Oscilloscope recommendation

[mr_glitch]

Hi all,

I'm new to, well, just about everything in this particular subject, and I'm looking to build out my work area a bit. I ran across a Gould model 1425 digital storage oscilloscope on Craigslist for $50, and I was wondering if it would be worth picking up. Looks like it's a dual trace unit with a 20 MHz bandwidth. Any opinions on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[JoeN]

If all you can afford is $50 then any working oscilloscope for $50 is better than nothing.  Is it working?  Are you going to be able to test it?  Bring a signal source and check it out.  From what I see about that scope, it is very basic, but $50 is still a decent deal.  The cheapest new scopes are around $300. 

One thing I will say is, based on the parts I see and lack of any real memory on this scope, the "DSO"-ness of this scope must be very, very limited.  Still, if it works then it's probably worth $50.

http://www.amplifier.cd/Test_Equipment/other/Gould-1425.htm

[mr_glitch]

Thanks for the reply. Yep, it works. I tried it out today & ended up buying it. I figured it would help me get my feet wet before I commit to dropping $300+ on a new one.

Interestingly, it seems to be primarily an analog scope. In "normal mode", you just get the two traces across the screen, and it behaves the way every other analog scope I've seen behaves. You put it into "storage mode" to get any kind of digital info on the screen, as well as the ability to arm & trigger the recording function. Is that typical of early DSOs?

If nothing else, it's got X-Y inputs, so in case I ever run across an Asteroids arcade board, I'll have a monitor ready to go.

[Zero999]

You got a bargain. I've seen similar oscilloscopes go for three times that on ebay.