Whats the best osciloscope preferably handheld for the money?

[Rubycon]

It depends on what you will be using it for. If you are using it for just voltage around the home then anything will work. If you are getting into electronics to start playing around with circuits involving timers, logic parts, capacitors, etc then you want a meter that has things like frequency measurement, capacitance meter, or transistor hfe measurements.


This is my current favorite, includes everything but the hfe measurements, but bonus is the temp probe and non contact voltage detector
http://www.amazon.com/Extech-EX330-A.../dp/B000EX0AE4

It starts to get to be an expensive hobby indeed.

http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/product.jspx?pn=3458A&cc=US&lc=eng

I'd love to have a meter with Nixie tubes though. :wub:

 

[Modelworks]

The low quality ones just measure voltage a few times then average it. If the wave is noisy, the values are all over the place.

They typically use a 12 bit D/A converter and take 10+ readings per second then average that together to produce the final result. You can tell the difference in current day DMM and older models by the difference in the amount of time it takes to display the reading. Older DMM had slower D/A converters and took longer to get enough samples. Cheap meters do have a problem with reading non standard AC voltages, but decent models have input ranges of 20hz to several Khz and will read correct even on the noisiest supplies.

The one bonus about analog meters is the lack of need to wait for the samples to complete before the reading to display and this is a big deal if you are looking for transient voltages. An analog meter needle will show the very quick spikes where a digital might not.

 

[LTC8K6]

I shouldn't need to. If a $20 analogue meter can measure true rms, then I expect a $20 digital meter to be able to do the same.
What's interesting is that high quality digital meters basically are analogue meters that are converted to digital values. The low quality ones just measure voltage a few times then average it. If the wave is noisy, the values are all over the place.



Every one I've had the misfortune of dealing with had this problem, mostly because stores like Walmart don't sell high quality digital meters. I don't even think most people notice. All I use my meter for is measuring DC voltages of batteries.

Just took a cheap digital meter out to my Jeep. It had no problem with the 120VAC inverter voltage. No jumping around at all.

You are either using cheap meters, or cheap inverters, or you had one bad experience, and you are trying to make a mountain out of it.

 

[LTC8K6]

Just wanted to let folks know that you can still purchase the analog meters when you need one.

https://www.alliedelec.com/search/productdetail.aspx?SKU=9190268

 

[PottedMeat]

It starts to get to be an expensive hobby indeed.

http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/product.jspx?pn=3458A&cc=US&lc=eng

I'd love to have a meter with Nixie tubes though. :wub:

yeah i'll put the $8k digital multimeter next to my $288K scope
http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/product.jspx?nid=-33821.931874.00&cc=US&lc=eng

...check out the options - 2GB/channel upgrade $50k

 

[Gibson486]

Just took a cheap digital meter out to my Jeep. It had no problem with the 120VAC inverter voltage. No jumping around at all.

You are either using cheap meters, or cheap inverters, or you had one bad experience, and you are trying to make a mountain out of it.

You have been here long enough....it's ShawnD1. what else would you expect?

 

[Modelworks]

Just wanted to let folks know that you can still purchase the analog meters when you need one.

https://www.alliedelec.com/search/productdetail.aspx?SKU=9190268

I love the old simpson meters, they were the work horse of their day. I learned electronics using one of them. The one thing that new users of analog meters need to understand is that analog meters place a load on the circuit and depending on what you are doing that needs to be taken into account. Digital meters have very high input of around 20 Mohm where analog are usually under 10Kohm.

 

[BoomerD]

http://www.harborfreight.com/7-function-digital-multimeter-90899.html

$4.99

 

[Modelworks]

http://www.harborfreight.com/7-function-digital-multimeter-90899.html


$4.99

I would never use a CATII meter for AC line voltages, that is just asking for trouble.

 

[Modelworks]

It starts to get to be an expensive hobby indeed.

http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/product.jspx?pn=3458A&cc=US&lc=eng

I'd love to have a meter with Nixie tubes though. :wub:

I would love to be able to go on a spending spree on the agilent site .
I have picked up a lot of older still quite good gear though on military surplus sites. My current oscope actually came from NASA , still has their calibration cert attached. Paid $150 for a $2k scope. It also came with a laser power meter in the box never used.

 

[BoomerD]

I would never use a CATII meter for AC line voltages, that is just asking for trouble.

But, but, but...if you watch the sale ads, you can get it for FREE with a minimum purchase!

I KNOW they're junk...or they wouldn't be $4.99 at Harbor Freight.

I suspect that MAYBE, you need this:

 

[Howard]

If you're working with electronics I would suggest buying/building an accurate LCR meter to complement your MM in case its accuracy is not very high. MMs also don't usually come with inductance reading either.

 

[Analog]

 

[ShawnD1]

You have been here long enough....it's ShawnD1. what else would you expect?

People have come to expect solid facts out of me. When other people say things like "torque wins races," it's up to guys like to me to keep it real and explain why that's the most retarded statement in the history of the universe.

error in digital multimeters:
http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5988-5513EN.pdf

True RMS AC Measurements.
True RMS- (root mean square)
responding multimeters like the
Agilent 34401A measure the
“heating” potential of an applied
voltage. Unlike an “averageresponding”
measurement, a
true RMS measurement is used
to determine the power dissipated
in a resistor. The power is
proportional to the square of
the measured true RMS voltage,
independent of waveshape. An
average-responding ac multimeter
is calibrated to read the same as
a true RMS meter for sinewave
inputs only. For other waveform
shapes [modified sine waves or square waves], an average responding
meter will exhibit substantial
errors (see Figure 1).

Uh oh, I guess Agilent is in on the conspiracy as well. They too think this is a common problem!
/tinfoilhat

 

[Howard]

People have come to expect solid facts out of me. When other people say things like "torque wins races," it's up to guys like to me to keep it real and explain why that's the most retarded statement in the history of the universe.

error in digital multimeters:
http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5988-5513EN.pdf



Uh oh, I guess Agilent is in on the conspiracy as well. They too think this is a common problem!
/tinfoilhat

Nobody's saying false readings for non-sinusoidal AC is good, it's just that you can't expect it from a cheap digital MM.

 

[deadlyapp]

It starts to get to be an expensive hobby indeed.

http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/product.jspx?pn=3458A&cc=US&lc=eng

I'd love to have a meter with Nixie tubes though. :wub:

Mmmmm we have those in all our engineering labs. God they are beautiful to work with.

 

[irishScott]

People have come to expect solid facts out of me. When other people say things like "torque wins races," it's up to guys like to me to keep it real and explain why that's the most retarded statement in the history of the universe.

error in digital multimeters:
http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5988-5513EN.pdf



Uh oh, I guess Agilent is in on the conspiracy as well. They too think this is a common problem!
/tinfoilhat

So it's a solid fact that all digital multimeters under $100 are crap? That's what you posted, and I lol.

Stop using crap multimeters. Cheap != crap.

 

[irishScott]

Like any other tool it depends on what you're doing with it and how much you use it. Sure you can get a cheap imported one for $10...

Fluke is like Snap-On you can use it and abuse it daily and it just works.

I trust it with working on high power/high voltage equipment. If you drop a $10 meter are you going to test it on a PSU with +550VDC, 100+ Amp rails? I wouldn't! Crowbar that and the meter could explode like a grenade in your face. Reminds me of the unfortunate electrician who used a wiggy on a 4160VAC circuit. :'(

If you're just testing batteries and need a continuity tester, etc. a cheap one is fine for that kind of thing. I looked around a bit on ebay and found some Fluke 27s for cheap too. That's a LOT of meter for the price. Especially the BNIB ones for $150.

How? Even the cheap ones have fuses. There shouldn't ever be enough current to blow up anything.

 

[Rubycon]

How? Even the cheap ones have fuses. There shouldn't ever be enough current to blow up anything.

NEVER assume that a fuse will protect YOU in case of a severe mishap!

The results can be catastrophic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iClXrd50Z8

This is why fuses have an interrupt rating typically thousands of times their continuous rating. On most AC line circuits it's 10,000A, for example.

When this is exceeded and arcing is persistent the results are often similar to the arc flash test above.

In the case of a cheap device damaged from a drop connecting to a high power source can be a deadly mistake.

 

[alfa147x]

Any reason to go analog vs digital?

 

[Onceler]

I have also been looking at Oscopes.
http://www.owon.com.cn/eng/hds-n.asp
or
http://www.fluke.com/fluke/usen/portable-oscilloscopes/fluke-190-series-ii-scopemeter.htm?PID=70366
the OWON only has sample rate (Real time) 500MS/s
while the fluke has Fluke 190-104: 1.25 GS/s
tell me would it be noticed?
And what about the 4 channels on the fluke would I really ever use them?

 

[Gibson486]

Any reason to go analog vs digital?

Not really. Digital is more common because it's just easier to use and read. when you go up in price, you can get all these features on digital ones that you cannot get on analog. I have both, and while i use my digital the majority of the time, the analog one works when, for any reason, I do not have my digital one.

 

[Analog]

Any reason to go analog vs digital?

I love my analog scope:

 

[Gibson486]

I love my analog scope:

Awww man...when I worked at one of my internships, we had an analog scope shipped to us for testing because we were building up the lab. The thing weighed a lot. When we closed down the office, the owner was contemplating selling it because he did not want to pay the cost to ship it back. Finding a box to ship it was horrible. It had to be the right size since because using a box that was too big simply made the box rip.

 

[PottedMeat]

I have also been looking at Oscopes.
http://www.owon.com.cn/eng/hds-n.asp
or
http://www.fluke.com/fluke/usen/portable-oscilloscopes/fluke-190-series-ii-scopemeter.htm?PID=70366
the OWON only has sample rate (Real time) 500MS/s
while the fluke has Fluke 190-104: 1.25 GS/s
tell me would it be noticed?
And what about the 4 channels on the fluke would I really ever use them?

depends on the bandwidth of the signals you're measuring.

i like having the 4 channels on my hp scope but most of the time i use 2 channels for waveform and the other two as kind of a digital voltmeter