Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by JMPGuitars »

jobewan wrote:
Tue 07/31/18 8:10 pm
Hey StudioCat - just saw this. For what it is worth, I bought the Rigol DS1054Z - maybe the most ubiquitous scope on earth. Ads everywhere. But after digging through the piles of hype, I found it was the best deal. They are basically giving away all of the upgrades that people were hacking. I guess they figured it was easier to simply give it away and make it a feature. So that gets you a 100 Mhz scope with 4 channels and 24 Gigs of RAM. It is a pretty well made scope - watch the Aussie guy at EEV Blog - he does a pretty thorough teardown of it.
I've actually been interested in the DS1054Z.

I'd prefer a 200Mhz scope, but if I can get that running at 100Mhz for a good price, that could work. It would be nice if it was source capable too.

Thanks,
Josh
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by JMPGuitars »

I decided to go ahead and order the thing. One of the authorized dealers automatically includes all the "upgrades" free in the shopping cart (they say they'll email the serial). I chatted with them online and got a few bucks off too. ;) It was $331 with free shipping.

I wouldn't bother paying more for a unit with a signal generator built in, as it looks like they all cost at least twice as much. I'm going to try out the Tenma 72-505, which is available brand new for $34 at Newark (for some reason it's twice as much on Amazon). I read a few reviews and plenty of people use it for audio tube amps and tube radio repair. I'll see how it is.

Thanks,
Josh
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

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geoff 1965 wrote:
Fri 07/27/18 11:54 am
definately a good idea having a built in signal generator! i did'nt know they had scopes with that.yeah i've been researching and can find no benefit of an analogue only the cost!
noticed the paperwork for your build saying classic "british" with "usa" mods and would like to compare to the standard 18W schematic,can't find it,did you add it as an attachment?
british18w_schematic_v5.pdf
found it on tubedepot website,the ef86 version will be of interest,there's a good layout as well.
Yeah, I tried to attach the schematic of the circuit I'm building, wonder why it didn't show up ? Either way, its the one on the Tube Depot site and I am building the standard circuit not the EF86. I will be doing a couple mods like the choke and changing a couple caps for better bass response but nothing major until I play it for a while. Still looking at scopes and may go with this Siglent SDS1052DL+ over the Hantek although both are nice scopes for the money. Also looking at ESR Meters too !
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

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jobewan wrote:
Tue 07/31/18 8:10 pm
Hey StudioCat - just saw this. For what it is worth, I bought the Rigol DS1054Z - maybe the most ubiquitous scope on earth. Ads everywhere. But after digging through the piles of hype, I found it was the best deal. They are basically giving away all of the upgrades that people were hacking. I guess they figured it was easier to simply give it away and make it a feature. So that gets you a 100 Mhz scope with 4 channels and 24 Gigs of RAM. It is a pretty well made scope - watch the Aussie guy at EEV Blog - he does a pretty thorough teardown of it.

As far as DMMs go - I have my old faithfull Fluke, but I also picked up a Siglent SDM3055 - its a 51/2 digit benchtop meter that does quite a bit of extra stuff. I got it for the display - it is a direct ripoff of the Agilent 34461A - a classic. I can't afford that Agilent meter, as much as I would love it, but the Siglent is a nice ripoff alternative.

I don't know your budget, but that Rigol deal is very much worth the extra money. Just my $.02

JB
Thanks for the info JB. The Rigol looks like a nice scope indeed but may be more than what I need, so I am looking at the Siglent SDS1052DL+ right now but would love to see how you like the Rigol once you get it. So far the Amprobe JMP suggested is working out well but I am looking at ESR Meters so would like to know what everyone prefers in that department. Keep me posted on the new scope !
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

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BTW, I decided to ditch the idea of having a scope with a Signal Generator when I was reminded that I already have a nice Loftech TS-1 Signal Generator, just need to get it back from a friend of mine !
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by geoff 1965 »

my PPIMV is the same as the tubedepot mod except i got the info for it on ampmaker,uk. simple but effective and no extra caps or resistors to affect the tone! the dual pots resistance simply replace the 470K grids.
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

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geoff 1965 wrote:
Thu 08/02/18 10:11 am
my PPIMV is the same as the tubedepot mod except i got the info for it on ampmaker,uk. simple but effective and no extra caps or resistors to affect the tone! the dual pots resistance simply replace the 470K grids.
Good to know Geoff, Not planning on doing a PPIMV right now but sounds like a good circuit if I decide to go that direction !
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by JMPGuitars »

_JMP2476.jpg
The scope came today. It looks like a really nice piece of equipment. Definitely overkill for basic amp testing, but I'll be doing more than amps with this. Also, for the small price difference between this and the other models mentioned, I think it's worth it.

Installing the "upgrades" was really easy. They emailed me a certificate, and I entered the code on their website, and they emailed me a much longer code.

So far I ran a couple calibration tests, and calibrated the probes to test it out. My signal generator will be here later this week and then I can test it with an amp. It's also a very manageable size. It's not too deep at all, and the vents are designed nicely that I'm not worried about airflow putting it underneath the dumb shelf on my desk. I'm looking forward to getting to know this beast better.

Thanks,
Josh
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by geoff 1965 »

good deal there Josh!
i will be interested in your progress with this,should be good for building amps as well as repairing i.e. experimenting with levels of clipping etc
i've been using the Amp Books calculators that "rockmumbles" told me about which are good but still a calculation but with a scope you can see the actual signal as well as listening.
good luck using the Rigol.
bye the way, i have'nt seen any input from "curtiss" and "rockmumbles" lately,hope they are both okay!
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by JMPGuitars »

geoff 1965 wrote:
Wed 08/08/18 6:00 pm
good deal there Josh!
i will be interested in your progress with this,should be good for building amps as well as repairing i.e. experimenting with levels of clipping etc
i've been using the Amp Books calculators that "rockmumbles" told me about which are good but still a calculation but with a scope you can see the actual signal as well as listening.
good luck using the Rigol.
bye the way, i have'nt seen any input from "curtiss" and "rockmumbles" lately,hope they are both okay!
It's certainly interesting. I recently built a U87i to vintage spec, and without a scope the build docs say to bias it around 11.5VDC. I hooked up the scope, and it was a little nutty, biased it to 11.8VDC while it was on the scope and now it's perfect. It was pretty cool watching it settle into where it should be.

Kenny and mumbles are both usually really busy, though it is unusually long since Kenny last posted. Hopefully they're having fun in the real world. KennyO (curtiss) could definitely give some good input on this discussion if he were around.

BTW- I'm reading the manual for this thing. It's got so many functions, I dunno how many of them I'll use, time will tell. One thing that is kinda cool tho, it has a print button, and if you have a USB drive attached, it can store images of the screen when you press the print button. So if we were discussing something, we could share the images, or if you repair something for somebody, you can show them the before and after. It's pretty cool.
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by geoff 1965 »

what's a U87i Josh? sounds like a german submarine!
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by JMPGuitars »

geoff 1965 wrote:
Thu 08/09/18 7:23 am
what's a U87i Josh? sounds like a german submarine!
lol, it looks like one. The Neumann U87i is a very famous vintage microphone (the U87AI is the modern version). I've been building a couple microphones lately since I wanted some high-end mics, and the associated price tags are insane compared to what I can make them for. I also built a C12 tube mic. I have a nice capsule for that one on the way from Australia to replace the cheapo capsule I built it with.

This is what the C12 looks like:
DSC03277.jpg
I haven't had the U87 coated yet though. I'm gonna build a second U87, but I'm still waiting for the 2nd body to arrive before I send them both to get powder coated.
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by jobewan »

Hey Josh,

The Rigol scope is a great deal, isn't it? For short money you get a great scope to start with, and then they give you this unlock key that doubles the speed and memory, among a whole bunch of other upgrades. I have been very impressed with mine - just learning to use it too. As you said, there is a ton of stuff in there. It is also very well made. One thing I think I will do is change out the rotary selects to have detents. There is a vid on Youtube about it - I just like the idea of that encoder having stops - i.e. "clicks" that let you know when you have clicked up or down. The straight up encoders are a little too flaky for me. The only other complaint I have is their font size is absurdly small - kind of attests to the quality of the screen they use - beautiful screen, but some of that type is hard to see for an old guy like me.

Those are very minor issues that really don't detract from a great deal. Anybody out there thinking about a digital scope, the Rigol DS1054Z is a sweet deal.

JB
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by JMPGuitars »

jobewan wrote:
Thu 08/09/18 5:06 pm
Hey Josh,

The Rigol scope is a great deal, isn't it? For short money you get a great scope to start with, and then they give you this unlock key that doubles the speed and memory, among a whole bunch of other upgrades. I have been very impressed with mine - just learning to use it too. As you said, there is a ton of stuff in there. It is also very well made. One thing I think I will do is change out the rotary selects to have detents. There is a vid on Youtube about it - I just like the idea of that encoder having stops - i.e. "clicks" that let you know when you have clicked up or down. The straight up encoders are a little too flaky for me. The only other complaint I have is their font size is absurdly small - kind of attests to the quality of the screen they use - beautiful screen, but some of that type is hard to see for an old guy like me.

Those are very minor issues that really don't detract from a great deal. Anybody out there thinking about a digital scope, the Rigol DS1054Z is a sweet deal.

JB
Yeah, it's fantastic. I don't mind the knobs, I'm used to that with mixing boards and other digital electronic stuff.

Regarding the font sizes, there's 3 sizes available. Hit the Measure button then scroll down and hit Font Size, and it has Normal, Large, and Extra Large for options.

Ha, I'm still not done reading the manual either. I downloaded the PDF, the quick start guide that comes with it covers almost nothing.

Thanks,
Josh
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by geoff 1965 »

cool guys!
regarding signal generators,what specs do you need for amp work? i.e. Khz, volts, waveform etc
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

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geoff 1965 wrote:
Fri 08/10/18 8:41 am
cool guys!
regarding signal generators,what specs do you need for amp work? i.e. Khz, volts, waveform etc
I ordered the Tenma 72-505 for $34 which should be good enough for most basic stuff testing tube amps. Think of it this way: what wave form and frequencies does a guitar produce? You'd be looking for sine waves in mV, start at 150mV 1KHz.

I might buy a fancier generator for things like a Pulse function, which can be helpful for guitar amps. You can google the Hz for any note on a guitar if you needed to. Then you can pulse the frequency to simulate hitting the note if individual notes are causing issues.

I also setup a true isolated transformer and a GFCI outlet for safety.
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by JMPGuitars »

I'm bored waiting for UPS to drop off my function generator, and a couple other fun things, and I found (of course) there's function generators, tone generators, spectrum analyzers, etc... all available as android apps. I tried out a couple of the function generators (the totally free one actually works really well). It has most of the functions we would need including bursts. The only limitations are the phone itself, and how you connect to it. I was using a poor quality old cable, so the waves were noisy (equally noisy on any app I tried on two phones).

EDIT: ...and for $2.49 there's one for Windows in the Microsoft Store. I tried it out and used it to test one of my amp heads. I actually ran my amp through an attenuator, and then used the line out (not speaker out) to run direct to the oscilloscope and it seemed to work fine for testing. I could see the distortion characteristics of the wave when cranked, etc...
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

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I finally got the Tenma signal generator today. It produces very clean wave forms connected directly to the scope. I tried both sine and square (that's all it does) and swept across, and it worked very well. For $34 it's a great buy. I'll connect to the software signal generator if I ever need pulse function. It's really tempting to purchase a more expensive generator, but I can't think of any reason.

UPDATE: I've been going through an old amp build and cleaning things up and changing/updating parts of the circuit using the combination of the Tenma/Rigol. They're definitely great together.

I made it a little further in the Rigol manual, and there's a "Frequency Counter Measure" function where the scope will display the frequency on the specified channel. I ran the Tenma through my amp and the Rigol on the amp output (via the attenuator line out), and tested the frequencies on the Tenma, and it was accurate. The rest of the manual is so boring it was a welcome break. ;)
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by JMPGuitars »

jobewan wrote:
Tue 07/31/18 8:10 pm
Hey StudioCat - just saw this. For what it is worth, I bought the Rigol DS1054Z - maybe the most ubiquitous scope on earth. Ads everywhere. But after digging through the piles of hype, I found it was the best deal. They are basically giving away all of the upgrades that people were hacking. I guess they figured it was easier to simply give it away and make it a feature. So that gets you a 100 Mhz scope with 4 channels and 24 Gigs of RAM. It is a pretty well made scope - watch the Aussie guy at EEV Blog - he does a pretty thorough teardown of it.
Did you confirm that your upgrades included the 100 Mhz bandwidth? I got all the "official" upgrades, but that list doesn't include the 100 Mhz. I found this out talking to the VP of the company I bought it from. The bandwidth upgrade apparently isn't supported. I'm assuming this is because it would render a few of their products instantly obsolete (including more expensive scopes).

The hack still should work, and even though it potentially voids the warranty, supposedly they still stand behind the products. I have mixed feelings about this, but I also don't think I care since we're not really going anywhere near that...and we can always apply the hack in the future (outside of the warranty period) if we ever needed to.

Thanks,
Josh
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Re: Oscilloscope and DMM Suggestions !

Post by jobewan »

Hey Josh,

I was too impatient - I made the assumption that the upgrade codes would do the speed upgrade, so I ran the hack. Didnt want to wait for the vendor to get me the codes. They came a day later... The hack absolutely unlocked the 50 to 100 Mhz software upgrade. In fact, when I run the output of the scopes stats now it no longer calls the scope a DS1054Z. The model of the scope is now DS1104Z.

BTW - if you check out the Rigol site, all of the features that got unlocked by the hacks are now free and included with the base scope, including the 50 to 100 Mhz jump. I imagine you can get that if you go back to your vendor and complain about it not being included.
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