USB Scope Reccomendation (low cost)

[vorange]

Hi,

I am looking for a usb scope which is low cost. Low cost as in
roughly $200 or preferably below. I came across

1) Parallax USB Oscilloscope
http://www.hvwtech.com/products_view.asp?ProductID=118

2) Swordfish
http://www.dontronics-shop.com/product.php?productid=16143

3) ST16B
http://www.electronickits.com/gold/st16b.htm

I'm leaning towards Parallax. I read a review on usb scopes where the
author was surprised at the capabilities of the parallax even though
he thought it was a toy at first. It looks very compact and I like
that too and the price is good. The only down side was its low
scanning resolution of 100Khz if 2 channels are used and 200khz if
just one channel.

The Swordfish a little bit expensive for me and correct me if I'm
wrong but its only 1 channel whereas the parallax is 3 channels ?

The ST16B i just happen to run into. Cheapest looking scope of its
kind I've ever seen but its only one channel again I think ?

Please give me your suggestions or reccomendation for any of the above
or other low cost usb scopes. Nothing more than $250 please.

 

[John Popelish]

Hi,

I am looking for a usb scope which is low cost. Low cost as in
roughly $200 or preferably below. I came across

1) Parallax USB Oscilloscope
http://www.hvwtech.com/products_view.asp?ProductID=118

2) Swordfish
http://www.dontronics-shop.com/product.php?productid=16143

3) ST16B
http://www.electronickits.com/gold/st16b.htm

I'm leaning towards Parallax. I read a review on usb scopes where the
author was surprised at the capabilities of the parallax even though
he thought it was a toy at first. It looks very compact and I like
that too and the price is good. The only down side was its low
scanning resolution of 100Khz if 2 channels are used and 200khz if
just one channel.

The Swordfish a little bit expensive for me and correct me if I'm
wrong but its only 1 channel whereas the parallax is 3 channels ?

The ST16B i just happen to run into. Cheapest looking scope of its
kind I've ever seen but its only one channel again I think ?

Please give me your suggestions or reccomendation for any of the above
or other low cost usb scopes. Nothing more than $250 please.

I suggest a used Tektronix analog scope. Even a 10 MHz one
will give you a lot if service, and they cost less than $100
from eBay. I have 5 or 6 of them.

If you live in the U.S. and would like to have one of mine,
I have a couple I've repaired and can sell for less than
$200, shipping included.

 

[vorange]

I suggest a used Tektronix analog scope. Even a 10 MHz one
will give you a lot if service, and they cost less than $100
from eBay. I have 5 or 6 of them.

If you live in the U.S. and would like to have one of mine,
I have a couple I've repaired and can sell for less than
$200, shipping included.- Hide quoted text -

Thanks John, but I don't live in the US. I live in Canada.

I need something portable and preferably digital. Something that
takes up as little space as possible would be preferrable.

How big are your scopes and are they analog or digital? How much
would it cost in total shipping included to Canada? Last question -
how did you land up with 6 scopes !?!

By the way, keep up the good work. I"ve learnt lots from your posts
over the months I've been lurking here.

Thanks

 

[John Popelish]

Thanks John, but I don't live in the US. I live in Canada.

I need something portable and preferably digital. Something that
takes up as little space as possible would be preferrable.

How big are your scopes and are they analog or digital?

They are big and analog, but work wonderfully. I have a 922
15 MHz that I revamped, mechanically, and replaced all the
electrolytic caps (since they were 20 some years old) That
one has a face about 8" wide by 9" tall, by 24" deep. I
have a similar unit that is an analog storage scope (don't
remember the model, off hand. I think I have 4 other
working units. My all time favorite scope is the 200 MHz
Tek 475A, but the 100 MHz Tek 465 (or military version 465B)
is also very good and very reliable. You can take a look at
many models by browsing eBay.

How much
would it cost in total shipping included to Canada?

We would have to come to an agreement via private email,
since this group is not for sales.

Last question -
how did you land up with 6 scopes !?!

Every time someone comes to this group and asks about cheap
scopes, I check eBay and end up buying 1 or 2. If the
picture shows two working traces you can almost always fix
any other little problems. I figure that I'll pass them
along to someone who needs them. If I recover most of my
cost, I'm happy.

By the way, keep up the good work. I"ve learnt lots from your posts
over the months I've been lurking here.

Thank you.

 

[David L. Jones]

Hi,

I am looking for a usb scope which is low cost. Low cost as in
roughly $200 or preferably below. I came across

1) Parallax USB Oscilloscopehttp://www.hvwtech.com/products_view.asp?ProductID=118

2) Swordfishhttp://www.dontronics-shop.com/product.php?productid=16143

3) ST16Bhttp://www.electronickits.com/gold/st16b.htm

I'm leaning towards Parallax. I read a review on usb scopes where the
author was surprised at the capabilities of the parallax even though
he thought it was a toy at first. It looks very compact and I like
that too and the price is good. The only down side was its low
scanning resolution of 100Khz if 2 channels are used and 200khz if
just one channel.

The Swordfish a little bit expensive for me and correct me if I'm
wrong but its only 1 channel whereas the parallax is 3 channels ?

The ST16B i just happen to run into. Cheapest looking scope of its
kind I've ever seen but its only one channel again I think ?

Please give me your suggestions or reccomendation for any of the above
or other low cost usb scopes. Nothing more than $250 please.

What is your intended end use for a USB scope?

If it's just general purpose use then you want 8bit with the fastest
converter, most memory, and the most analog bandwidth you can get for
the money. If on the other hand you want to use it for say audio
analysis and FFT then a higher bit (say 12 bit) version with a low
sample rate and better low level performance is a much better option.

For repetitive signals a 2nd hand analog CRO will be much more useful
than any USB scope.

No one can recommend anything without knowing what your needs are.

Dave.

 

[neon]

that is stupid use a pc for a scope chep no way


that is realy stupid cheap no way $ 150for this crap plusPC my tektronics 100 mhz [used] cost me $500 how much this cost sitting om my desk?????????