Suggestions for Used Battery Powered Oscilloscope to Look For

[JohnMcNutt]

I prefer to get my test equipment on ebay because I don't make critical measurements and it is more affordable that way.

Right now I am using a good old BK 20 MHz scope but it is big and heavy and needs AC power.

Things I commonly measure are 60 Hz power waveforms, ignition coil primaries, and balanced analog phone lines up to about 3 kHz so I don't need anything high speed but dual traces and the capability to do differential measurement are necessary sometimes.

Any models you are familiar with that I could be looking for?

Thanks

 

[ScottyUK]

The Tektronix THS7xx series is old but very good. They hold their value too. Check battery condition - spares will be impossible to get now unless you repair your own.

Avoid the early Fluke / Philips Scopemeters because the user interface sucks. Gunnar will probably tell you to avoid the later ones too because they don't measure correctly. ;-)

 

[OperaHouse]

Have you considered a USB scope? I purchased a Hantek 6022BE for a stand alone project. I've gotten used to it and will be purchasing one for myself to use at my camp for all my converter projects. I like having the bigger screen of a laptop, no batteries to worry about, direct reading measurements and being able to save the screen. As a $65 scope it has its annoyances, Chinese software is always bad. There is an open6022BE software package on the internet that greatly improves the capability,

 

[JohnMcNutt]

We are usually in the field in a cramped and dirty environment. I think a handheld scope would be better than computer based for my application. I have never really caught on to laptops for any purpose. I guess I am just old fashioned. I am hoping that whatever scope I buy can take roughly the same amount of abuse as a handheld DMM.

 

[catserveng]

I have used a Fluke 123 meter for years and beat the crap out of it. I know Fluke has a poor reputation on the forum, but in a dirty, nasty field applications (I use mine on gas engine electronic controls, mostly in oil and gas and biofuel applications)I have found it does the job for me. They show up on ebay and sometimes for a pretty good price.

Yes, the software and interface sucks, but it does work for a lot of things I do and I am happy with mine.

I recently purchased a used 125 with the Bushealth feature and found it useful in troubleshooting communication networks. There are probably better tools for that, but in my case it has also performed well.

My 2 cents worth, Mike L.

 

[BrianE22]

One of the problems I had with my Flukemeter 196C is the charger jack not making an electrical connection. I yanked it out and just have 2 wires coming out from it now. Battery charge life is also not great but I have that problem with every battery operated device I own. I don't have problems with the user interface. The software for the PC doesn't offer much.