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Oscilloscope advice

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I can't access that link, so I don't know what scope you're looking at. I bought a Hitachi V-212 scope off ebay for under a hundred bucks U.S. There always seem to be a few up for sale. 20mhz, dual trace, analog. Does fine for my very basic scope needs.
 
The very best bang for the buck today is the Rigol DS1054Z 50MHz 4 channel scope for $399.00

As found as we can be of vintage equipment, often it's best to buy new and simply have a working tool, instead of a vintage unit that is a project to keep wokring
 
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The 465 was the go-to scope for a long time, but they're getting rather old. It's heavy, dense and hard to service. The controls can get stiff and the couplings can break. Unless you like to be the caretaker and service person for old test equipment, the newer stuff above will serve you better.
 
c.coyle said:
I can't access that link, so I don't know what scope you're looking at. I bought a Hitachi V-212 scope off ebay for under a hundred bucks U.S. There always seem to be a few up for sale. 20mhz, dual trace, analog. Does fine for my very basic scope needs.
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Forgot to say, I'm in Hong Kong, so buying stuff off of ebay is a bit less effective here, that and we are 220V. Am going to look into the Rigol and Hitachi.

I'm also working mainly with tube gear, so how concerned should I be with high voltage. Some I have looked at say a max input of 300V, is that going to be helped by using differential probes
 
No Money said:
Forgot to say, I'm in Hong Kong, so buying stuff off of ebay is a bit less effective here, that and we are 220V. Am going to look into the Rigol and Hitachi. . . .
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I agree with the others. If I had the budget, I would go with the Rigol or another modern scope.
 
No Money said:
Some I have looked at say a max input of 300V, is that going to be helped by using differential probes
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You need to watch this spec, as typically it's Vpp, while most AC voltages are stated as Vrms. As an example, 220Vrms (your mains) is 622Vpp. To measure voltages higher than what the scope is spec'd for you need divider, or attenuated, probes. Something like the Rigol will come with 1x and 10x selectable probes, and you can purchase 100x probes separately if needed.
 
Remember to check the voltage specs on the probe. X10 probes are intended more for low capacitance high speed work, than high voltage. Just because it gives you a high voltage scale doesn't mean it's OK to use it to the maximum voltage you can view/read.
 
How precise of a scope do you need? If you're just looking at waveforms, then most anything will get the job done. If you want one to actually use for accurate measurements, that gets different. I rather like the more modern scopes that will read out frequency and voltage directly rather than having to count and do math, and/or use an external frequency counter to get it done. At the same time I really dislike the slow refresh rate on digital scopes. I run an old B&K 1540 myself. Doesn't do anything other than display waves, but response speed is effectively instant.

Anyway, if you're not needing anything with supreme accuracy or modern features I would expect you can turn up a used analog scope without much trouble. Buy one from a company thats been heard of and you're likely OK. Tek were the standard, but plenty of other people made perfectly workable equipment.
 
Those old analog Hitachi scopes, V-xxx series, were sold by the truckload to service techs. There are lots around for well under $100. They are very good instruments for general audio work. My daily driver is a $20 V-222. I sold my other scopes as they were just overkill for basic repair stuff.
 
If you come across any Tek 2000 series scopes consider those. Newer than the 400 series and affordable these days.
 
i can vouch for hitachi scopes as i have one .. switches tend to corrode if not used for a while but switch cleaner soon sorts that out ..
 
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