O-Scope and Sig Gen

[bryankloos]

Hey Fellas,

What are you running for oscilloscopes and signal generators.
I sold my Tek 465 many years ago, and I'm getting back into the hobby.
Maybe 2-4 channels at 200MHz, though this may be overkill.

I see the digitals have come down in price when I last looked at them 10 years ago.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Bryan

[SoulFetish]

I bought a Siglent SDS2202X-E last spring. (200 MHz•2+EXT•2 GSa/s.) for something around.. $580 or so shipped. comes with two 1x/10x probes and accessories.

As an aside, I didn't even realize that they included the probe tip to BNC adapter, but I can't stress how useful and convenient it is to have a compensated BNC to BNC connection from a load box to the scope for accurate attenuation and measurements. I just noticed it in the little zip lock bag of assorted accessories a week and a half ago (better late than never, I guess)

Anyways, I love the scope. It has very good screen resolution for the price range. I love the Tek 465, personally. But I had 2 of them, and they both got to where they needed repair. I was going to repair them, but when thinking about the project, I got to the point where I realized that I need my scopes to help me repair other projects and not be the project. 465s are great and worth repairing, but not if it is supposed to be your primary scope (IMO).

[xtian]

My Hantek DSO5072P had made me very happy--it's at the low cost end of the DSO range. Perfectly good for amp work.

I use a $30 signal generator for sine waves from eBay.

[neskor]

For me best buy is Rigol DS1054Z
with a quick software mod you can unlock 100MHz option
and for the SG you can try this one:
UNI-T Adjustable Dual-channel 200MS/s Signal Generator 14bits High Precision Digital Meter 30MHz/60MHz UTG932E / UTG962E

[imjonwain]

I second the Rigol DS1054Z. I have one and with the unlocked features it's great bang for your buck. 4 channels for < $350.

Function/Sig generator doesn't so much matter. You can get a pretty decent older benchtop model on ebay for $50 or less. I have a wavetek one and a small diy 1khz sine generator I made myself based off the one on Merlin's site.

You could also get a Digilient analog discovery 2 which requires a PC to use but is a great multipurpose electronics tool. 2 channel scope, function generator, Spectrum Analyzer, and more all in one. I find myself using this a lot because of the size and convenience.


I have an old Tek TAS485 that I like but hardly ever use anymore due to the size and convenience of the Rigol + Digilient.

[TUBEDUDE]

I got a Rigol DS1054Z about 5 years ago and unlocked it for the extra bandwidth. Good scope, cheap probes, $349 great deal.
I have an old surplus AN/URM-120 sine generator, just like the one I used in the Army in the '70's. I also use a free generator app (Tone Generator Pro). It has programmable sweep functions, noise and multitone functions for distortion measurements, a custom waveform programmer etc. Handy. I take the output from my phones headphone jack, with a 1/8" to 1/4" cable to the amp input.

[bryankloos]

Sounds like the Rigol DS1054Z is a good contender...
What's involved in the unlock/upgrade?

Again, this will be for basic work on guitar amps and hifi amps... Nothing too technical.
I haven't used a scope in ages, so a relatively easy learning curve would be helpful.

I'll read up and see what I can learn.

Any other options out there worth looking at?

BK

[TUBEDUDE]

You punch in a code. Instructions are on the net. You won't need the expanded range if you aren't doing any R.F. work though.

[Phil_S]

Any other options out there worth looking at?

Others may disagree with me on this, including you. I suggest government or school surplus is a good place to find a used scope cheap. Also, eBay, at $100 and under, including shipping. You only need 20MHz for guitar amp work, so there are lots of choices in used equipment, if you can locate it. I can understand not wanting to spend the time looking or the hassle factor. Something shiney and new has its attraction. There are viable choices for a new one in the $250-$350 range. Given the price of a new one, my general sense is that I wouldn't spend more than $100 for a used one.

[xtian]

Any other options out there worth looking at?

Others may disagree with me on this, including you. I suggest government or school surplus is a good place to find a used scope cheap. Also, eBay, at $100 and under, including shipping. You only need 20MHz for guitar amp work, so there are lots of choices in used equipment, if you can locate it. I can understand not wanting to spend the time looking or the hassle factor. Something shiney and new has its attraction. There are viable choices for a new one in the $250-$350 range. Given the price of a new one, my general sense is that I wouldn't spend more than $100 for a used one.

For me, the weight is an important issue. Like. 25# for a vintage scope, versus 2# for a DSO. And I have no need for 4 channels, the $250 DSO models are great for amp work.

[bryankloos]

That's part of the reason I moved on from the old TEK... Too heavy, too big, and it was starting to really show its age. My friend was happy with it as a gift and I got some good karma.
I'm fine with a 2 channel 100MH unit, which is what I will focus on going forward, though the DS1054Z with its 4 looks like a good deal.

Does the DS1054Z come with everything I will need out of the box? Probes, connectors, etc?

Seems this may be the way to go.

[Phil_S]

I can understand the weight thing. The 25 pounders also take up a lot of space. You can't just slip it in a drawer when you're not using it.
Here are a few in the mid/upper $200 range. These are just for example; I'm not promoting this vendor, though I'm reasonably sure they are OK.
https://www.tequipment.net/Instek/GDS-1 ... es/?v=7401
https://www.tequipment.net/Siglent/SDS1 ... es/?v=7401
https://www.tequipment.net/RigolDS1052E.html?v=7401

[Andy Le Blanc]

Tektronix 2232

HP 202A

Love the old boat anchor HP, gonna have to service the old thing eventually, sin/square/triangle and it's a low freq osc going up to about 1.5 k cycle,
puts out enough juice 25 to 50 hz to test speaker resonance.

Any basic oscillograph will do for simple tube circuits, good number of typical scope traces in old text books of TV and Radio service manuals, even modulation and rf/if distortion, dual trace is real convenient.

Watch out for old CRT's in old scopes if your out scrounging, old scopes can be a gold mine for parts, but high vacuum can be dangerous.

[TUBEDUDE]

And high voltage can still be present on the aquedag (the coating on the CRT). Treat it like a big charged capacitor.

[bryankloos]

Hey Fellas,

What do you think of this for sig gen:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0721 ... UTF8&psc=1

Thanks,

Bryan