V G wrote:
> So my recent electronics endeavors have become exceptionally diffciult wi=
th
> the crude equipment I have - which is basically just a cheap multimeter. =
I
> really need an oscilloscope. Something *cheap* - something a student can
> afford. It doesn't have to be fancy.
>
> What would you guys recommend? I don't mind if its old and monochrome, or
> USB based, or whatever.
>
> Parameters:
>
> Price: cheap as possible.
> Size: small is preferable, but not essential.
> Feautres: doesn't need to be fancy, or high bandwidth. Just something "go=
od
> enough".
>  =20
The key thing you need to determine is how good is "good enough". An old=20
2MHz analog scope plus a comparable signal generator will be fine for=20
working with audio frequency analog circuitry but for microcontroller=20
work it will be pretty much useless. For microcontroller work you want=20
to be looking at a scope with a bandwidth at least equivilent to the=20
highest clock you run your microcontrollers at and prefferablly a bit=20
higher (so for pics you are probablly looking at getting a 50-100MHz=20
scope). You really want it to be a storage scope as well because events=20
in microcontroller systems tend not to come in short repeating patterns.

I don't have any personal experiance with analog storage scopes but i've=20
heard that for fast signals the digital ones are much better. Many=20
digital storage scopes can also tell you what happened just before the=20
trigger which is occasionally extremely useful.
--=20
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