Oscilloscopes

S

Steven Frankel

Guest
Hi all.
I'm starting to learn electrical
engineering (from "The Art of Electronics") and I want to get a
'scope. I'm considering a Tektronix 465 or 475 from ebay. Is it worth
considering? I want a scope that's as versatile as possible, but I don't
want to spend a lot (at least not now). I'd be willing to spend up to about
$400 if it's a good deal. Any suggestions? Should I just go with the Tek
465/475?

Thanks,
Steve
 
Hi all.
I'm starting to learn electrical
engineering (from "The Art of Electronics") and I want to get a
'scope. I'm considering a Tektronix 465 or 475 from ebay. Is it worth
considering? I want a scope that's as versatile as possible, but I don't
want to spend a lot (at least not now). I'd be willing to spend up to
about
$400 if it's a good deal. Any suggestions? Should I just go with the Tek
465/475?
Click to expand...
The book is quite fun, but you need some time to get used to the style ;-)
As for the 475 - it's quite cool, but check if you really need the
bandwidth. I'm putting mine up for auction soon (germany). They go for about
EUR300. I opted for a lower bandwidth digital memory scope (20MHz) as my
microcontrollers don't do much more then 10MHz anyway - and I'm really far
more interested in actually seeing a static image.
Needless to say the 20MHz el-cheapo was more expensive than the good old
475.


Regards,
Ole.
 
I suppose you're right. I probably don't need the bandwidth. I guess it's
time to look for some 20-50 MHz scopes.
BTW, are there any other books you'd recommend to learn from? (Perhaps
something more up-to-date?)

Steve
"Ole Voss" <ole.voss@netrogue.de> wrote in message
news:bfmuts$gt8nv$1@ID-118921.news.uni-berlin.de...
Hi all.
I'm starting to learn electrical
engineering (from "The Art of Electronics") and I want to get a
'scope. I'm considering a Tektronix 465 or 475 from ebay. Is it worth
considering? I want a scope that's as versatile as possible, but I don't
want to spend a lot (at least not now). I'd be willing to spend up to
about
$400 if it's a good deal. Any suggestions? Should I just go with the Tek
465/475?

The book is quite fun, but you need some time to get used to the style ;-)
As for the 475 - it's quite cool, but check if you really need the
bandwidth. I'm putting mine up for auction soon (germany). They go for
about
EUR300. I opted for a lower bandwidth digital memory scope (20MHz) as my
microcontrollers don't do much more then 10MHz anyway - and I'm really far
more interested in actually seeing a static image.
Needless to say the 20MHz el-cheapo was more expensive than the good old
475.


Regards,
Ole.
Click to expand...
 
I suppose you're right. I probably don't need the bandwidth. I guess it's
time to look for some 20-50 MHz scopes.
BTW, are there any other books you'd recommend to learn from? (Perhaps
something more up-to-date?)
Click to expand...
Hey, the subject is not really new either ;-) So go with what works. If you
have time to spare just hop into the next bookstore and take a good long
look at some books there. I don't get to read many english books on the
topic (living in germany and all), but I do own a couple of them. Don't
forget that the "Art of electronics" is a lecture script, and the author
tends to shuffle some jokes between driving home points. That's ok, but
sometimes irritating.
I don't know what you have in mind, and I don't know your current level of
expertise, but for me it has always worked to just get a handful of
components and fry them. By the end of the day you're either missing an eye,
leg or both but you'll certainly know WHY :)

Wish you luck,

Ole.
 
Boris Mohar wrote:

On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 21:43:01 GMT, "Steven Frankel" <tzvi@61lismore.com
wrote:

I suppose you're right. I probably don't need the bandwidth. I guess it's
time to look for some 20-50 MHz scopes.
BTW, are there any other books you'd recommend to learn from? (Perhaps
something more up-to-date?)

Always get highest bandwidth scope that you can afford. If you do not
need the bandwidth today you will tomorrow. Also high speed scopes c an
often reveal "invisible" spikes and glitches that can cause yo to stay up
nights wondering why is something not working right when all measurements
indicate that it should.
Click to expand...
Yes, they can also show spikes that aren't there due to improper probing
technique... It's a double edge sword.
 
"Steven Frankel" <tzvi@61lismore.com> wrote in
news:FLCTa.100825$ye5.18150711@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net:

Hi all.
I'm starting to learn electrical
engineering (from "The Art of Electronics") and I want to get a
'scope. I'm considering a Tektronix 465 or 475 from ebay. Is it worth
considering? I want a scope that's as versatile as possible, but I
don't want to spend a lot (at least not now). I'd be willing to spend
up to about $400 if it's a good deal. Any suggestions? Should I just
go with the Tek 465/475?

Thanks,
Steve
Click to expand...
Both are good choices,also 2213/2215(60Mhz)'A', versions,2235/2236(100Mhz).

465 is 100Mhz,475 is 200/250 Mhz depending on option.

--
Jim Yanik,NRA member
remove null to contact me
 
"Steven Frankel" <tzvi@61lismore.com> wrote in
news:zlRTa.114639$ye5.20639574@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net:

A few people mentioned the 2213\2215 scopes to me. Are they a better
choice then the 465\475? (I believe they are newer)
Click to expand...

465/475 are better scopes,but of an older generation,replaced by the
2445/65 series.(or the horrible 2335 series)

The 2213/15 series were intended as low-cost,hi-volume production scopes.
Simpler trigger circuits,they don't have the LF/HF reject filters,no BW
limit switch for the vertical,but still good scopes. I have a 2213.

--
Jim Yanik,NRA member
remove null to contact me
 
"A E" <aeisenhut@videotron.ca> wrote in message
news:3F1F37F3.FF5C839B@videotron.ca...
Boris Mohar wrote:

On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 21:43:01 GMT, "Steven Frankel" <tzvi@61lismore.com
wrote:

I suppose you're right. I probably don't need the bandwidth. I guess
it's
time to look for some 20-50 MHz scopes.
BTW, are there any other books you'd recommend to learn from? (Perhaps
something more up-to-date?)

Always get highest bandwidth scope that you can afford. If you do not
need the bandwidth today you will tomorrow. Also high speed scopes c an
often reveal "invisible" spikes and glitches that can cause yo to stay
up
nights wondering why is something not working right when all
measurements
indicate that it should.


Yes, they can also show spikes that aren't there due to improper probing
technique... It's a double edge sword.
Click to expand...
if anything, cable reflections are smaller in higher frequency probes. High
frequency probes have better shielding and grounding than cheap low
frequency probes. Capacitive loading (due to probe input capacitance) of the
circuit you're testing is significant sometimes. Try to probe a 32kHz clock
with anything else short of a 500MHz FET probe and you'll simply stop the
oscillation with your probing .
Testing is a very time consuming and labor intensive part of circuit design
and garbage in is garbage out, so don't skimp on test equipment. Better buy
a smaller chair or save money anywhere else first. Get the best scope you
can afford even if it seems overkill for now.

Best Regards,
Matt Tudor , MSEE
http://www.gigahertzelectronics.com
 
"Steven Frankel" <tzvi@61lismore.com> wrote in message
news:zlRTa.114639$ye5.20639574@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...
A few people mentioned the 2213\2215 scopes to me. Are they a better
choice
then the 465\475? (I believe they are newer)
"Jim Yanik" <jyanik@nullkua.net> wrote in message
news:Xns93C1D5C3CF3ECjyanikkuanet@204.117.192.21...
"Steven Frankel" <tzvi@61lismore.com> wrote in
news:FLCTa.100825$ye5.18150711@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net:

Hi all.
I'm starting to learn electrical
engineering (from "The Art of Electronics") and I want to get a
'scope. I'm considering a Tektronix 465 or 475 from ebay. Is it worth
considering? I want a scope that's as versatile as possible, but I
don't want to spend a lot (at least not now). I'd be willing to spend
up to about $400 if it's a good deal. Any suggestions? Should I just
go with the Tek 465/475?

Thanks,
Steve




Both are good choices,also 2213/2215(60Mhz)'A',
versions,2235/2236(100Mhz).

465 is 100Mhz,475 is 200/250 Mhz depending on option.

--
Jim Yanik,NRA member
remove null to contact me
Click to expand...

if you're ever going to study digital not only analogue circuits, which you
probably will if you're studying electrical engineering, there are some
other less obvious choices for the same money. HP (now Agilent) made some
oscilloscope + logic analyzer combinations . I have a HP1631D , which is a 2
channel DSO , with 50MHz single shot bandwidth , 200MSPS and 43 logic
analyzer channels . You can get them with logic probes from Ebay for around
or even significantly under your $400 budget .The scopes that were indicated
in previous posts were more of production/portable troubleshooting for field
technicians , with limited triggering .

Matt Tudor , MSEE
http://www.gigahertzelectronics.com
 
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