Handheld Oscilloscopes - Are they worth it??

@zeferby

I can only echo what @triform and @robo-pi have said, that you must be aware of this piece of equipment's limitations.

You can get a pretty cheap square, sine, triangle wave 1Hz to 1MHz generator for about €10 from China and have the fun of soldering it together. This should be fine for testing the limitations although at really high frequencies the waveforms produced by the generator can be slightly distorted.

I still think that you will quickly find that this oscilloscope is NOT enough and will end up in the back of a drawer somewhere, while you search for an entry-level oscilloscope, available from €250 new or less for second hand on eBay.

Thank you all for your explanations and warnings.  I'll try to keep my expectations under control ? !

For the moment I can't have a proper space for any kind of workbench so I have to rely on portable equipment anyway (there's a stack of cases-organizers in a corner of my room !) because my 3d-printer uses the only space that could be used...

I guess I'll first have to enjoy this mini DSO as I (try to ?) acquire more skills and then when I begin to be frustrated I'll have to kill a whole family of Piggy-banks  ? for better hardware !

Anyway I'll let you know of my experiences with the DS212 when I get it.

Posted by: @zeferby

I'll try to keep my expectations under control ? !

I don't think you'll be disappointed with this scope.  That can all depend on what you expect to use it for.

I bought the DSO-138. It only has bandwidth of 200Khz and is a single channel scope.  It's been serving me well for analyzing data signals, PWM, and other things.  It's at least as good as a logic probe. ?  Actually better.

Of course for only $15 it didn't come with a lot of expectations.   I was happy that it actually does what it says it will do.  In fact, I can say that for $15 I'm extremely pleased with it.

You jumped off the penthouse of a high-rise buying one for about $100 ? 

But you have more bandwidth, two channels, a USB connection to the computer, and it sounds like you have a ton of other data saving features.   If it does everything it says it will do you could become quite fond of the little guy.   Sounds like the only real limitation you're going to have is that you won't be able to analyze higher frequencies.  So how many times you find it incapable of analyzing the signals you want to look at will determine how happy or unhappy you are with it.

It looks like a really nice scope for the intended range.   If the only problems you have with it are signals over 1Mhz, you can't blame that on the scope.

I envy the two-channel input.  That's nice for comparing the timing of two signals.   That's one thing the DSO-138 can't do.  I have been thinking about buying a dual trace scope.  But I didn't want to cough up a whole  bill for it.   So for $15 I settled for the single trace.   I was even thinking of buying a second one for the second trace and seeing if I could find a way to link their triggers.   You'd still see the two signals in different scopes, but if you knew they were both being trigger by the same signal you could figure out the timing from that.  A complicated way of trying to save $70. ? 

I'm sure you'll enjoy what you have.  It's a darn sight better than a DMV or logic probe that's sure sure.

@zeferby

For the moment I can't have a proper space for any kind of workbench so I have to rely on portable equipment anyway (there's a stack of cases-organizers in a corner of my room !) because my 3d-printer uses the only space that could be used...

I too have a lack of space problem and my oscilloscope occupies the piece of my desk where a 3D printer should go, but I decided that for the time being and until my piggy bank fills up again I would go with the oscilloscope first. ? 

I am not quite sure what reaction I would get from my better half (wife) if I did get a 3D printer and would have to run it outside of my apartment if it gave off a pungent smell while printing.

I will be quite honest, I have not discovered anywhere near all the features that this oscilloscope offers and will probably never need another one. I was tempted to throw another €100 at this, for the four-channel version, but asked myself "How often do I need 4 channels?", "Not very often!" was my answer.

I know this may make some people drool, but it is not a Rohde & Schwarz, by any means!

I have to admit that I've been intrigued by all of these little "pocket scopes", although I'm not sure why as I already have a 4-channel scope that has more features than I'll ever need. 

I think a lot of these would be great for audio and other low-frequency work, but their bandwidth and lack of extra channels will somewhat limit their use for digital signals.  However, as a teaching tool, they would be great.

I saw a really cheap one on the Canadian Amazon yesterday, I'm almost tempted to add it to my weekly Amazon order.  But again, I'm not sure why I really want it, and I suspect after playing with it for a day it will end up in my test equipment box.  But for 40 Canadian dollars (about 30 US dollars) it really is a temptation!

Back in my younger days when I was a bench technician we always used either Hewlitt Packard or Textronix scopes, which I considered to be the "gold standard" back then.  In the early 90's one of my friends got a deal when Shell Oil finished a project in Calgary and sold off some of the surplus equipment. We each picked up a 40-MHz Hewlitt Packard dual-channel scope for a hundred bucks, all that was missing were the probes.  I used that scope almost every day. Looking at some of the pictures that others have posted here of older CRT-based scopes reminds me of that wonderful piece of test equipment.

I think as a learning tool or as a first scope these little units probably have a lot of merits, so I don't think it is a wasted effort to buy one. And when you do move up to a more capable scope you'll be in a better position to select the perfect one.

Bill

I just found another one on Amazon, twice the price of the "el cheapo" I mentioned earlier but that's still only 60 US dollars. 

This one has a 5-MHz bandwidth and a rechargeable battery. And it's a storage scope too!

Someone, PLEASE stop me from buying it! 

?

Bill

@dronebot-workshop

DON'T DO IT! Unless you intend to take the DroneBot Workshop on a World Tour!

I mentioned some pros and cons in my initial post!

There are much better things to spend CAN$60 on. How about Knippex wire strippers? ?

I also have loads of stuff I bought, played with for five minutes and have disappeared into a very deep drawer, never to see the light of day again!

Just out of interest, how many times a year do you actually use 4 channels?

Posted by: @pugwash

Just out of interest, how many times a year do you actually use 4 channels?

Great question - I actually can't remember the last time I used 4 channels (or even 3 channels). 

Posted by: @pugwash

DON'T DO IT! Unless you intend to take the DroneBot Workshop on a World Tour!

World Tour is very unlikely. I've become a homebody in my old age, hate leaving the house - in fact, I even order my groceries online now to avoid the weekly shopping trip! And, after having a job that required me to take at least four flights a week (I was on a first-name basis with the TSA agents in Honolulu at the time), I haven't set foot on a plane in almost a decade and have no intention of doing it any time soon.

Posted by: @pugwash

I mentioned some pros and cons in my initial post!

And all of them are valid ones too!

Thanks, Steve, I think the urge to add this one to my cart has subsided.

?

Bill

I just put this one in my shopping cart at Amazon!

Tektronix 200Mhz 4-Channel Professional Oscilloscope

Quick!

Someone talk me out of this before I click on "Checkout". ? 

@robo-pi

I think you should buy it...

Right after you find that one knob out of the dozen on the panel that lights up and says "heat the house"

@robo-pi

I don't believe you!

CAN$ 4400! Buy a new boiler first!

@dronebot-workshop

I've become a homebody in my old age, hate leaving the house - in fact, I even order my groceries online now to avoid the weekly shopping trip! And, after having a job that required me to take at least four flights a week (I was on a first-name basis with the TSA agents in Honolulu at the time), I haven't set foot on a plane in almost a decade and have no intention of doing it any time soon.

I fully understand as I spent most of my time from 1980 to 2010 living in hotels from Sydney to Toronto!

I don't mind getting out of my self made prison to go shopping once a week, but I don't want to spend another single evening getting blotto at a hotel bar out of sheer boredom.

Posted by: @pugwash

I don't believe you!

My bluff's been called
my ego's shred
my dreams of such equipment
upon arrival are quite dead

The only way I'll ever see
an oscilloscope like this
is in the dreams I have
of jobs I reminisce

Today I'm living off the grid
with dreams of high technology
a predicament I'm only in
due to pernicious psychology

I'll have to use a cheaper scope
to build my robots and A.I.
and pray that things go smoothly
like a children's lullaby

@Robo-Pi may be your name 

but pleading poverty is your game.

Now you admit I called your bluff

it is time get on with other stuff.

Having  found two antique scopes

you can turn your thoughts to other hopes.

Like getting that boiler built and done

Especially before the winter comes!

Posted by: @pugwash

Like getting that boiler built and done

I'm seriously worried about getting the boiler built and done in time.   It's a very long story as to why I started on it so late in the year.  Better left for a novel.

In the meantime today I'm up on the roof spreading tar over old tarps because the last couple days it rained all day and my kitchen got flooded out due to roof leaks. 

Yep, I'm in seriously bad shape here. ? 

But it's all my fault.  I take full responsibility and blame for my own predicament.   I spend on my money on robots and Jetson Nanos instead of on my home where I should be investing my cash. ? 

Also, even though I'm just getting by by the skin of my teeth, I still feel very fortunate overall.  I'm in a lot better shape than a lot of people.   At least I have a roof over my head, albeit a leaky one.   I feel bad for the homeless people living out on the street.  In comparison with them I'm living like a KING!

I don't take that for granted.  No sir reeeeeee!

I'm living like a KING, trust me on that one!

I have made some progress toward the boiler.  I'm guesstimating that I'll have it up and running in about two weeks time.  Hopefully.   I'll be very happy with that time frame if I can pull it off.