Thread: hand held or bench oscilloscope?
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01-08-2020 #21
Whats the opinion on a Hitachi Denshi V222 with a Thandar 2MHz Function Generator, with manuals and cables.
Phill
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01-08-2020 #22
What is it that you're looking to use this for? From what I can gather from google this is a 20MHz dual channel CRT oscilloscope with a modulatable Z input (intensity - I've used this sort of thing in the past in place of cursive displays). Old analogue technology, with a trigger supporting TV synchronisation as well as the usual, heavy as hell, and with an aged CRT display (look for phosphor burn and adequate intensity and focus). Probably very useful for audio and unmodulated analogue video work, as well as low-end/frequency repetitive waveform digital measurement. If that floats your boat, I'd squint hard if the cost on fleabay was more than about £40.
The Function Generator - You don't offer much to go on, but likely a useful tool given the limited frequency range - good for testing audio circuits and even stepper systems for sure provided that it provides a DC offset (most do). Assuming a typical analogue job, If I was in the market for one, again, I'd hesitate above £30-£40.
If you look at the new digital chinese systems - you simply get more bang for your buck. An arbitary waveform function generator will cost about £40-£50 for entry level and will knock the socks off the Thandar, unless you need the low distortion of the analogue design that I assume the Thandar is based upon. Digital scopes just simply wipe the floor with basic entry-level analogue scopes - okay, you're looking at the numbers mentioned earlier in this thread £100-£250 entry level for PC/bench respectively, but they are simply more capable (and capable of misinterpretation!... caveat empor applies).
To put in context, I threw a Tektronix 453 dual trace analogue scope in the tip more than a decade ago. A beautiful 50MHz dual channel scope that would outperform the Hitachi, that from an electrical design was a thing of utter beauty, but just 50 years too old and from an analogue era long gone.Last edited by Doddy; 01-08-2020 at 04:39 PM.
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01-08-2020 #23
I used to have a Gould 2 channel 10MHz scope which I bought in 1978. After it sat on a garage shelf for 20 years, I tried it out and it worked. Unfortunately I decided to sell it on eBay and got £24 for it. I now have a portable hand-held single channel scope that is next to useless and a two channel Velleman device, which wirelessly connects to my PC or tablet. It is OK, that is all I can say about it. I thought it was OK for £60, but did not know that Velleman had discontinued it in favour of a better model with a signal generator and USB connection.
If you want to use a scope seriously, I would not advise these sort of devices, but for the dabbler, who just wants to check a waveform or pulse timing, they are adequate.
Doddy, thanks for reminding me about Elektor, I used to read it 40 years ago. I didn't realise it was still going. I might get a copy or two to see what it is like nowadays, it was certainly better than Practical Electronics in those days.
Rob
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01-08-2020 #24
It is part of my late brother-in-laws workshop he was a radio ham and into electric clocks/watches so the audio remark make sense, sister wants me to sell it.
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01-08-2020 #25
Wireless World (too much into the radio side for me)... Everyday Electronics (pretty comprehensive and theory led)... Hobby Electronics (suited my prepubescent years), and Elektor (top-end kit - vaguely remember building and repurposing their Z80 kit from their weather forecasting system). Fond memories of ways to spend your pocket money :)
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02-08-2020 #26
Electronics Today was pretty good for guitar effects and such like. I've still got some copies that are brown with age. I really miss going up the edgware road to Smiths Laskys and Henrys they sure beat internet surfing searching through buckets off old bits and pieces.
Cheers
Andrew
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02-08-2020 #27
...and Practical Wireless. Less nerdy and DXy than Wireless World, sort of closer to Everyday Electronics and Elektor. Had an article published in it once, pretty sure I spent most of the payment on tooling.
I've seen Elektor a few times in WH Smith and it doesn't quite feel like it used to. It was always a challenge getting your hands on the new devices they were trying out but I managed a few of them. Did my first SMPS and a DVM from their designs, back in ~1980.
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02-08-2020 #28
Not forgetting Radio Communication, (RadCom these days), the journal of the Radio Society of Great Britain. That's where I saw an advert for a job with the long gone BBC Transmitter Dept. back in 1982. And the rest is history, as they say. Well my history anyway
An optimist says the glass is half full, a pessimist says the glass is half empty, an engineer says you're using the wrong sized glass.
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02-08-2020 #29
I recall that vaguely. I briefly bothered with a licence after passing the test (couldn't be bothered with learning Morse though) - G8XCN, IIRC. I did most of my transmitters before then. I guess legalising it removed much of the excitement factor. Then I got more into UHF digital frequency synthesisers, DFMs, directional aerials etc. Could never understand people getting excited about DXing. To me it's like using a workshop to make model engines....
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05-08-2020 #30
This thread made me hungry for a new, portable scope so I bought this one:
https://www.banggood.com/Hantek-3in1...r_warehouse=CZ
It arrived yesterday, so I haven't had time to test it completely, but here is what I wrote as review on Banggood, not yet published and don't know if they will publish it or not.
On the plus side: It works. Appears to be good quality because of the casing, the buttons and the overall display quality. Easy to use, quick booting and many useful functions.
On the minus side...
The capacitance meter is a joke. It fails below 1nF, inaccurate between 1nF and around 50nF and EXTREMELY slow in the uF range. 47nF takes forever to measure.
The continuity tester function is useless because the sound is so low II can hardly hear it in a totally quiet room. Volume not adjustable, so I have to open it to see if I can do anything about it through some sort of modification.
Current measurement is also a joke because the fuse is only 200mA and there is no documentation about where that fuse is or how to change it. 10A measurement maximum is low and is unfused. Measuring higher current by mistake means the instrument is bricked.
Only one oscilloscope probe delivered with a two channel scope... This was known, but not good. Instead of two BNC clip probes, should be two for scope and one clip for the AWG.
Scope is good, but the cursors are almost invisible because of the extremely black display background and the intensive grid pattern. Grid can not be turned off and the grid intensity can not be adjusted, only the background light and that does not solve the problem.
Battery was totally discharged, showing ZERO volt on arrival. Charging took around 10-12 hours with the delivered weak, 2A charger.
Delivery incomplete, BNC adapter and English manual was missing, not delivered. Link to manual is to a rar file, should use zip which is standard in Windows environment.
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