Is this portable oscilloscope worth the $250 the seller is asking me? Apparently it was used by the U.S military and it also has components made of gold. The only reason I want it is because it's portable, but I'm not sure if its worth this amount. Are there similar portable oscilloscopes for less on the market?

 

Unless you have a great need for a limited-bandwith portable, it's probably not worth it. It's only good for 4 MHz, so audio is absolutely all it's good for. battery life is only fair, too. The military angle is probably bogus, and that gold is probably Kovar.

See if he will go for $25.

 

Yikes! Hehe, he was actually asking for $400 until I haggled and brough it down to $250. The only other one I saw on ebay was in Israel and they're selling it for $70, plus shipping which would probably exceed $200.

Anyhow, do you recommend any oscilloscope to me as a student? I have a limited budget ($100).

Thanks!

 

Send a PM to thakid87 - http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/showthread.php?t=40738

That is an impressive o'scope if he will part with it.

 

Yeah the only problem with devices like these are the huge shipping costs associated with their weight and all. I'll see if I can get a local one.
Thanks!

 

Look on the internet for brick and mortar stores. In my case, I found one about 12 miles away from me. They sold me a digitising HP oscilloscope (an original 1988 model HP 54501A, 100MHz, 10Ms/a, 2+2 channel) for £150... a bargain for its features. It was even cal'd in 2006 and all the original seals were intact. They had some cheaper analog ones for ~£70.

Since you're a student, see if you can ask your local university or college if they've got any surplus they can sell/give you.

Since you live in Canada, which by any reckoning is the 2nd largest country in the world you'll probably have to go a bit further than 12 miles, but you get my point...

For $100 (Canadian, I presume) you're not going to get too much, but you can find a new Rigol oscilloscope for ~US$300, which can be hacked to work at 100 MHz.

 

Ahh, sounds interesting! Thank you for the information tom66. I'll ask my university if they're willing to sell me one, if not, I'll just "borrow" it. Just joking!! Hehe!