I use a Tek T922 15Mhz scope ($40 ebay) and a 7603 mainframe 200mhz scope
w/freq counter ($125 ham fest). Both are perfect.
An LED scope would be fun - definitely need a separate power supply though.
I've been wondering, how cool would it be to MOTM-ize one of those Tek SC501
mini-scopes?!
Cheers,
George
----- Original Message -----
From: Tkacs, Ken <ken.tkacs@...>
To: MOTM Forum All <MOTM@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 9:11 AM
Subject: FW: [motm] Oscilloscopes
>
> I'll throw out an opinion, but I'll leave the door open for the more
> knowledgeable among us to shoot it down hard... ;)
>
> If you intend on using it for lots of electronic work, especially digital
> circuit development, I can't answer that. I myself permanently borrowed an
> "older" scope (circa 1985) from my brother; he ignores it because it isn't
> the "latest & greatest," but for me, I'm only interested in audio-range
> stuff, and it is FAR MORE than adequate for that.
>
> For what I use it for, I couldn't justify buying a state of the art scope,
> but it sure is nice to have around when playing with the synth. I use the
> MOTM-940 Patch Panel more often than not to hook the scope in and watch
the
> pretty pictures. For anyone new to analog synthesis, I recommend borrowing
a
> scope for a few weeks to play with; there's a weird kind of "feedback," if
> you will, that happens when you can connect a visual of the waveform with
> its sound, even though of course a scope doesn't tell the whole story in
> that regard. But to understand what happens to a waveform as you move a
> LPF's cutoff frequency knob, or to see what PWM looks like... it's
valuable.
>
> And, of course, for adjusting a VCO's triangle symmetry, what could be
> better than a scope? Although the ear, in truth, can do a very good job.
>
> I guess all I'm saying is that if you just want it for audio, you can go
> pretty cheap, even grab scopes that engineers consider "so last week"
> because the needs of audio are negligible. But if you are an engineer and
> want it for advanced work, someone else would have to opine here.
>
> Tech America and places like that sell these "LED scope" kits... have you
> seen these? Atrocious resolution, but I have sometimes mused about making
an
> MOTM-format module out of one. It's basically something like a 20 x 20
grid
> of LEDs that will act as a crude scope. The current draw must be pretty
> considerable, but it might be cool to have that baby flashing away as the
> synth plays... we have some LED fanatics on the list, and I'm surprised no
> one has mentioned this idea before, unless a 20x20 resolution is really
just
> too atrocious to bother with. But use some blue LEDs, and it could really
> light up a room!!
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: noisejazz [mailto:s.f.martin@...]
>
> I am thinking about buying an oscilloscope. There are loads for sale
> and just wondered if anyone has any tips on what to look for or
> indeed avoid. Is 20mhz enough or will I soon be wanting more.
> Thanks for any help
> Steve M.