Do I need an oscillosocope?

Thread Starter

Markza

Joined Oct 19, 2012
2
I'm new to the hobby and just wanted to know what test equipment I need for a test I'm trying to do. Basically I want to find the time difference between two inputs. I have a 12V air control valve and a 5V pressure sensor. I want to engage the air valve and find the time it takes for the pressure sensor to trigger a certain voltage, according to the manufacturer it should be under 15ms, basically from the time of engagement to the sensor detects it. Can the newer digital oscilloscopes take screenshots/freeze frames or calculate the time of two different input triggers? I only have about $400 to spend too.
 

ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
After just reading your question I wanted to say "yes." A good scope will allow you to literally see things you could only imagine. An analog scope excels in periodic signals, those that happen over and over. Digital scopes can capture a single event and display it forever. The latest scopes have huge memories to store several seconds of information thus allowing you to see things that happen *before* the trigger fires.

So yes, measuring a 15 mS interval is fallin' off a log simple for a digital scope. You may be able to see it on an analog scope too, but getting a precise measurement is troublesome.
 

BillO

Joined Nov 24, 2008
999
Just to add to Ernie's reply, you can easily buy something like a 100MHz dual-trace digital storage scope for your $400. If you have it to spend, and you plan to be involved in electronics has a hobby or as a vocation, you will not regret the expenditure.
 

Thread Starter

Markza

Joined Oct 19, 2012
2
I was thinking of getting the "Owon, SDS6062 60MHz 500MS/s 10Mpt 2-Ch Oscilloscope" plus it seems to have a lot of extras that I can use further down the road. Do you think this is a good oscilloscope for my current needs. I found it for $349 @ Saelig.com
 

BillO

Joined Nov 24, 2008
999
That Owon is based on the same internal hardware as dozens of scopes. There are many, many happy users around the world with such scopes and it's features and user-interface are pretty well standard, with only the firmware being much different from brand to brand. I'd say you can't go far wrong with it. I have a nearly identical 100MHz UNI-T scope that does what I needed a storage scope to do. It's not comparable to $5000 Tek, but then it did not cost $5000 either.
 

Austin Clark

Joined Dec 28, 2011
412
I was thinking of getting the "Owon, SDS6062 60MHz 500MS/s 10Mpt 2-Ch Oscilloscope" plus it seems to have a lot of extras that I can use further down the road. Do you think this is a good oscilloscope for my current needs. I found it for $349 @ Saelig.com
I recently purchased my first scope from that same site. I got the 1 GS/s, 100 MHz dual channel model. Definitely worth the money. I actually measured, somewhat roughly, the speed of light with it. It's pretty incredible. It's a good bet for you I think. It was for me.
 
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