Buying New Test Equiment??? Thanks for advice.

[Onelasttime]

So a few years back I lost a lot of old gear to water damage. The gear was ancient so its loss was not huge and I had gotten out of the hobby.

So I still have a Triplett 630 VOM that is good up to 5000VAC and DC and 10 amp's and has diode test and the like. My old Fluke DMM is too corroded from the water damage for me to trust I cleaned it up but once the water get's in it is never really trustworthy again. So I need another DMM but do not want to break the bank on one but do not want complete junk either.

I am looking at a 200Mhz 2 channel Digital Oscilloscope with FFT and normal math functions. A modern ESR/LCR meter. I need a decent signal generator and off the shelf attenuator with BNC connection as well prob. 25db at least. I am not looking at mixed mode or anything with built in generator. $$$$

So DMM and SIgnal Generator are still up in the air. I only going to general electronics at the hobby level and my own rf repairs. I amnot looking at traceable NIST Certification because that doubles the price of the gear and I do not need that for myself. I am considering thr Amprobe 570 Industrial DMM.

Any equipment advice is always welcome. My pockets are not deep so I am looking at Agilent, Owon,Rigol and Hantec branded scopes. Keep in mind this is all for haobby use not making money off these tools! LOL That said I understand that tools are an investment. I am on a Sears Craftsman Proto SK tools budget not Snap-On or Mack.....LOL

 

[W2EKG]

The new Tektronix is nice. What's your budget?

 

[Onelasttime]

It is not Tektronix's budget! LOL...

My old scope was Tektronix's as where all scopes when I was growing up! Seriously between 1973-1993 I do not think I ever saw a scope that was not a Tektronixs. I knew other companies like HP, BK, Siemens and NEC made them as well but never saw those brands in real life.

I am looking at Agilent, Owon, Rigol for scopes.

For DMM's I am looking at Amprobe, Fluke, BK and Extech true RMS nothing too extreme but at least Cat III for safety reasons!

For LCR I am looking at Mastech and DRE-EE(sp). I thought about BK as well but I can get the other two new for the price of a used BK.

 

[338_MtRushmore]

I've had an extech 430 for several years, and it hasn't failed me yet. I bought it mainly because its good to 20 amps for quick readings, but turns out I actually like it. I have been looking at scopes for a long time, but can't decide what to get either. Good luck

 

[Onelasttime]

Scope:

I pretty close to pulling the trigger on a 2ch 200Mhz Digital Siglent 1202X-E. I hope I got all that right! LOL It is a beginner or economy scope but it comes with a lot of features that are optional from others. I know 4ch is nice to have and if you need it you need it. I have seldom needed to use more than one channel. I am just a radio hobby guy.

If I did not plan on becoming a ham radio operator I think the classic Rigol 1052 or 1054 the 4 channel 50Mhz model would be a great value and prob. be all one needed. I am guessing the extra bandwidth though might come in handy down the road for me.

I will look at Extech for a DMM. I have heard of them and seen them in automotive parts store but never used one. No laughing I am using a Radio Shack DMM that was built for them by Fluke! If it had not been submerged in a basement flood I would prob. still use it and trust. It still works but you can never really trust electronic test gear that has been submerged.

 

[StrangeBrew]

I've always been curious about the Siglent stuff in general, seems like a lot of bang for the buck. If you do get that scope be sure to give us a review.

 

[Onelasttime]

Yep I ordered it. I am not the right person to give it a review. I am a hack at best but I am working on that. EEVlog(sp) has done a review of it but to be fair that guy has scopes that list for $5000 on up so he beats all the cheap scopes over the head often.

 

[Robb]

Yep I ordered it. I am not the right person to give it a review. I am a hack at best but I am working on that. EEVlog(sp) has done a review of it but to be fair that guy has scopes that list for $5000 on up so he beats all the cheap scopes over the head often.

I consider gut impressions important. True, it isn't really technical. But user satisfaction and expectations are important too.

 

[StrangeBrew]

Also a few opinions from someone who will use it for our intended purpose would be nice, most reviews I see seem to focus on more modern applications and don't get too far into any radio related usage.