Re: PC Based Oscilliscopes
From: Dr. Anton T. Squeegee (SpammersAreVermin_at_dev.null)
Date: 01/22/05
- Previous message: R: "Re: Need help identifying an item I have on Ebay"
- In reply to: Jim Douglas: "PC Based Oscilliscopes"
- Next in thread: m II: "Re: PC Based Oscilliscopes"
- Reply: m II: "Re: PC Based Oscilliscopes"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 19:01:11 -0800
In article <Re6dnVkvnsMeDGzcRVn-gw@comcast.com>, james.douglas@genesis-
software.com says...
> Anyone use these? Any recommendations good or bad? I am looking at some that
> have Scope, Meter, Spectrum Analysis, etc. Are the "multi-use" type PC
> scopes any good? I see some that are down around $200-300? which is in my
> price range.
My gut reaction when I see a PC-based O-scope is to cringe.
I would stay away from them. For the same price range that you
mention, you could get one heck of a nice Tektronix 7000 series 'scope,
or perhaps a 400 or 2400 series portable, all from the used/surplus
arena (more specifically, from ham radio swap meets or Greed-Bay).
Example: The Tek 7603 was one of their most popular, and is also
one of the most plentiful on the surplus market. It has a mainframe
bandwidth of at least 100MHz, and can often be found for around $50-$100
with plug-ins.
If you want some serious bandwidth, you should have a look at the
Tek 7904 or 7104. The base frames have bandwidths of 500MHz and 1GHz,
respectively, and you should be able to get a good 7904 with plug-ins
for a little over $300.
Your test equipment needs are, of course, your choice. However, I
would like to say that just because a test instrument CAN be designed to
work in a PC environment does NOT always mean that it SHOULD be. Good-
quality input stages are hard to do (there's a reason Tek put so much
R&D into theirs), and they are one of the main driving factors where
cost is concerned.
I have little faith that the Taiwan-import PC-based (alleged) O-
scopes can do a proper job in this regard. Good quality test gear is an
investment, and it should be treated that way.
Keep the peace(es).
-- Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute. (Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR, kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com "If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped with surreal ports?"
- Previous message: R: "Re: Need help identifying an item I have on Ebay"
- In reply to: Jim Douglas: "PC Based Oscilliscopes"
- Next in thread: m II: "Re: PC Based Oscilliscopes"
- Reply: m II: "Re: PC Based Oscilliscopes"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Relevant Pages
|
|
