PC occiliscopes

[Tage]

Just wanted to get some input on what people are using for PC based occiliscopes and interfaces. I have used Picoscope stuff at work, that is as a mechanic but I have been checking out some of their standard scopes and they seem to have some decent 2 channel ones.

Compact, Entry-Level PicoScope Oscilloscopes from Pico

Well let me know what you think, or what you are using...

[Alan0354]

Nice, how much are they. I want one about100MHz or 200MHz sampling rate. I have plenty of old but working laptops. I have a Tek 465 old work horse. But it is big and heavy. My wife only allow me to have the dent in my house to work and only have a small table. real estate on the table is a premium. I can stand the laptop vertical with a small stand!!!

[Tage]

They get pricy, but i noticed they have a max input voltage of +/-20V, not so good for a tube amp.

I'm sure someone knows of good software/interfaces for PC laptop scoping...

Anybody?

[Alan0354]

They get pricy, but i noticed they have a max input voltage of +/-20V, not so good for a tube amp.

I'm sure someone knows of good software/interfaces for PC laptop scoping...

Anybody?

Nah, that would be totally out of the question.

[Enzo]

I am old and set in my ways, I have a computer here with schematics on it, and a scope above the bench. WOuld you be using the same pc for both scope and schematics? Have you considered having to switch back and forth between them on the same screen? And I looked at the prices in your link. heck, a pretty good real analog scope can be purchased for that money.

And as for space, you can operate a regular scope sitting on the floor facing straight up. Set it next to your knee. As you probe on the bench in front of you, you need only glance down beside you to watch the scope. Needs no bench space at all, and is stored under the bench when not in use. Wife happy.

[Alan0354]

Ha, never though of putting it on the floor!!!! I am more than happy with my 465 as long as it works!!! That's what a wife's for............giving you the smallest.....smallest room in the house..........a storage room at that...........fits a 3'X3' table........................

[nashvillebill]

Sometimes I get distracted or just plain screw up and do stupid stuff, like putting a scope probe on 500V B+ when I intended to put it on something else.

I would get kinda leery about accidentally hitting a PC input with 500 volts. A scope on the other hand is a little more tolerant of my mistakes. (Let's see, my used scope cost me $40. My PC was...much more $)

[Tage]

alright then lets get some suggestions on bench scopes that people like.

[Enzo]

A couple thoughts...

While it is not a guarantee of safety, when you use a 10x probe on your scope it cuts the voltage the scope sees by a factor of 10, so a 200v circuit node presents 20v to the scope. And yes, they also make 100X probes. You really do want your scope to be able for its probe to touch anything in your circuit for exactly the reason Bill mentions.


We have had several discussions on buying scopes in the Music Electronics section, you might scan the back files for those.

Since you mentioned entry level in your OP, I assume you have not a lot of experience. The simple fact is that guitar amps are not very demanding of a scope. They have limited high end response, and even so, even the Lowest bandwidth scopes have WAY more than an audio amp needs. I can;t recall seeing one within the last 40 years with less that 500kHz bandwidth - half a megahertz. Just about any scope will work.

I want a few things. I want triggered sweep. ALmost all of them are anyway, but even non-triggerd sweep - "recurrent sweep" - will show you your waveforms. It just will want to wander around the screen. Triggered sweep results in a more steady picture. I like two channels, but I like that for convenience, I rarely actually get both channels going on a repair at the same time. One of my channels is dedicated to my speaker/load panel. I can unplug it and use it elsewhere, but rarely do. SO an old single channel scope will get you where you want to be most times. But modern scopes? I can't recall the last single channel one I saw. Bench scope anyway.

You might find some odd brand scope at a ham fest or something and pick it up for next to nothing. Might not be a brand we think of here, but doesnlt mean it won't serve you. My opinion is get a good basic scope and learn what using one is all about. Then with that experience, at some future point when you need more capabilities, you will then know what you want to look for in a scope.

Certainly plenty of good used scopes, and those old teks can be great scopes. But do check it out before buying. Some might be great, others may have super noisy intermittant controls - avoid those. I bought a cheap Tenma scope from MCM to try. It works just fine. I had an ancient B&K model something or other I used for 25 years or more.

[Enzo]

Here are some:

http://music-electronics-forum.com/t3186/

http://music-electronics-forum.com/t7935/

[Tage]

Thanks for the feedback and info Enzo. I have been using scopes on vehicle for the past 5 years, but never for audio purposes and I really want to get one for troubleshooting amp builds. I'm gonna keep an eye on kijiji and ebay for a decent used one.