Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Small Oscilloscope kit review





I somehow hadn't heard about this kit until recently...I saw one on a video about the same time a friend showed up with one.  I got this one off Amazon (I am not a shill...so I didn't post a link to a particular one...but this is the title description)

JYE DSO 138 DIY KIT (13801K)




I also got a plastic box for it...funny that Amazon does not recommend this box, and doesn't say it will fit...but yes it will fit.  (I don't know if other brands will work...I have this one)

 Diymore DSO138 2.4" TFT Digital Oscilloscope Acrylic Case DIY Kit (Acrylic Shell DIY Kit))

 The Oscilloscope kit (and apparently there are many knock offs...based on this I think I have a knockoff unfortunately) was straight forward thru hole soldering...there are some pre-populated SMD items, the board is large enough that it is not difficult placing and soldering the components.

It only took a couple of hours or so to solder together, the instructions are good, the components are not well labeled to match the instructions, but it is fairly easy to decipher what goes where (specifically the different capacitor values if you are not familiar with the coding system they use)

I would recommend that you first separate all the components and group them based on item number (R1, R2, C1,C2, etc)   I have a small magnetic mat, with a pre-marked grid, that I just numbered 1-10 and dropped the correct components in...again to make ID easier...I kept them in groups...because there may be one of a particular value but 5 of another...so between label deciphering, and deductive reasoning I could ensure I put the right thing in the thing.

There is a step prior to final assembly to test that you haven't screwed it all up.  Assuming nothing is wrong, you do final assembly and power it on.

I was very surprised at how well it worked.  I have a regular O-scope, so I know what it should look like, do, and how it should operated.   It works just like a mini scope, many bells and whistles I didn't expect to get...

Selectable GND-AC-DC coupling,
1v .1v .01V  grid
X5 X2 X1 expansion

..and a clunky button menu system for timing values etc.

I can't say I would recommend this for real precision work, but if you want a simple O-scope...this works just fine...If you need a pocket (large pocket) sized portable O-scope for quick signal checking, then for the money you can't go wrong with this one.

No comments: