Recommendations for budget scope?

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

Hey all,

So I have a few effects on my bench that could really benefit from using a scope to set the trimpots. Specifically, right now I have two delays, and a few modulation effects that I need a scope for.
But I looked into the world of oscilloscopes and suddenly realized, "Oh god, I'm way in over my head, I have no idea what to even look for!" Can someone please tell me what requirements I should have when shopping, or better yet, recommend me a simple scope? Obviously I'd like to spend as little as possible, but get something that I won't need to replace ever. Something that can do the job, ya know?

Any recommendations gents?

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Post by Dr Tony Balls »

I have one of these Owon scopes that ive been plenty happy with. NEw they're abou $300.

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Post by DrNomis »

Here are a couple of pics of my two Oscilloscopes, I originally bought the 10Mhz Scope from Dick Smith Electronics for only about $125.00 Australian, the 20Mhz Dual-Trace Scope cost me alot more when I bought it brand new, Dick Smith Electronics are no longer selling electronic parts and such anymore, you could try having a look on eBay, you might be able to find a 10Mhz analog Scope that should suit your needs..... :thumbsup
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DSE Q-1803 10Mhz Single-Trace Scope
DSE Q-1803 10Mhz Single-Trace Scope
DSE Q-1804 20Mhz Dual-Trace Scope
DSE Q-1804 20Mhz Dual-Trace Scope
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agoldoor
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Post by agoldoor »

Awesome, thanks both of you guys...

I was hoping perhaps someone might give me an idea as to what KINDS of requirements I need to find a (VERY) cheap one on craigslist used... I see them come up in the price range of 125-200 a lot here in the bay area, but I don't know if what I'm looking at is what I would need for pedal uses.

So can you guys tell me what it is I should look for?

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Post by marshmellow »

Any scope that is fully functional will suffice for (analog) pedal work.

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Post by DrNomis »

agoldoor wrote:Awesome, thanks both of you guys...

I was hoping perhaps someone might give me an idea as to what KINDS of requirements I need to find a (VERY) cheap one on craigslist used... I see them come up in the price range of 125-200 a lot here in the bay area, but I don't know if what I'm looking at is what I would need for pedal uses.

So can you guys tell me what it is I should look for?


Firstly it needs to be functional, you should look for a scope that has at least a 10Mhz bandwith, 15Mhz is better, 20Mhz will be good because you'll be able to see spurious spikes in the waveform better, a single-trace scope will be adequate but if you can get a dual-trace scope at a reasonable price, buy it because the extra trace comes in handy if you're comparing two signals, any scope with those kinds of specs will be fine for pedal uses..... :thumbsup
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Post by modman »

The FAQ section on Electronic Tools contains some threads about scopes...as well as an ebay listing for cheap scopes. You should be able to find a decent scope for no money (or almost)
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Post by agoldoor »

Oh wow, good reminder ModMan! I haven't looked at the FAQ section since I was a wee tinkerer, hehe.

Also, thanks again DrN., that's just the kind of quick summary that I needed.

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Post by DrNomis »

agoldoor wrote:Oh wow, good reminder ModMan! I haven't looked at the FAQ section since I was a wee tinkerer, hehe.

Also, thanks again DrN., that's just the kind of quick summary that I needed.

Also, make sure you buy at least two good quality scope probes for your scope and make sure they have a X1-X10 switch on them, the X10 position increases the impedance of the probe from 1M to 10M, this helps avoid loading effects from stopping the circuit you're probing from working properly, my probes cost me about $60.00 Australian, but deffinitely worth it..... :thumbsup
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Post by Zokk »

On the second hand market you can find nices Hameg 203-7 scopes for less than 50€... sometimes these are even sold with all accessories.
A friend of mine got 20 of them from a school recently for free, so keep an eye open for such good deals.

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