How many people use a Scope?

[alteredsounds]

Is it an advantage to use a scope for average pedal building or is it more useful for design purposes?  I'd like to pick one up but I wanna know that I'd use it.

Cheers,
Nick,

[Dirk_Hendrik]

In everything I either build or repair the scope saves me hours. A scope is such an incredibly fast tool to verify the functioning of certain parts I couldn't do without it anymore.

[alteredsounds]

What would be the very basics needed on one, I dont really wanna pay for loadsa functions I wouldnt use.  I remember using one on a Sound Engineering course and at the time it seemed fairly complicated.

Cheers,
Nick,,

[Sir H C]

Most of the functions on anything but digital scopes are pretty standard.  The difference in selling points usually can be reduced to what speed the scope is.  Faster = more $$.  I am partial to the Tektronix 454/453 scopes.  2 channels, 150/50 Mhz respectively, and portable.  These can be had for pretty cheap too.  Two channels is really nice to look at more than one thing, more channels is nicer but more expensive.  Digital can be really cool to save displays or capture transient behavior, but again more money.

[vfr800fiman]

Here's my "daily driver"
It's almost as old as I am
I find it very useful for all kinds of measurements, although you have to let this beast warm-up
for 15 minutes before it stabilizes! They were throwing it out at work, and I couldn't bear to see
it end-up in the scrap yard.
Glenn
http://webpages.charter.net/porkchop/misc/tektronix545a.jpg

[spudulike]

What about software scopes (via soundcard) ?
Any good ?

[alteredsounds]

What about software scopes (via soundcard) ?
Any good ?

Read alot of posts in here slating them really, would rock if they were any good though

[stm]

I have an old Philips single-channel 10 MHz bandwidth oscilloscope.  A really useful tool both for debugging and experimenting.

Unfortunately the time base selector has some positions where it doesn't make good contact, and dissassembling the unit to attemp a repair is quite impossible 

[A.S.P.]

(old) analog scope here,
for t-shooting & d-signing...

[Plectrum]

What about software scopes (via soundcard) ?
Any good ?

Read alot of posts in here slating them really, would rock if they were any good though

I use a software scope, in a fairly basic way... comes in handy for my synth programming too.
The one that seemed the most robust and straightforward was:

http://www.sonicspot.com/wavetools/wavetools.html

Grant

[Dave Eason]

I've heard bad things about software scopes, how its never as accurate having the signal go through adc's then get processed by a standard pc cpu etc.  Ok, digital scopes work on the same principle but they have dedicated parts and software for their jobs.  I've not tried a pc scope though, and was thinking that would come in very handy for simple work.

You can get a reasonable handheld digital scope/multi meter in maplins in the uk for £79.  Whether it's up to the job or not is another matter.

[The Tone God]

I LOVE my scopes. I don't know how I could live without them. I have three or four lying around. One of them is a four channel Tektronix.

Andrew

[gez]

One of the few things I'd grab in a house fire! 

[Ge_Whiz]

I've just re-boxed a homebrew theremin. Two RF oscillators, mixer, preamp. Everything affects the frequency of the two oscillators - if they're too far apart, no audio signal. How do I check both oscillators are working? That they have matching output levels? That their frequencies are close? Which one is the higher frequency?

All sorted out in minutes on a two-channel 'scope. What else can measure voltage, frequency, phase, distortion, DC offset, component type, diode orientation...? Invaluable.

[Dirk_Hendrik]

[showoff mode]
Usually I use a 500 Mhz 4-channel Lecroy digital scope. Apart from the high bandwith and the channnels this thing has a serial interface making it possible to make screendumps (perhaps the biggest argument for a digital scope) directy to the com port on the PC.  Other than that I have a 4 channel 400Mhz tektronix (2465B) analog. Both were leftovers at work as the need for higher bandwith (currenly: DDA5005XXL) made em obsolete. My 20Mhz 2-channel Hitachi is permanently parked at my dad's place and used for optimizing the ignition of car engines.
[/showoff]
Sorry

basically,
I'm so much used to using scopes in hobby as well as work that I probaly would stop this hobby without.

[BDuguay]

I've tried it, but I prefer Listerine.


Sorry, couldn't resist
B.

[nelson]

I just won an analog scope off ebay for 25 quid "advanced instruments". I know nothing about scopes or brands, but finding out should be a blast, and for 25 quid I cant say no.

Advanced instruments model no OS1000A

No idea if its a hunk of junk, but it should be enough for stompbox work.

[Sir H C]

I just won an analog scope off ebay for 25 quid "advanced instruments". I know nothing about scopes or brands, but finding out should be a blast, and for 25 quid I cant say no.

Advanced instruments model no OS1000A

No idea if its a hunk of junk, but it should be enough for stompbox work.

Heck my first scope was a thrift store find of a Heathkit tube scope.  Worked fine for audio though it had a lot of distortion of its own to try to filter out when looking at the screen.

If yours works, it should be fine.

[Peter Snowberg]

My first scope was a Dick Smith labeled 20MHz dual trace. The same unit is sold under LOTS of names. Good decent basic scope. I worked my way up to a 1GHz 4 trace Tektronix digital storage scope which subsequently died and wasn't worth repairing. These days I have a Leader 100MHz 3 trace and an old Tektronix gathering dust.

[hhelland]

I've got an old tube oscilloscope from 1965, a Tektronix type 545B. Very nice. Two channels, dual time base generators, delayed trigger function. Huge, heavy, noisy, and hasn't been calibrated since 1972.