Oscilloscope advice needed

Roodillon · 7th January 2012

I am an amateur with electronics (I do know about discharging caps though, so don't sweat that). I just bought my first oscilloscope. It's a brand new pocket oscilloscope. Here is a link to what I bought:

ARM DSO DS203 Nano STM32F103VC 4CH Pocket Oscilloscope | eBay

It's quite small and the jacks are small. I have purchased a book about osciloscopes and will be reading it, but for now can someone please explain in layman's terms how I use it to analyse audio signals? Obviously there is no
1/4 " jack on it. Do they make adapters, or do I clip the leads on the audio gear somewhere, or what? What do you all use your oscilloscopes for when testing audio devices such as effects pedals and microphones?

Sorry to sound like a complete idiot, but I am asking for advice and I did buy books to study. Anything you can tell me will be helpful as I am clueless for the moment and I'm not going to whip it out and start touching everything until I understand what I am doing! Do you think this pocket oscilloscope will be good for audio applications, based on the specs on the eBay page? They make one that's about half the price but I read the reviews and I didn't want to get the cheapest one that might not work well for me so I got the better one. This is the really cheap one that I didn't buy:

2Msps Sampling Rate?ARM DSO Nano Pocket Oscilloscope | eBay

It has only one channel and the reviews said that the refresh rate is much too slow. Whaddya want for $75? But I didn't buy that one, I bought the better one that is four channel and got good reviews. I am also thinking of buying something like this for a desktop unit:

Digital Oscilloscope DSO ATTEN ADS1102 ADS1102C 100Mhz | eBay

Is there any significant advantages to this portable desktop unit compared to my pocket oscillosope? My needs are as follows - learn how to use an oscillosope and use it for testing wavelengths on mics, effects that I am building , amps that I am building, etc. Maybe something heavier in the future. But please don't give me a hard time for the questons - I am an amateur and I am asking for advice only. I've got the books and will put in the legwork.

Thanks

Yago · 10th January 2012

You need to post this in the GeekSlutz section .
Mr Tanner normally has a wealth of advice to offer there .

7th January 2012	#1
Roodillon Gear Head Joined: Nov 2008 Posts: 72 Thread Starter	Oscilloscope advice needed I am an amateur with electronics (I do know about discharging caps though, so don't sweat that). I just bought my first oscilloscope. It's a brand new pocket oscilloscope. Here is a link to what I bought: ARM DSO DS203 Nano STM32F103VC 4CH Pocket Oscilloscope \| eBay It's quite small and the jacks are small. I have purchased a book about osciloscopes and will be reading it, but for now can someone please explain in layman's terms how I use it to analyse audio signals? Obviously there is no 1/4 " jack on it. Do they make adapters, or do I clip the leads on the audio gear somewhere, or what? What do you all use your oscilloscopes for when testing audio devices such as effects pedals and microphones? Sorry to sound like a complete idiot, but I am asking for advice and I did buy books to study. Anything you can tell me will be helpful as I am clueless for the moment and I'm not going to whip it out and start touching everything until I understand what I am doing! Do you think this pocket oscilloscope will be good for audio applications, based on the specs on the eBay page? They make one that's about half the price but I read the reviews and I didn't want to get the cheapest one that might not work well for me so I got the better one. This is the really cheap one that I didn't buy: 2Msps Sampling Rate?ARM DSO Nano Pocket Oscilloscope \| eBay It has only one channel and the reviews said that the refresh rate is much too slow. Whaddya want for $75? But I didn't buy that one, I bought the better one that is four channel and got good reviews. I am also thinking of buying something like this for a desktop unit: Digital Oscilloscope DSO ATTEN ADS1102 ADS1102C 100Mhz \| eBay Is there any significant advantages to this portable desktop unit compared to my pocket oscillosope? My needs are as follows - learn how to use an oscillosope and use it for testing wavelengths on mics, effects that I am building , amps that I am building, etc. Maybe something heavier in the future. But please don't give me a hard time for the questons - I am an amateur and I am asking for advice only. I've got the books and will put in the legwork. Thanks

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10th January 2012	#2
Yago Lives for gear Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 860	You need to post this in the GeekSlutz section . Mr Tanner normally has a wealth of advice to offer there .