[sdiy] DSO recommendation please

[Colin f]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cheater cheater [mailto:cheater00 at gmail.com] 
> Sent: 04 April 2010 14:10
> To: Colin f
> Cc: synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
> Subject: Re: [sdiy] DSO recommendation please
> 
> In that case you are using the scope incorrectly - you should 
> limit the headroom of the scope - if your sinewave is a +/-5V 
> signal, you just sample 4.8V...5.2V letting the rest clip. 

Is that something you've ever tried to do, or is this just a thought
experiment ?
If you've got a signal with an unwanted component, you want to be able to
see it on the scope without having to work out in advance the magnitude of
the error to be able to zoom in on it.
On a 12 bit scope, you can capture a trace, and zoom in on it by a factor of
16, and still have 8 bits resolution.

8 bits is good enough to demonstrate how a scope works.
For troubleshooting a circuit, you already have a problem, so working round
the limitations of a cheap scope is another one you could do without.

Cheers,
Colin f