OT: DIY Oscilloscope

[Egan Ford]

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/diy-oscilloscope-is-awesomely-affordable/

[DaveJ]

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http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/diy-oscilloscope-is-awesomely-affordable/

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Hmm...

200KHz single shot bandwidth, no BNC connector, 256 byte memory, external supply, no case.

I think your money is much better spent elsewhere.

Dave.

[Steve Simpkin]

Pretty cool for the price but for only a bit more ($135 + shipping) you can can get a complete portable scope with the following features:

* 10MHz sampling rate
* 0.1mV sensitivity
* up to 2MHz analog bandwidth
* 5mV to 20V/div in 12 steps
* 200ns to 1hour/div time base in 32 steps
* full auto set up
* trigger mode: run, normal, once, roll, slope +/-
* X and Y position signal shift
* DVM readout with x10 option
* audio power calculation (rms and peak)
* dBm, dBV, DC, rms ... measurements
* signal markers for Volt and Time
* frequency readout (through markers)
* recorder function (roll mode)
* signal storage (2 memories)
* LCD: 128x64 pixels / high-contrast
* up to 20h on alkaline batteries

http://tinyurl.com/pqr6gc

[DaveJ]

Exactly.

No point getting something for a bargain price if it's not going to meet your basic needs.

That Velleman is infinitely more usable and better value for money.

Dave.

[Martin Pinckney]

Just for kicks, can one of you electronic wizzes figure out how to hack a connection to display this things output on a 48 screen? (I mean with it still remaining a functioning calculator)!

[DaveJ]

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Just for kicks, can one of you electronic wizzes figure out how to hack a connection to display this things output on a 48 screen? (I mean with it still remaining a functioning calculator)!

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Add a serial port to the scope, hook up serial cable, hack some firmware. Entirely possible.

Dave.

[John Robinson]

Where do you get one from ? it's not obvious from the article

Cheers,
John

[Paul Dale]

Try the Product Page link at the bottom of the article.

- Pauli

[Allen]

Could one not use a Stream Smart 400 and a 40gs?

Edited: 14 May 2009, 7:28 p.m.

[Dave Shaffer (Arizona)]

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Easily collect data points at up to 5,700 samples/second

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Copied from the Stream Smart 400 reference.

Unless you are doing very low speed stuff, I don't think you would be very happy at this data rate.

I got a pretty nice 100 MHz Tektronix dual-trace scope on ebay a couple of years ago for around $200, including shipping, so I tend to agree with DaveJ - spend a few bucks more, and get a real scope! (My latest ebay toy is a 1.8 GHz spectrum analyzer. I'm having GREAT fun with it!)

[agodwin]

I dunno - I've got lots of lovely old analog scopes and I wouldn't let them go. They all cost less than $400, too. But this is nice and small and portable and $35 really isn't very much. I could be tempted to have a play.

Though a scope module for a 50g (that lets you do something with the data you read) would be a much nicer idea.

[Egan Ford]

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But this is nice and small and portable and $35 really isn't very much. I could be tempted to have a play.

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That was the point of my original post. It was my no means a contender for a real scope. It's a DYI project with open source software just like uWatch. Something to play with and learn from.

[Thomas Radtke]

I was about ordering one. Unfortunately, both the kit and the assembled oscilloscopes were out of stock. It seems the have some supply difficulties as a new batch were announced for somewhere in April.