Hi,
>I'm looking to pick up a scope. It will be mostly for bench use, and will
>not be used heavily. It's really to help me out as I try to get back into
>doing some simple microcontroller and TTL projects in my garage... that type
>of thing.
OK, microcontrollers you'll need to look at 24 mhz or so squarewaves (clocks). Most data busses are around 10 mhz or below.
>Now, of course money is a factor. And although it looks like used analog
>scopes can be had for anywhere from say $75 - $300 or more, the digital
>scopes can be found on eBay for not too much more. I have to admit, the
>compact size of the Fluke Scopemeters is attractive. :)
You do have to watch out for the digital scopes. They are not the same kind of animal an analog scope is. One is that the sampling frequency and rate are critical for observing a waveform. One plus is that a digital scope has storage capabilities.
>So would something like an old Scopemeter 97 be a good choice? It's got
>decent bandwidth and such. Are these units reliable, and safe to buy used?
>Advice/experiences appreciated....
Single channel 10 mhz LCD type portable scope (velleman -10 model), 1 channel, 2 memories, no digital outputs. roughly 160 or so at
if you want to go digital, and you will be doing microprocessor stuff, you might want to check out an HP 1631D logic analyzer. 2 channel 50 mhz digital scope included. Be absolutely sure you get the pods and grabbers with it... can be had for roughly 200 to 400 depending on condition. 48 channel logic analyzer, btw....
Analog scopes... generally steer clear of Telequipment, quality varies, avoid T900 stuff. Tektronix is good, a 7000 series mainframe with plugins and readouts is good, 5000 series is lower cost and bandwidth, avoid -N series if you want on screen readouts.... Costs and capabilities vary, you will need a timebase and a vertical plugin at the least.
Digital I don't really know about, but they can be expensive as well..
Harvey
>thanks,
>Jonathan
>