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From: RogerN on 7 Feb 2010 16:31

What's the best scope to get for the money for mostly digital circuits?
I'll have some analog but nothing real high frequency, like analog
connections to the microcontroller, maybe some SMPS circuits. I was looking
at some microcontroller and fpga designs that you can get kits starting at
less than $100 and going up with more speed and features. Also, I see on
eBay you can get some nice looking Techtronics scopes for $350 or so, 4
channel digital, etc. Just wondering if something like the AVR scope would
be a useful tool or if I would be wishing I went ahead and bought a nice
used scope on eBay.

RogerN


From: D Yuniskis on 7 Feb 2010 16:57
RogerN wrote:
> What's the best scope to get for the money for mostly digital circuits?
> I'll have some analog but nothing real high frequency, like analog

But, your *digital* stuff *will* be "high frequency" (at least
considerably higher than the analog examples you mentioned)

> connections to the microcontroller, maybe some SMPS circuits. I was looking
> at some microcontroller and fpga designs that you can get kits starting at
> less than $100 and going up with more speed and features. Also, I see on
> eBay you can get some nice looking Techtronics scopes for $350 or so, 4
> channel digital, etc. Just wondering if something like the AVR scope would
> be a useful tool or if I would be wishing I went ahead and bought a nice
> used scope on eBay.

You might look into an older logic analyzer "for mostly digital
circuits". Often, the cost of shipping is the biggest expense! :>

Of course, it also depends on the types of problems you are
trying to troubleshoot with the device...
From: Rich Webb on 7 Feb 2010 17:29
On Sun, 7 Feb 2010 15:31:46 -0600, "RogerN" <regor(a)midwest.net> wrote:

>
>What's the best scope to get for the money for mostly digital circuits?
>I'll have some analog but nothing real high frequency, like analog
>connections to the microcontroller, maybe some SMPS circuits. I was looking
>at some microcontroller and fpga designs that you can get kits starting at
>less than $100 and going up with more speed and features. Also, I see on
>eBay you can get some nice looking Techtronics scopes for $350 or so, 4
>channel digital, etc. Just wondering if something like the AVR scope would
>be a useful tool or if I would be wishing I went ahead and bought a nice
>used scope on eBay.

"The" AVR scope? Hard to comment on it, knowing only that...

In general, though, USB-based scopes typically don't have particularly
high sample rates. I'd suggest looking into one of the smaller "real"
digital 'scopes, such as Instek or Rigol. There was a loooong discussion
on this back in December in this group with the subject "A good digital
oscilloscope?" (As you may imagine, this comes up fairly often here.)

A USB logic analyzer, on the other hand, is a useful gadget. I've been
using an Intronix for years and wouldn't go anywhere without it. Overdue
for a new model, though. http://www.pctestinstruments.com/

--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA
From: mike on 7 Feb 2010 19:46
RogerN wrote:
> What's the best scope to get for the money for mostly digital circuits?
> I'll have some analog but nothing real high frequency, like analog
> connections to the microcontroller, maybe some SMPS circuits. I was looking
> at some microcontroller and fpga designs that you can get kits starting at
> less than $100 and going up with more speed and features. Also, I see on
> eBay you can get some nice looking Techtronics scopes for $350 or so, 4
> channel digital, etc. Just wondering if something like the AVR scope would
> be a useful tool or if I would be wishing I went ahead and bought a nice
> used scope on eBay.
>
> RogerN
>
>
Go to a ham-radio swapmeet and pick up a Tektronix 465 or thereabouts.
The 7000 series is dirt cheap too...but you probably have to replace
a shorted tantalum cap on the plugin backplane board. EVERY dead one
I've bought had this problem.
Many other similar scopes are quite useful and cheap.

Bottom line, get a $20 analog scope and use it until you figger out what you
really want.
From: D from BC on 8 Feb 2010 00:01
In article <jfmdnTGV1t7WrPLWnZ2dnUVZ_vSdnZ2d(a)earthlink.com>,
regor(a)midwest.net says...
>
> What's the best scope to get for the money for mostly digital circuits?
> I'll have some analog but nothing real high frequency, like analog
> connections to the microcontroller, maybe some SMPS circuits. I was looking
> at some microcontroller and fpga designs that you can get kits starting at
> less than $100 and going up with more speed and features. Also, I see on
> eBay you can get some nice looking Techtronics scopes for $350 or so, 4
> channel digital, etc. Just wondering if something like the AVR scope would
> be a useful tool or if I would be wishing I went ahead and bought a nice
> used scope on eBay.
>
> RogerN

Ugh...
Spend at least over $1500.
Maybe Tektronix will nail up a chief scope engineer on a cross so that
you don't feel bad about spending lots of money on a scope.

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