Category: Accessories

An oscilloscope is considered quite an essential lab equipment regarding electronic circuits. There are different kinds of oscilloscopes available in that market. Each of these types and models of oscilloscopes has unique and distinct features and specifications. Therefore, if you are looking forward to finding an oscilloscope for beginners, you are bound to be confused about which one you should go for. 

Selecting the best oscilloscope

An oscilloscope is known to be such an important measuring device that has various parameters. You are supposed to check out these parameters to find the best oscilloscope out there. In an entry-level oscilloscope, the features and specifications hold utmost importance. A few of the important parameters are described below that you must consider selecting a good oscilloscope for beginners. 

• Channels

At first, you are required to decide on the channel of the oscilloscope. Being a multi-channel device, it can measure on several channels and effectively display intended waveforms on screen. You are supposed to ensure this device comes with multiple channels that will become helpful in testing and debugging complex circuits in the best way possible. 

A beginner oscilloscope may have 2, 4, 8, or so on the number of channels. If you want to have a cost-prohibitive device, you should choose an oscilloscope with 2 or 4 channels. However, it all depends on your demand and requirement. 

• Sample rate and bandwidth

The sample rate is regarded as quite an important parameter that you must consider to find the best oscilloscope out there. Bandwidth is another vital parameter that you also need to consider in this regard. Normally, the sample rate is supposed to be anywhere between 2.5 to 10 times of bandwidth of the oscilloscope. In some cases, sample rates could be divided between several channels. 

It would be best if you decided on the sample rate. If the sample rate of an oscilloscope lies between 500Msps to 2Gsps for beginner level, then it is regarded as good. On the other hand, the bandwidth for the entry-level oscilloscope is to be within 25MHz to 200MHz. Hence, it can be said that these two parameters are considered to be very important aspects for you to consider to find the best oscilloscope for the beginner.

• Memory depth

Input is generally sampled, and values get stored in the memory that becomes essential. This determines maximum samples in a single acquisition sweep. The higher the resolution of an oscilloscope, the more the resolution at the higher time bases will be. It indicates that once it gets captured, zooming in is not likely to reduce the resolution of the measurement. Therefore, you are supposed to decide on the memory depth of an oscilloscope to find the best one. It would be best if you made sure that the memory depth should be in the high range. 

• Probes

An oscilloscope is supposed to have good probes for better functioning. The probes are also required to be properly rated as per the bandwidth of the oscilloscope. Moreover, having the right number of probes is also important, to say the least. Hence, considering the aspect of problems is one of the essential aspects to find a good oscilloscope for beginners.

• Other features

Apart from the above specifications and features, there are some essential features and parameters that you must consider to find the ultimate oscilloscope that you are looking for. It would be best to make sure that this device comes with proper vertical and horizontal measurement features. In some devices, there are special triggering modes to trigger specific signals like UART, SPI, and I2C that can be quite handy for debugging. 

On the other hand, a logic analyzer is another important feature that you should consider seriously regarding finding the best entry-level oscilloscope. 

• Price

Last but not least, price is certainly considered as the ultimate parameter in order to choose the best oscilloscope out there. It would be better if you fix a budget of yours at the beginning. Then as per your budget, you can decide to find an oscillator. In this regard, doing online research on the internet will also be beneficial to the fullest. This is how you will be able to find the ultimate entry-level oscilloscope.