Oscilloscope recommendations

[Martin Hegedus]

Hi,

My daughter and I are working on various electronics projects including a robotic RC car.  For fun, learning, and tinkering.  In the process we're designing various custom electronics.  We're new at this and going with the flow.  It's now time to buy an oscilloscope (new or used) for both learning and designing. One use case is designing a clean power module.  Another is to track down the ghost that is haunting our servos and making them jitter.  So pwm signals.  And who knows where our adventures will lead.  Questions that are unanswered are how many channels (2 or 4?), bandwidth and sample rate, and resolution (8, 12, 16 bits)?  Ofc, the budget is not unlimited.  But, I'm wondering if there is a sweet spot wrt to price.

Any comments and recommendations would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Martin Hegedus

[Marco Walther]

On 8/5/26 14:32, Martin Hegedus wrote:
> Hi,

Hello;-)

My recommendation is a bit different;-) Find a
Maker-/Hacker-/Friend-/..-Space with one and somebody who can help you &
your daughter get started;-)

After you did the first couple of things, and you see, where you want to
go, the choices become much clearer;-)

Have fun exploring,
-- Marco

>
> Thanks,
> Martin Hegedus
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "HomeBrew Robotics Club" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send
> an email to hbrobotics+...@googlegroups.com
> <mailto:hbrobotics+...@googlegroups.com>.
> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/
> hbrobotics/CADx-XoKt6TXxVaigkviwdbAJbU-EHQKt4Ry16PRY2-
> XDS9%2Bm7Q%40mail.gmail.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/
> hbrobotics/CADx-XoKt6TXxVaigkviwdbAJbU-EHQKt4Ry16PRY2-
> XDS9%2Bm7Q%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>.

[Michael Wimble]

I bought this:

Siglent Technologies SDS1202X-E... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZML6RD?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I could make use of a 4 trace scope about 10 percent of the time but chose a lesser cost unit. I definitely use the built in math functions and I take screenshots on a usb card to annotate my daily log files. Higher frequency would be nice for some radio projects but, I don’t design radios hardly at all any more. And, you know, cost. 

On Aug 5, 2026, at 2:35 PM, Martin Hegedus <martin....@gmail.com> wrote:



--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "HomeBrew Robotics Club" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to hbrobotics+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hbrobotics/CADx-XoKt6TXxVaigkviwdbAJbU-EHQKt4Ry16PRY2-XDS9%2Bm7Q%40mail.gmail.com.

[Marco Walther]

On 8/5/26 16:51, Michael Wimble wrote:
> I bought this:
>
> Siglent Technologies SDS1202X-E... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZML6RD?
> ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
>
> I could make use of a 4 trace scope about 10 percent of the time but
> chose a lesser cost unit. I definitely use the built in math functions
> and I take screenshots on a usb card to annotate my daily log files.
> Higher frequency would be nice for some radio projects but, I don’t
> design radios hardly at all any more. And, you know, cost.

I bought a
https://www.amazon.com/Rigol-DS1054Z-Digital-Oscilloscopes-Bandwidth/dp/B012938E76
some years back and was able to 'upgrade' it to 100MHz;-) That works for
me;-) But most of the time, I'm using a little USB-connected logic
analyzer clone, I got for $25 a long time ago;-)
https://sigrok.org/wiki/Noname_LHT00SU1 with sigrok/PulseView;-)

Have fun;-)
-- Marco

>
>> On Aug 5, 2026, at 2:35 PM, Martin Hegedus <martin....@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> 
>> Hi,
>>
>> My daughter and I are working on various electronics projects
>> including a robotic RC car.  For fun, learning, and tinkering.  In the
>> process we're designing various custom electronics.  We're new at this
>> and going with the flow.  It's now time to buy an oscilloscope (new or
>> used) for both learning and designing. One use case is designing a
>> clean power module.  Another is to track down the ghost that is
>> haunting our servos and making them jitter.  So pwm signals.  And who
>> knows where our adventures will lead.  Questions that are unanswered
>> are how many channels (2 or 4?), bandwidth and sample rate, and
>> resolution (8, 12, 16 bits)?  Ofc, the budget is not unlimited.  But,
>> I'm wondering if there is a sweet spot wrt to price.
>>
>> Any comments and recommendations would be much appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Martin Hegedus
>>
>> --
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
>> Groups "HomeBrew Robotics Club" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send
>> an email to hbrobotics+...@googlegroups.com

>> <mailto:hbrobotics+...@googlegroups.com>.
>> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/
>> hbrobotics/CADx-XoKt6TXxVaigkviwdbAJbU-EHQKt4Ry16PRY2-
>> XDS9%2Bm7Q%40mail.gmail.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/
>> hbrobotics/CADx-XoKt6TXxVaigkviwdbAJbU-EHQKt4Ry16PRY2-
>> XDS9%2Bm7Q%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>.
>

> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "HomeBrew Robotics Club" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send
> an email to hbrobotics+...@googlegroups.com

> <mailto:hbrobotics+...@googlegroups.com>.

> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/

> hbrobotics/C8831AF8-B54B-46EB-A390-FA99A026B343%40gmail.com <https://
> groups.google.com/d/msgid/hbrobotics/C8831AF8-B54B-46EB-A390-
> FA99A026B343%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>.

[James H Phelan]

I got the Digilent Analog Discovery 2 which has been replaced by this:

https://www.amazon.com/Analog-Discovery-Oscilloscope-Waveform-Generator/dp/B0C4L59R83

It's not as fast as the CRT versions, but it's small and can capture images to your PC.  It's been more than adequate for my simple needs. Any O'scope has LOTS of settings that can be daunting, but I had my AI friends guide me when I had problems.

James H Phelan
"Nihil est sine ratione cur potius sit quam non sit"
Leibniz

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "HomeBrew Robotics Club" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to hbrobotics+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hbrobotics/CADx-XoKt6TXxVaigkviwdbAJbU-EHQKt4Ry16PRY2-XDS9%2Bm7Q%40mail.gmail.com.

[Chris Albertson]

You don’t want a ’scope.  You want a logic analyzer.    They are far better if you are building digital circuits, and they are also a lot less expensive.

OK, there are scopes with built-in logic analyzers.

First, buy a "Saleae clone”.      Just type saleae clone into Google, and you will find a million of them.  Then go to the Saleae website and get their software.

Then have a look at something like this:   https://www.rigolna.com/products/digital-oscilloscopes/1000z/

They make several.   You want at a minimum 100 MHz and then add on the digital lead kit.   200 MHz is a bit of a luxury if you can afford it.     Going below 100 MHz is a waste of money.

But for 99% of what you do the $10 clone analyzer will work. 

For the analog side, 2 channels is fine, but for digital signals, at least 4, but that $10 unit has 8 channels, so you are covered.

Do not buy one of those crappy USB things.   Get a real scope with its own display and all the physical switches and dials.

[Martin Hegedus]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

A large amount of motivation for acquiring an oscilloscope is to dig deeper into electronics for the sake of curiosity.  And the secondary purpose is to debug and make things "work".  Examples would be characterizing power regulators (linear, buck, etc), where do ghosts come from (opposed to actually eliminating them, which can be hard for someone of our experience), using an oscilloscope as a gold standard (design a lipo fuel gauge), and just investigating how things work.  An education is expensive :)

And, very importantly, having a hands-on experience for the kid rather than putting her to sleep with talk, drawings, and googling.

Two oscilloscopes at the top of my list are:

1) SDS814X HD (12 bit)

2) SDS1104X-E (8 bit)

AI tells me there is a software hack/fix that will upgrade the SDS1104X-E (100MHz) to a SDS1204X-E (200MHz).  On the other hand, SDS814X HD is 12 bit and "newer".

Any thoughts on the tradeoffs between 814X and 1104X?

Thanks,

Martin

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hbrobotics/8EA17172-E633-4C09-9DE7-F4A4C6DB8EE4%40gmail.com.

[Ken Gregson]

Martin,

I'll second Marco's original - try (at a local maker space) before you buy recommendation.

I love "real" scopes - Siglent and Rigol sweet spot seems to be around $400. Find USB logic analyzers useful for digital signals too. 

I've also had fun with Digilent Analog Discovery 3:

https://digilent.com/shop/analog-discovery-3/

Depending on what you decide your needs are.

-Ken

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hbrobotics/8EA17172-E633-4C09-9DE7-F4A4C6DB8EE4%40gmail.com.

[Chris Albertson]

Yes, about the “hack”.    Many times when you buy an upgrade, all you get is a code to enter, and it enables a feature that was already there.    People hate this, so they post the codes online.

As for the bit depth,  I think you need the 12 or 16-bit depth for better computed functions like Spectra that are computed from an FFT.  (FFT is very handy to have)

You will need some other test equipment.  A good multimeter is a must.   And then, if you are doing any kind of debugging with a scope, you need to have a signal generator that can do sine, square, and sawtooth waves in the frequency range of interest.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hbrobotics/CADx-XoLYyOhELo6YgGt0SWQaV0qDZV1c7c_1v0riUDE82Pe7bQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Ken Gregson]

You'll probably have a piece of test equipment like this for a long time, so 12-bit might matter. 

Also, sure you've run across this already, if you are doing any mixed signal work or to take advantage of the digital/logic analyzer features, this might be required/worth a look:

http://siglent.tawk.help/article/logic-sla1016

- Ken

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hbrobotics/D88F8A4B-B37A-44E7-BFA0-257FBD9188D4%40gmail.com.