Keep in mind that you need at least 2, preferably 10 times the highest
frequency of any signal you plan to look at, if you care at all about seeing
the shape.  Remember your old buddy Fourier ... if you put a theoretical 1
MHz scope on a 1 MHz square wave you will see a sine wave of something less
than the square wave's amplitude.  A real scope isn't quite that bad,
typically they fall off 3dB per octave, but you still won't see anything
like a square wave.

There's a bit of a price jump going from 60 MHz to 100 MHz, and a pretty big
jump going beyond, so most experimenters make do with a 100 MHz scope.
Unless you do a bit of VHF work, that usually makes a nice comprimise,
although I am surprised at the number of hobbyists lately who are sporting
500 MHz scopes.

Probably the most popular hobbyist scope is the Tektronix 465, which is a
dual channel, 100 MHz scope.  These can be gotten on eBay for around $300,
quite a bit less with patience.  I looked for someone else a few weeks ago
and saw a couple go for your $200 figure, but that takes a bit of luck.  The
475 is a 200 MHz version of the same scope and often they don't cost an
awful lot more.

I would urge you to visit eBay for a while, search for the kinds of things
you are interested in, and look at "Completed Auctions".  This gives you a
good feel for the sort of range these things sell for.  Even if you don't
buy it on eBay (a lot of people don't like the whole model), you will at
least be prepared with real world data on how low some sellers will go, and
how high some of your competitors might go, and what are the things that
affect the price (manual, probes, condition, accessories ...).

If you do decide to pursue a scope on eBay, keep in mind that it costs you
nothing to bid.  Bid only what you are willing to spend for the particular
item, and if you don't win it, so what?  I probably lost two dozen before I
came up with my scope, and I'm tickled to death with it - can't imagine how
I lived without it.  Just be patient and keep after it until you find the
right auction.  Don't get suckered into paying more than you think is fair.

Also keep in mind that you will need probes, and they have frequency
responses too.  Fortunately, they are a lot cheaper than scopes and there
are about a million of them out there for sale.

72/73 de WB8RCR    http://www.qsl.net/wb8rcr
didileydadidah     QRP-L #1446 Code Warriors #35



----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2003 12:57 PM
Subject: [PIC:] or [EE:] O Scope Blues...


I have a little Dilemma....  The task of finding a Oscilloscope!

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