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User Interface of Major Oscilliscope Brands?

Posted by timothy on from the dots-and-squiggles dept.

teddaw152 writes "I've been tasked with ordering an oscilloscope and a logic analyzer for use in a university physics lab, and have found several models that will likely suit our technical needs from the major manufacturers (Agilent, Tektronix, and LeCroy). However, I personally have only used legacy HP scopes, and thus I have no idea what modern features are must haves and which brand's user interface is the most intuitive. Is there anyone out there that has used modern Tektronix/Agilent/LeCroy scopes side by side and can comment on their thoughts from the purely subjective side?"

10 of 281 comments (clear)

  1. Agilent ~= Hewlett Packard by Phred_Johnston · · Score: 2, Interesting

    All old HP scopes were made by the division that is now Agilent. Depending on how old your old HP scopes are, they may resemble newer Agilent scopes the closest. Features have changed a lot in 10, 20, and 30 years on these devices.

  2. This AC's Experience by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I work in a power lab with both LeCroy Wavepros and Tektronix 5000's. Not sure if these two models are technically comparable, but I can say I like the LeCroys much better:

    The GUI is better organized. It's much easier for a new user to be able to just sit down and be able to figure out how to setup the display so they get what they need. Theres a learning curve with the Tek scope.

    Speed. The Tek scopes are painfully slow to respond when you change a setting. The LeCroy on the other hand feels like it's instantaneous. This is especially true if you want to use the scope by connecting to it remotely (via ethernet control). The Tek scopes feel like there practically useless for this purpose.

    Use of external code. The LeCroys have the ability to take code you've written (in something like Matlab say) to process your data real time which is very handy. I'm not sure if later versions of Tek scopes have this ability or not.

  3. Hey, this question is interesting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    As a software developer who's trying to learn about hardware, I find the timing of this question quite valuable, as I have a related question.

    I'm interested in getting an oscope for my home learning. Typical beginner circuits (low power, inductors, breadboard etc).

    Could someone who has more experience in this than I please give some recommendations for a new scope to buy?

    The standard Physics lab ones are expensive (or at least they used to be). I'm a little hesitant to pick one up off of ebay, sight unseen.

    Any recommendations here for a new one within the budget of a home hobbiest?

    Many thanks in advance.

    1. Re:Hey, this question is interesting! by CharlieG · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Honest answer? I like the OLD Tektronix scopes - say a 465B - built like a tabk, but still semi portable (not like my old 461a - but then again, my 461 is a mere 40 years old, and still works - good for only 20Mhz however)

      Stay away from the mid 1980s Textronix portable scopes. The company I worked for bought 3 of them - 60Mhz and 100Mhz back when they were new - the CRTs were always (and I mean right out of the box - and after calibration, and back to the factory etc) fuzzy

      I haven't used a "modern" DSO since the EARLY 1990s, when storage became "normal"

      (First Professional programming job was writing code to grab data/control test gear over the GPIB/HPIB/IEEE-488 bus)

      Back then - it was "tektronix for scopes, HP for spectrum analyzers and plotters, custom CIL (mil spec IEEE-488 stuff) to control - well custom stuff" - we made CIL products, 2 boards on a backplane that fir up to 6 - design the other 4 cars, write the custom eprom to control them (oh, and HP for crosspoint switches, and oscillators etc - about the only thing we didn't use HP for was scopes

      In many many ways, the most interesting job I ever had, plus it was a whopping 6 minute commute from home. Saw the writing on the walls in 1992, and made a switch to "Business apps" - and got a 85% pay increase (yes 85%) in one day, after not having had a raise in 3 years due to the economy, and the downturn in defense spending. I miss the WORK still

      --
      -- 73 de KG2V For the Children - RKBA! "You are what you do when it counts" - the Masso
    2. Re:Hey, this question is interesting! by Gordonjcp · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Could someone who has more experience in this than I please give some recommendations for a new scope to buy?

      Buying a new scope will either break your pocket or break your heart. You're either going to end up with an all-singing-all-dancing oscilloscope wunderkind that costs as much as a car, or you'll end up with a sparkly-new single-trace 15MHz scope that costs as much as a TV.

      No, forget that and get on eBay. Find someone selling a 'scope that lives within a short drive of your house (you don't want to trust this to the Post Office or a shipping company. They're not *that* fragile but they do need care). Find one selling for less than a couple of week's pizza money. You should be able to pick up a good 'scope for less than £100/$200 (hm actually that gap is narrowing). Don't worry if it's not got all the facilities that a new 'scope does. You most likely won't need them. If you pick a good make you'll probably have it for ever.

      Just as an aside, I got *given* a Scopex 4D25 (old 1970s 'scope) when I was about 13-14 and still have it - the only reason I bought another 'scope was that the Scopex broke down and I needed a 'scope to diagnose the fault! I picked up an Iwatsu 20MHz scope with a few features the Scopex doesn't (much newer, late '80s) for £46. Oh, and I ended up spending at least another £100 with the seller on other bits he had, when I went to pick it up. You know how it is...

      Don't fall into the trap of thinking you need a stupidly fast 'scope either. I use my 20MHz 'scope to align UHF transceivers on 434MHz - "How?" you might ask, "Surely that's outside the range of what the 'scope can display?" - correct, but I don't need to see the waveform. I just need a qualitative measurement, like "now I've got more RF, now I've got less". I'm not even bothered by absolute values, because for alignment it's just "tune for maximum smoke".

  4. Re:I'm not trying to troll, I swear by Kneo24 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There is nothing more frustrating than having a department full of Tektronix scopes and people who have used those for the last 3 years only to have to battle with an Agilent simply because the buttons are in a different place.

    I've ran across similar experiences before too. It's mind boggling how these people, many of which have a degree, can't figure out how to use a different oscilloscope. Not all of them are intuitive to use, but the options and features are generally lain out in a way that you can figure out what to do.

  5. Tek Earth grounds their signal return by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Tektronics Earth Grounds their signal ground.

    This makes for a Safer but much less functional scope. You need 2 channels to measure a voltage relative to a non earth ground.

  6. Re:Please... by Marsala · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Alright... time to break up this party before it evolves into another bad pun thread.

  7. Re:Some useful features by ixnaay · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I use tektronix scopes pretty much daily. Almost all of their new stuff, except for the very low end, is Windows based, which, besides the regular negative slashdot bias against windows, can be a real pain when you work in a closed lab with special security rules. Windows (and Unix) boxes are severely tied down in most security sensitive situations, and these scopes either require you to run as admin, or as a non-admin you lose a lot of functionality.

    One of our brilliant IT security folks installed a program called Device-Lock on my Tek scope the other day. This was configured to completely disabled all I/O (except mouse/keyboard) on the scope, which is kind of funny considering the purpose of a scope. We got this fixed, after a long and entertaining conversation with security.

    This issue doesn't apply to the submitter most likely, but anyone else reading and looking for advice, take into account rules regarding OS security at your work / school when looking at a new scope. Frequently I will look for one of the older scopes running proprietary OSes (like the old HPs) to avoid the hassle entirely. To answer your original question, you really need to define requirements before your start picking out scopes. It's like buying a vehicle with your only criteria being it's color.

  8. Re:Missing criterion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    All major scope brands are easy to talk to, control and download data from with SCPI commands. All provide a programming manual with the command set supported by that scope.

    Tektronix wraps theirs in VXI-11 (an RPC protocol - the .x is easy to find). Agilent talks SCPI over a TCP socket, and I don't remember what LeCroy does - it's a while since I used one of theirs. I remember thinking it was a bit sucky, but no more.