Hey folks!
I've come out of the woodwork again to ask about an oscilloscope.. again. I'll try to keep it short (ha!), but basically I am *very* intent on buying one of these puppies with my soon-to-arrive little windfall.
I am just about as green as grass with electronics, and it's something I want to get in to, maybe even as a career. Anyway!
I own two USB-based scopes, and I really feel like I've been burned both times. The first scope was the infamous Hantek 6022BL, and I have opinions about this one. In fact, I asked this very forum for advice on a USB-based scope (wanted mainly for budget reasons, but I do want a full fat scope now), and was recommended the Dreamsource Lab DScope somethingorother. Initially I was wowed by it, but really, the only thing it gained me was a decent ability to trigger of something that isn't a perfect 1kHz square wave. Both scopes are identical in that measurement facilities are very poor, and decode facilities are flat out non-existent. I know there are other features any oscilloscope worth a damn that are missing on both of these. In essence, both of these scopes run on Sigrok, and I hate Sigrok (because of how basic it is and somehow simultaneously how user-friendly it is not-it's bad enough one of these problems exists, but both existing in the same application is serious talent on behalf of the developers), so it's a non-starter anyway.
In any case, I was very disappointed to discover that this is the only additional feature it seems to have. I was hoping I'd at least get some useful toys like serial decode and whatnot, but it's exactly like the 6022BL, just better made and it's a real oscilloscope that actually has a real FPGA, and doesn't need stupid driver faffing-around-with.. This drove me positively nuts with the Hantek and it's stupid unsigned driver that pushed firmware to the device on every boot because an EEPROM was too expensive crap.
This is a very long-winded way of saying that the software for both of these things is crap. I was worried, but figured "oh, DScope is still in decently active development, so it should get better eventually." Well, it seems I'm a tad cursed because the second I bought the goddamn thing is when development ceased.
I'm really tired of buying junk and I just want a *basic* scope with *basic* features. I am really hoping that third time is the charm here, but I have one or two concerns. First being is that Hantek doesn't really have a support base here in Aussieland, it seems. I really would like some recourse if I feel like I get burned again. But I think this scope is a goer for me. I played around with the Jaycar scope and I'm in love. I know it's buggy, but it seems like both first and third party development is active. At the VERY least, Hantek is at least a company more than a handful of people have heard of.
Now for the real question. I know I can get one of these for <$400 or so, but I'm wondering if I should pony up for the Jaycar model. I feel much more secure with the idea of buying an expensive instrument like this from a B&M store, even if the pricing is a tad outrageous. $549 is at the upper end of my budget, and I am happy to pay the premium for peace of mind. But
TL;DR main question is: If I buy the Jaycar branded scope, will I be able to just chuck the normal 1st party Hantek updates on this? I can't imagine not being able to, but I figured I'd ask. In case nobody has done this, I guess I'd be happy enough being a guinea pig and trying it on mine when I do buy it, I just figured someone might have tried this. Lastly and frankly, I don't really want to wait for a scope to come from China anyway. I am far too impatient, have been wanting a real oscilloscope literally forever as far as my hobby is concerned, so I absolutely plan on having one of these on my desk the literal second the money hits my bank account.
Apologies that this is a bit of a meandering post, but I'm still new to all this, and I'm not even sure what I need to be looking for in a garden variety scope, but I know at least that serial/CAN etc. decode is essential for me, and I know that most scopes are a bit less basic than these USB toys. There's little to no complex triggering, the interface is extremely clunky, etc. Plus, having an AWG and decode alone is reason enough for me to pull the trigger on the Hantek.
Thanks all, and sorry again for the rambly nature here. Again, I'm not even sure what is considered essential for a real scope. I just know that I feel like the two USB things I have are missing a lot of features I've seen even modest old Rigols have in Dave's super vintage videos.