Ummm yeah... I was going to suggest that, but then I realized the resulting product would actually be this, which I own and is in a box in the shed:
![](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/?action=dlattach;attach=1238465;image)
Only with even less usability due to requiring an actual DOS-box instead of a laptop or tablet and almost as bad UI due to being made for WinXP... ![](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/?action=dlattach;attach=1021934;image)
mnem
There's enuf misery to go around without grabbing for more." ~mom
Bin the Hantek and get proper PC 'scope. Picoscope was the original and still one of the best for the money. www.picotech.com
Ummm yeah... there's a reason it is in a box in the shed. ![WTF? :wtf:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/wtf2.gif.pagespeed.ce.pxLiY5pjs4.gif)
Personally, I feel the whole PC scope thing is just too much ass-ache anymore; big LCDs are cheap as chips, and modern standalone scopes are fukkin' awesome with datalogging/acquisition. Sure, there will always be a use-case; but what I was specifically talking aboot was trying to make a PC-scope out of one or more of those old PCI digitizer boards; there just isn't any decent UI to put agin' it without massive arse-ache. ![Confused :-//](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/confused0024.gif.pagespeed.ce.5xOqKkq0Co.gif)
Which is the main problem with the Hantek; there's a reason we now have open-source firmware (more arse-ache) and software for it. The hardware is actually much more capable than the $60-100 pricetag and it too has a number of use-cases where no more is needed. ![Tongue :P](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xtongue.gif.pagespeed.ic.J5mTe0A2NA.png)
mnem
Just not on my bench. ![Wink ;)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xwink.gif.pagespeed.ic.cldandycH0.png)
I quite like the idea of a PC based scope, particularly Picoscope. The biggest problem with full hardware scopes is the software which is universally a bag of poop. Plus I’ve got a fuck off great big 27” screen in front of me anyway so some space saving is a good win.
Also if you’re doing protocol decoding it’s easy to cut and paste capture segments into your notepad and code.
I should've known you would come up with that use-case, bd. ![Laughing :-DD](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/smiley_laughing.gif.pagespeed.ce._hfWAz_QHO.gif)
Come on... I like the
idea of a PC-based scope too, it's the execution that
almost universally sucks out loud; just too many concessions against usability. The exception of PicoScope you're pointing to is hardly anything most of us in here would consider "affordable"; if it were, you'd already have one on your own bench, bd.
All this "convenience" is just compared to prehistoric digital scopes like my 54645A. Modern scopes with protocol decode plop it into a file you can manipulate on your PC just as easily.
As far as software... pretty much anything not coming in at PicoScope or Agilent prices is going to be shite; DUH! That's what you're paying for, whether it's in a box with a screen or one plugged into your PC so you can blow up two mission-critical instruments (3, if you count your big-arse monitor) at the same time... YAY!
![ThumbsUp :-+](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/icon_smile_thumbsup.gif.pagespeed.ce._JElyJQqdB.gif)
Otherwise, if you don't
need that cut/paste simplicity you might as well have... my 54645A.
mnem
Hmmm... stir shit up, or goad bd into ponying up for a PicoScope... a win either way.
![Evil >:D](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xevil.gif.pagespeed.ic.tdrs7Uj5gu.png)