I am looking for a new oscilloscope and I am considering an Owon sds7102. However, with a little extra effort and a USB connection you can download a much. Your computer using free software such as the Python Scientific package. You cant go wrong with the hack, you will have a first class scope.

I have recently obtained an OWON digital oscilloscope (PDS5022S) from in the UK (approx £225 2009). Several very similar versions are available, all very competitively priced. These Chinese oscilloscopes are definitely not as well built as the more expensive laboratory grade ones from Agilent, Tektronix and the others but they do still represent good value for money for most general purpose applications. They are excellent for schools, hobbyists and for general purpose work. However if you were using one all day you might prefer a brighter CRT screen.

BATTERY PACK HACK As this probably invalidates your warranty it is totally at your own risk! The first improvement concerns the addition of a battery pack in order to make the oscilloscope a little more portable. The standard product offers a battery pack as a very expensive option (£60). Clearly this can be improved. In my case I don't actually need hours of use, just a few minutes would normally be enough to get some provisional readings to justify either bringing jobs into the workshop or running an extension lead or rigging up a remote supply. Therefore a number of rechargeable NiMH cells would probably do the trick. A visit to POUNDLAND (where everything costs £1) soon obtained a total of 6 rechargeable AA cells for a total cost of £3.

Opening the battery compartment on the rear of the oscilloscope showed that there was easily enough room for these six cells. Measuring the voltage across the charging points when mains powered, showed 8.4v. Thus 6 cells giving 7.2 v would allow them to be charged without further modification. Note that the polarity is NOT the way you would expect! The RED wire is the POSITIVE one. The batteries were connected together in series with some insulated wire. The battery pack was reinforced using some double sided tape and a couple of pieces of cardboard.

Two more pieces of card prevent the batteries from sliding around the inside of the compartment. I soldered the wires directly to the battery tags. OK, so its not brilliant and the batteries only last half an hour but at 1/20 the price I don't care! Winpopup lan messenger serial key download. Note that in order to charge them up, you ned to turn on the oscilloscope and select the correct menu items. SPECTRUM ANALYSER One of the really great things about a digital osciloscope is that the waveform can be exported to a computer. It can this be saved, printed, e-mailed or even subjected to further analysis.