Is this a good Oscilloscope for a Hobbyist/Maker?

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inevu
 
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Is this a good Oscilloscope for a Hobbyist/Maker?

Post by inevu »

Hey! I just want to know if this is a good oscilloscope for a Hobbyist/Maker. (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/920 ... f=category). I need an oscilloscope to do some basic stuff, but I do not want to spend a lot of money right now. This oscilloscope costs $120, and judging by the explanation made on the video, it seems awesome for the price. What do you guys think? Thanks!

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Is this a good Oscilloscope for a Hobbyist/Maker?

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

The specs look a little better than the handheld scope we sell (http://www.adafruit.com/products/468) but the Kickstarter project has less engineering and market history. If everything goes well, the device you linked could be a decent starting point.

There are some big differences between hand-held or USB scopes and real oscilloscopes. There's also a big difference between "having any scope" and "having no scope at all", and devices like these do fit a point in the price curve best described as "affordable and infinitely better than nothing". For the amount you pay, you'll get good value.

A real scope has a carefully-tuned analog signal path that runs from the tips of the probes to the display. The people who make good scopes have lots of experience doing that, plus a bunch of test equipment that's even better than the scope they're trying to build. Pocket scopes and USB scopes have a signal path that isn't bad as long as you don't ask too much from it, and a reasonable-quality ADC. They aren't great, and you'll run into a pocket device's limits much sooner than you'll run into a real scope's limits.

That does not make them bad devices though. It just means they're less general. A pocket scope will give you adequate results for about 70% of the work you'd do with a more powerful scope. Compared to having no information at all, that's fantastic.

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