I am ready for Plan A.
Where can I find this 40$ oscilloscope.
Please advise.
Regards
Ajmal




---Lawrence Lile <lilel@TOASTMASTER.COM> wrote:
>
> Timothy wrote:
> > Hey everyone,
> >         I am, in the near future (a month or so), thinking about
> >         buying a
> > oscilloscope,
>
> PLAN A:
> Get a cheap used military scope, made with vacuum tubes and weighing
> in at 300 LBS.  They cost about $40. They last for years.  My best
> one was made in 1965. Toss it in the trash or user it as a
> boatanchor when you outgrow it.  I've got three of them.  (a total of
> six traces!)  Your engineering school will provide you with decent
> scopes, your boss will provide you with a decent scope, and if any of
> them are decent folks they'll let you play in the lab after hours.
>
> PLAN B:  Spend $1500 on a new dual trace scope.  Agonize on whether
> you'll outgrow it, sell it at a loss when you do, and cuss it the
> whole time you own it.  Cry because it will have no more
> functionality than the $40 used scope you passed up.  Wail because it
> only goes to 60 MHZ.  Groan when you can't look at more than two
> measly traces.  Howl when you can't resolve a small glitch in a wide
> signal.
>
> PLAN C:  Get a nice HP mixed signal oscilliscope, at about $4000.
> I've wanted one for years.  You won't outgrow it.  You'll will it to
> your grandson.
>
> PLAN D:  Get a PC plugin scope, for $100 to $500.  You'll find they
> are nice for data acquisition, but skimp on high frequency
> capability, tend to collect noise from the PC, you'll cry when you
> hook a live ground signal into your PC and blow it to kingdom come,
> and you'll be pleased when you can cut and paste a signal into Excel
> and graph it.  You won't outgrow it, because you will always find a
> need for it. (unless you fry it.)   But eventually you'll get a real
> scope.
>
> PLAN E:  Build a data acquisition card based on a PIC.  (I'm not
> kidding).  Catch-22: you'll need a scope to complete it.
>
>
> > Or does it sound like I am not ready for a scope?
>
> If you are on this list, you are ready for a scope.
>
>
>
> -- Lawrence Lile
>
>      "The ideal design has zero parts"  -
>             (attributed to Harold Hallikainen)
>
> Download AutoCad blocks for electrical drafting at:
> http://home1.gte.net/llile/index.htm
>

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