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  • Author Author: dougw
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Wish List Preferences

I am curious if other makers have similar views to me...

What instrument is highest on your wish list?

What prize would you find most motivating in a design challenge?

Which instrument would you most like to road test?

If you comment, perhaps you could list your top 3 wish list instruments.

  • in reply to shabaz

    I perfectly understand what you mean Shabaz! Me too when I was 5-6 y.o. was using the tongue to see if there was current in the batteries image

     

    Enrico

  • in reply to rachaelp

    I've struggled with an ancient Gould 20MHz OS300 analog 'scope for at least 25 years!

     

    Six months ago I was working on something and the Gould was not up to the job. After some research I bought an entry level picoscope image. Whilst obviously not in the same class as a full blown digital scope, it is infinitely better than my old Gould. The higher spec. picoscopes look fantastic, but for what I do, the bottom of the range model is more than adequate.

     

    It all depends what you need and not what you want - I think somebody famous said something similar!

     

    Neil

  • in reply to rachaelp

    rachaelp wrote:

     

    I don't have an personal experience with the PicoScope range yet but I am tempted to get a cheap one to experiment with and see what the software is like before deciding whether to shell out for any of the higher end stuff. You can never have too many oscilloscopes to hand right?

    I'm not too sure - I just bought another one (Rohde & Schwarz RTB2004, fully loaded on Farnell's current promotion offer)  and I'm thinking I should sell one or two of the older ones that never get used now:

    If anyone (probably in the UK) is interested ..........

     

    Agilent 54622D (with all probes including digital and manuals etc.)

    Rigol DS2072 (with probes and serial decoder option for RS232)

    LeCroy WaverRunner 44mxi (4chan, 400MHz, 5Gs per channel, original probes and spares -intermittent fault means the PC section freezes from time to time, symptoms are a bad connection, LecCroy will replace the PC for about £1300 including shipping)

     

    Sorry no Picoscopes image

     

    Terms would be we discuss by email, you visit and either buy or not - no pressure but don't forget I'm in SW Scotland, about 50 miles west and 10 miles north of Carlisle.

     

    Send me an email (or respond here) - my proper email address is in my contacts entry on E14.

     

    MK

  • in reply to dougw

    The cost of off-shore PCBs is just so low, this machine will not really save money.

     

    Might be perfect for a Maker group though, if enough of the members work with PCBs regularly enough.

  • in reply to rachaelp

    You can compare it with Rigol.

    It's nearly the same quality but its a scope for PC connecting via USB.

    https://www.rigol.eu/products/digital-oscilloscopes/1000/

    https://www.picotech.com/library/a-to-z

    And you can drop Rigol and PicoScope if you works with Tektronix or Keysight.image

    Hameg (Rhode&Schwarz) also looks better than the both.

  • in reply to dougw

    I don't have an personal experience with the PicoScope range yet but I am tempted to get a cheap one to experiment with and see what the software is like before deciding whether to shell out for any of the higher end stuff. You can never have too many oscilloscopes to hand right? image

  • in reply to rachaelp

    I have purchased a couple of different "USB scopes" in the past with poor results - very cumbersome to get set up for an efficient work flow and and to keep running with version compatibility issues. Maybe it is time for me to reconsider....

  • in reply to dougw

    Have you looked at the likes of PicoScope? They start and £99+VAT and include serial decode as standard. Their range is quite extensive now, going up to quite high end units costing many thousands and their software supports Mac and Linux too and not just Windows.

  • in reply to ntewinkel

    I'm not sure about through hole components. I got the impression vias are kept pretty small so they can be filled with "ink" at reasonable cost. Once the ink is cured it is probably not going to allow leads to poke through. Maybe if larger holes had some ink deposited in them, it could be manually manipulated with a pick before curing to create a conductive cylinder, or maybe the ink naturally would flow around the walls of the hole - it may take some experimentation. Obviously some components can be soldered on both sides of the card eliminating this issue.