Looking for a scope and frequency counter

[Mk121]

Need some entry level oscope and counter suggestions. I'm trying to stay under $100. I will be using it for cb and 10 meter. I know Tektronix and HP are really good but how about tenma or Hitachi?

 

[Tallman]

Need some entry level oscope and counter suggestions. I'm trying to stay under $100. I will be using it for cb and 10 meter. I know Tektronix and HP are really good but how about tenma or Hitachi?

Just about any professional level equipment is good. B&K makes a fine line of Oscilloscopes. I have one that I run daily for 20 years with no problems ever. It holds calibration very well.
Don't turn your nose up at used gear either.
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5336136228&icep_item=191724271867
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5336136228&icep_item=291599210460

 

[Mk121]

Yes I am looking for good used gear. I like those two that you provided links for. Which b&k model do you use?

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Tektronix or Hitachi are both very good I have an old 20 MHz Hitachi V212 that I use as a modulation monitor on my 40/80m AM station and a 100 MHz Tektronix 465 for general purpose testing and alignments etc. I also just picked up a 60 MHz Kikusui 5650 which is supposed to be good as well but I have yet to turn it on and even see if it works. It was used in a commercial broadcasting undertaking by a well known Canadian federally funded national broadcaster so it must be half decent. they always buy good stuff. HP is also good quality. Just make sure the bandwidth is enough to handle the input signal. My old 20 MHz station monitor scope is usable on 10m but the accuracy of it is dubious however if all I want is a modulation waveform it is perfectly fine.

 

[Robb]

As far as freq counters go; that is another deal. Accuracy is often questionable. They are also needing alignment from time to time. But not eveyone has a rubidium 10mhz oscillator or want to pay the extra money for one to keep your counter true.

Get someting decent, like an Hp or a Fluke. $!00-200/used for a decent one is what you may get if you shop well and do your homework thoroughly . . .

 

[BBB]

Do not forget that you will most likely need an external RF Sampler device to retrieve the RF signal of proper amplitude for the O-scope to display properly and not interfere with your transmissions. Some folks make RF Samplers and others may spend way to much for some fancy hyped up "Clean" project box.

Just so happens there is an affordable T shaped RF Sampler device made for under $50 right off the shelf that can be found listed below. It was designed for the cellular communications industry, but works well on 27 meters too. There are many distributors of the Unidapt product line, so find one that sells them the cheapest.

You'll need one of these:

http://rfsearch.rfindustries.com/ShowProduct.asp?classID=30&productID=27710

And two of these (or what ever connectors you want to have on the above listed T device):

http://rfsearch.rfindustries.com/ShowProduct.asp?classID=19&productID=27572

Oh, and don't forget the BNC " Y"cable to go from the RF Sampler to the scope and freq counter

 

[Mk121]

Your post couldn't of come at a better time. I was just about to ask if I needed a rf sampler. Thanks for linking the unidapt one for me. Looks like one more thing added to the shopping list. This information was very helpful.

 

[Tallman]

Your post couldn't of come at a better time. I was just about to ask if I needed a rf sampler. Thanks for linking the unidapt one for me. Looks like one more thing added to the shopping list. This information was very helpful.

I wrap turns of magnet wire around a section of coax. It allows you to look at your output signal with very little hassle and no danger of shorting or influencing the circuit tuning.
I normally use wire I salvage from old computer power supplies. I go with at least 20 turns and the closer to the coax the better the signal.

 

[Radio Tech]

Tallman has a good suggestion. That works very well. I used this for years and still do at times

But if you want to get more into analyzing signals and using channels A and B on your scope then this circuit will do just that.

With this very easy to build circuit you can look at your RF carrier and also pic off your audio on the second channel. It has a So it has a demodulation port. You can also switch to X/Y mode and observe the triangle wave form of your signal.

Alan w2aew has a nice video on this

 

[M0GVZ]

Your post couldn't of come at a better time. I was just about to ask if I needed a rf sampler. Thanks for linking the unidapt one for me. Looks like one more thing added to the shopping list. This information was very helpful.

Mine cost me £10 to build with £9 of that being for the alloy box, the to SO239 chassis sockets and a BNC socket. It simply uses a few 1/4 watt resistors and a capacitor and provides -40dBm for HF which tails off as you get into VHF due to the resistors used. I could have used better resistors but given my interest was in HF it suffices for me. I swept it with my spectrum analyser up to 500MHz and just put a label on showing the attenuation for the different ham bands which was constant up to the 6m band then tailed off. Used with my spectrum analyser that accepts a +20dBm/100mW input and scope that accepts up to 300v RMS, it allows it to work with a linear up to 1kW.

Mine looks pretty much like this but I did without the PCB and used SO239 connectors.

In regards to scopes and frequency counters, depending on the scope you get it may also tell you the frequency of a waveform, the one I have does. Ebay is flooded with lots of very good high quality were expensive when new 100MHz CRT scopes for next to nought because they're massive compared to the new LCD screen ones and people don't want them.