Oscilloscope recommendation please?

Thread Starter

Fluxor1964

Joined Jun 11, 2015
182
I am currently using a BK Precision dual trace 30MHz scope which I am very pleased with, however I am playing with some very slow waveforms
and I am looking for a storage scope, I want to let the scope trace out say a 5 sec waveform such as the voltage on a charging capacitor
then be able to take some measurements on said waveform.....I have a budget of around $400 so any recommendations would be
welcome so I can go read some reviews and make a decision.

thanks

Neil.
 

Thread Starter

Fluxor1964

Joined Jun 11, 2015
182
I am currently looking at the owon range.....a 3 channel would be nice but I can get away with a 2 channel depending on price.

Neil.
 

spinnaker

Joined Oct 29, 2009
7,830
Cheap Rigol Chinese scopes are a great value.

PC based scopes suck.

+1 I ordered a Rigol DS1102E from Saelig and I am very happy with my purchase. The response time of the scope can be a bit slow but I am guessing this is typical for DSOs and it serves my purpose anyway.
 

Thread Starter

Fluxor1964

Joined Jun 11, 2015
182
I am going with Rigol instead of Owon but do I need the Rigol DS1052E or the Rigol DS1102E.....they seem about the same price but one is twice as fast as the other?

Neil.
 

spinnaker

Joined Oct 29, 2009
7,830
I am going with Rigol instead of Owon but do I need the Rigol DS1052E or the Rigol DS1102E.....they seem about the same price but one is twice as fast as the other?

Neil.

I would go with the DS1102E. I have one and so far it has suited all of my needs. The two are essentially the same scopes. You used to be able to hack the DS1052E and make it a DS1102E but I think that hole has been plugged.
 
If it is not too late I would like to recommend the Hantek DSO5202P scope. Rated at 200 MHz, 1Gs/s it is a nice scope for a price of about $320.00. The review of it online had it actually displaying a 220 MHz signal clearly before the 3 dB drop occured. It comes with some pretty decent probes and in the same review it appeared to be able to accept probe attachments from Tek scopes making it pretty versatile for the price. I personally can say that it was very easy and quick to setup and calibrate. I purchased mine from Circuit Specialists (not sure if we are allowed to mention actual vendor names so, if not, I apologize).
 

Thread Starter

Fluxor1964

Joined Jun 11, 2015
182
Sorry to resurrect this thread but I have just read where someone is saying that the rigol ds5502e has most of it's functions on a 35 day
limited time out and after 35 days you are asked to purchase that function which can cost hundreds of $$$....can anyone shine some
light on this please?

Neil.
 

EESCan

Joined Feb 6, 2017
3
You can buy the Rigol DS1054Z for $399. It is a great deal. I know you said you do not need 4 channels, but you don't have to use 4 if you don't want 4. Also, there is a way to "hack" the DS1054Z scope from 50 MHz up to 100 MHz, as well as enable all the optional add-ons.
 

Thread Starter

Fluxor1964

Joined Jun 11, 2015
182
Thanks EESCan but paying for features that I will never use doesn't make any sense to me at all.

I just checked the Rigol website and scoured youtube and I cant find any reference that I will need to pay for features
on the Rigol DS1052E so I think that guy that said that was mistaken and i'm going to go ahead and buy the Rigol DS1052E
unless someone can convince me I need a 7" display instead of a 5"?

Neil.
 

EESCan

Joined Feb 6, 2017
3
Thanks EESCan but paying for features that I will never use doesn't make any sense to me at all.

I just checked the Rigol website and scoured youtube and I cant find any reference that I will need to pay for features
on the Rigol DS1052E so I think that guy that said that was mistaken and i'm going to go ahead and buy the Rigol DS1052E
unless someone can convince me I need a 7" display instead of a 5"?

Neil.
You get a better scope with the DS1054Z. You should really reconsider. You can do a LOT more and grow into the scope. A bigger screen is always a plus on oscilloscopes too.
Like really, go google it. Nearly nobody would tell you to get the 1052E when you can get the 1054Z.
 

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,218
Cheap Rigol Chinese scopes are a great value.

PC based scopes suck.
Don't rule out PC based scopes just yet... they've been making improvements in the last few years, and are cheaper than stand-alones. Plus their software allows you to perform some pretty interesting tricks.

I own a Hantek DSO 2250 scope and I'm quite pleased with it. It can very easily read the 20 KHz waveform that you want to read.
 

spinnaker

Joined Oct 29, 2009
7,830
Thanks EESCan but paying for features that I will never use doesn't make any sense to me at all.

I just checked the Rigol website and scoured youtube and I cant find any reference that I will need to pay for features
on the Rigol DS1052E so I think that guy that said that was mistaken and i'm going to go ahead and buy the Rigol DS1052E
unless someone can convince me I need a 7" display instead of a 5"?

Neil.

For the extra $70 I would just go with the 1102e. Yeah you can hack the DS1052E but why risk it?

This series has no features that get disabled that I know of.
 

Sensacell

Joined Jun 19, 2012
3,432
Don't rule out PC based scopes just yet... they've been making improvements in the last few years, and are cheaper than stand-alones. Plus their software allows you to perform some pretty interesting tricks.

I own a Hantek DSO 2250 scope and I'm quite pleased with it. It can very easily read the 20 KHz waveform that you want to read.
My reasons for hating them are not related to features of functions, it's all about the work-flow.
There is always that moment when you have to trouble-shoot something and it's not in a convenient place, and you have to move all that stuff and get it setup and... arrrghhhh!
 
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