Electronic – Opinions on an oscilloscope suitable for hobby electronics on a budget

oscilloscopetools

I'm thinking about getting an oscilloscope as my next tool purchase but I don't really know what I should be looking for or what the options are. Ideally I'd prefer something that was stand alone, but I expect a device that hooks up to a PC for the display would be cheaper and offer more functionality. Right now my projects are reasonably simple but I'd prefer to buy a tool that I wont outgrow too quickly.

Thanks for all the answers so far, that's a lot of information to look at!

Best Answer

You don't mention exactly what work you do, but a good digital storage oscilloscope (DSO) will last you a while (and I guarantee it won't go out of date for a while). Sure, you can grab a secondhand Tektronix analog oscilloscope, but my storage scope has saved my frustration bacon more than once.

I have a Rigol DS1052E (a good review from a proper electronics engineer is here) which is a 50 MHz 1 GSa/s scope direct from the factory; they are about AU$675 on eBay. In my opinion, they are the best high-end hobbyist scopes on the market; considering what you get for the price I wouldn't trade mine for anything.