Thanks for the great info!! I'll see if I can download the Manual for = that Tektronix 465....:) I've done quite a bit with Ebay before...but only in fields I'm comfortable= in. I know PC's and such...so I know what they are worth. I guess I = need to do the research and find what O'scope goes for what. So if I get a 100 MHZ Analog scope and I need to watch a transaction on = the Serial TX/RX line of my Serial port....I can do that? Do I set up a = trigger and the scope will record it's screen worth and quit? How does = that work? Thanks, Tim >>> wb8rcr@ARRL.NET 11/24/03 12:21PM >>> 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=20 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! -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics