whats the basic equipt for PI building ?

[johnno]

I suggest dual-channel, which most oscopes are. 10MHz min, but as Charles says, even 20-30MHz is cheap, so look around.

I can pick up an old digitizing oscilloscope,a HP 54201a, would that do?
johnno

[Carl-NC]

Looks pretty decent... I never got into the push-button interfaces, I like having knobs. But it looks like it has more than enough performance.

[johnno]

function generator xr-2206

any function generator schematics? (for testing coil etc)
also can this devise be used in a P.I.??
Thanks johnno

[rgecy]

Does anyone have any plans or suggestions on building a PC based O Scope?

Robert in SC

[Russ_NY]

PI test equipment

I have always preferred stand alone test equipment. It just gives you more options and flexibility. And like Carl I prefer knobs to buttons on a scope. I suppose it's whatever you have gotten used to, but I always seem to wind up in the wrong menu with a multi function button scope. Showing my age I suppose. But good used equipment is available and costs only a fraction of what new equipment costs. Hopefully if you find a good used scope it will include a good set of probes. A bad scope probe will make you crazy and is often the last thing checked when the scope indications just don't look right. A tremendous amount of work can certainly be done with fairly basic equipment. A scope, a meter, a good soldering iron and perhaps a good regulated power supply will go a long way to getting you started. But then again if you happen to really get into making your own stuff, and you happen to be an incurable packrat like me you might consider a much larger house with a workshop and storage area at least twice the size of your living area.
Best of luck
Russ

[Max]

Sorry to bore all you fine techs out there..but I would really like to build one of the PI detectors . I am NOT going to ask "which one is best".
I am asking what BASIC equipment do I require.
I see oscilloscopes always mentioned.
i see LC units mentioned
I see signal generators mentioned.
I have a good high end PC .(which I built).I have seen adapters for o/c plus LC etc that would do the job I suppose.
but can I use a very cheap oscilloscope (single trace 10mgz etc) to check /tune etc...these can be bought quite cheap.
I am a hobbyist electronic noob..( I can solder and chew gum..but not at the same time)!
any help thanks
johnno
Adelade south australia.

Hi Johnno,
I suggest :
- power supply
- multimeter (digital)
- oscilloscope (at least 15MHz BW more better but also 20Mhz could be fine)
- good soldering iron (e.g. weller any model)
and you will go...
if you have also:
- frequency meter
- lcr bridge or inductance-meter
- function generator (say 2MHz max will be ok)
you will go even better...
I suggest finding a cheap scope, some old tektronics or anything good that have at least 20MHz Bandwidth , good probes, a good multimeter with transistor-test and capacitance meter too... a good soldering iron an a regulable power supply. You can find all the stuff for say also 200$ on ebay...
or less.

You can also build some yourself saving money e.g.
- power supply (very simple to make good units with few components)
- inductance meter
- a simple function generator...e.g. using some ready to made IC

You need also wires ...enamelled , teflon etc...and coil housings...and also a way to make PCB and a good supplier of components.

Best regards,
Max

[Max]

any function generator schematics? (for testing coil etc)
also can this devise be used in a P.I.??
Thanks johnno

I have one ...but don't remember where is the schematic !

Another useful thing could be a free oscillator...mean something that oscillate from BF to say 300MHz with any capacitor/coil...(I have too...but can't find also this schematic !)

Best regards,
Max

[Carl-NC]

Does anyone have any plans or suggestions on building a PC based O Scope?

Robert,

I think EPE magazine did one a while back, but on a quick look at their website I could not find it. There are a few low-priced kits available, in the $100-$300 range. Obviously, you can buy an oscope off eBay for less than this, but a PC-scope has 2 huge advantages: portability, and post-processing, such as FFTs. I've often wanted a PC-scope when I'm traveling, also useful for field-debugging detector circuits.

- Carl

[rgecy]

What about this LCR Meter? Functions as Multi Meter, Inductance, and Capacitance Meter. I did notice it says accuracy on inductance is +/- 4%. Not sure if thats good, but some of the others were +/-5%.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mastech-Digital-...QQcmdZViewItem

or this one

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-1-2-bridge-LCR...QQcmdZViewItem

Robert in SC

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

Robert,

but a PC-scope has 2 huge advantages: portability, and post-processing, such as FFTs. I've often wanted a PC-scope when I'm traveling, also useful for field-debugging detector circuits.

- Carl

I have a Picoscope and like it. Plus they are not just a scope but also spectrum analyzers. Here's a link. http://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope.html

[Carl-NC]

What about this LCR Meter?

Both look Good Enough. What you want is a range that goes down to 2mH, which will give good resolution down to 100uH. Both do that.

If you already have a DMM, I would go with the LCR meter because it has plug-in slots for leaded components. That's handy for measuring caps. Plus it seems to be a little more accurate.

- Carl

[bugwhiskers]

Cheap CRO

The 64 S&H PI located in Tech Forum\Universal PI micro that is currently under development has a display that shows differences in the decay waveform. It would be very easy to get it to display a medium resolution live view of the decay waveform.

regards
bugwhiskers

[Functional]

Does anyone have any plans or suggestions on building a PC based O Scope?

Robert in SC

I wasn't around to respond to this earlier, but better late than never.

If you have an old PC and $20.00, check out this webpage for a dual-trace storage oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer software program:
http://www.zelscope.com/

Thats alot closer to my budget than even the used price.

F.

[bugwhiskers]

Hi functional,

Be aware of the fine print. As the software uses the sound card's ADC the upper frequency limit is probably around 20KHz which is fine for audio and not much else.


regards
bugwhiskers