long term Mac user so I can't say anything definitively about software there. However boot camp basically turns the Mac into a Windows machine. Running software in a VM is far more complex than just rebooting into Windows so this would likely require experimentation or a phone call with the software vendor.In any event I have to urge you to consider Linux!!!! Depending upon the Gui & desktop manager chosen you get the ease of use of a Mac, on hardware that is much cheaper. Plus you will have all sorts of ports to work with. Nerd to connect a USB based logic analyzer, no problem. Well connection wise there is no issue but you do need to consider if software exists. Thankfully the same tech minded engineers that do Linux are also the same type of engineer that does hardware. So hardware support for a lot of electronics is even better in Linux vs the Mac.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2020, 03:19:56 pm
content: There's a Mac version of the Waveforms software for the Analog Discovery 2. I don't know anything about it. I am using the Windows and Linux versions and they work well.https://store.digilentinc.com/waveforms-download-only/You can install the software and play with the demos without actually having to buy the AD2.