Portable Oscilloscope

Seems the brightness needs to be turned all the way down when on the inverter.

Bret Cahill

Seems the brightness needs to be turned all the way down when on the inverter.

Bret Cahill

The output of that inverter is far from adequate for electronics equipment.

Tom

Not necessarily. I have used "power supplies from hell" when I had no choice. Older CRT oscilloscopes have a regular transformer-based power supply and they often aren't very happy with the "modified sine wave" from cheap converters. Tube voltages may be lower and you can't get proper focus, and there is always a risk something goes ... *PHUT*. But I never had it happen, just a little sub-par performance.

The same goes for fan motors. When the power fails and I use an inverter for our stove fans I have to crank the speed control much higher.

OK so you partially disagree that the inverter is inadaquate then go on to tell me how your use was less than satifactory.

My use of inverters with modified sine was sufficiently satisfactory. It made the equipment work, not perfectly but well enough, got the job done. What more could one want?

Being a bit facetious: If one were to arrive at a distant location for a repair only to find out that there's Philips screws but only a flat blade screwdriver in the tool box, would you recommend returning to base and saying "I couldn't do it because I had the wrong tool"?

Point taken, but do you realize that tool would be inadequate for the job? I guess it depends on how you define adequate and under what conditions. In a general sense one could say a straight screwdriver is inadequate for Phillips screws.

Best regards, Tom

But at some point you have to accept that you set out to drain the swamp.

Hard to say from a distance. If Bret was able to get his measurements done and the scope did not let off a puff of smoke my vote would go to "tool was adequate enough" :-)

I'd jam it in at an angle and try to get the screw to budge. Of course, my father (metallurgy engineer by degree) always pestered me "You electrical guys, you always have to approach every bolt with an adjustable pipe wrench, do ya?"

And then quit because you're incompetent. :(

I've seen CB antennas where the mount was a cheap knock-off Vise Grips literally welded to the antenna flange proper.

So apparently the answer would be, "yes." :-)