Cheap oscilloscope kit

Any scope is way better than no scope. Single channel, 200kHz is definitely $25 worth if it's that or no scope.

Any two-channel scope with XYZ capabilities is more than twice better than a single-channel scope with XYZ capabilities.

More channels are even better yet, but two channels plus an external trigger gets very useful.

And yes, four analog channels, 1GHz bandidth, yadda yadda, is better than that, even -- but while there may be a 2 and a 5 involved in the price, there'll be a whole lot of zeros, too.

And March is scope month at Keysight ;) Free scopes are even better, except for the taxes.

Cheers

I do not agree. Any tool should be fit for the task. This toy isn't.

w.

It might be. I have not looked at the $ 24 kit. There are some sound card programs that may work as a scope that is just as good.

Those $80 scope things that plug into a computer seem to be ok for what they are.

I got my first scope when I was about 13, 1973. I paid $5 for it at the local amateur radio club auction. AC coupled, no triggered sweep, bandwidth barely higher than audio. But it gave me a scope to play with, and learn some things about them. When I had access to a better one, I think it was a Tek 317, I gave the five dollar scope to a friend, who got it home on the bus. The thing weighed a "ton", though once you took the case off, it was so much lighter.

I suppose now $24 is about the same amount. Lots of people don't know what they would use a scope for, so starting really low gives them a hands on chance to get to know the scope, if nothing else it's cool to speak into a microphone and watch your voice deflect the trace. And this thing has to weigh a whole lot less. Once you play with it, presumably you get a feel, so when you look at something better, you have some knowledge and experience to make a path through there.

I have a 545 with some extra plugins, and I barely use it because it is way too big and heavy. But it was free.

Michael

Nah. There are functioning TDS 694Cs going for under a grand--3 GHz, 10 Gs/s simultaneously on 4 channels. (The cheap ones only trigger properly on two channels, but that's OK.)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs