Oscilloscope Tutorial Part 1 - Choosing an oscilloscope

[pjoebake]

You missed the current high BW scope manufacturer... LeCroy

[mattynogood]

you are the best!

[TheMusicalGiant]

What is your opinion of the DS-203 scope?

[DjRaveKing]

@TheMusicalGiant Avoid them like unprotected sex with an ethiopian transvestite .

[fingerboy18]

USB scopes are useful for DSP, but I wouldn't get one. A decent mixed scope is what you need. Rigol has a nice one for cheap.

[peshozmiata]

So the cheapest solution would be a USB-based one connected to a very old useless PC with usb ports.

[koncertLive]

Grrr, I am confused... You tell us 100mhz and that OWON is only 25mhz.... Your making it hard to prioritize here!!!!

[aliparis13]

Hello thank you for you beautiful video .

I just bought one oscilloscope 200 mhz i just want to know that is it necessary to plug the ground behind the oscilloscope.

I mean that if i read the manual of the oscilloscope they say that before you use it attach the oscilloscope to ground .

there is nothing to see with front channels it is something behind as a sign of ground .

I just want to know is it important to attach the ground cable with oscilloscope .

If important please tell me how to plug.

[Afrotechmods]

@aliparis13 Just use a standard 3 prong plug and plug that into a 3 prong wall outlet.

[whiskeyify]

I use to have a Sencore Autotracker...it's a very easy scope to use...just set it on auto and start testing. I loved that scope...it's expensive it even has digital readouts. Just really simple for anyone to use...

[Mindstormscreator]

I GOT AN OSCILLOSCOPE IN THE MAIL FROM MY UNCLE AS A SURPRISE GIFT!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JSprayaEntertainment]

@Mindstormscreator has a microphone in it to spy , maybe a cam too

[TOinaeraser]

Just a tiny complaint. To be taken with a grain of salt, as I do not have any professional training (yet). The 1x 10x option on the probe is somewhat more important than you made it out to be, as I am sure you know. I understand that was somewhat in the interest of simplicity, but I think for anyone who is competent enough to spend several hundred dollars on a tool some extra explanation is warranted (capacitance, accuracy of the signal, something like that). Great videos and keep it up.

[Afrotechmods]

@TOinaeraser Yep. Given that this series is aimed at people who don't even know what V/div means I figured it's overkill to try explain input impedance and loading issues until they've got the basics down.

[naturalfeatures]

I watched Part 1 and 2 to get ready for using an oscilloscope in physics lab.  Thanks for putting together these videos, it's awesome work and really helpful!

[freyajean]

1:36

[Afrotechmods]

@schneiderbr666 Yes, and the Rigol is supposed to be good.

[jattpegg93]

hi,

i am a 12th grad IB student and im doing an extended essay regarding the physics of a guitar, for which i need to measure the frequency of the sound produced from the strings of the guitar. i was wondering if you can help me, by guiding be how to make use of a CRO to do the same, i have a cro in my school but im not sure whether i can connect a microphone to it to measure that,or what kinda of device i would need, you seem pretty adept with it, so it would be great help. thnk you. reply asap

[Afrotechmods]

@jattpegg93 You are better off using a computer's sound card to capture the audio, then use some software with fourier transform functionality to view things in the frequency domain.

[marijuanastoner27]

Never understood shit in college man thnx for the video

[MrDennis8805]

Great videos question when I apply a rf carrier to the digital scope ,thed give it modulation it does not display like my old crt scope am I missing something

thanks

[cliffthelightning]

Is it normal to want one of these just because you can pretend to be a crazy scientist

[brrrrvd]

did this in college the other day, realy realy easy

[libaconil]

So this is what notch just got.

[pokemonmstrlol]

i came here from notch's blog about Minecraft wondering what an oscilloscope was

[yoramstein]

Nice, good, clear video.

[laurentprodz]

lool i got the same samsung yp-t9

where you bought yours?

i bought mine at a airport in south korea

i love that mp3 extremely strong battery :p

[goallinjj]

Thanks for posting this vid. I'm a new electronics hobbyist, and this helped a lot

[paraglidermx]

Looking to get one for cb repair...is there a reas.priced one that would work??

Need for rf.

[ktmailserv]

Nice video!. Thanks

[TrueAzureTutorials]

Very well done. To the point, informative, and well put together. Thank you for giving me hope, hope that someone would post a worth-while tutorial set. I'll definitely check out the next videos in the series. I'm sure I like what I'll see so you can expect that I'll recommend my classmates watch as well.

[spelunkerd]

Automechanics use what they call a 'labscope', which I think is a specialized oscilloscope. Brand name automotive labscopes seem really expensive and not capable of doing anything with AC. Do you think with a little knowledge a user could buy one of the general scopes you describe, and use that for automotive applications?

[Jesus10741]

I'm about to buy one scope, but I don't know which one choose. I may buy one of these: Or Rigol DS1052E or, for a bit less, an Owon PDS5022S.

For me, I feel more comfortable with the Owon user interface, but the Rigol has better features. I'm a begginer and I won't use it for high frequencies, and of course, I don't need too much precision.

Please, help me choose.

Lots of thanks ;)

[kikinjoZG]

What do you think about sound card based oscilloscope. I am noob to electronics but found great tutorial for building one on linux and using xoscope. What are the limiting factors on such sound card based oscilloscope. Apart from burning a sound card.

I could use an old PC just for this ;)

Btw, you are making great videos. Tnx

[ForViewingOnly]

Wow, awesome video, very well explained and the perfect voice for a tutorial! Looking forward to the next couple of vids. Who is this Afrotechmods guy?

[daxweb]

love your tutorial

[ur4n1um]

MAD PROPS on the afrotech mods promotion there. Have they updated?

[cobrachoppergirl]

I scored my first Oscilliscope at Salvation Army today for $5! (RCA WO-33a). I see them on Ebay for about $25. I love it, I'm seeing the audio on it as I watch this video. I love the funky retro cool 40 year old hardware, I don't need all that fancy crap. Plus, you never ever see these in Goodwill.

[Greathoof]

It's amazing that you made videos years ago, and still respond to questions! :D

[bripal2003]

Can you recommend an ONON scope capable of handling 500kbit/s CAN data bus lines? Would the one your working with here handle it? I am interested in getting one to apply to automotive circuits.....Thanks.

[bripal2003]

I am trying to purchase a scope to handle CAN networks on automobiles. Currently the fastest CAN data I am dealing with is 500kps. Can you recommend a an OWON scope? I need 2 channel, 4 would be great??? Thanks.

[RetroRepair]

Quicky question, if I'm often repairing arcade PCBs, what sort of scope would you recommend? Something higher than 25mhz? Is Harris a decent brand?

[Kankki1]

I just bought a Rigol DS1052E :D

1Gs/s, 50mhz (upgradable to 100mhz), 1Meg of memory

390 bucks delivered

Great video

[zker666]

I'm going over my granddad's house, he is a master electrical engineer, and he is really old, and he wants me to have some of his equipment. He is going to give me an old oscilloscope, a function generator, frequency counter, and a power supply. Do you like the older Analog oscilloscopes to today's modern digital? The scope has dual trace, a bandwidth of 60mHz, and is safe for up to 400v with an accuracy of ±2%. It is a Techtronics. Would you recommend it?

[Afrotechmods]

@zker666 Yes yes yes yes YES! That Tex scope will rock your world. I love new digital scopes because of the easy triggering, storage, measurement and analysis, but nothing beats an old school analog scope for the sheer amount of detail that can be seen in the signal. It is good to own both types if you can.

[zker666]

@Afrotechmods Ok! Thanks for the positive heads-up! And, plus, im getting it for FREE! Plus, i dont have to drop any money to get one, now i can use the money i've been saving for the scope, and now i can buy a nice power supply!

[uN1Qu3DZ]

great tutorial. i grabbed an old russian analog scope today for $117. not exactly dirt cheap but works up to 200MHz and has everything i need including a self calibration function. now all i need is a decent x10 probe to go with it (i use a plain piece of coax for a x1 probe), and i'll be set.

sure, it's big and heavy, but it works great. i also got an incredibly detailed service manual with it, including schematics AND full parts list for every module! so if it breaks, it can be fixed.

[coglegTHEpirateOFNUL]

If you had a ceramic resonator which needed to be operating at 14.74Mhz but you suspected it wasn't and you only had a scope with 25MHz bandwidth, what would you do?

[kosullivan]

Thanks for such an awesome series!

I'm looking at a first scope, but also with the lofty goal of eventually using it to sniff RF comms at 125khz and 13.45Mhz (contactless standards). I'm currently looking at the DSO-1200 by Hantek, which claims 200Mhz/500MSa/s real/8-bit vertical and 32k samples. Only thing is I haven't been able to find many reviews on it! They claim it's because it's new but do you or anyone watching has had experience with this scope or knows of a review?

Thanks!

--ko

[coglegTHEpirateOFNUL]

I've watched this a few times and I'm considering getting into electronics, I've looked at the model you have which has 25Mhz, from what I've been reading the suggestion is that there is a 1/5th rule of thumb. So 25Mhz bandwidth would be suitable for analysing digital stuff up to 5Mhz? Could you offer any suggestions on what practical applications this would limit you to?

[Afrotechmods]

@coglegTHEpirateOFNUL Good question! 25Mhz means it should be able to capture 2.5ishMhz signals before things start to get really ugly. It would limit your ability to analyze faster data protocols like USB, and it would be useless for any RF work. As long as you don't plan on designing motherboards, this should be enough to get you started on all kinds of fun stuff.

[coglegTHEpirateOFNUL]

@Afrotechmods thanks! I've spent the day doing some reading, based on my ideas for small projects it should be enough for devices that just consist of some sensors, circuitry and pic/other ic. I also got a cheap international ed. of the art of electronics (i know there's a new ver. due soon but oh well.) I have done some soldering before and have been programming for 5 years so this should be fun. :D

ps. I have been visiting your site for longer than I can remember, 6 years maybe, haha.

[gnullmail]

Great tutorial series. Ended up getting the OWON PDS5022S because of them. Thanks.

[yo9hnhradio]

that's an axon !!! cool !!

[mingram53]

Very helpful information. Are you still liking the Owon? Would it make a good starter scope. Thanks.

[drwaseemakbar]

Man!! Great video! Keep it up. If you can,please make some more videos showing oscilloscope working in real world. Moreover, if you could please do a video about logic analyzer as well.

Thanks for sharing such an informative video.

[MeraeTube]

Your presentation was very clear and the picture of the scope was also much clearer than other videos I have seen before. If possible add more complex measurement videos.

Thanks

[akouo01]

Thanks Afrotech, your videos are very presentable, in voice explanation (including candor) as well as practical hands on demonstrations.

[NerdForMIT]

Very nice tutorials, You give great explanations about the scope along with the types, I also like your other tutorials, I like the Pulse Generator tutorial.

[goompapa]

Perfect, thanks muchly!

[vaispatu2006]

thank you so much...great video.

[charlieclown]

if an oscilloscope is used to measure the vibrations of a bell in a vaccum will it register anything?

[Afrotechmods]

Oscilloscopes only measure voltage. You would need something like an accelerometer to go from vibration to voltage first.

[Mykola40]

directly? No. If your bell is magnetic and is inside of a coil, then good oscilloscope will register some voltage.

[palmisano]

Actually, the Axon comes with USB oscilloscope software, too =P

[na5m]

Most scopes can handle several hundreds of volts. My old Leader LBO-522 can handle 600V p-p or dc. It's the graticule that is limited in the voltage it can display, due to its small size.

[crustyHO]

If you think they can only handle 8 volts you're mistaken, you can buy different voltage rated probes for use x2, x4, x8, etc. Not to mention you can always use a resistor to cut the voltage down to usable strength. Besides you're mostly looking at the wave form, not the voltage, when using an o-scope.

[skierplaterandy]

whatever, fuck it, my scope doesnt need to be advanced, i think ill prolly go usb.

[skierplaterandy]

omg, the max voltage for like all of them are 8 volts, thats bullshit!

[mace1337]

Wait, you bought one?

Why didn't you build one out of cat5, stolen transeestahs and your cat's hairballs?

[jeffr40]

would you recommend a simple 10mhz MCP single trace 179.00 shipped, or your Owon for a beginner for $299.00shipped..mostly used for ham radio projects..this is my first oscilloscope and not sure where to start..hate to have to buy another soon Thanks!!..

[Mike82ARP]

Thanks. I'm planning on starting an electronics club at the high school where I teach. I know some basic electronics, but never had the opportunity to experiment with ans oscilloscope. These videos help.

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Ahh but I do miss my WWII scope I had back in high school. I would buy one from eBay knowing it would be as a curiosity at the least :) and a creature to resurrect. The only fearsome aspect is a CRT reconstruction can cost from 250 to 1500 US!! OMG DOLLARS! Re-Cap, new tubes, probably new wiring is all a given and part of the joy :D

>_> This said, I do want a "workable" scope too, and your tut is encouraging!!

[SH0CKFRENZY]

Nice tutorial, very useful information

[billynuris]

THanks a lot..

[905RIOT]

love the pic of stevy wonder ......(wtf)

[mace1337]

That's Ray Charles you dolt.

[akouo01]

LOL!

[Kuwaiti27]

awesome, great tutorial and right into the point.

Thanks

[macnet83]

very good and useful video . thank you

[PetrFM]

I have bought exactly the same oscilloscope. Nice piece for the money,

[Barnekkid]

Great video, much appreciated. Thanks for sharing the knowledge.

[kc7fys]

Excellent video--but solder does not rhyme with motor or voter. It rhymes with water and fodder. (smile)

[Afrotechmods]

In the USA it rhymes with water, in the UK and Europe it is pronounced 'soul durr'. I grew up with both education systems so I sometimes use one version or the other version and sometimes it comes out as a weird hybrid of the two. I move so often I have trouble sticking to just one pronunciation.

[kc7fys]

That explains it! I apologize for sticking my nose in there. I teach English--and I couldn't detect even a hint of "real" Brit English, or I woulda forgiven ya. Those limeys got themselves a whole lorry fulla colorful differences. Anyway--I'm buying my first oscilloscope based on your tips--and avoiding a USB-based scope (although I would quibble with you on the reasoning. The likelihood of an outboard device damaging the PC through the USB bus is remote, no?) I just want knobs-that'm my reason.

[sOnarPL]

Great tutorial friend for someone start. Good work! 5*

[Emeksi]

Awesome!