Oscilloscope identification and evaluation?

[Pexy]

Greetings!
I'm still hunting down my first scope. I came across this ebay listing but as the buyer says
the scope's model is not certain. Is this some sort of a copy, scam or is it just a different front cover/plate?
If someone has any info about this scope I would be very grateful.
Thanks.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kikusui-Os...tNlchRW-&LH_ItemCondition=3000&frcectupt=true

 

[hevans1944]

It appears to be a Japanese copy of a Tektronix analog CRO (cathode ray oscilloscope) from the 20th Century, but at not a particularly good price considering that it is used, repair parts may be difficult or impossible to obtain, and shipping cost is a huge chunk of the purchase price.

I know that you earlier expressed a desired to purchase an analog o'scope, but I would steer clear of that type of oscilloscope and choose a "solid-state" digital storage screen oscilloscope (DSO) from a reliable Asian manufacturer. Prices are now hovering around $300 for several hundred megahertz bandwidth and two channels. You don't need a LOT of memory, but more is generally better because it allows you to expand the horizontal axis to zoom in on details in the time domain.

I have used analog oscilloscopes almost from Day One. It was my first purchase (an EICO 460K) after buying an RCA VTVM using money earned from a newspaper route. Much later, I upgraded to a used Tektronix 465 to obtain a triggered and calibrated linear time base. I also purchased two more as the years went by! Used, of course.

A few years ago a friend here on EP gifted me with an inexpensive digital storage oscilloscope... you can purchase these as a kit for about $30 USD to "get your feet wet" with the digital technology. I fell instantly in love with it, so much so that I went out and bought a commercial version complete with fancy case and knobs. A really nice feature is the ability to record oscillograph images and attach them as files for upload and display here on Electronics Point. That was the main reason I purchased it, to avoid trying to take pictures of my analog o'scope screen for upload to EP!

Since retiring to Florida in December 2016, I still don't have an electronics lab (or a ham radio shack) set up again, but both are definitely on my "bucket list" of things to do "real soon now."

 

[Hopup]

Unless you have a specific reason to get analog one, you should instead pick digital one like said already. If you are looking for a affordable option take a look at Rigol 1000 series.

 

[JMW]

I bought a Hantek digital scope. The low end 20MHz was all I needed. Picked up an Asus notebook running Win 7 Pro. More than happy with it.

 

[hevans1944]

I bought a Hantek DSO5202B in 2016, just prior to moving to Florida, from Circuits Specialists. I don't remember what I paid for it then, but it lists for $319.00 today with free shipping to any of the United States from Tempe AZ. It isn't a barn burner, with just two channels of 200 MHz bandwidth each (1 GSample/second), but it isn't too shabby either. When these first came out, the manufacturer "crippled" them to reduce their bandwidth, unless the user paid a premium for more bandwidth. This "feature" was soon discovered and hacked so now you get the original bandwidth from the manufacturer without any "modifications" that limit performance.

There are similar oscilloscopes built on the same chassis that offer more features, such as battery operation, but they are considerably more expensive IMHO. There are other Asian manufacturers offering similar looking oscilloscopes too, but I have no experience with them. Caveat emptor, as always, when purchasing electronics from Asia. Make sure there is a return policy offering a full refund of the purchase price if you didn't get what you expected.

There may be problems getting one of these into Croatia from a vendor in Arizona, so a local re-seller may be better for you. They are, after all, imported from China (Hantek Electronic Co., Ltd., No. 177 zhuzhou road (huite industry city), QingDao, China and sold worldwide. I am very pleased with the one I purchased.

 

[hevans1944]

Oops! 'Scope I purchased was the DSO5202P instead of the DSO5202B. The B version has more memory depth, but I found the P version to be more than adequate.

 

[JMW]

Oops! 'Scope I purchased was the DSO5202P instead of the DSO5202B. The B version has more memory depth, but I found the P version to be more than adequate.

Thanks, I looked up the hack, I will check on it and what version I have. As you pointed out, it is well worth the money.