Do you need both analogue and digital scopes for your lab?

[mikeselectricstuff]

Be careful with the "resolution" of an analog scope.  After all the trace is just an electron beam scanned across a phosphor screen.  In addition to the scan bandwidth, that beam has a physical width associated with it.  It has an inherent "resolution", and I'm not sure it's better than 8-bit digital.

It's not about resolution - an analogue scope won't show you any more than an 8-bit digital in that respect. It's about intensity & update rate, which gives information about things like jitter, noise, how often a glitch occurs etc. by the  relative brightness of different parts of the trace. Only an expensive digital scope will give you this.
 

[w2aew]

I'm lucky in the sense that I have access to several analog scopes ranging from 25 to 350MHz, as well as several digital scopes, to well over 1GHz.  While they're all here, the scope I reach for 8 or 9 times out of 10 is one of the analogs. For me, the true live / real time feel and the intuitive nature of the natural intensity grading of the phosphor is all I need most of the time. Of course, there are times where the digital scopes are absolutely needed, and fabulous.

I guess the point is - for most of my daily use, the analog scope serve me well. But, I'll always use the digital when I need the features and power it offers.

It all depends on the nature of the signals you'll be working with that'll determine which scope you'll reach for more often. Of course the modern digitals will do nearly everything the analog can (plus many things it can't). I cut my teeth on the analog scopes, do I guess that's another big reason I gravitate to them.

Like Dave said, if you are clever, you can often find an analog for minimal money.

[BravoV]

It's about intensity & update rate, which gives information about things like jitter, noise, how often a glitch occurs etc. by the  relative brightness of different parts of the trace. Only an expensive digital scope will give you this.

As an hobbyist, I used to have an old clunker > 30 yrs 20 Mhz analog scope with me, then upgraded to cheap 60 Mhz Chinese DSO that is not worth mentioning here, later had a good luck to secure a fully working and cheap analog beast Tek 2465B while ago. Agree with Mike above, at the trace's varying brightness, really minor glitches, micro spikes at etc that made a decent analog stands out against digital scope especially the cheap ones.

For special cases when it comes to capture single shot or non repetitive signal, digital simply beats analog out of the water, no contest here, and when it times you need this, analog scope really just can not help you.

I'm lucky in the sense that I have access to several analog scopes ranging from 25 to 350MHz, .......

Don't forget Alan, that 350 Mhz beast of yours has the unique feature that the crt tube can sweep faster than speed of light. 


IMO, in enthusiast/hobbyist world which usually have limited budget, a combination of "properly working" old analog + cheap DSO is the best combination you could get and yields the biggest bang for the money.

The biggest challenge and major problem is getting a cheap + "still properly working" old analog scope. 

[Anquietas]

had a good luck to secure a fully working and cheap analog beast Tek 2465B while ago

Just a random question, would you pay USD1000 for that scope? I can't really make a proper estimate on what's cheap and what's not. I found a 2465A, fully functioning, on eBay, starting at approx. USD700, no bids yet.

[EEVblog]

It all depends on the nature of the signals you'll be working with that'll determine which scope you'll reach for more often. Of course the modern digitals will do nearly everything the analog can (plus many things it can't).

I posted a list of things a digital scope can do that an analog can't some time back on here. The list was extensive!
Just the aspect of being able to single shot capture an event, or freeze the waveform is so incredibly valuable in general use, it makes any small advantage of an analog scope a pointless argument.
There is simply no contest, no lab is complete (even a beginners one) without a digital scope.

I use a digital almost exclusively. As the ability to single shot capture at any time and then zoom in is something you just can't live without.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if I had to have only one scope in my lab, I'd choose a modern $300 50MHz DSO over any analog scope ever made.

But as always, YMMV.

Dave.

[EEVblog]

Just a random question, would you pay USD1000 for that scope? I can't really make a proper estimate on what's cheap and what's not. I found a 2465A, fully functioning, on eBay, starting at approx. USD700, no bids yet.

That's an insane price.
This one didn't sell for US$550
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tektronix-2465A-Oscilloscope-350-Mhz-4-Channel-30-Day-Warranty-/360593828675?pt=BI_Oscilloscopes&hash=item53f5112b43&_uhb=1#ht_3465wt_1165
or US$430
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TEKTRONIX-2465A-350MHz-4-CHANNEL-OSCILLOSCOPE-/321058419471?pt=BI_Oscilloscopes&hash=item4ac092b30f&_uhb=1

The going rate seems to be under US$300.

Dave.

[Anquietas]

Just a random question, would you pay USD1000 for that scope? I can't really make a proper estimate on what's cheap and what's not. I found a 2465A, fully functioning, on eBay, starting at approx. USD700, no bids yet.

That's an insane price.
This one didn't sell for US$550
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tektronix-2465A-Oscilloscope-350-Mhz-4-Channel-30-Day-Warranty-/360593828675?pt=BI_Oscilloscopes&hash=item53f5112b43&_uhb=1#ht_3465wt_1165
or US$430
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TEKTRONIX-2465A-350MHz-4-CHANNEL-OSCILLOSCOPE-/321058419471?pt=BI_Oscilloscopes&hash=item4ac092b30f&_uhb=1

The going rate seems to be under US$300.

Dave.

Thanks! Good to know. I am basically limited to sellers from Europe, though, because overseas shipping costs >$400 for a package of that size/weight, or so it seems. So, I could basically buy a new cheap Chinese DSO just for the money I'd have to shell out to get the scope shipped to my location. I am considering saving my money until I can buy a new Agilent 3000X MSO 4+16, 500MHz and set up a small home lab (would take a year or two of saving) unless I find a very convincing offer on eBay. At this point I wouldn't be able to do terribly much with a scope anyway, I suppose, since I am practically the personification of inexperience.

[EEVblog]

I am considering saving my money until I can buy a new Agilent 3000X MSO 4+16, 500MHz and set up a small home lab (would take a year or two of saving) unless I find a very convincing offer on eBay. At this point I wouldn't be able to do terribly much with a scope anyway, I suppose, since I am practically the personification of inexperience.

In that case you'd be crazy to even consider a 500MHz MSOX3000!
Sure, it's a great scope, but half that money could fully kit you out with a great beginner lab.

If my lab burnt down tomorrow and I had buy new gear again, there is no way I could justify that scope.

Dave.

[Anquietas]

I wonder if scopes in Europe are ridiculously expensive,

http://www.ebay.de/itm/LeCroy-9410-Dual-150-MHz-Oszilloskop-Oscilloscope-/350442115688?pt=Mess_Pr%C3%BCftechnik&hash=item5197fa5268

This is a 150MHz, 2 channel analog LeCroy for roughly USD1700.

I am considering saving my money until I can buy a new Agilent 3000X MSO 4+16, 500MHz and set up a small home lab (would take a year or two of saving) unless I find a very convincing offer on eBay. At this point I wouldn't be able to do terribly much with a scope anyway, I suppose, since I am practically the personification of inexperience.

In that case you'd be crazy to even consider a 500MHz MSOX3000!
Half that money could fully kit you out with a great beginner lab.

Dave.

What I was thinking was that eventually I will have to upgrade the hardware, since I have no doubt about my fascination for EE. But you are right that I should start with more entry-level stuff. It's a personality defect of mine to go for stuff that sometimes ends up overwhelming me.

[Bored@Work]

had a good luck to secure a fully working and cheap analog beast Tek 2465B while ago

Just a random question, would you pay USD1000 for that scope? I can't really make a proper estimate on what's cheap and what's not. I found a 2465A, fully functioning, on eBay, starting at approx. USD700, no bids yet.

For the US the prices are high. For Europe these would be typical asking prices. Not that I would pay that, but it is even a bit on the low side of what some people keep asking in western Europe. Typically these do not sell, but they offer them in the hope to find someone gullible or desperate enough to pay.

And unlike the US, used instruments from reputable brands are in general expensive here. Dave just featured the 3478A multimeter. You get a used one in the US for $150. You get one here for around 300 Euro ($395) if you are in a hurry. If you are lucky you get'one for 250 Euro ($330).  This is what makes the cheap Chinese crap so interesting for people, although Chinese companies like Uni-T don't even care about selling to Europe.

[Anquietas]

Well, I think I will get a recently calibrated and refurbished Fluke PM3065, 100MHz analog 2 channel scope for EUR199. It is old, but I am sure I will still learn tons with it before I progress beyond its capabilities (in the far future).

[M0BSW]

My scope is only a small one Telequipment D61A  10mhz, I've always like the Tektronix scopes personally, I think you have to be careful which one you buy as ,I read there is softwre issues with one of the models , just can't remember which one, plus as does anyone know about ATTEN Dso, seem cheap enough, but are they crap, or fine for a hobbyist

[ptricks]

It really depends on what you plan on doing. For me I do a lot of work with RF signals, these are not signals that would benefit from freezing the display or one shot capturing, the signals are constant and I need to see things like noise, transmission losses and eye patterns without worrying about if the digital scope is showing me something because of the way the hardware inside it is designed or if it is a setting I need to change. 
There must still be some demand for analog scopes because B&K precision is still making them .

If you can get something like a tektronix 2246 cheap , go for it.

[M0BSW]

If you can get something like a tektronix 2246 cheap , go for it.

I want to get a Tektronix, would you say one of these would be good for my Amateur Radio and general electronics, as I'd rather just have the one type of scope or in my case and upgrade to a better analogue scope.
Paul M0BSW

[mazurov]

I have both analog and digital scopes too. In my opinion, digital scope is good for measurements and taking screenshots. Modern ones are quite small and lightweight which is also handy. However, I still mainly use analog scopes, especially for troubleshooting - Tek475A with 1:10 probe has vertical range from 50mV/div to 100V/div which in practice means I can measure from a diode drop to line voltage with a same setup. I'm yet to see a modern DSO which would provide comparable range.

[raymond2000]

my HP 1740A and HP 54600A are both sold , I am without a scope 

Now looking for a 2 channels scope 100MHZ, more recent and capable than my previous digital scope around £300-£350

thanks everyone for the info

[eKretz]

So I recently picked up a Tek TDS 754A - 500MHz and 2GSa/s, 500kpts memory. Is there anything I can't do with this scope that I would need a plain analog for? I guess this is one of the first DPO type scopes with the InstaVu.