Oscilloscope Probes

Frequently asked questions about tools and instruments used in stompbox development.
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johnnyg
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Post by johnnyg »

Hey, hoping I'm asking this in the right part and one of the numerous helpful experts that visit here might help me out :D

I was very kindly given an old analogue Oscilloscope - a Telequipment/Tektronic from 1978(!)... I got a really big a kick from getting this (a symptom of hanging around here for too long maybe... I've gradually found the tools and understanding have become as interesting to me as the actual things we make with them :D )

I've never used an Oscilloscope and have ordered a book (and watched a few youtube vids) to try and get some understanding of how I can use it and what possibilities it offers.

But it hasn't come with a probe - so I was wondering what kind(s) I should be looking at getting for audio work? Would an x10 type do the job? My hope is to use it with valves and amps above all else, but also stompbox circuits of course :wink:

Also, the sockets for the probes on this (there are two channels I believe) look like the old fashioned UK aerial socket... I'm hoping you still get probes for sockets like that (they aren't obsolete)?
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Post by JudgeMingus »

When you say "old fashioned UK aerial socket", I don't know if that would be banana, BNC, a Belling-Lee connector (which I think is the one we still use in Australia) or even an F connector.

If it is BNC, most modern oscilloscope probes use it - just get a modern set with sufficient bandwidth. If it is two banana plugs 3/4" apart, you can get adapters that go from 3/4" spaced banana to BNC, and the same modern set of probes.

For anything other than BNC or banana, I don't know precisely what to suggest, but there may be <whatever> to BNC adapters available.

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DrNomis
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Post by DrNomis »

Could you post a pic of your Oscilloscope?, that will give us a better idea of what types of probe will work with it, I'm assuming that your scope has BNC input sockets, in that case a standard scope probe with a X1/X10 switch on it should work fine, just make sure that the probe has a wider frequency bandwith than your Oscilloscope does, also be mindful of the maximum signal level that your scope can handle, it's usually something like 400V Peak-To-Peak, make sure the probe can handle that signal level too.... :thumbsup


Make sure you buy at least 2 or 3 probes so that you can use both of the channels on your scope with one probe as a spare..... :thumbsup
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