A good digital oscilloscope?

DA · 2009-12-06T19:45:24+00:00

Hi all, I think I'm going to try and treat myself to an oscilloscope thisChristmas. I've managed to go without one for the last 15 years or so and,frankly, did not have a burning need or even much space for it. I do somedigital design (PIC based mostly) - LED, motor controls and such andevery once in a while I wish I has something to look at the signal with. So, I've looked around and saw this name come up often: Rigol DS1102E100MHz Digital Storage Oscilloscope. There is also a 50MHz version whichis what I think I need. There has not been any need for me to look at100MHz signals in a long time. I am not at all proficient withoscilloscopes and have never used a digital one. Last one I used had around green screen :) which hints at how long ago that was... So flat(er)learning curve would be important for me. Are there people here using this brand? Are they any good for use indigital designs and, most importantly for me at this point, easy to learn?I guess, Rigol may not be the only ones making digital oscilloscopes thesedays. What other brands/models should I also look at?Thanks for your suggestions!------------------------------------- /_/((@v@))():::() VV-VV##-----------------------------------------------##Delivered via Enthusiasts' Community of the NetWeband RSS access to your favorite newsgroup - - 359995messages and counting!##-----------------------------------------------##

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Joerg 16 years ago

You were lucky with your automatics. I know numerous people who have either given up cars or paid north of $2k after the automatic transmission croaked. My old Audi (manual) is now beyond 200,000km and since the new owner and I are friends we talk a lot on the phone. The only things he ever mentioned was a repair after a motorcyclist took an illegal sidewalk ride and crashed into the front, plus after a frozen food truck backed into it. But no clutch job.

What I really don't like with automatics is when you get onto ice and they shift on you.

Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.

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Spehro Pefhany 16 years ago

Cost of the inevitable clutch job (once in only 200,000 km of driving for me) of about $600 IIRC (Acura Integra) exceeds the sum total of all automatic transmission repairs I've had done, and by a considerable factor (600:0) with probably approaching 1E6 km total mileage.

Hydraulic systems are extremely reliable, being all bathed in lubricant and all. C. has a CVT on her 'car'.. not bad mileage, but it does some odd things if you're used to ordinary automatic trannies.

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Spehro Pefhany 16 years ago

Denaturing can use different additives. Maybe it's illegal to poison people in Germany.

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Jon Kirwan 16 years ago

Missed this. I used to own a radium dial watch when a kid. I could quite literally read a scifi book in bed with it. It was that bright. I had to put it under something to cover it up if I wanted to sleep. Not exactly a flashlight, but it did provide a fair degree of light.

These days, the closer equivalent is a tritium dial. Half life of something like 19-20 years and fairly low energy electrons (40keV? something like that.) The work very much nice enough for me and I have one.

Jon

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Joerg 16 years ago

I have one as well, from Chase-Durer. But it isn't nearly as bright as the old watches.

Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.

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Jan Panteltje 16 years ago

On a sunny day (15 Dec 2009 21:10:28 GMT) it happened Robert Latest wrote in :

ftp://panteltje.com/pub/spiritus_img_1703.jpg I would not trust wikipedia anymore now that they filter on contributors,.

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Jan Panteltje 16 years ago

On a sunny day (Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:02:38 -0800) it happened Joerg wrote in :

mmm, ever tried a wet finger?

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Jon Kirwan 16 years ago

Right. Not nearly. Too bad. Hmm. Now where can I order myself up some refined radium, today? ;)

Jon

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Jim Thompson 16 years ago

[auto-snip]

Show me yours, then I'll show you mine ;-) ...Jim Thompson

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Martin Brown 16 years ago

The radioactivity is the source of the power generating the light.

Although the radium remains radioactive for centuries the level of damage it inflicts on the zinc sulphide phosphors used in the old luminous paint formulations mean that they are quite faint now.

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An old WWII era radium dial watch was hot enough to set off personal monitoring alarms in some nuclear sites.

Phosphor laden tubes with tritium in were used as emergency lights of last resort in the UK ca 1970's. Now there are tritiated plastics serving a similar purpose as emergency lights but at a lower activity level.

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Converting LCD digital watches with tritiated luminous fishing floats was popular when I was at university. The phosphor survives pretty well against 18.6keV electrons and just emits light.

Regards, Martin Brown

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krw 16 years ago

I think you'll find that denatured alcohol doesn't contain methanol in the US anymore either. It is supposed to be cut with something that the stomach can't tolerate, though.

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krw 16 years ago

The clutch linkage doesn't go through the computer.

But your starter switch was *on* the floor boards. ;-)

Cruel.

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krw 16 years ago

Holding one (either case) is different than stopping one.

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krw 16 years ago

I've *never* seen an auto that beat a manual. There were some anomalies in the EPA testing for some time, but the real numbers show otherwise. The difference is at least 5% (1MPG in 20), not that this matters much.

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krw 16 years ago

How about the initial $1000 (or more)?

Or you have issues with your feet and knees.

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krw 16 years ago

I junked my '93 Eagle Vision TSi because the transmission went. A new one was more like $6K and a rebuilt about half that.

I don't like automatics much either, but SWMBO MBO.

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miso 16 years ago

do?

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it

I was doing video dac design and was loaned a scope from HP. I can't recall the model since this was a long time ago. It had a 20ps rise time, which was impressive at the time. Anyway, the ADCs were not muxed. The salesman made a point of mentioning this. This scope was a PITA to use since it always had to be externally triggered. It was nice that it had a TDA built into it. Due to the speed, you could localize the impedance bump with great accuracy.

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John Larkin 16 years ago

They do charge, but that dies out pretty fast. Then the radium takes over to sustain the glow.

If you can get an old radium-dial watch or clock, take it into a very dark room and dark-adapt for 20 minutes of so, then look at it closely, maybe with a small magnifying glass. You will see that the glow is made up of individual flashes from individual alpha particles. Since the phosphors aren't very efficient, and the alpha energy is around 5 Mev, not many photons are entering your eye at each flash.

John

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