Greetings all,
I am slowly working my way towards making a start on the Modulus Amps kit I have currently sitting in our 'music' room.
I suspect that a 'scope might be a useful thing to have for troubleshooting both the amp kit and any pedals I throw together from tagboard schematics. I have no desire to buy new, so could anybody offer any advice on what to look for in used models please? Any makes to look for/avoid? How many channels am I likely to need? Do I need a signal generator to use an oscilloscope properly? I would be happy spending up to £200, but preferably not that much.... (and having looked on eBay, I realise that several thousand *can* be spent one)
As always, many thanks in advance.
Adam
Comments
However, the new cheaper standalone digital oscilloscopes are probably just as good in terms of oscilloscope use.
It's probably worth going and doing some searching/reading over on the EEVblog forum to see what the latest suggestions are - https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh9FNRpta9s
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Chips are "Plant-based" no matter how you cook them
Donald Trump needs kicking out of a helicopter
I'm personally responsible for all global warming
Many thanks for the advice, particularly the eevblog forum rabbit hole!
I shall watch the videos, and see if I can find something appropriate.
I suppose I should be asking - is an oscilloscope a near essential item for building valve amps? Or is it more of a luxury item that is handy to have?
Take care,
Adam
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VICHY-VC97-3999-Autorange-multimeter-New/283687775020?hash=item420d1beb2c:g:7NkAAOSwHP1d26cp
Combine that with what you're likely to be using it for, which is simply to see if you are getting an appropriate signal, spending lots on something that's accurate to nano volts and seconds isn't going to do anything other than help lighten your wallet.
It’s also a great tool if you’re curious about how things work, though - by seeing where and how distortion occurs you can learn a lot about how amps and pedals work, and why they sound the way they do.
I have an old CRT Panasonic dual-trace 40MHz model which is easily good enough for audio work - you should be able to find something like this in perfect working order for under £100.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I have recently bought a Rigol DS1054z, 4ch digital storage scope for about £330 when I got it, sure its nice to have a small, but still noisy, accurate scope, but they have economised on user buttons and knobs to keep the small facia workable. Its a pain in the bottom to use!
A friend of mine has bought an Owon SDS1022 2ch digital storage scope, and because it has less functionality, (not much less) I think its usability is better than mine and for £150 it seems like a good first scope .
I wouldn't bother with the £25 Amazon or Ebay mini scopes. The one I have seen, worked but 1ch is very limiting, (2 ch are a good thing) and the screen was too small to be practical. Very limited for practical use.
A signal generator is useful, although nothing beats a good multimeter (both analogue and digital) for usefulness. Also, one of my most used bits of kit, after the DVM is my linear bench power supply.
If you're not too far away, when travel restrictions are lifted, id like to take you up on that offer.
Adam