Share Your Next Must-Have Test Equipment!- What Will It Be?

[Sariel]

Hello everyone,

I'm curious to know, what's the next piece of test equipment you have your eyes on?
What's the one thing you currently feel is lacking in your lab setup?
And here's a fun twist: if you were handed a $5,000 voucher to splurge on one item, what would you choose?

Personally, I've got my sights set on a comprehensive Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) with full port capabilities (S21, S11, S12, S22), and I'm leaning towards the Siglent SNA, covering up to 4.5GHz.

What about you?

[RoGeorge]

Depends on what you already have, and on what area of electronics you are interested in.  Is it for learning/hobby, or for work?

A good VNA is priceless, though unless you need to make metrology  grade measurements, a $100 nano VNA might be enough.

As a caprice for myself, a SMU would be also tempting to have, or maybe a Lock-In Amplifier.

[egonotto]

Hello,

could the Lock-In Amplifier Operation be useful in Analog Discovery, perhaps in the context of a preamp?

Best regards
egonotto

[KungFuJosh]

if you were handed a $5,000 voucher to splurge on one item, what would you choose?

With a $5k voucher, I would get an SDS3000X HD when it comes out here.

If it was a ~$20k voucher, I'd be torn between the SDS7000A, or an Instek LCR-8350.

[RoGeorge]

could the Lock-In Amplifier Operation be useful in Analog Discovery, perhaps in the context of a preamp?

A LIA is particularly useful when a very small signal has to be recovered from all kind of large noises and other signals.  However, it can do that only when another clean signal is available, and synchronous to the small one that has to be recovered.

Depending on the LIA model, might be possible as well to use it as a generic filter, or as a low frequency PLL, or even as a generic preamplifier.

[Sighound36]

Aariona 110Ghz Signal analyser with 2G's of RTA and an awful lot of FFT's lol

[tautech]

Undecided……..
Thermal imager or 5 GHz differential probe. 

[themadhippy]

Nothing on the list of test gear,but a microscope to deal with the shrinking size of components (its certainly nothing to do with my ageing eyesight) is the next thing on my wish list,however with 5k to splurge just on test gear ,one of daves differential probes,the change should cover the airfare to pick it up in person with a stopover to see what the shenzhen markets got to offer.

[Smokey]

...
As a caprice for myself, a SMU would be also tempting to have......

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/keithley-2636a-smu-group-buy!!!/

[trophosphere]

My unrealistic pick would be a fully optioned up Rohde & Schwarz FSWP Phase Noise and VCO Tester with High End Spectrum Analysis. The cost of the unit probably amounts to about two orders of magnitude more than the $5000 voucher. 

A realistic pick would be a power rail probe such as a Rohde & Schwarz RT-ZPR40. The voucher would take care of most of the cost.

Yes, I've become a R&S fanboi.

[sebyon]

Probably a Saleae Logic 16 Pro or an Additel ADT227 Multifunction Calibrator as they would make work significantly easier.

But can't really justify the price of either currently as they'd be used for work and not play (need to keep begging my employer).

So probably an SDS2000X HD for my own lab.