PC based Digital Storage Oscilloscope

[Tinkerer]

I have been using a PC based Digital Storage Oscilloscope to look at the various windows along the signal path of my PI experiments. It has helped me in many ways to see and understand what is happening to the signal. Specially for transients and ultra low frequency noise. Time has come to look for a new solution for a low cost Digital storage Oscilloscope. Can anybody recommend a low cost PC based Digital Storage Oscilloscope? Tinkerer

[gwzd]

I'd wouldn't buy any of those. You'll be better off buying a used Tek scope of the series TDS200. They are not expensive nowadays, something around 400 USD and that's a bargain. Look here if interested:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search...fsop=32&fsoo=2

If you are determined to buy a PC based stuff then the best I have seen comes from the following company:
http://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope.html
But as I said, it is far from being the real thing. Tektronix put many years developing front ends for their machines the same goes for Agilent (former HP).

I have a couple of TDS224 myself with the PC interface so you can save the signals on the PC for later analysis. Despite that they are quite old now, more than 6 years, they still function very well and run almost 50 hours a week. Still, my workhorse is a Tek 7854 from the eighties, but that's because it goes up to 14 GHz (not a typo, is giga) without blinking!

You can get a Tek 7854 with the GPIB port like mine and a few plugins for under 2000 USD and that's is a fraction of what I paid for it some 20 years ago. So, if you see one and have the cash go for it, it is worthy.

I have used it for tuning GPR Horn antennas and that's not an easy task.

Regards

[Aziz]

Oh boys,

I would be very happy, if I would have an old analog oscilloscope. Fortunatelly, on VLF frequencies, I am using only my PC. This makes the analysis of the electronics part quite difficult, because this is occupied by the laptop detector itself.

Aziz

[Tinkerer]

Digital Storage Scope

I'd wouldn't buy any of those. You'll be better off buying a used Tek scope of the series TDS200. They are not expensive nowadays, something around 400 USD and that's a bargain. Look here if interested:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search...fsop=32&fsoo=2

If you are determined to buy a PC based stuff then the best I have seen comes from the following company:
http://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope.html
But as I said, it is far from being the real thing. Tektronix put many years developing front ends for their machines the same goes for Agilent (former HP).

I have a couple of TDS224 myself with the PC interface so you can save the signals on the PC for later analysis. Despite that they are quite old now, more than 6 years, they still function very well and run almost 50 hours a week. Still, my workhorse is a Tek 7854 from the eighties, but that's because it goes up to 14 GHz (not a typo, is giga) without blinking!

You can get a Tek 7854 with the GPIB port like mine and a few plugins for under 2000 USD and that's is a fraction of what I paid for it some 20 years ago. So, if you see one and have the cash go for it, it is worthy.

I have used it for tuning GPR Horn antennas and that's not an easy task.

Regards

Thank you for the very useful information.

For us who are working on the design of metal detectors as a hobby, a few hundred Dollar is a lot of money.
It is worth searching for bargains and low cost alternatives.

Tinkerer

[gwzd]

For us who are working on the design of metal detectors as a hobby, a few hundred Dollar is a lot of money.

That's also true.

My regards

[Unregistered]

PC based Oscilloscope

That's also true.

My regards

Pike here

is there any other low cost alternative of about 10Msps PC based circuit @14bit or 12 bit resolution for PI detector, in the market PC based oscilloscope is very costly like 200$....