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I'm just getting started in the hobby of experimenting with RF devices. I already have a NanoVNA and a TinySA Ultra (not out of the box yet though). In setting up my radio bench, what do you experts say about the need for an oscilloscope also? Will the devices I have cover most common needs or will I at some point wish for an oscilloscope also?
If you'all recommend the scope, I have a choice (in my price range) between a refurbished Tektronix 2235 AN (100Mhz, 2 channels) and a new import - the?
Siglent Technologies SDS1202X-E 200 mhz Digital Oscilloscope.? Which of these two is preferable?
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The textronix definitely has the old school cool factor.??
I have the 1202X-E and frankly it's pretty good.? It's not as hackable as the Rigol scopes, but frankly you can't go wrong with it.
Though if I could swing it, I would get a four channel Siglent.? The nice thing about the four channel siglents is the ability to generate a bode plot with a Siglent? frequency generator.??
That's useful for characterizing analog filters and the like.
I'm just getting started in the hobby of experimenting with RF devices. I already have a NanoVNA and a TinySA Ultra (not out of the box yet though). In setting up my radio bench, what do you experts say about the need for an oscilloscope also? Will the devices I have cover most common needs or will I at some point wish for an oscilloscope also?
If you'all recommend the scope, I have a choice (in my price range) between a refurbished Tektronix 2235 AN (100Mhz, 2 channels) and a new import - the?
Siglent Technologies SDS1202X-E 200 mhz Digital Oscilloscope.? Which of these two is preferable?
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Steve,
I have the prior model that is 100MHz and does not have the FFT capabilities of the SDS1202X-E.? The digital capabilities that include screen capture and math are huge.? I am unfamiliar with the Tektronix scope you listed, but I believe it is a phosphorus storage scope rather than digital.
My opinion,? I am sure others will differ.
73
Evan
AC9TU
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Each is a different tool for different tasks and all three complement each other. IMO every bench should have at least one scope. In the past I have used a 2235 daily and found it to be a decent tool. I have also used some of the low end Tektronix digital scopes. From my experience the digital scopes are great for digital but I prefer analog scopes for looking at analog signals. The digital scopes I used tended to have a little bit of lag from the processing which annoyed me. Analog scopes are near instantaneous. I'm sure recent digital scopes are much faster, so YMMV as they say. I have a Tektronix 468 on my bench at the moment. 73 -Jim NU0C On Wed, 14 Dec 2022 15:53:03 -0800 "Steve Johnson" <cascadianroot@...> wrote: I'm just getting started in the hobby of experimenting with RF devices. I already have a NanoVNA and a TinySA Ultra (not out of the box yet though). In setting up my radio bench, what do you experts say about the need for an oscilloscope also? Will the devices I have cover most common needs or will I at some point wish for an oscilloscope also?
If you'all recommend the scope, I have a choice (in my price range) between a refurbished Tektronix 2235 AN (100Mhz, 2 channels) and a new import - the
Siglent Technologies SDS1202X-E 200 mhz Digital Oscilloscope.? Which of these two is preferable?
Siglent Technologies SDS1202X-E 200 mhz Digital ( ) Siglent Technologies SDS1202X-E 200 mhz Digital ( )
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I'd go with the Siglent.? I have a Siglent SDS1104X-E.? Only 100 MHz, but four input channels.? I considered getting the 200 MHz version, but most of the time if I need to look at something above 100 MHz, the spectrum analyzer is my tool of choice, not the oscilloscope.? I also have a Siglent spectrum analyzer (besides a couple of tinySAs and a tinySA Ultra on order) and a Siglent function/arbitrary waveform generator.? When I bought these pieces of equipment I also looked at the Rigol and others in the same price range and concluded Siglent is definitely the way to go.
By the way, these oscilloscopes will also function as a spectrum analyzer by doing a Fast Fourier Transform on the captured data.? My 1104 is only 100 MHz analog bandwidth, but I am able to observe RF signals past 250 MHz in spectrum analyzer mode.? Sensitivity drops off above 100 MHz, of course, but 250 MHz signals are still easily displayed.
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For troubleshooting and repair I prefer a fast reacting scope,
like my old Tek 465. Also for its overload stability.
For adjustments, serial digital measurements and documentation I
prefer my Picoscope.? In no way a scope can beat a PC based system
in this fields. Including higher trace resolution, multiple traces
in time and frequency domain, serial data timing and content
analysis.
When doing measurements on live circuits I prefer my Tek THS720
handheld scope, because of its isolated channels.
All the Best,
Isidro
Am 15.12.2022 um 07:42 schrieb Jim
Allyn - N7JA:
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I'd go with the Siglent.? I have a Siglent SDS1104X-E.? Only
100 MHz, but four input channels.? I considered getting the 200
MHz version, but most of the time if I need to look at something
above 100 MHz, the spectrum analyzer is my tool of choice, not
the oscilloscope.? I also have a Siglent spectrum analyzer
(besides a couple of tinySAs and a tinySA Ultra on order) and a
Siglent function/arbitrary waveform generator.? When I bought
these pieces of equipment I also looked at the Rigol and others
in the same price range and concluded Siglent is definitely the
way to go.
By the way, these oscilloscopes will also function as a spectrum
analyzer by doing a Fast Fourier Transform on the captured
data.? My 1104 is only 100 MHz analog bandwidth, but I am able
to observe RF signals past 250 MHz in spectrum analyzer mode.?
Sensitivity drops off above 100 MHz, of course, but 250 MHz
signals are still easily displayed.
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Hello Steve,
I have a Tektronix 2235 and enjoy using it.? I used to have TWO until the CRT died in one of them.? After a week of searching, I concluded NEW/unused replacement CRT's for that instrument no longer exist and the couple of USED tubes I found cost as much as a new 'scope.
You need an oscilloscope to look at waveform time features such as distortion, amplitude, and time relationships.??
If I were buying a 'scope now, I would definitely choose one of the newer digital devices.? Hope this helps answer your question.
73,
Doug Thompson, W5DET
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I have a similar scope, USM-488/2235, it is Gov'nt surplus with defect(s), seems to be OK for my purposes BUT, I also bought a Rigol DS1202Z-e, 200Mhx BW, very nice scope, and under $500 Canadian.
John VE7KKQ
On Thu, Dec 15, 2022 at 12:17 PM W5DET < w5det@...> wrote: Hello Steve,
I have a Tektronix 2235 and enjoy using it.? I used to have TWO until the CRT died in one of them.? After a week of searching, I concluded NEW/unused replacement CRT's for that instrument no longer exist and the couple of USED tubes I found cost as much as a new 'scope.
You need an oscilloscope to look at waveform time features such as distortion, amplitude, and time relationships.??
If I were buying a 'scope now, I would definitely choose one of the newer digital devices.? Hope this helps answer your question.
73,
Doug Thompson, W5DET
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You might want to consider the SDS 1104-XE.? It's the 4 channel 100MHz version of the 1202-XE.? They can be "upgraded", via firmware, to 200MHz.? There is a very long post on this over at EEVBlog on the Test Equipment Forum.? To my knowledge, no one has been able to find any differences between the "upgraded" 100MHz and the 200MHz model after the firmware was updated.?? In other words, there appear to be no hardware changes between the two models, only firmware.? Note: This is not an official upgrade, someone figured out how to do it and shared the info.? I've done it to mine and have had no problems.? Whether or not it is still possible to do is up to the reader to ascertain.
NB - I don't know if Siglent has done anything to prevent the installation of the firmware in the latest iterations of the 1104-XE.? The above referenced post should address that.
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I would give another big thumbs-up vote for the Siglent SDS 1104X-E (4 channel/200 MHz capable if you want/Bode plots with add-on FG/solid math(s) w/ a useable FFT). Also, the wifi/ethernet capability and remote control via http works great. You can do a lot of monitoring and capturing of data from your computer directly.
Jeff
K1VG
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On 16/12/2022 19:32, Jeff Zibluk wrote: I would give another big thumbs-up vote for the Siglent SDS 1104X-E (4 channel/200 MHz capable if you want/Bode plots with add-on FG/solid math(s) w/ a useable FFT). Also, the wifi/ethernet capability and remote control via http works great. You can do a lot of monitoring and capturing of data from your computer directly.
Jeff
K1VG In practice, recently I've found a battery operated scope more useful than an bench model. Something like: or the slightly larger mode, currently on sale: For an even more compact size: Cheers, David -- SatSignal Software - Quality software for you Web: Email: david-taylor@... Twitter: @gm8arv
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Thanks all for the advice. The?Siglent SDS 1104-XE sounds interesting. I can¡¯t find the thread referred to in the EEVBLOG forum; their search function is broken and doesn¡¯t recognize a correct CAPTCHA entry. I guess I can try a general Google search for that. ?
the PICO machines ate also interesting as I have a spare Raspberry Pi i could set up for use with it, but even so they ate more expensive.?
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Here's the link I was referring to:?
Note, it's a lot of reading!?
73, Fleet KC1QHE
On 12/17/2022 2:42 PM, Steve Johnson
wrote:
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Show quoted text
Thanks all for the advice. The?Siglent SDS 1104-XE sounds
interesting. I can¡¯t find the thread referred to in the EEVBLOG
forum; their search function is broken and doesn¡¯t recognize a
correct CAPTCHA entry. I guess I can try a general Google search
for that. ?
the PICO machines ate also interesting as I have a spare
Raspberry Pi i could set up for use with it, but even so they
ate more expensive.?
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Rob L
Jim Shorney
Jim Allyn - N7JA
David J Taylor