Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[cyclin_al]

I'm the epitome of an absolute beginner so I don't need more than a Siglent SDS104X-U, GW Instek 1054B or Rigol DS1054Z. I'm close to pulling the trigger but it's hard to justify for various reasons of inflation and other expenses. I also don't have any room for it, otherwise I'd be cracking open my wallet faster than you can say fast fourier transform.

OK so that answers most of my previous questions !

So it's digital only, modern, Chinese, LCD, colour, and less than 500 Euros with tax.

From your list, the Siglent is by far my favorite. 100MHz instead of 50 for the Rigol. Siglent also looks like a proper tool/scope, the Rigol looks like a Playschool toy for a 5 year old that watches too many Japanese manga on TV.

Out of your list, to me the Siglent is a no brainer.

Actually that Siglent kinda meets my requirements too....might be tempted, in a few years once they sell the 200MHz version of this, for the same price.
I see they have improved the industrial design, out with the ugly chromed knobs. It now looks like... pretty much a Tek.
Still need some minor work on that column of oval push buttons on the right side of the screen, looks off.. too Agilent/Keysight like, in a bad way I mean...

With the correct "riglol" code entered into the Rigol, that 50 goes to 100, although some have tested the actual bandwidth closer to 130 MHz...

Yeah, Vince can be a bit dismissive of the budget Asian gear; I think that's because he never bothered to do the deep dive and learn which ones are good bang/buck. I caught my 1054Zed for $300 NIB w/warranty from tequipment.net; they happily  price-matched a sale price from Arrow for me. I've had it for over 5 years now, and it doesn't owe me a cent, as the project I bought it for helped me get my family out of Tejas.

Nowadays the UI is def a bit long in the tooth, and slow almost to being unusable... but I'd still say if a noob could pick one up for 100-150 bux it would def be good enuf for self-education, particularly if you unlock the 100MHz and decoder options. After that, onto the back bench as a "minion" scope to use when you wanna do sumtin' stoopit and don't wanna risk a good scope.

mnem
 

That's a fair comment. It's impossible to buy a used, cheap DS1054Z here in Canada. The Siglent SD104X-U is probably top of my list, as people tend to say the Rigol has had its day and its UI is too slow. Both are about the same price, but if I could get the Rigol at a good discount it would definitely suffice.

Fair enough.  Cheap anything, even if used, is hard to find in the GWN (Great White North=Canada). 
Electro-meters out of Montreal has Rigol in stock (they are the official distributor), but ooofff, the prices have gone up 

Keep searching kijiji or the federal government surplus (www.gcsurplus.ca) and you might luck out with something better.

[cyclin_al]

...and want to get a tan...

Like my tube audio amps, nice in winter, less so in the warmer months.  Sizzle, burn!

-Pat

Switch to an LED replacement bulb, at least in summer... you can switch back in winter.  The original bulb will last longer too!

[tautech]

Equally, maybe the Siglent can get to 200MHz with the correct code ! 

X-U models no but X-E model scopes yes, they are all of a 200 MHz design.

[YurkshireLad]

I'm the epitome of an absolute beginner so I don't need more than a Siglent SDS104X-U, GW Instek 1054B or Rigol DS1054Z. I'm close to pulling the trigger but it's hard to justify for various reasons of inflation and other expenses. I also don't have any room for it, otherwise I'd be cracking open my wallet faster than you can say fast fourier transform.

OK so that answers most of my previous questions !

So it's digital only, modern, Chinese, LCD, colour, and less than 500 Euros with tax.

From your list, the Siglent is by far my favorite. 100MHz instead of 50 for the Rigol. Siglent also looks like a proper tool/scope, the Rigol looks like a Playschool toy for a 5 year old that watches too many Japanese manga on TV.

Out of your list, to me the Siglent is a no brainer.

Actually that Siglent kinda meets my requirements too....might be tempted, in a few years once they sell the 200MHz version of this, for the same price.
I see they have improved the industrial design, out with the ugly chromed knobs. It now looks like... pretty much a Tek.
Still need some minor work on that column of oval push buttons on the right side of the screen, looks off.. too Agilent/Keysight like, in a bad way I mean...

With the correct "riglol" code entered into the Rigol, that 50 goes to 100, although some have tested the actual bandwidth closer to 130 MHz...

Yeah, Vince can be a bit dismissive of the budget Asian gear; I think that's because he never bothered to do the deep dive and learn which ones are good bang/buck. I caught my 1054Zed for $300 NIB w/warranty from tequipment.net; they happily  price-matched a sale price from Arrow for me. I've had it for over 5 years now, and it doesn't owe me a cent, as the project I bought it for helped me get my family out of Tejas.

Nowadays the UI is def a bit long in the tooth, and slow almost to being unusable... but I'd still say if a noob could pick one up for 100-150 bux it would def be good enuf for self-education, particularly if you unlock the 100MHz and decoder options. After that, onto the back bench as a "minion" scope to use when you wanna do sumtin' stoopit and don't wanna risk a good scope.

mnem
 

That's a fair comment. It's impossible to buy a used, cheap DS1054Z here in Canada. The Siglent SD104X-U is probably top of my list, as people tend to say the Rigol has had its day and its UI is too slow. Both are about the same price, but if I could get the Rigol at a good discount it would definitely suffice.

Fair enough.  Cheap anything, even if used, is hard to find in the GWN (Great White North=Canada). 
Electro-meters out of Montreal has Rigol in stock (they are the official distributor), but ooofff, the prices have gone up 

Keep searching kijiji or the federal government surplus (www.gcsurplus.ca) and you might luck out with something better.

I'm watching prices at http://transcat.ca; you're presented with lower prices when you create an account. Though I think they don't have any Rigols in stock. They have the Siglents but I can't remember if they have GW Instek 1054B.

[tautech]

That's a fair comment. It's impossible to buy a used, cheap DS1054Z here in Canada. The Siglent SD104X-U is probably top of my list, as people tend to say the Rigol has had its day and its UI is too slow. Both are about the same price, but if I could get the Rigol at a good discount it would definitely suffice.

For what it's worth. I bought a Rigol 5.5 digit DMM and it was dead right out the box. Kinda soured me to Rigol. Returned it and bought Siglent SDM 3055 5.5 digit DMM instead. Just recently had it professionally calibrated after 3 years and all parameters were in spec. Plus we have that crazy Kiwi (tautech) to provide assistance if needed.

Batshit crazy please. 

Ah, your DMM was still in Cal....that's gotta make you think about your references and such.
I've noticed Defpom is using shielded cables with guard leads too these days....actually must pop down and see him soon as have a few new things he might like to do vids on. 

[tggzzz]

scopes?


so i only have eight.   that makes me a lightweight.

Since it seems to be confession season...

Scopes:
Hp1740
Tek485
Tek485 mule
Tek2456
Tek2456 must sell it
Telequipment DM63 bought to sell, but dammit it is unexpectedly a usable dual beam storage scope.
LeCroy9310AM
Tek465 mule
Tek465B mule
Thandar SC110
Thandar SC110 must sell it
Digilent Analog Discovery

Which makes a dozen including 3 mules and two duplicates to be sold

DMMs:
Solartron7081 vfd
Solartron7075 panaplex
Solartron 7151 lcd must sell it
Hp3468 lcd: ought to sell it
Kethley2000 vfd; ought to adjust it and sell it
Keithley2015THD vfd
Datron1061 panaplex
Agilent34410A vfd
Fluke8300A nixie
Fluke27 lcd
Fluke21 lcd
Matrix MX67 lcd

Which makes another dozen including one that needs adjustment.

If anything the DMMs are more difficult to cull, since part of their attraction is the differing display technologies.

No, I don't need help: I sold a nixie Fluke DMM recently.

[Cubdriver]

scopes?


so i only have eight.   that makes me a lightweight.

Since it seems to be confession season...

Scopes:
Hp1740
Tek485
Tek485 mule
Tek2456
Tek2456 must sell it
Telequipment DM63 bought to sell, but dammit it is unexpectedly a usable dual beam storage scope.
LeCroy9310AM
Tek465 mule
Tek465B mule
Thandar SC110
Thandar SC110 must sell it
Digilent Analog Discovery

Which makes a dozen including 3 mules and two duplicates to be sold

DMMs:
Solartron7081 vfd
Solartron7075 panaplex
Solartron 7151 lcd must sell it
Hp3468 lcd: ought to sell it
Kethley2000 vfd; ought to adjust it and sell it
Keithley2015THD vfd
Datron1061 panaplex
Agilent34410A vfd
Fluke8300A nixie
Fluke27 lcd
Fluke21 lcd
Matrix MX67 lcd

Which makes another dozen including one that needs adjustment.

If anything the DMMs are more difficult to cull, since part of their attraction is the differing display technologies.

No, I don't need help: I sold a nixie Fluke DMM recently.

Yes, you DO need help - you sold a nixie Fluke DMM recently!!!  Remember where you are and the lot you're talking to!   

-Pat

[capt bullshot]

The 34401A I was planning to send a certain German tinkerer. Decided to... well, just work. Can't just sell it or Murphy would have my ass. So I'm gonna use it as a daily driver for a bit. If she remains true, I can find her a new home...

Never mind, no matter how long she'll stay true to you, she'll fail DOA again if you sell her ...

Murphy rulez!

[nixiefreqq]

scopes?

hp 1740a  2ea
hp 1746a
hp 54502a
hp 54504a
hp 54601a
hp 54622d
tek 2336

so i only have eight.   that makes me a lightweight.

a freakin' feather merchant.

oh......wait a second.  do the fluke 97 and digilent analog discovery 2 count?

that would make 10.

what do it use most often?   the 54502.  why?  don't know. maybe because it is HP, cool as batshit, and i like spinning the big knob and pushing lots o buttons?

what do i use least often.  the tek.  why?  because it is a damn tek.

for clarification.......why do i have all that old junk and no modern dso?

well ........if i was gonna' buy one it would be a siglent sds-1202x-e.  and 10 minutes after pulling the trigger tautech would be on line announcing that a better unit had just been released.  (after all the, 1202x-e must have been first available at least 5 years ago)

[tggzzz]

Yes, you DO need help - you sold a nixie Fluke DMM recently!!!  Remember where you are and the lot you're talking to!   

In my defense, it as mouldering in a leaky shed (not a problem since hermetically sealed and containing silica gel packets as standard), I have another Fluke nixie DMM, and I sold it for 4000% profit

That will enable me to buy numitron equipment, and other more exotic projection displays that I ddont know the name of.

[tggzzz]

for clarification.......why do i have all that old junk and no modern dso?

Because, as per my ,sig, you have skill and imagination.

[tautech]

for clarification.......why do i have all that old junk and no modern dso?

well ........if i was gonna' buy one it would be a siglent sds-1202x-e.  and 10 minutes after pulling the trigger tautech would be on line announcing that a better unit had just been released.  (after all the, 1202x-e must have been first available at least 5 years ago)

At that price point, it's still hard to beat.
Remember that fella bd139, bought one then had to flick it but replaced it with the same.

[med6753]

Ah, your DMM was still in Cal....that's gotta make you think about your references and such.
I've noticed Defpom is using shielded cables with guard leads too these days....actually must pop down and see him soon as have a few new things he might like to do vids on. 

I just did a comparison to my hp 3456A bench reference a few weeks ago and the deviation has remained exactly the same which is goodness. 

Edit....the SDM 3055 has always been on the low end of spec....but the point is that it IS in spec.

[mnementh]

The 34401A I was planning to send a certain German tinkerer. Decided to... well, just work. Can't just sell it or Murphy would have my ass. So I'm gonna use it as a daily driver for a bit. If she remains true, I can find her a new home...

Never mind, no matter how long she'll stay true to you, she'll fail DOA again if you sell her ...

Murphy rulez!

I know... he needs to send it to you and just forget aboot it; save his sanity.   

mnem
Rule 0: Don't Taunt Murphy.

[mnementh]

...I caught my 1054Zed for $300 NIB w/warranty from tequipment.net; they happily  price-matched a sale price from Arrow for me. I've had it for over 5 years now, and it doesn't owe me a cent, as the project I bought it for helped me get my family out of Tejas.

Nowadays the UI is def a bit long in the tooth, and slow almost to being unusable... but I'd still say if a noob could pick one up for 100-150 bux it would def be good enuf for self-education, particularly if you unlock the 100MHz and decoder options. After that, onto the back bench as a "minion" scope to use when you wanna do sumtin' stoopit and don't wanna risk a good scope.

mnem
 

That's a fair comment. It's impossible to buy a used, cheap DS1054Z here in Canada. The Siglent SD104X-U is probably top of my list, as people tend to say the Rigol has had its day and its UI is too slow. Both are about the same price, but if I could get the Rigol at a good discount it would definitely suffice.

Fair enough.  Cheap anything, even if used, is hard to find in the GWN (Great White North=Canada). 
Electro-meters out of Montreal has Rigol in stock (they are the official distributor), but ooofff, the prices have gone up 

Keep searching kijiji or the federal government surplus (www.gcsurplus.ca) and you might luck out with something better.

I'm watching prices at http://transcat.ca; you're presented with lower prices when you create an account. Though I think they don't have any Rigols in stock. They have the Siglents but I can't remember if they have GW Instek 1054B.

Yeah, I remember how hard it was to find anything not utter bunk for a sane price when I was in the GWN.  I gave up and imported a 54645A from Alltest on eBay; they pack very well (Thermonuclear Protection) and ship via eBay global shipping, so you get all the import/VAT costs up front without usurious UPS/FEDEX "service fees"  . Mine cost me US$135 all told.

I'm actually thinking about this one just for tinkery fun: https://www.ebay.com/itm/294805050652

As for the 1054Zed, yeah... Saskia recently picked one up for ~100 clams IIRC, and no matter what corner of the globe you're in a used one isn't worth more than $150. For that money I'd take the 54645A any day.

mnem
 

[mansaxel]

Oh, I'm but a noob. But I do what I can. Sweden is also not a good market for surplus.

Bench DMM:

hp 3438a
Solartron LM1604

DMM:

Fluke 8020A
Fluke 8022A
Fluke 8060A x2
Fluke 10
Fluke 27, with His and Hers HV probes.
Fluke 123
hp 974a
Gossen MetraHit 14 (ABB re-brand)
Gossen MetraHit 25

AMM

Avometer 7 -- queued for repair
Avometer 8 (actually the RAF "multirange" model)
H&B Elavi 4
Gœrtz Unigor 6e
Avominor (slated to be wife's vintage meter.)

Bench AMM:

hp 410b
hp 400H
Marconi TF 1041B
Grundig RV55 (By H&B, also known as Sennheiser RV55)
hp 427

Scopes:

Tek 465B
Tek 2465CTS
Tek 5440 -- repair, on bench atm.

Counters:

hp 5221A
hp 5316A, w Opt. C
TTi TF830
Philips PM 6669

TM500:

AA501A, IMD option.
SG502, balanced option, IMD option.

Favourite tool:

hp 428b

[nixiefreqq]

for clarification.......why do i have all that old junk and no modern dso?

well ........if i was gonna' buy one it would be a siglent sds-1202x-e.  and 10 minutes after pulling the trigger tautech would be on line announcing that a better unit had just been released.  (after all the, 1202x-e must have been first available at least 5 years ago)

At that price point, it's still hard to beat.
Remember that fella bd139, bought one then had to flick it but replaced it with the same.

hang on a second.

bd139 as a role model?

at first he impressed me as one of the smartest guys on this thread.......and blew it by disclosing his position on......... redheads.

i dated one when 17......and another at 21.......and my last at 24.  was young and healthy, but still consider myself lucky to have survived.
 

[Specmaster]

Only 20 scopes ?!  35 and counting here...

All 35 working OK?

[Specmaster]

for clarification.......why do i have all that old junk and no modern dso?

well ........if i was gonna' buy one it would be a siglent sds-1202x-e.  and 10 minutes after pulling the trigger tautech would be on line announcing that a better unit had just been released.  (after all the, 1202x-e must have been first available at least 5 years ago)

At that price point, it's still hard to beat.
Remember that fella bd139, bought one then had to flick it but replaced it with the same.

hang on a second.

bd139 as a role model?

at first he impressed me as one of the smartest guys on this thread.......and blew it by disclosing his position on......... redheads.

i dated one when 17......and another at 21.......and my last at 24.  was young and healthy, but still consider myself lucky to have survived.
 

LMAO 

[tautech]

for clarification.......why do i have all that old junk and no modern dso?

well ........if i was gonna' buy one it would be a siglent sds-1202x-e.  and 10 minutes after pulling the trigger tautech would be on line announcing that a better unit had just been released.  (after all the, 1202x-e must have been first available at least 5 years ago)

At that price point, it's still hard to beat.
Remember that fella bd139, bought one then had to flick it but replaced it with the same.

hang on a second.

bd139 as a role model?

at first he impressed me as one of the smartest guys on this thread.......and blew it by disclosing his position on......... redheads.

i dated one when 17......and another at 21.......and my last at 24.  was young and healthy, but still consider myself lucky to have survived.
 

Seriously LOL ! 
Made my day NF, keep it up. 

[Vince]

Only 20 scopes ?!  35 and counting here...

All 35 working OK?

Not even close, let's be serious ! 

EDIT : you just motivated me to count them...... it's worse than I thought, I don't have 35 but 42 scopes !!!  My previous figure was out of date it seems ! 

about half of them are my glowing Tek scopes, of which half are parts mules.
A few I bought ohnly to fix and resell, no intention to keep them.
Others are failed repairs that have become for parts, like my Tek 2215 or Tek TDS310A

At a rough guess I would say maybe a dozen or 15 that I like enough that I either use them right now, or want / plan to fix them and actually use them.

I need to be more reasonable and get rid of as many of them as possible,need space to bring more and different types of TE.

[Specmaster]

I've been putting off buying a bench oscilloscope, but I was trying to debug a circuit and I really needed to simultaneously monitor 2-4 points. I managed with my single channel toy and eventually worked out that the breadboard was bowed in the middle and any connections were untrustworthy at best. I need therapy.

Welcome!  I was recently like you when I arrived here.  I have never left.

When I arrived, I had 1 DMM and a brand new DSO.
Now I have 7 DMMs, Arbitrary Waveform Generator, Spectrum Analyser, Vector Network Analyser and even an old tube analogue oscilloscope... and always looking for more.  See, the therapy really does work!

Only 7 DMMs, slacker, pull your finger out will ya 

Bench DMMs are on pause while looking for HP power meter sensors, more nixxie tube devices and a counter good to 500 MHz ...

Yeh, I currently have 7 bench DMMs, 10 handheld DMMs and 11 analogue multimeters in my collection.

[YurkshireLad]

...I caught my 1054Zed for $300 NIB w/warranty from tequipment.net; they happily  price-matched a sale price from Arrow for me. I've had it for over 5 years now, and it doesn't owe me a cent, as the project I bought it for helped me get my family out of Tejas.

Nowadays the UI is def a bit long in the tooth, and slow almost to being unusable... but I'd still say if a noob could pick one up for 100-150 bux it would def be good enuf for self-education, particularly if you unlock the 100MHz and decoder options. After that, onto the back bench as a "minion" scope to use when you wanna do sumtin' stoopit and don't wanna risk a good scope.

mnem
 

That's a fair comment. It's impossible to buy a used, cheap DS1054Z here in Canada. The Siglent SD104X-U is probably top of my list, as people tend to say the Rigol has had its day and its UI is too slow. Both are about the same price, but if I could get the Rigol at a good discount it would definitely suffice.

Fair enough.  Cheap anything, even if used, is hard to find in the GWN (Great White North=Canada). 
Electro-meters out of Montreal has Rigol in stock (they are the official distributor), but ooofff, the prices have gone up 

Keep searching kijiji or the federal government surplus (www.gcsurplus.ca) and you might luck out with something better.

I'm watching prices at http://transcat.ca; you're presented with lower prices when you create an account. Though I think they don't have any Rigols in stock. They have the Siglents but I can't remember if they have GW Instek 1054B.

Yeah, I remember how hard it was to find anything not utter bunk for a sane price when I was in the GWN.  I gave up and imported a 54645A from Alltest on eBay; they pack very well (Thermonuclear Protection) and ship via eBay global shipping, so you get all the import/VAT costs up front. Mine cost me US$135 all told.

I'm actually thinking about this one just for tinkery fun: https://www.ebay.com/itm/294805050652

As for the 1054Zed, yeah... Saskia recently picked one up for ~100 clams IIRC, and no matter what corner of the globe you're in a used one isn't worth more than $150. For that money I'd take the 54645A any day.

mnem
 

Electro-Meters has the DS1102Z for C$365, which is in my budget but I want a 4 channel scope.

[tautech]

 
A little order of 14 scopes arrive tomorrow. 

[mnementh]

for clarification.......why do i have all that old junk and no modern dso?

well ........if i was gonna' buy one it would be a siglent sds-1202x-e.  and 10 minutes after pulling the trigger tautech would be on line announcing that a better unit had just been released.  (after all the, 1202x-e must have been first available at least 5 years ago)

At that price point, it's still hard to beat. Remember that fella bd139, bought one then had to flick it but replaced it with the same.

hang on a second. bd139 as a role model? at first he impressed me as one of the smartest guys on this thread.......and blew it by disclosing his position on......... redheads.

i dated one when 17......and another at 21.......and my last at 24.  was young and healthy, but still consider myself lucky to have survived.

Sorry... those of us who have truly grokked the ecstasy of batshit crazy redhead understand... the batshit crazy is part of the delight. 

Some people endeavour to throw themselves at the ground and miss, some throw cars around a dirt ring at high speed and bounce them off each other for fun, some take on fire in hand to hand combat...

And some of us have done all of the above, and even though we've paid a heavy toll, never once did we regret.

mnem
"Those aren't scars... they're trophies." ~me