Good to hear you made a choice. You will not be disappointed.
If you have any questions about using your new oscilloscope do not be afraid to ask.

 

Well, if you have the money, why not buy a good digital oscilloscope?
It will be possible to track complex signals that cannot be done with cheap analog oscilloscopes.

 

It will be possible to track complex signals that cannot be done with cheap analog oscilloscopes.

I wonder how engineers managed to get by for decades with those analog scopes. It's not the tool, it's how you use it.

 

I wonder how engineers managed to get by for decades with those analog scopes. It's not the tool, it's how you use it.

They had nothing better.
Good luck finding a serious EE today not using a DSO.

 

They had nothing better.
Good luck finding a serious EE today not using a DSO.

My Analogue scope is far superior to my digital... Its an analogue with digital storage.. It too has served me well... I only use it now and again, mainly with canbus coms Some reason it displays better and I can get more control.... I suppose I'm very used to it..

 

Good luck finding a serious EE today not using a DSO.

I have several digital scopes, albeit old, and still prefer analog.

This is almost 10 years old, but Jim Williams was a fan of Tek analog scopes:
http://readingjimwilliams.blogspot.com/2012/02/vintage-scopes-are-better-part-1.html
https://readingjimwilliams.blogspot.com/2012/02/vintage-scopes-are-better-part-2.html

 

Hello,

I still have an old tektronix 454A:
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/454
It is an 150 MHz analog scope.

Bertus

 

At my bench, I have a Tektronix 7704A (200Mhz) with 4 channels (2 7A26 vertical amplifiers) on a cart. Apparently this mainframe was one Jim Williams' favorites. I started using them in college and liked their flexibility (16 channel logic analyzer, frequency counter, curve tracer, multimeter, digital scope plug-in, spectrum analyzer, TDR, ...) so it was the first scope I purchased.

I usually use the logic analyzer with the 7603 because it has one of the largest screen sizes.

 

One gets the impression that the top starter made a mistake by investing in a digital oscilloscope.
Naturally, not all analog oscilloscopes are the same, but their time is running out.

 

Good to hear you made a choice. You will not be disappointed.
If you have any questions about using you new oscilloscope do not be afraid to ask.

^This. You'll love having a scope.

 

One gets the impression that the top starter made a mistake by investing in a digital oscilloscope.
Naturally, not all analog oscilloscopes are the same, but their time is running out.

Yep early DSO's are no representation of the current marketplace offerings.
After IIRC the 6 or 8 CRO's through my hands I'd never go back to one.

The OP's selection of SDS1202X-E is a fine choice for the newbie or those venturing into DSO's for the first time.

 

Yep early DSO's are no representation of the current marketplace offerings.
After IIRC the 6 or 8 CRO's through my hands I'd never go back to one.

The OP's selection of SDS1202X-E is a fine choice for the newbie or those venturing into DSO's for the first time.

It's a very nice beginners scope with nice decoder options.

 

Reports from several sources found the top end ~30MHz but it does have some nice features including an interactive touch screen. There are plenty of good used scopes out there. With the scope, you are going to want a Signal Generator and a Linear Power Supply.

Here's one source, but they never came to a consensus on the bandwidth of this oscilloscope.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fnirsi-1013d-100mhz-tablet-oscilloscope/

 

Here's one source, but they never came to a consensus on the bandwidth of this oscilloscope.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fnirsi-1013d-100mhz-tablet-oscilloscope/

Bandwidth of that thing would be fine for many however the max sensitivity is shit when you consider a SDS1202X-E is 2 orders of magnitude more sensitive. Connect a 10x probe to it and it's meager capabilities become very apparent.

 

Yes, there are pros and cons. I know one specialist who has been repairing televisions for 40 years. He still uses an oscilloscope with a 5 MHz bandwidth. He just got used to it and does not want anything more modern.
In many cases, the frequency of 100 MHz is not required, 25 MHz is enough, but it all depends on the specific situation.

 

Yes, there are pros and cons. I know one specialist who has been repairing televisions for 40 years. He still uses an oscilloscope with a 5 MHz bandwidth. He just got used to it and does not want anything more modern.
In many cases, the frequency of 100 MHz is not required, 25 MHz is enough, but it all depends on the specific situation.

100% agree. Problem is because some of these things are so cheap ppl recommend them for first scopes when soon you find that their specs aren't up to your tasks.
Sensitivity is plainly listed in the datasheet and for me it's an immediate fail as it's not sufficient to even check for ripple on a power rail.

 

consensus on the bandwidth of this oscilloscope.

You have to be careful because it's not only the scope but also the probe. Keysight gives a formula of:
System Bandwith = 1/√1/Scope BW^2 + 1/Probe BW^2

Which means that on a 100MHz scope w/ 100MHz probes the System BW is only ~70MHz
Increasing the probe to 200MHz gives ~90MHz
FWIW

 

You have to be careful because it's not only the scope but also the probe. Keysight gives a formula of:
System Bandwith = 1/√1/Scope BW^2 + 1/Probe BW^2

Which means that on a 100MHz scope w/ 100MHz probes the System BW is only ~70MHz
Increasing the probe to 200MHz gives ~90MHz
FWIW

Yes but we should never assess a scopes BW with a probe connected but instead use a BNC cable from a signal source.
Then in 1x input mode we are not constrained by a probes often poor 1x BW and also not properly terminating what's usually a 50 ohm signal source.

 

And there are poor cables just like poor probes and it's not always possible to connect to the DUT with a BNC cable... Just be aware of the possible limitations.

 

And there are poor cables just like poor probes and it's not always possible to connect to the DUT with a BNC cable... Just be aware of the possible limitations.

Quite, yet if we are to accurately assess a scopes BW we need a leveled source to accurately find the -3dB point.
Therefore signals from the average hobbyists shop can at best only give us a rough idea.

A new series of DSO's to me had me check the 100 MHz model with 3, yes 3 signal sources to confirm what I saw wasn't BS.
BTW it proved to be ~185 MHz for a 100 MHz rated DSO which IME was outstanding.