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Oscilloscope ... do I need one?


Emile

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Hi,

 

Haven't used an oscilloscope for 40 years ... and don't remember how :(  But, think (haha :D ) that they might be useful for some troubleshooting.

 

Found a Kikusui COS5040 40Hz oscilloscope at a local college for very little money ($50).  Just not sure if 40Hz is useful ... Appreciate any advise.

 

Thanks, Emile

 

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40 kHz MHz probably. [edit]    

 

I would say that there are plenty of units run by PComputers which will do audio range stuff and have the capacity to store and print waveforms and FFT.  Granted they are going to be about 3x what you're talking about.

 

WMcD

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26 minutes ago, Emile said:

The college has one left ... but only one channel works ... So, holding off for now

 

Yeah, don't buy a broken oscilloscope. You can do quite a bit of troubleshooting with a multimeter of some sort or a VOM.

The scopes colleges usually flog are older models, and one should pay attention to calibration dates.

 

If you are actually interested, talk to the right people, or go to some ham fests if they have them in your area. There is a chance you may find a better scope...you may have to pay a little more, but you'll probably do better than an off brand 4 meg scope.

 

I have a B&K 10mHz scope I bought for 40 dollars years ago, and have been wanting to upgrade. A local retired friend hits the ham fests, so when he seen a Tektronix 2246 for 100 bucks in perfect working order, he couldn't pass it up. He has his share of oscilloscopes, so he passed it on to me for 100 bucks.

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About 3 years ago I bought 8 Tektronix tube O scopes that had been sitting in a barn for years.  Got them all at an auction for 10 bucks.  Opened them up and robbed all of the Amperex and Mullard tubes that were inside, and then a friend of mine got all of the beautiful tube sockets and other parts.  All that was left were the chassis, which we recycled.....

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TrueRTA (freeware) has an oscilloscope mode (which I've never had to use).  Unless you just want to play with a hardware oscilloscope for things other than audio, I'd recommend TrueRTA instead.

 

Chris

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