What 'scope to buy

Thread Starter

PsySc0rpi0n

Joined Mar 4, 2014
1,755
Hi everyone...

I'm going to need a 'scope soon and I need to decide myself for a good purchase (good quality/price ratio).

I have 4 'scopes in mind. 2 are 4 channel and the other 2 are the same models but 2 channels.

Teledyne Lecroy WaveAce 2014 (100Mhz, 4ch)
Link

Teledyne Lecroy WaveAce 2012 (100Mhz, 2ch)
Link

B&K Precision 2542B (100Mhz, 2ch)
Link

B&K Precision 2554 (100Mhz, 4ch)
Link

Can anyone give a help... Pros and cons????
 

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
Hi everyone...

I'm going to need a 'scope soon and I need to decide myself for a good purchase (good quality/price ratio).

I have 4 'scopes in mind. 2 are 4 channel and the other 2 are the same models but 2 channels.

Teledyne Lecroy WaveAce 2014 (100Mhz, 4ch)
Link

Teledyne Lecroy WaveAce 2012 (100Mhz, 2ch)
Link

B&K Precision 2542B (100Mhz, 2ch)
Link

B&K Precision 2554 (100Mhz, 4ch)
Link

Can anyone give a help... Pros and cons????
You can pick up a Hitachi V-1565 for about $75 to 100 on eBay. 100MHz, cursors for voltage & wave period and has frequency display. Lightweight and rugged at the same time.
 

Thread Starter

PsySc0rpi0n

Joined Mar 4, 2014
1,755
I 'm on it!

You can pick up a Hitachi V-1565 for about $75 to 100 on eBay. 100MHz, cursors for voltage & wave period and has frequency display. Lightweight and rugged at the same time.
I want something to work with in the feature. Don't need a portable stuff and I want some reliability.
I have posted 4 options but still no opinions about them.

I'll see those Rigols... Why those Rigols are so cheap compared to those I've posted?
 

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
I want something to work with in the feature. Don't need a portable stuff and I want some reliability.
I have posted 4 options but still no opinions about them.
Because they are kind of obscure scope models. Look at the specs, they are all fine. If you have specific needs, look at the specs that you linked. What do you need out of them that the specs do not list? You need to describe your needs better than, "Can anyone give a help... Pros and cons????"

They all last a long time, they all display the wave up to the specified bandwidth, they all have a screen and knobs.

Do you have a specific question or do you just need someone to hold your hand to click "buy" with you?
 

Roderick Young

Joined Feb 22, 2015
408
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the scopes listed. All I have is a Hantek 6022BE, which has massive limitations, but is 1/10 the price of scopes in the class you list.

In general, B&K is a bargain brand, but they've been around for quite a long time. We never used their oscilloscopes at work for serious design (we used Agilent, rare occasions Tektronix). The specs look all right, though. They may be targeting the educational market, where performance is not as great a concern as price.

We did use LeCroy equipment at work, but not scopes. We used their PCI analyzers. High quality, no complaints. But I wasn't spending my own money.

Any modern scope is going to be digital. It's true that you can get an older analog scope for a song, but consider carefully what you plan to use the scope for. If you're always going to be probing repetitive waveforms, you will get a lot more bandwidth per dollar buying an analog scope. But besides lack of portability, analog scopes have one Achille's heel: taking a trace of a one-shot operation. All digital scopes are intrinsically storage scopes. If you have a 10 uS impulse that occurs only once every 10 seconds, and you want to study the ringing on it, you'll really want a digital scope. While it is true that there were analog storage scopes, those would still be a nuisance to use compared to digital.
 

alfacliff

Joined Dec 13, 2013
2,458
I just have a tecktronix 7633, dual beam 100 mhz storeage scope. with two 4 trace inputs. if your serious about electronics, get the best scope you can afford, it will probably be not enough in the future, but when you need a scope, junk wont do.
 

tindel

Joined Sep 16, 2012
936
I recently picked up a 200MHz Tek 475 from craigslist for $100 - it's pretty much in cal, and doesn't have any aliasing. My cellphone and brain can do math to calculate frequency.
 

Thread Starter

PsySc0rpi0n

Joined Mar 4, 2014
1,755
There are expensive Rigol's too. I am buying that suite me and budget.
Yes, I know but I meant in the same range, like 100MHz and 2/4 channels...

See this example:
Rigol MSO1104Z-S
It costs $1230 (1110€) with VAT but w/o shippment costs and those I posted are all about $1400 plus!!!

Because they are kind of obscure scope models. Look at the specs, they are all fine. If you have specific needs, look at the specs that you linked. What do you need out of them that the specs do not list? You need to describe your needs better than, "Can anyone give a help... Pros and cons????"
They all last a long time, they all display the wave up to the specified bandwidth, they all have a screen and knobs.
Do you have a specific question or do you just need someone to hold your hand to click "buy" with you?
I don't understand your answer. You say they are obscure but then you say all specs looks fine?
And for now, I have no specific needs but at the end of my graduation, which will be in the Electronics and Telecommns area, that will be the specific need.
I don't need nobody's hand,the least your's, to buy whatever I need!


Disclaimer: I don't own any of the scopes listed. All I have is a Hantek 6022BE, which has massive limitations, but is 1/10 the price of scopes in the class you list.

In general, B&K is a bargain brand, but they've been around for quite a long time. We never used their oscilloscopes at work for serious design (we used Agilent, rare occasions Tektronix). The specs look all right, though. They may be targeting the educational market, where performance is not as great a concern as price.

We did use LeCroy equipment at work, but not scopes. We used their PCI analyzers. High quality, no complaints. But I wasn't spending my own money.

Any modern scope is going to be digital. It's true that you can get an older analog scope for a song, but consider carefully what you plan to use the scope for. If you're always going to be probing repetitive waveforms, you will get a lot more bandwidth per dollar buying an analog scope. But besides lack of portability, analog scopes have one Achille's heel: taking a trace of a one-shot operation. All digital scopes are intrinsically storage scopes. If you have a 10 uS impulse that occurs only once every 10 seconds, and you want to study the ringing on it, you'll really want a digital scope. While it is true that there were analog storage scopes, those would still be a nuisance to use compared to digital.
Thanks for your thoughts.

I thought B&K Precision was a maybe even better than Teledyne Lecroy.
I know Tektronix is good, but also out of my budget!

I just have a tecktronix 7633, dual beam 100 mhz storeage scope. with two 4 trace inputs. if your serious about electronics, get the best scope you can afford, it will probably be not enough in the future, but when you need a scope, junk wont do.
That's the point... I don't want to buy something cheap just because I have no specific needs for now. I don't have now, but I might have in a near future! So, if I can buy the best I can now, I know that probably it will suit all my needs in the future because I also know I won't need anything of cutting edge technology in my future (15k plus...)!

I recently picked up a 200MHz Tek 475 from craigslist for $100 - it's pretty much in cal, and doesn't have any aliasing. My cellphone and brain can do math to calculate frequency.
What's a craigslist?
 
Last edited:

Roderick Young

Joined Feb 22, 2015
408
One other thought. If you don't have a need for a scope right now, maybe wait? The price will generally not go up if you wait. In fact, you'll probably get more features for your money, the longer you wait. Also, if you get a job in electronics, you might be able to take your projects into work, and use their equipment there.
 

Thread Starter

PsySc0rpi0n

Joined Mar 4, 2014
1,755
One other thought. If you don't have a need for a scope right now, maybe wait? The price will generally not go up if you wait. In fact, you'll probably get more features for your money, the longer you wait. Also, if you get a job in electronics, you might be able to take your projects into work, and use their equipment there.
Well, but if I wait, new features will come and new price drops also will come and so on... That will be a vicious cycle, if you know what I mean.

I need a scope. That is a point...
Then, I want to try to make the smartest buy I can possibly do. How? Combining my needs (which are small by now, but will get eventually bigger), the best of features (for now and for the feature) I can get from the budget I have available which is around $1500 (somewhere around 1300€).
 

PeterCoxSmith

Joined Feb 23, 2015
148
Hi everyone...

I'm going to need a 'scope soon and I need to decide myself for a good purchase (good quality/price ratio).

I have 4 'scopes in mind. 2 are 4 channel and the other 2 are the same models but 2 channels.

Teledyne Lecroy WaveAce 2014 (100Mhz, 4ch)
Link

Teledyne Lecroy WaveAce 2012 (100Mhz, 2ch)
Link

B&K Precision 2542B (100Mhz, 2ch)
Link

B&K Precision 2554 (100Mhz, 4ch)
Link

Can anyone give a help... Pros and cons????
Both Scopes look okay, I've used a LeCroy and it was excellent.

Often with a scope it is how it feels in use that makes the difference, you should try before you buy especially if you are going for a new one.

Neither of these scopes have independent non-earthed channels. Isolated channels are a great boon, that is what I have in a Pico-scope that I use with a PC. Tektronix do isolated channel scopes too. It means you can put a probe on any part of a circuit without connecting it to a common earth. Very handy with wireless sensors, power circuits etc.

Peter
 

Thread Starter

PsySc0rpi0n

Joined Mar 4, 2014
1,755
Both Scopes look okay, I've used a LeCroy and it was excellent.

Often with a scope it is how it feels in use that makes the difference, you should try before you buy especially if you are going for a new one.

Neither of these scopes have independent non-earthed channels. Isolated channels are a great boon, that is what I have in a Pico-scope that I use with a PC. Tektronix do isolated channel scopes too. It means you can put a probe on any part of a circuit without connecting it to a common earth. Very handy with wireless sensors, power circuits etc.

Peter
That is an interesting point... Can you tell me the feature (the saying) that tells us if the scope has independent non-earthed channels so that I can look for a scope with that feature???
 

PeterCoxSmith

Joined Feb 23, 2015
148
That is an interesting point... Can you tell me the feature (the saying) that tells us if the scope has independent non-earthed channels so that I can look for a scope with that feature???
they may be refereed to as floating channels or differential channels or high common mode channels or isolate channels...eg. Tektronics TPS2000 series.
 

Thread Starter

PsySc0rpi0n

Joined Mar 4, 2014
1,755
they may be refereed to as floating channels or differential channels or high common mode channels or isolate channels...eg. Tektronics TPS2000 series.
Tektronix is way out of my budget... I need to keep under $1500 (1300€). I'm trying to keep my search to 100MHz and 2 or 4 channels. Can you help me to find any scope with these 3 features? Those two I said an that one you talked about?
 

PeterCoxSmith

Joined Feb 23, 2015
148
Tektronix is way out of my budget... I need to keep under $1500 (1300€). I'm trying to keep my search to 100MHz and 2 or 4 channels. Can you help me to find any scope with these 3 features? Those two I said an that one you talked about?
Tek is too dear new but these scope have been around for a while now so you might search for an old one up for sale. Pico-scope is cheaper but watch out for the bandwidth, mine is 5Mhz on the analog channels - fine for power circuits and analog sensors.
 

Thread Starter

PsySc0rpi0n

Joined Mar 4, 2014
1,755
Tek is too dear new but these scope have been around for a while now so you might search for an old one up for sale. Pico-scope is cheaper but watch out for the bandwidth, mine is 5Mhz on the analog channels - fine for power circuits and analog sensors.
I would like to find a new scope. Not an used one!
Would you help me to find a few options for my budget limit and with those 3 features?
 

atferrari

Joined Jan 6, 2004
4,764
Hola Scorpie,

I am just a hobbyist. I faced a similar doubt some 2 years ago.

As with most things in life except girls and maybe very few others, actual election is made simply by discarding options (with the added benefit that you always can explain why your choice was not the best. ;) )

Discard first by price based on how much you could afford, then good references (or bad ones if available), then what you actually need (or you believe that you need) and I am sure you will be left with little more to decide. At the end of the day, it always works like that.

After buying my 100 MHz Owon in about two or three weeks I had taught my micro to understand PS2 protocol. I was happy with that.

Lecroy, Tektronix, Owon. There you have it.

Do not be too hard with GopherT. He is a young guy still starting in all this with just few tens of years experience. :p :D :p
 

Thread Starter

PsySc0rpi0n

Joined Mar 4, 2014
1,755
Hola Scorpie,

I am just a hobbyist. I faced a similar doubt some 2 years ago.

As with most things in life except girls and maybe very few others, actual election is made simply by discarding options (with the added benefit that you always can explain why your choice was not the best. ;) )

Discard first by price based on how much you could afford, then good references (or bad ones if available), then what you actually need (or you believe that you need) and I am sure you will be left with little more to decide. At the end of the day, it always works like that.

After buying my 100 MHz Owon in about two or three weeks I had taught my micro to understand PS2 protocol. I was happy with that.

Lecroy, Tektronix, Owon. There you have it.
Ok, the base budget is settled... Around $1500 (1300€)
The good references I have, after the base budget is settled, are Lecroy, B&K Precision (looks like this one is lower than the others), Rigol.
Afer this, the area I'm interested in is Electronics and Telecomms. I don't know what features should I consider most important for this area, but looks like that one that Mr. PeterCoxSmith said is a point to consider.

Do not be too hard with GopherT. He is a young guy still starting in all this with just few tens of years experience. :p :D :p
Well, tens of years of experience should work the other way around. Matureness and and wise answers. "hold your hand and click buy" doesn't look like a wise or helpful answer anywhere.
If you want to see tens of years of experience and still giving wise answers and providing helpful and successful answers, check my conversations with Sir Mr. king, whatever you ant to call him, EricGibbs... And you won't find answers like that in his posts or wont find any replies from me being hard on anyone if anyone come hard (or funny) on me! :)
Further, If I'm asking for help, is because I don't know exactly what I need. So, questions like:
"What features you need" or "find the scope that suits your needs" wont help me much!
 
Top