I received my first Oscilloscope over 50 years ago. An Eico 460, single trace, non triggered 500 KHz tube based unit. It had a bad filament winding for the CRT, which was common on cheap scopes. There was plenty of room to add a Stancore filament transformer with a higher breakdown voltage.
@@absalomdraconis This approach with the sound card has the undeniable advantage that the novice usually destroys it when trying to get a feel for how an oscilloscope works. In 9 out of 10 cases there is even a better learning effect: the PC is destroyed at the same time. (Don't tell me that the innocent ignorance of newcomers will prevent mishaps ...:) ) As a conclusion, that's a very well spent 3-7 dollars :) ... and the next upgrade will probably not be used for a decent oscilloscope, but to replace the destroyed PC and throw all the measurement technology into the trash can while screaming around, to never having to deal with it again. (Parts of this can contain satire ... :P) Without that needed(by me, hehe) sarcasm: Beginners in particular do NOT know where the pitfalls and problems in measurement technology are, e.g. where they lie with oscilloscopes[1]. This $60 device at least offers decent connections and a sturdy case, signal-to-noise ratio, a minimum of isolation from the input voltage, and rudimentary protection circuitry. If you really want to buy a cheap "Toy" for getting started and learning, there are these fully self-contained, 9V battery powered, STM32 based, LCD screen single board oscilloscopes. These offer complete separation from the network and definitely more options than a sound card. And that for about $20. Oh, and that $20 toy can actually be used for measuring data. [1] Who would've guessed it: That is the reason why training workshops normally use the most expensive and specially secured equipment and a specialist (an instructor) monitors learning on the circuit. Not only to protect the learners, but also to protect the equipment. So it's exactly the opposite: the hobbyist or novice needs GOOD and RELIABLE equipment. If not, wrong things will be learned, the learning effect will not occur at all, or (even deadly) dangers will arise that could have been avoided. The rule is: just ask someone who knows about it, f.e. what to buy and where to start. It usually doesn't even cost anything and experts/people are happy to help! Or they provide you with a place to try-out, or even have some not needed and spare devices ... And there are maker-spaces with people who founded them because they want to share with others. And now: Have fun with the (math.) curve discussion;)
Adrian, I just want to thank you for taking the time and spending your own money to make this video. These type of videos really help people who want to get into this hobby, but don't want to or have the means to spend a lot of money to get started.
If you buy this scope there are multiple other software programs you can use. You aren't stuck with the Hantek software. Hscope for Android. Open6022BE, Basic Scope, Open Hantek 6022 which is good for Windows, Linux and Mac. Sigrok that is also good for all 3 formats except not as many features as the others.
I got the Hantek last year when starting work on my CoCo project. It's this same one except I got the one with the 16 channel analyzer addition. The software for the oscilloscope side of things is decent, but the software for the DA was almost useless. I searched around for other software and tried a few of the ones that you suggested here. It wasn't the easiest to try to install and implement and the driver choice thing was confusing, in fact when I messed around with that and wasn't exactly thrilled with the oscilloscope side of the software, I tried to go back to my original Hantek drivers and completely borked it. I even tried to uninstall the drivers and reinstall all the original Hantek stuff without success. Won't even see it anymore, so I ended up just moving my Hantek over to my laptop and using it there instead. I decided to buy a separate digital analyzer module instead.
do you know of something similar for (or if any of those are compatible with) the LOTO OSC482? I know Hscope for Android works, but I wouldn't mind something for Windows as well. The LOTO software is on par with the Hantek software
I prefer Sigrok. While it's Sigrok's GUI is missing some features, the other software projects support far far fewer devices, decode far fewer protocols, and most of them appear to no longer be maintained.
I'll second what other people are saying: don't use Hantek's software, but something like HScope for Android or one of the open source interfaces for it. They're all significantly better.
Never mind, I just saw some recommendations in other comments. I’ll probably check one of these out as I’ve been on the look out for something like this.
Could never get the trigger to work properly using the bundled software, so I gave up on it and I switched to OpenHantek software... the difference is unbelievable. It's like a whole different oscilloscope
I ordered one of these when I was visiting my inlaws up in Bellingham. Their backup generator had quit working, and I suspected the crank sensor had failed. This scope had more than enough resolution to show that yes, the crank sensor had indeed gone bad. When I installed a generic replacement (which was 1/10th the price of the one from Generac...) the engine ran, but misfired. The scope showed that the new sensor was wired backwards, so the ignition timing was off because the slope of the pulse was reversed! Swapped the wires, and it ran perfect. Oddly, I found that the frame rate was *much* better on a Mac laptop than a Windows laptop.
I use this in my home DIY car stuff such as measuring reference vs signal voltage on sensors. I couldn't justify big bucks for infrequent use. It's worked quite well for my needs.
Adrian, love these types of vids. Please do some more review videos on some of your other repair equipment: LCR meter, desoldering guns, etc. In fact, it would be awesome to do an overview on beginner gear to start doing repair / troubleshooting / restoration, etc. Thanks!
I had this thing for years already. I do agree, it’s best suited for old, slow 8 bit machines. Helped me troubleshoot my two C64c with black screen. I guess for audio applications it should be good enough, too. I use it now mostly with an old android tablet and Hscope as screen. That’s good enough for my needs.
I recommend using it with the OpenHantek software. It's way better than the original firmware. Also after fixing a hardware bug its calibration signal generator can actually get useful. For its price the scope is really awesome. I used it to fine tune a bit-banging driver for serial communication. Looking at the serial signals I was able to tell what bytes were transmitted over the wire. Also I was able to measure the signals timings pretty accurately. It's also pretty useful to get screenshots for the documentation.
@@nathanshaffer3749 I believe it's Martin, a legendary dev that still perfects OpenHantek6022. I use that oscilloscope almost daily, I don't even have the latest version of the software installed, but it works stable enough for my needs.
Wow, it's been so long since I used my Hantek, I forgot I used to use OpenHantek over the stock application. Ultimately, I bought it 11 or 12 years ago because it worked with Android even way back then. Still does of course. I have always had Android tablets which made it so appealing compared to the cost of a portable scope at the time. The affordable portables at the time rated much lower than the aforementioned setup.
I have one, (as well as a few much more expensive scopes). Overall - i love it. Its -'good enough' for many of my uses, and nice and small on my desk. Along with OpenHantek and Pulseview software, it's usually the first scope i reach for.
No joke I actually placed an order for one on amazon a few minutes into the video and cancelled it halfway through when you started to run into problems. Thank you very much I am going to save up for a better one. I realize now I'm in no rush.
Thanks, I'll keep this in mind. I have too many hobbies ranging from woodshop to amateur radio and it's been three years since I used my old BK precision 30 Mhz scope. It was still functioning well enough to use it last time I fired it up, but I really should get something more reliable. Several years ago PC scopes seemed to be either pretty limited or very expensive and it's nice to see this product which had been unknown to me.
For more information on why sampling needs to be >2x the signal frequency (as explained around @22:00 ) look for Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem, there are some pretty good videos here on youtube that go in way more detail
I think the most useful observation is that signals above Nyquist get folded back, a fact which can sometimes be exploited. If one has a sample/hold circuit which is gated at 900MHz, and puts a 900-914MHz bandbass filter on the front of it, then a signal at e.g. 907MHz would appear on the output as a 7MHz signal. Even before the days of digital sampling scopes, there existed analog sampling scopes that could be used in this way to look at RF signals whose frequency was far above the useful scope bandwidth.
@@flatfingertuning727 indeed the sampling theorem is about band limited signals so you can get a 20MHz scope to work for a signal that has a 20MHz band limit (e.g. a signal that has its interesting features between 750 and 770MHz), though sometimes it is probably not as simple as putting a bandpass filter in front (though if you know what you are doing it mostly needs some extra math)
Thanks Adrian, I've been looking to buy some low-end but not useless electronics diagnostics and repair tools and this looks like it might be a good choice. I'm really looking forward to you doing a full C64 trouble-shooting session with it, I think that'll be excellent!
I'm in exactly the same situation. This looks like a very usefull solution. Sure it isn't as capable as more expensive dedicated digital scopes... but this looks like something with a very good price/performance for the purpose of diagnosing issues with esp. 8 bit computers.
As an aside, there is also a BL version, which looks like trivially moddable into 16 digital channels and using an external power supply. Its a bit more expensive, but not excessively so.
I've been messing around a bitwith this scope on Linux using the OpenHantek software. I'm not experienced in using scopes so I wanted to start with something cheap and so far I think for what it is it has been decent.
Hello all I have a pico 4425a I bought this to do automotive diagnostics. Due to heath issues I'm going back to board repair. I'm happy I can re use most of my equipment I can still work on car computers and. Program them so very happy I look forward to watching your videos
I had a tektronix scope in the 1970s that used persistent phosphor bias to create event storage. It was pretty cool. You would press a button to send a pulse to erase the display.
Great video, and I think I will finally pick one of these up (I honestly haven't used one since the 90's!). But DUDE. That fuzz hanging from your beard actually made me anxious. :)
I bought a 4-channel version specifically to be able to project the image using an overhead smartboard projector for my classes of beginner electrician students, even though for my own use I'd have preferred a self-contained handheld. Given the subject material, I'm mainly using relatively low-frequency sine waveforms to demonstrate phase and amplitude relationships in resistive/reactive circuits. The biggest disappointment for me is the triggering. With this kind of input, even with the noise filter engaged, trying to get a stable image is an exercise in frustration. It left me feeling as though there was a built-in assumption that it would only be used for pulse waveforms.
excellent video ! My first time watching this channel and not my last! But what i liked about this video is that you actually tried to find a use for this cheap scope! Dave over at EEV sometimes reviews cheaper things, but usually does not try to find some use for it and it's often just the negative points about the item ( dont get me wrong, love EEVBlog and not saying Dave is negative or anything like that , and i sometimes get where he is coming from having all kinds of high end gear ) but for many of us that use a scope maybe 1-2 times a month and sometimes even less, 3-400$ scope just isnt worth it , so it's nice to see if some of these cheap products can actually be useful
The appealing feature to me was even 11 or 12 years ago when I bought mine, it worked with Android and apps on the play store. I really didn't use it much, but it was fine for seeing waveforms out of the guitar and musical instrument circuits I designed and built at the time, especially when it's on perfboard.
I bought one of their 32 channel logic analyzers. Worked *really* well with pulseview and was fantastic when sniffing the bus of game cartridges. Cost me about 100$ back when I bought it.
The word you are looking for, or name I should say, is "Nyquist." You're welcome, rock on and you rock! His theorem, "Nyquist Theorum" is how at least double the sample rate is necessary, hence your CD Audio example.
Hey Adrian, just wanted to add to the sin(x)/x (aka sinc) interpolation. It's actually almost always a good thing (assuming Hantek's implementation is correct). Basically, a digital scope samples at instants in time. It has to then create a continuous line for you to look at. With sinc off, it simply does a 'sample and hold' algorithm -- drawing a flat line between the last and next sample. By adding sinc interpolation, it is providing the (mathematically) best guess. If you put in a square wave that is flat between sample points , it may look like it's 'more correct' but in reality the sample time is fooling you. Do an experiment where you put in a square wave (or other wave types) at 1kHz, 10kHz, 20kHz, 100kHz. You'll see all sorts of artifacts at higher frequencies, and I suspect you'll see a square wave that looks like the edge is jittering back and forth like crazy, whereas the sinc version will be stable. The summary is, this is a good feature for cleaning up edges of signals, but if your digital signal is fast enough that you see a huge difference, you're really exceeding the capabilities of your scope.
Yeah, I don't see the sinc as a false sense of what's going on, but rather as a mathematicaly correct representation of the signal filtered in the bandwidth dictated by the Nyquist limit. As Bill said, if it's not enough then you probably need a better scope. Anyway, thank you for this video. I have a better siglent scope but as a student I probably would have loved this hantek !
It looks to me like it is working by scanning a whole buffer and then displaying it. That means that the update rate changes depending on your timebase. Also the trigger will be at the start of the buffer - you are displaying somewhere in the middle of the buffer and so it looks like the trigger is unstable. You need to scroll to the start of the trace to see reliable triggering
There are/were pure analogue storage oscilloscopes. They have electrostatic elements behind the phosphor and flood guns to send electrons to induce fluorescence. Tektronix models were superb.
@ We used two Tektronix 7000 series for high voltage transient analysis. The 1977 era model was very good for its purpose and fully EM shielded. The one bought in around 81 not so good, but its effectiveness was reduced because somebody left a captured image stored when he took a break and the phosphor was left burned out with his waveform.
I used both Tek storage scopes as well as one of their computer terminals that also had storage CRTs (possibly a TEK 4014 or 4017?). The scopes were amazing just because they had the feature at all. The terminals would gradually fade or blur the image, but you could have text and vector graphics. Add in a thermal or electrostatic (silver paper) printer and you were working with high tech gear from the 1970s!
In 1975 I made my first scope; I connected an audio amplifier to one pair of scan coils in an old black and white CRT TV set. Looked nice visually with an audio input, but of course it was no good for measurements.
I have this scope, had it for a while actually and you might have seen me using it on my own channel. I'll openly hold my hands up and say I don't know much about scopes but it has helped me identify a clock, RGB signal etc. In terms of clocks I can never get it to lock onto an exact frequency over a few MHZ (as you showed) but if something needs say a 7mhz clock and the output on this is dancing around 7 I tend to call that good. I generally just use it to look at a signal and see if it "looks right" i.e. is the signal there, is it at the correct levels and for that basic level of detail the hantek seems to do a good enough job. One thing its missing though is AC coupling which is a bit annoying as I was trying to use it to set the RF level on a CD laser. As a self titled "casual" tinkerer of these old systems I don't have the means or justification to spend £100's on the professional gear but I have been thinking of an upgrade. I've been considering changing to one of the hand held scopes that you might have seen on Necrowares channel. It looks a great job, isn't much more expensive that then the hantek and he has showed it handling signals up to and beyond 30mhz but if you have more reviews coming of "budget" scopes I'll wait and see what you have to show.
I've been using Hantek 1008 for 7 or 8 years for automotive applications and it has served me well and paid itself back many times over. That one is strictly for measuring analog sensors as its sampling rate is only 2.4 MHz.
I've got one (I got it because it was the only 8 channel option available) and I've used it several times to diagnose problems on PCs. Admittedly these were power supply failures where the signals were in the low KHz range, but it is a surprisingly versatile instrument, despite it's abysmal frequency response, buffer size, and software. I wish someone made 3rd party software for it!
Thanks for the info. I picked up a new old stock one of these for cheap and am learning how to use it. I have almost no experience with scopes so this is all new to me. Your video was helpful. My first need for using the scope is to understand some pinouts on encoders I have on a re-purposed robot arm. Also need to understand some hall effect data from some Hoverboard motors. This scope is so light, I am making a DIN rail mount for it, and it will be part of the robot's payload and serve as an on board diagnostic tool.
Cool to come across your video on the Hantek... I picked one up on Sunday at my annual Hamfest for $20 in the original box. Nice simple scope. Too work on 8bit systems like the Commodore 64 and 128, TRS-80s, Tandy CoCo, Kaypro, DEC... as well as DIY 8bit computer kits.
It was delivered today to me and your video helped me much, much a lot. Thanks for your review and explanation. I am gonna use it for tube amplifier DIY, so it would be enough for me. Cheers.
Thank you for this video Adrian. Im a beginner with ocilloskope, so this video was very helpful for me. I would love to see a instructional video in the future. Ocilloskope for retro computers! 👍
I repaired a lot of C64 computers back in the mid '80s with a cheap 5MHz analog scope. Rather than look at the waveform on data lines I slowed the scan rate quite a bit. Bad RAM had a bad undershoot, and they ran warmer. If the RAM was cold, it was dead. If it was warm, it was likely to work. If it was hot, it was shot. I repaired hundreds of those computers with that borrowed scope. I later bought a Tek 453A, but my current scope is a Tek 2465A that I purchased for $180, eight years ago. I worked in high end Telemetry manufacturing, and had one on my bench. At the other extreme, I have a working 5Mhz Tek 323 and a 10MHz Tek 324 portable scope. These were built by Sony and can run from internal NiCads.
Around 32:01 you can see that the trigger point is 3 divisions left of the middle line on the screen. So you don't have the trigger point in the middle of the screen like most digital scopes do, it seems it is somewhere in the beginning of the capture buffer. Knowing this, you might well see it's triggering better than it seems, if you horizontally scroll to the left where the capture starts
I use to work on coin-op equipment and my logic probe (Radio Shack) was my go to tool for pinball machines as I could not only see the state of a line but inject +5v to activate it. My scope was rarely used on pinball machines unless I had clock issues.
My first scope was a Velleman K7105 for about $250 new. Complete with 750 KHz readable bandwidth. The input 3db bandwidth goes much higher. You can measure a max of 1Mhz with the cursors barely. The lcd pixels is the limiting factor in that. Most of my work was in the field so it needed to be portable. In my opinion most all modern Scopes are glorified tablets with a scope interface that can make them slow.
Hantek 6022BL was my first oscilloscope. I still have it. 6022BL is the same as 6022BE. It just also has a logic Analyzer (16bit). The logic Analyzer is totally useless as it has no hardware triggers. My unit also came with a faulty channel, the DC bias was off and impossible to calibrate. The schematics are available, I might try to fix this in a video in the future. 6022 is also only DC biased but there is a mod to ad AC coupling. This goes along with custom firmware and software (OpenHantek). Over all it is not a bad scope for the money. However I would recommend to people to get one of the higher frequency models. I now got the top model Hantek 6254EU, and I love it.
used to have one of these - upgraded to the rigol and passed that one on to my brother. There are notably a lot better software options for this that solved the triggering issues etc. at least for me. This ranges from a PulseView/SigRok integration that adds all kinds of capability useful when looking at signals (Decode using protocol analyzers using virtual schmidt-triggers while also keeping the analogue waveform to look for rise and fall times) up to a full python integration. This thing is really held down by the software shortcomings if only used with the supplied UI
I got one of these years ago and found out it could not measure the 7.3mhz clock signal from a Z80 computer kit. So for retro computer assembly kits you really need at least a 50mhz oscilloscope of some type.
Since an ideal square wave is composed of odd harmonics to infinity, you need bandwidth at least 5 times the fundamental frequency to see anything remotely square. Further complications are caused by the sample rate, 48MSa/s is the bottleneck on this thing, that's really only good for about 5Mhz in real time
I've been wanting a scope to do some automotive diagnostics and heard a lot about Pico scopes, but they're quite a bit of money. Thanks for showcasing this Hantek, I ended up spending a bit more and got a 6074BC.
I have the 6022BL which has a decent-ish logic analyzer built in. Couple that with pulseview and it's pretty useful. The scope side is Ok-ish up to around 7.5MHz.
Appreciate this Adrian, I've thought several times of getting a cheap oscilloscope and I just don't even know what I'd need. I'd hate to buy one that won't do what I need and I'd hate to pay for one that does more than I'd need, this is great information.
For my needs, I bought a standalone scope (I wanted something that works without a PC attached) two years ago for ~$100. It was brand new, goes up to 100 MHz, and the fastest I have tested it with so far was the 11.0592 MHz clock of an AVR circuit that I worked on. It did pretty well. I was about to write more on that, but since you have more reviews in the pipeline, I will postpone this. ;-)
Yes - which model? I am looking for a scope that can handle a 7MHz clocked msx computer from the eighties that needs fixing and yours sounds like it would do nicely.
@@RamsesYT It's called OWON SDS1102. 2 channels, 100 MHz. Not nearly as fancy as a Keysight or whatever the big brands are. But also not even nearly as expensive. ;-)
About frequency bandwidth vs sample rate. Bandwidth assumes sine wave. Any other waveform would be a composite of additional frequencies above the base frequency. Take a square wave of 20khz. If you were to put that through a low pass filter that cut off at 20khz, your output would be a 20khz sine wave. That's why you only need a sample 2x bandwidth. There's a few TH-cam videos about this.
Four years ago I started looking for an oscilloscope. There were few used units and new desktops were far too expensive. Now eBay is full of $100 Tektronix and other scopes, many nearly 40 years old but if I had to pick between this $60 Hantek and an old Tektronix, I'd go with the Tektronix.
Interesting. My "oscilloscope" is a hand-made "probe" plugged in to the audio jack of a mobile phone + an app. Hardly ideal! If I could buy a "real" one that's useful for a price I could justify that would be a good thing indeed.
I use a 100MHz version of the hantek it isn’t that much expensive and has soldiered through me feeding it too much voltage etc which I wouldn’t recommend on an audio Jack (or a hantek really). The open source software is pretty good (openhantek etc).
Man I thought this was just going to be another average-at-best youtube experience, but then I got blind-sided by that funky chiptune blast . That's how you win a like and a free subscribe. Still great in 2023!
When I was at PCC back in 2012 the electronics department was looking for an oscilloscope for students that would allow distance learning - so students wouldn't have to come on campus just to use the lab. Most of the options at the time were far too big and expensive to expect students to tack on to their tuition. I don't know if they ever found one, but this sounds like it would be a good start.
Since then, Digilent has released their Analog Discovery 2, purpose designed to be a student - accessible lab bench. I've appreciated it for work and educatio
This Hantek has been around since long before 2012, and was also rebranded by local resellers like Voltcraft. Would have been a little unlikely that they didn't run into it. The prices haven't radically changed in all this time as well, well besides rebrands being more expensive by a predictable amount.
I got one of those as I was learning STM32 micros to see if I was using the peripherals correctly. I remember having problems with triggers not being fast enough and I absolutely hate the software it came with. People here are saying it has other software options so I'll take a look at those sometime. I'm going to be looking into something else around 500 dollars range if I get back to dabbling with micro-controllers though.
I hope that Adrian or at least someone will review the not much more pricey ($90+/-) Hantek 1008B/C. Great video as always Adrian and thank you for reviewing this! I have been considering one of the Hantek USB scopes for a while now.
This scope input stage is probably rated at 20 MHz. That's consistent with the 48 MHz sampling rate. Generally, you need about 10 dots to see a waveform, so I would only use it up to 5 MHz. That's plenty for anything mounted on a plug-in prototyping board and computers into the '80s.
Hantek's software is not great, but you can work around it. My 100MHz 4 ch. scope is a Hantek and you can get the hang of the software after a little learning curve. You need to make sure the trigger point (not voltage, but time position) is properly centered in the recorded data, other wise the triggering will not work. I could see from the screen shots the trigger point was nowhere to be seen. Yeah, its clunky, but you can make it work.
Personally i use the OWON VDS1022 that i bought for 85€ more than five years ago and it's been super useful. It does all the signal processing on the on-board FPGAs (there's two IIRC) and has two channels and a third "multi" channel for trigger and stuff (never used it personally). From what i remember the Hantek scope is just an ADC in a box. I bought my VDS1022 back in highschool and back then i decided that the extra cost for the OWON over the Hantek was well worth it and i still think that way. It took an extra month to save up a bit more for the OWON scope but i don't regret it one bit. The software is also much better, IMO. The biggest shortcoming of the OWON scope are the BNC sockets, which have become a little flaky after years of abuse and being thrown around in my duffel bag. The 5kSA memory depth on the OWON scope was a bit limiting when scoping digital signals, but a 6 dollar logic analyzer took care of that problem. Would be cool if you could take a look at the OWON scope to compare with the Hantek.
If you got the money, Picoscope is the way to go. Got the Picoscope2000 in my van for work. Even got an hydraulic pressure transducer probe untill 600 bar, that can go into microns/picos sample rates!
I'm on a tight budget wrt tools, so I tend to favour those that are inexpensive but adequate for diagnosing problems with vintage computers. This looks like a decent alternative (possibly an upgrade?) to the FNIRSI 5012H I currently use. Although this Hantek lacks the portability of the FNIRSI, two channels are better than one. Looking forward to seeing how well this scope does in a real-world situation i.e. C64 diagnosis, along with the other budget scope options Adrian has lined up.
Hi, I'm looking for a osiloscope for car audio repairs so I want looking into the osiloscope , I just have a small question about the maximum voltage I can measure on because I want to check the sign waves of big amplifiers
First off, great video and extremely helpful even for someone who knows virtually nothing about this stuff. Quick question: Would you think this should be suitable for messing around with automotive electronics from the early to mid 1990's? A lot of the sensors & devices date back to the late 80's and early 90's and can be individually isolated and understood.
Heh, I've had one of those for about a year that I pulled out of the box once I received it - then did nothing more. Thanks for looking it over, I might work with my unit more now.
Well, I have a $20 analog second hand oscilloscope and it’s good enough for me. But still nice to know that there are still workable cheap digital ones.
I can see another advantage of this cheap, but not too crappy scope. If you are into high voltage stuff and you are building your own DIY probes: At the first test, if something goes wrong and you blow up the scope accidentally, it was just 60 dollars and not your fancy >2k$ scope.
Hantek software does trigger even on the highest speeds. It just doesn't show you the trigger point on the map, so once you moved the "window" a little bit, good luck finding the middle again.
Now this is ironic, I had just been looking at old/ used or cheap oscilloscopes about 3-4 days ago and Adrian's here with one.. @ Adrian, since you are definitely more advanced at this than me, I would be very interested to see another later follow-up video if others in chat or that you know in the community were to able suggest a better software or means of using this device or the other cheap ones as you get and show them off... Oh, and keep up with your always awesome & (mostly) vintage tech videos like this :)
I remember when the first "DR Daq" pc oscilloscopes came out around 1999 in the UK they were single channel and two channel scopes that would connect to a desktop or laptop computer .. I also remember the velleman HPS 5 and HPS 10 pocket oscilloscopes from my student days , I had an HPS5 for pottering in my student dorms back in 1999 when away from the college labs , it was about £150 UK pounds back then when it was $2 to £1UK , these days it would be about $230US .. Having any kind of oscilloscope back then year 1999/2000 was fancy, these days there is a huge selection and they go from £100 to £90k and everything in between with a reasonable semi portable bench top oscilloscope for £300/$440 there are Fluke and Megger handheld scopes today from about £4k going up to about £15k (Edit) Dr Daq was I think another brand name of "Picoscope" ?
Fwiw, that funky USBXI connection is for use with a chassis Hantek made - the USBXI-1070. You can still find it on their website though it's listed as discontinued. Out of curiosity I looked for one when I first got my 6022BL but couldn't find one (not that I would have bought it anyway). Looks like there were models with just the chassis that you connected to your PC, one with internal computer, and one with internal computer and screen.
This was the first scope I got (my first digital one) and it was only for audio on the field. My analog scope that I had at the time was big and heavy. So I paired it with an Atom based netbook with Windows XP on it and it was good enough. It is useful for up to 1MHz I would say on digital and maybe up to 5MHz for analog signals. However, I used it mainly for audio signals and some SMPS troubleshooting. The good thing is that when used on an portable computer (laptop, netbook) you have a perfectly isolated ground, the whole setup is floating and no ground loops cause interference.
It might be worth it for audio frequencies, but the trigger problem is a deal breaker for troubleshooting. You're gonna be stuck wondering whether the signal you're trying to scope is bad or your scope just won't trigger on it correctly. I imagine someone just starting out, picking this thing up for cheap, learning how limited it is, and buying a more expensive scope anyway.
At (27:58) there is a problem with your setup. You should set "Trigger Sweep" to Single, which automatically pause readings. But yes, 6022BE has a problem with triggering. It's done in software on a PC. And because 6022BE has small memory and only USB 2.0, on low values of time base software working only on very small window of signal, so it very very often missing triggering signal. When I need to debug the start of digital transmission i loose couple of minutes every time I need to capture it. But, when you know limits of this scope you can can successfully use it for some project.
I bought this thing some weeks ago. It works well on my linux-systems with the open-hantek-software, it dows not have these fance knobs as the windows-version, but it works very well. I use it for measurements on RC-electronic and signals from microcontrollers like Atmel AtMega. Works well here. Next thing was a logic-analyzer with 8 digital channels fpr about 8 dollars, with pulseview on Linux and a driver, it does a god job, too.
Nice review, thanks. While I understand this is entry level and of course a night and day difference between having this Hantek or no scope at all. I'd still recommend spending a bit more and get a complete scope with knobs and a screen, you'll quickly find it's very tedious having to use your mouse to change settings all the time. Personally my current favorite scope is the Android based Micsig tablet style scope, it's 4 channels and you can operate it using touchscreen, knobs and even use a mouse. It's very compact and really changes how you use a scope, traditionally you'd bring your project to your scope, or in the old days you'd have a scope on a cart, but with a compact battery powered tablet style scope you can very easily bring your scope to your project instead. The Micsig does however cost 7 times as much as this Hantek usb scope, but it also comes with 50 times the features. Cheers, Jake
sinc filtering (what you're calling sine x on x) is actually the most accurate representation of the real waveform that you can get; any other form of interpolation introduces frequency components higher than the oscilloscope's bandwidth, so you know they have to be spurious. I see little to no point in using the linear interpolation or sample-and-hold style modes (discussed around 22:00) and would argue that they are actually going to be more misleading than the sinc filter. (I won't do the math here, but it's a relatively well-known result and shouldn't be hard to find a proof)
Great little device for the money. About triggering: I don't think you're looking at the trigger point, which is probably at the start of the buffer, which is why it seems wonky. At smaller time bases or lower trigger frequencies its probably that 'auto' trigger mode switches to free-run if it doesn't see a trigger for some undefined amount of time. Switching it to 'normal' should ensure it only runs when triggered.
How does this compare with a home built soundcard oscilloscope, I built a few of those over the years, instead of running it on my 500 buck laptop sound card, I purchased a cheep USB sound card and hooked it up that way. I built one in a altoids box with a tiny screen that will at least give me a scop pattern on a pocket device running off a 9 volt battery. Another that works on my laptop using free scope software and it works about as well as the tiny digital kit scopes that use a 2 inch screen.
As a very casual hobbyist, I bought one of these. With the Open Hantek software, it works pretty well. I call it “baby’s first oscilloscope” 😀
I'd say "baby's first osciliscope" should probably be one of those cheap USB soundcards- limited range, but only $3 to $7 buy one new.
I received my first Oscilloscope over 50 years ago. An Eico 460, single trace, non triggered 500 KHz tube based unit. It had a bad filament winding for the CRT, which was common on cheap scopes. There was plenty of room to add a Stancore filament transformer with a higher breakdown voltage.
did you figure out how to compile it yourself? I couldn't figure out how to get the windows software, it looked like I had to compile it myself.
@@ScottPlude I downloaded a Mac binary. I think they were Windows binaries available too.
@@absalomdraconis This approach with the sound card has the undeniable advantage that the novice usually destroys it when trying to get a feel for how an oscilloscope works. In 9 out of 10 cases there is even a better learning effect: the PC is destroyed at the same time. (Don't tell me that the innocent ignorance of newcomers will prevent mishaps ...:) )
As a conclusion, that's a very well spent 3-7 dollars :) ... and the next upgrade will probably not be used for a decent oscilloscope, but to replace the destroyed PC and throw all the measurement technology into the trash can while screaming around, to never having to deal with it again. (Parts of this can contain satire ... :P)
Without that needed(by me, hehe) sarcasm: Beginners in particular do NOT know where the pitfalls and problems in measurement technology are, e.g. where they lie with oscilloscopes[1]. This $60 device at least offers decent connections and a sturdy case, signal-to-noise ratio, a minimum of isolation from the input voltage, and rudimentary protection circuitry.
If you really want to buy a cheap "Toy" for getting started and learning, there are these fully self-contained, 9V battery powered, STM32 based, LCD screen single board oscilloscopes. These offer complete separation from the network and definitely more options than a sound card. And that for about $20. Oh, and that $20 toy can actually be used for measuring data.
[1] Who would've guessed it: That is the reason why training workshops normally use the most expensive and specially secured equipment and a specialist (an instructor) monitors learning on the circuit. Not only to protect the learners, but also to protect the equipment.
So it's exactly the opposite: the hobbyist or novice needs GOOD and RELIABLE equipment. If not, wrong things will be learned, the learning effect will not occur at all, or (even deadly) dangers will arise that could have been avoided.
The rule is: just ask someone who knows about it, f.e. what to buy and where to start. It usually doesn't even cost anything and experts/people are happy to help! Or they provide you with a place to try-out, or even have some not needed and spare devices ... And there are maker-spaces with people who founded them because they want to share with others.
And now: Have fun with the (math.) curve discussion;)
Adrian, I just want to thank you for taking the time and spending your own money to make this video. These type of videos really help people who want to get into this hobby, but don't want to or have the means to spend a lot of money to get started.
Exactly my thoughts. It’s cheaper to buy a replacement retro-computer than repair one if you need a scope to do it if you need to spend $3-400 on one.
If you buy this scope there are multiple other software programs you can use. You aren't stuck with the Hantek software. Hscope for Android. Open6022BE, Basic Scope, Open Hantek 6022 which is good for Windows, Linux and Mac. Sigrok that is also good for all 3 formats except not as many features as the others.
I got the Hantek last year when starting work on my CoCo project. It's this same one except I got the one with the 16 channel analyzer addition. The software for the oscilloscope side of things is decent, but the software for the DA was almost useless. I searched around for other software and tried a few of the ones that you suggested here. It wasn't the easiest to try to install and implement and the driver choice thing was confusing, in fact when I messed around with that and wasn't exactly thrilled with the oscilloscope side of the software, I tried to go back to my original Hantek drivers and completely borked it. I even tried to uninstall the drivers and reinstall all the original Hantek stuff without success. Won't even see it anymore, so I ended up just moving my Hantek over to my laptop and using it there instead. I decided to buy a separate digital analyzer module instead.
I second Open Hantek 6022. Works great on my Mac. I haven’t done any digital logic analysis with it, though.
oh thats cool, could just stick a android phone on it and make it easily portable
do you know of something similar for (or if any of those are compatible with) the LOTO OSC482? I know Hscope for Android works, but I wouldn't mind something for Windows as well. The LOTO software is on par with the Hantek software
I prefer Sigrok. While it's Sigrok's GUI is missing some features, the other software projects support far far fewer devices, decode far fewer protocols, and most of them appear to no longer be maintained.
I'll second what other people are saying: don't use Hantek's software, but something like HScope for Android or one of the open source interfaces for it. They're all significantly better.
This is great to hear. I'd love to see Adrian do a second channel video to face off these alternate software options.
Hey Keith, got any recommendations on alternate UI’s for Linux ?
Never mind, I just saw some recommendations in other comments. I’ll probably check one of these out as I’ve been on the look out for something like this.
@@PJBonoVox Maybe after the other two devices so he can test third party software across the three.
Glad to see this. I bought one a while ago and it's just sat in a drawer because the Hantek software was such a miserable experience.
Could never get the trigger to work properly using the bundled software, so I gave up on it and I switched to OpenHantek software... the difference is unbelievable. It's like a whole different oscilloscope
Will this scope do fine for automotive use testing hall effect sensors.. pulse width modulated, etc?
I ordered one of these when I was visiting my inlaws up in Bellingham. Their backup generator had quit working, and I suspected the crank sensor had failed. This scope had more than enough resolution to show that yes, the crank sensor had indeed gone bad. When I installed a generic replacement (which was 1/10th the price of the one from Generac...) the engine ran, but misfired. The scope showed that the new sensor was wired backwards, so the ignition timing was off because the slope of the pulse was reversed! Swapped the wires, and it ran perfect.
Oddly, I found that the frame rate was *much* better on a Mac laptop than a Windows laptop.
(11:09) That's not a potentiometer. It is a variable capacitor, and it allows you to adjust the equalisation of the probe attenuation.
Haven't seen a variable cap since transistor radios went digital. Thanks
@@jerrygaber6150
We call it trimmer
I use this in my home DIY car stuff such as measuring reference vs signal voltage on sensors. I couldn't justify big bucks for infrequent use. It's worked quite well for my needs.
Hi NV. Is this scope adequate to see injector pulses or ignition coil pulses with enough detail to troubleshoot?
Adrian, love these types of vids. Please do some more review videos on some of your other repair equipment: LCR meter, desoldering guns, etc. In fact, it would be awesome to do an overview on beginner gear to start doing repair / troubleshooting / restoration, etc. Thanks!
I had this thing for years already. I do agree, it’s best suited for old, slow 8 bit machines. Helped me troubleshoot my two C64c with black screen. I guess for audio applications it should be good enough, too. I use it now mostly with an old android tablet and Hscope as screen. That’s good enough for my needs.
I recommend using it with the OpenHantek software. It's way better than the original firmware. Also after fixing a hardware bug its calibration signal generator can actually get useful. For its price the scope is really awesome. I used it to fine tune a bit-banging driver for serial communication. Looking at the serial signals I was able to tell what bytes were transmitted over the wire. Also I was able to measure the signals timings pretty accurately. It's also pretty useful to get screenshots for the documentation.
what was the hardware bug?
OpenHantek has been abandoned. But someone continued a fork specifically for this device, OpenHantek6022
@@nathanshaffer3749 I believe it's Martin, a legendary dev that still perfects OpenHantek6022. I use that oscilloscope almost daily, I don't even have the latest version of the software installed, but it works stable enough for my needs.
Wow, it's been so long since I used my Hantek, I forgot I used to use OpenHantek over the stock application. Ultimately, I bought it 11 or 12 years ago because it worked with Android even way back then. Still does of course. I have always had Android tablets which made it so appealing compared to the cost of a portable scope at the time. The affordable portables at the time rated much lower than the aforementioned setup.
I have one, (as well as a few much more expensive scopes). Overall - i love it. Its -'good enough' for many of my uses, and nice and small on my desk. Along with OpenHantek and Pulseview software, it's usually the first scope i reach for.
No joke I actually placed an order for one on amazon a few minutes into the video and cancelled it halfway through when you started to run into problems. Thank you very much I am going to save up for a better one. I realize now I'm in no rush.
Thanks, I'll keep this in mind.
I have too many hobbies ranging from woodshop to amateur radio and it's been three years since I used my old BK precision 30 Mhz scope. It was still functioning well enough to use it last time I fired it up, but I really should get something more reliable.
Several years ago PC scopes seemed to be either pretty limited or very expensive and it's nice to see this product which had been unknown to me.
For more information on why sampling needs to be >2x the signal frequency (as explained around @22:00 ) look for Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem, there are some pretty good videos here on youtube that go in way more detail
I think the most useful observation is that signals above Nyquist get folded back, a fact which can sometimes be exploited. If one has a sample/hold circuit which is gated at 900MHz, and puts a 900-914MHz bandbass filter on the front of it, then a signal at e.g. 907MHz would appear on the output as a 7MHz signal. Even before the days of digital sampling scopes, there existed analog sampling scopes that could be used in this way to look at RF signals whose frequency was far above the useful scope bandwidth.
@@flatfingertuning727 indeed the sampling theorem is about band limited signals so you can get a 20MHz scope to work for a signal that has a 20MHz band limit (e.g. a signal that has its interesting features between 750 and 770MHz), though sometimes it is probably not as simple as putting a bandpass filter in front (though if you know what you are doing it mostly needs some extra math)
Thanks Adrian, I've been looking to buy some low-end but not useless electronics diagnostics and repair tools and this looks like it might be a good choice. I'm really looking forward to you doing a full C64 trouble-shooting session with it, I think that'll be excellent!
I'm in exactly the same situation. This looks like a very usefull solution. Sure it isn't as capable as more expensive dedicated digital scopes... but this looks like something with a very good price/performance for the purpose of diagnosing issues with esp. 8 bit computers.
As an aside, there is also a BL version, which looks like trivially moddable into 16 digital channels and using an external power supply. Its a bit more expensive, but not excessively so.
I managed to bring quite a few dead C64s back to life with this oscilloscope. It's not a perfect scope, but more than useful for diagnosing a C64.
@@danielmantione I just ordered the BL version.
I've been messing around a bitwith this scope on Linux using the OpenHantek software. I'm not experienced in using scopes so I wanted to start with something cheap and so far I think for what it is it has been decent.
Awesome that you're working with this on Linux. Please let us know how things go for you.
Hello all I have a pico 4425a I bought this to do automotive diagnostics. Due to heath issues I'm going back to board repair. I'm happy I can re use most of my equipment I can still work on car computers and. Program them so very happy I look forward to watching your videos
I had a tektronix scope in the 1970s that used persistent phosphor bias to create event storage. It was pretty cool. You would press a button to send a pulse to erase the display.
Great video, and I think I will finally pick one of these up (I honestly haven't used one since the 90's!). But DUDE. That fuzz hanging from your beard actually made me anxious. :)
I bought a 4-channel version specifically to be able to project the image using an overhead smartboard projector for my classes of beginner electrician students, even though for my own use I'd have preferred a self-contained handheld.
Given the subject material, I'm mainly using relatively low-frequency sine waveforms to demonstrate phase and amplitude relationships in resistive/reactive circuits. The biggest disappointment for me is the triggering. With this kind of input, even with the noise filter engaged, trying to get a stable image is an exercise in frustration. It left me feeling as though there was a built-in assumption that it would only be used for pulse waveforms.
excellent video ! My first time watching this channel and not my last! But what i liked about this video is that you actually tried to find a use for this cheap scope! Dave over at EEV sometimes reviews cheaper things, but usually does not try to find some use for it and it's often just the negative points about the item ( dont get me wrong, love EEVBlog and not saying Dave is negative or anything like that , and i sometimes get where he is coming from having all kinds of high end gear ) but for many of us that use a scope maybe 1-2 times a month and sometimes even less, 3-400$ scope just isnt worth it , so it's nice to see if some of these cheap products can actually be useful
The appealing feature to me was even 11 or 12 years ago when I bought mine, it worked with Android and apps on the play store. I really didn't use it much, but it was fine for seeing waveforms out of the guitar and musical instrument circuits I designed and built at the time, especially when it's on perfboard.
I bought one of their 32 channel logic analyzers. Worked *really* well with pulseview and was fantastic when sniffing the bus of game cartridges. Cost me about 100$ back when I bought it.
I can not un-see the little black spider dangling from his beard. Spidey is probably going like "Whee, I´m on the interwebs!" :)
The word you are looking for, or name I should say, is "Nyquist." You're welcome, rock on and you rock! His theorem, "Nyquist Theorum" is how at least double the sample rate is necessary, hence your CD Audio example.
I have the same scope.For 60$ its very good.With 48MSPS the max bandwith is more like 15MHz rather than 25
Excellent review, thank you soooo much!!!
Hey Adrian, just wanted to add to the sin(x)/x (aka sinc) interpolation. It's actually almost always a good thing (assuming Hantek's implementation is correct).
Basically, a digital scope samples at instants in time. It has to then create a continuous line for you to look at. With sinc off, it simply does a 'sample and hold' algorithm -- drawing a flat line between the last and next sample. By adding sinc interpolation, it is providing the (mathematically) best guess. If you put in a square wave that is flat between sample points , it may look like it's 'more correct' but in reality the sample time is fooling you.
Do an experiment where you put in a square wave (or other wave types) at 1kHz, 10kHz, 20kHz, 100kHz. You'll see all sorts of artifacts at higher frequencies, and I suspect you'll see a square wave that looks like the edge is jittering back and forth like crazy, whereas the sinc version will be stable.
The summary is, this is a good feature for cleaning up edges of signals, but if your digital signal is fast enough that you see a huge difference, you're really exceeding the capabilities of your scope.
Yeah, I don't see the sinc as a false sense of what's going on, but rather as a mathematicaly correct representation of the signal filtered in the bandwidth dictated by the Nyquist limit. As Bill said, if it's not enough then you probably need a better scope.
Anyway, thank you for this video. I have a better siglent scope but as a student I probably would have loved this hantek !
It looks to me like it is working by scanning a whole buffer and then displaying it. That means that the update rate changes depending on your timebase. Also the trigger will be at the start of the buffer - you are displaying somewhere in the middle of the buffer and so it looks like the trigger is unstable. You need to scroll to the start of the trace to see reliable triggering
Have been using this scope for a few years to fault find and repair vintage computers and it works great. A very cheap and handy device.
There are/were pure analogue storage oscilloscopes. They have electrostatic elements behind the phosphor and flood guns to send electrons to induce fluorescence. Tektronix models were superb.
@ We used two Tektronix 7000 series for high voltage transient analysis. The 1977 era model was very good for its purpose and fully EM shielded. The one bought in around 81 not so good, but its effectiveness was reduced because somebody left a captured image stored when he took a break and the phosphor was left burned out with his waveform.
I used both Tek storage scopes as well as one of their computer terminals that also had storage CRTs (possibly a TEK 4014 or 4017?). The scopes were amazing just because they had the feature at all. The terminals would gradually fade or blur the image, but you could have text and vector graphics. Add in a thermal or electrostatic (silver paper) printer and you were working with high tech gear from the 1970s!
In 1975 I made my first scope; I connected an audio amplifier to one pair of scan coils in an old black and white CRT TV set. Looked nice visually with an audio input, but of course it was no good for measurements.
Super useful video. I'm looking for some unexpensive oscilloscope so it's very nice to have a review like this. Thank you!
12:30 I believe you can undock the measurement output window and move it to the left side and dock it there.
Yep
I have this scope, had it for a while actually and you might have seen me using it on my own channel. I'll openly hold my hands up and say I don't know much about scopes but it has helped me identify a clock, RGB signal etc. In terms of clocks I can never get it to lock onto an exact frequency over a few MHZ (as you showed) but if something needs say a 7mhz clock and the output on this is dancing around 7 I tend to call that good. I generally just use it to look at a signal and see if it "looks right" i.e. is the signal there, is it at the correct levels and for that basic level of detail the hantek seems to do a good enough job. One thing its missing though is AC coupling which is a bit annoying as I was trying to use it to set the RF level on a CD laser.
As a self titled "casual" tinkerer of these old systems I don't have the means or justification to spend £100's on the professional gear but I have been thinking of an upgrade. I've been considering changing to one of the hand held scopes that you might have seen on Necrowares channel. It looks a great job, isn't much more expensive that then the hantek and he has showed it handling signals up to and beyond 30mhz but if you have more reviews coming of "budget" scopes I'll wait and see what you have to show.
I've been using Hantek 1008 for 7 or 8 years for automotive applications and it has served me well and paid itself back many times over. That one is strictly for measuring analog sensors as its sampling rate is only 2.4 MHz.
I've got one (I got it because it was the only 8 channel option available) and I've used it several times to diagnose problems on PCs. Admittedly these were power supply failures where the signals were in the low KHz range, but it is a surprisingly versatile instrument, despite it's abysmal frequency response, buffer size, and software. I wish someone made 3rd party software for it!
Will the fluff fall out of Adrian's beard before the video ends?? The anticipation is killing me.
Came for this. I can't even look anywhere else...
Thanks for the info. I picked up a new old stock one of these for cheap and am learning how to use it. I have almost no experience with scopes so this is all new to me. Your video was helpful. My first need for using the scope is to understand some pinouts on encoders I have on a re-purposed robot arm. Also need to understand some hall effect data from some Hoverboard motors. This scope is so light, I am making a DIN rail mount for it, and it will be part of the robot's payload and serve as an on board diagnostic tool.
Cool to come across your video on the Hantek... I picked one up on Sunday at my annual Hamfest for $20 in the original box. Nice simple scope. Too work on 8bit systems like the Commodore 64 and 128, TRS-80s, Tandy CoCo, Kaypro, DEC... as well as DIY 8bit computer kits.
It was delivered today to me and your video helped me much, much a lot. Thanks for your review and explanation. I am gonna use it for tube amplifier DIY, so it would be enough for me. Cheers.
Thank you for this video Adrian. Im a beginner with ocilloskope, so this video was very helpful for me. I would love to see a instructional video in the future. Ocilloskope for retro computers! 👍
I repaired a lot of C64 computers back in the mid '80s with a cheap 5MHz analog scope. Rather than look at the waveform on data lines I slowed the scan rate quite a bit. Bad RAM had a bad undershoot, and they ran warmer. If the RAM was cold, it was dead. If it was warm, it was likely to work. If it was hot, it was shot. I repaired hundreds of those computers with that borrowed scope. I later bought a Tek 453A, but my current scope is a Tek 2465A that I purchased for $180, eight years ago. I worked in high end Telemetry manufacturing, and had one on my bench.
At the other extreme, I have a working 5Mhz Tek 323 and a 10MHz Tek 324 portable scope. These were built by Sony and can run from internal NiCads.
Around 32:01 you can see that the trigger point is 3 divisions left of the middle line on the screen. So you don't have the trigger point in the middle of the screen like most digital scopes do, it seems it is somewhere in the beginning of the capture buffer. Knowing this, you might well see it's triggering better than it seems, if you horizontally scroll to the left where the capture starts
This. Kinda frustrating to watch. Also turn off auto trigger may help.
I use to work on coin-op equipment and my logic probe (Radio Shack) was my go to tool for pinball machines as I could not only see the state of a line but inject +5v to activate it. My scope was rarely used on pinball machines unless I had clock issues.
My first scope was a Velleman K7105 for about $250 new. Complete with 750 KHz readable bandwidth. The input 3db bandwidth goes much higher. You can measure a max of 1Mhz with the cursors barely. The lcd pixels is the limiting factor in that. Most of my work was in the field so it needed to be portable. In my opinion most all modern Scopes are glorified tablets with a scope interface that can make them slow.
Hantek 6022BL was my first oscilloscope. I still have it.
6022BL is the same as 6022BE. It just also has a logic Analyzer (16bit).
The logic Analyzer is totally useless as it has no hardware triggers.
My unit also came with a faulty channel, the DC bias was off and impossible to calibrate.
The schematics are available, I might try to fix this in a video in the future.
6022 is also only DC biased but there is a mod to ad AC coupling.
This goes along with custom firmware and software (OpenHantek).
Over all it is not a bad scope for the money.
However I would recommend to people to get one of the higher frequency models.
I now got the top model Hantek 6254EU, and I love it.
used to have one of these - upgraded to the rigol and passed that one on to my brother. There are notably a lot better software options for this that solved the triggering issues etc. at least for me. This ranges from a PulseView/SigRok integration that adds all kinds of capability useful when looking at signals (Decode using protocol analyzers using virtual schmidt-triggers while also keeping the analogue waveform to look for rise and fall times) up to a full python integration. This thing is really held down by the software shortcomings if only used with the supplied UI
Which software do you recommend actually?
Very informative. Thanks for creating and uploading.
I got one of these years ago and found out it could not measure the 7.3mhz clock signal from a Z80 computer kit. So for retro computer assembly kits you really need at least a 50mhz oscilloscope of some type.
Did you try x10 mode, according to what I saw on an eevblog video a while back, x1 mode only works up to 6mhz
Since an ideal square wave is composed of odd harmonics to infinity, you need bandwidth at least 5 times the fundamental frequency to see anything remotely square. Further complications are caused by the sample rate, 48MSa/s is the bottleneck on this thing, that's really only good for about 5Mhz in real time
@@HiddenAsbestos I did not try x10 mode. I sold it a couple of years ago so I can't try it
I've been wanting a scope to do some automotive diagnostics and heard a lot about Pico scopes, but they're quite a bit of money. Thanks for showcasing this Hantek, I ended up spending a bit more and got a 6074BC.
I'm also looking for a scope for automotive diagnostics. Did you find the 6074 to be a good solution?
Hi Adrian. You should try putting the trigger sweep mode to "Normal". That should give you better triggering.
I have the 6022BL which has a decent-ish logic analyzer built in. Couple that with pulseview and it's pretty useful.
The scope side is Ok-ish up to around 7.5MHz.
Appreciate this Adrian, I've thought several times of getting a cheap oscilloscope and I just don't even know what I'd need. I'd hate to buy one that won't do what I need and I'd hate to pay for one that does more than I'd need, this is great information.
For my needs, I bought a standalone scope (I wanted something that works without a PC attached) two years ago for ~$100. It was brand new, goes up to 100 MHz, and the fastest I have tested it with so far was the 11.0592 MHz clock of an AVR circuit that I worked on. It did pretty well. I was about to write more on that, but since you have more reviews in the pipeline, I will postpone this. ;-)
Can you tell us the model number?
Yes - which model? I am looking for a scope that can handle a 7MHz clocked msx computer from the eighties that needs fixing and yours sounds like it would do nicely.
@@RamsesYT It's called OWON SDS1102. 2 channels, 100 MHz. Not nearly as fancy as a Keysight or whatever the big brands are. But also not even nearly as expensive. ;-)
10:27 -- where can I get a copy of that desktop wallpaper? That is such a cool picture!
I 2nd that motion. . .
13:00 I'm sure you can drag and dock the "Outputs" window to, say, the left side under the measurement selections, to have more of it visible
About frequency bandwidth vs sample rate. Bandwidth assumes sine wave. Any other waveform would be a composite of additional frequencies above the base frequency. Take a square wave of 20khz. If you were to put that through a low pass filter that cut off at 20khz, your output would be a 20khz sine wave. That's why you only need a sample 2x bandwidth.
There's a few TH-cam videos about this.
Four years ago I started looking for an oscilloscope. There were few used units and new desktops were far too expensive. Now eBay is full of $100 Tektronix and other scopes, many nearly 40 years old but if I had to pick between this $60 Hantek and an old Tektronix, I'd go with the Tektronix.
OpenHantek is fantastic. Also, USB XI is supposedly an expansion interface, but they don't seem to (as far as I can tell) have any products for it.
The housings are discontinued - I suspect they didn't sell well since they would basically have just been a box with a powered USB hub.
Interesting.
My "oscilloscope" is a hand-made "probe" plugged in to the audio jack of a mobile phone + an app. Hardly ideal!
If I could buy a "real" one that's useful for a price I could justify that would be a good thing indeed.
Well... it might not show everything, but if it works - it works.
And everything thats dumb, but works is not dumb
I use a 100MHz version of the hantek it isn’t that much expensive and has soldiered through me feeding it too much voltage etc which I wouldn’t recommend on an audio Jack (or a hantek really). The open source software is pretty good (openhantek etc).
search for "Measure with Music: How to Read Analog Sensors Using a PC Sound Card", it's an interesting read but i haven't tried anything yet myself
Man I thought this was just going to be another average-at-best youtube experience, but then I got blind-sided by that funky chiptune blast . That's how you win a like and a free subscribe. Still great in 2023!
When I was at PCC back in 2012 the electronics department was looking for an oscilloscope for students that would allow distance learning - so students wouldn't have to come on campus just to use the lab. Most of the options at the time were far too big and expensive to expect students to tack on to their tuition. I don't know if they ever found one, but this sounds like it would be a good start.
Yes, it is a good start, it is a low-end oscilloscope, but a very useful one.
Since then, Digilent has released their Analog Discovery 2, purpose designed to be a student - accessible lab bench. I've appreciated it for work and educatio
This Hantek has been around since long before 2012, and was also rebranded by local resellers like Voltcraft. Would have been a little unlikely that they didn't run into it. The prices haven't radically changed in all this time as well, well besides rebrands being more expensive by a predictable amount.
I got one of those as I was learning STM32 micros to see if I was using the peripherals correctly. I remember having problems with triggers not being fast enough and I absolutely hate the software it came with. People here are saying it has other software options so I'll take a look at those sometime.
I'm going to be looking into something else around 500 dollars range if I get back to dabbling with micro-controllers though.
I hope that Adrian or at least someone will review the not much more pricey ($90+/-) Hantek 1008B/C. Great video as always Adrian and thank you for reviewing this! I have been considering one of the Hantek USB scopes for a while now.
This scope input stage is probably rated at 20 MHz. That's consistent with the 48 MHz sampling rate. Generally, you need about 10 dots to see a waveform, so I would only use it up to 5 MHz. That's plenty for anything mounted on a plug-in prototyping board and computers into the '80s.
Hantek's software is not great, but you can work around it. My 100MHz 4 ch. scope is a Hantek and you can get the hang of the software after a little learning curve. You need to make sure the trigger point (not voltage, but time position) is properly centered in the recorded data, other wise the triggering will not work. I could see from the screen shots the trigger point was nowhere to be seen. Yeah, its clunky, but you can make it work.
12:27 - You may be able to drag that bottom window to the left side.
Personally i use the OWON VDS1022 that i bought for 85€ more than five years ago and it's been super useful.
It does all the signal processing on the on-board FPGAs (there's two IIRC) and has two channels and a third "multi" channel for trigger and stuff (never used it personally).
From what i remember the Hantek scope is just an ADC in a box.
I bought my VDS1022 back in highschool and back then i decided that the extra cost for the OWON over the Hantek was well worth it and i still think that way.
It took an extra month to save up a bit more for the OWON scope but i don't regret it one bit. The software is also much better, IMO.
The biggest shortcoming of the OWON scope are the BNC sockets, which have become a little flaky after years of abuse and being thrown around in my duffel bag.
The 5kSA memory depth on the OWON scope was a bit limiting when scoping digital signals, but a 6 dollar logic analyzer took care of that problem.
Would be cool if you could take a look at the OWON scope to compare with the Hantek.
How does the logic analyzer fix the memory depth?
If you got the money, Picoscope is the way to go. Got the Picoscope2000 in my van for work. Even got an hydraulic pressure transducer probe untill 600 bar, that can go into microns/picos sample rates!
Very good and informative video, looks like a nice scope for hobbyists 🙂
So what would be the next step up from this? That still doesn't cost hundreds of dollars, but has a higher bandwidth, better triggering, etc.?
I'm on a tight budget wrt tools, so I tend to favour those that are inexpensive but adequate for diagnosing problems with vintage computers. This looks like a decent alternative (possibly an upgrade?) to the FNIRSI 5012H I currently use. Although this Hantek lacks the portability of the FNIRSI, two channels are better than one.
Looking forward to seeing how well this scope does in a real-world situation i.e. C64 diagnosis, along with the other budget scope options Adrian has lined up.
Owon HDS272s is a very good option, 2 channels, 70 Mhz bandwidth, AWG, PC interface
Us$200.
I just bought the last one on your Amazon $65 affiliate link. :-) Thanks for reviewing it!
Hi, I'm looking for a osiloscope for car audio repairs so I want looking into the osiloscope , I just have a small question about the maximum voltage I can measure on because I want to check the sign waves of big amplifiers
I've been looking for an affordable scope for various troubleshooting. Thank you for sharing
I'll definitely keep an eye out for your thoughts on the other 2 also. Yayyy
First off, great video and extremely helpful even for someone who knows virtually nothing about this stuff.
Quick question: Would you think this should be suitable for messing around with automotive electronics from the early to mid 1990's? A lot of the sensors & devices date back to the late 80's and early 90's and can be individually isolated and understood.
Did this work for your need? Was interested in one myself for the same
Heh, I've had one of those for about a year that I pulled out of the box once I received it - then did nothing more. Thanks for looking it over, I might work with my unit more now.
That was much better than expected.
Well, I have a $20 analog second hand oscilloscope and it’s good enough for me.
But still nice to know that there are still workable cheap digital ones.
Hey Adrian! thanks for this video. Greetings from Argentina!
I wish something affordable like this existed that went straight to HDMI OUT.
I can see another advantage of this cheap, but not too crappy scope. If you are into high voltage stuff and you are building your own DIY probes: At the first test, if something goes wrong and you blow up the scope accidentally, it was just 60 dollars and not your fancy >2k$ scope.
Hantek software does trigger even on the highest speeds. It just doesn't show you the trigger point on the map, so once you moved the "window" a little bit, good luck finding the middle again.
Now this is ironic, I had just been looking at old/ used or cheap oscilloscopes about 3-4 days ago and Adrian's here with one.. @ Adrian, since you are definitely more advanced at this than me, I would be very interested to see another later follow-up video if others in chat or that you know in the community were to able suggest a better software or means of using this device or the other cheap ones as you get and show them off... Oh, and keep up with your always awesome & (mostly) vintage tech videos like this :)
I remember when the first "DR Daq" pc oscilloscopes came out around 1999 in the UK they were single channel and two channel scopes that would connect to a desktop or laptop computer ..
I also remember the velleman HPS 5 and HPS 10 pocket oscilloscopes from my student days , I had an HPS5 for pottering in my student dorms back in 1999 when away from the college labs , it was about £150 UK pounds back then when it was $2 to £1UK , these days it would be about $230US ..
Having any kind of oscilloscope back then year 1999/2000 was fancy, these days there is a huge selection and they go from £100 to £90k and everything in between with a reasonable semi portable bench top oscilloscope for £300/$440 there are Fluke and Megger handheld scopes today from about £4k going up to about £15k
(Edit) Dr Daq was I think another brand name of "Picoscope" ?
Fwiw, that funky USBXI connection is for use with a chassis Hantek made - the USBXI-1070. You can still find it on their website though it's listed as discontinued. Out of curiosity I looked for one when I first got my 6022BL but couldn't find one (not that I would have bought it anyway). Looks like there were models with just the chassis that you connected to your PC, one with internal computer, and one with internal computer and screen.
28:00 or so. Try triggering on the downslope, it's stays low for much longer. If it can't grab that, single shot and wait. It'll get one eventually.
This was the first scope I got (my first digital one) and it was only for audio on the field. My analog scope that I had at the time was big and heavy.
So I paired it with an Atom based netbook with Windows XP on it and it was good enough. It is useful for up to 1MHz I would say on digital and maybe up to 5MHz for analog signals. However, I used it mainly for audio signals and some SMPS troubleshooting. The good thing is that when used on an portable computer (laptop, netbook) you have a perfectly isolated ground, the whole setup is floating and no ground loops cause interference.
It might be worth it for audio frequencies, but the trigger problem is a deal breaker for troubleshooting. You're gonna be stuck wondering whether the signal you're trying to scope is bad or your scope just won't trigger on it correctly.
I imagine someone just starting out, picking this thing up for cheap, learning how limited it is, and buying a more expensive scope anyway.
I'm looking for a scope just for audio analogue stuff. So this would go the job?
You should look into the open source driver/utility that works with this thing.
Most products from National Instrument have eye watering prices but their customer service is really good.
At (27:58) there is a problem with your setup. You should set "Trigger Sweep" to Single, which automatically pause readings. But yes, 6022BE has a problem with triggering. It's done in software on a PC. And because 6022BE has small memory and only USB 2.0, on low values of time base software working only on very small window of signal, so it very very often missing triggering signal. When I need to debug the start of digital transmission i loose couple of minutes every time I need to capture it. But, when you know limits of this scope you can can successfully use it for some project.
I bought this thing some weeks ago. It works well on my linux-systems with the open-hantek-software, it dows not have these fance knobs as the windows-version, but it works very well.
I use it for measurements on RC-electronic and signals from microcontrollers like Atmel AtMega. Works well here.
Next thing was a logic-analyzer with 8 digital channels fpr about 8 dollars, with pulseview on Linux and a driver, it does a god job, too.
those probes look identical to the ones I got with my Siglent scope, including the accessory bag!
Nice review, thanks. While I understand this is entry level and of course a night and day difference between having this Hantek or no scope at all. I'd still recommend spending a bit more and get a complete scope with knobs and a screen, you'll quickly find it's very tedious having to use your mouse to change settings all the time. Personally my current favorite scope is the Android based Micsig tablet style scope, it's 4 channels and you can operate it using touchscreen, knobs and even use a mouse. It's very compact and really changes how you use a scope, traditionally you'd bring your project to your scope, or in the old days you'd have a scope on a cart, but with a compact battery powered tablet style scope you can very easily bring your scope to your project instead. The Micsig does however cost 7 times as much as this Hantek usb scope, but it also comes with 50 times the features.
Cheers,
Jake
And 7x as much I think is more like the normal price. Being this cheap is almost impossible, so it has to be an issue somewhere down the line.
..... And isolated, that's a paramount advantage on mains powered circuits.
sinc filtering (what you're calling sine x on x) is actually the most accurate representation of the real waveform that you can get; any other form of interpolation introduces frequency components higher than the oscilloscope's bandwidth, so you know they have to be spurious. I see little to no point in using the linear interpolation or sample-and-hold style modes (discussed around 22:00) and would argue that they are actually going to be more misleading than the sinc filter. (I won't do the math here, but it's a relatively well-known result and shouldn't be hard to find a proof)
Great little device for the money. About triggering: I don't think you're looking at the trigger point, which is probably at the start of the buffer, which is why it seems wonky. At smaller time bases or lower trigger frequencies its probably that 'auto' trigger mode switches to free-run if it doesn't see a trigger for some undefined amount of time. Switching it to 'normal' should ensure it only runs when triggered.
How does this compare with a home built soundcard oscilloscope, I built a few of those over the years, instead of running it on my 500 buck laptop sound card, I purchased a cheep USB sound card and hooked it up that way. I built one in a altoids box with a tiny screen that will at least give me a scop pattern on a pocket device running off a 9 volt battery. Another that works on my laptop using free scope software and it works about as well as the tiny digital kit scopes that use a 2 inch screen.
Please test the X-Y mode on all three. I want to build a curve tracer with a digital display that can be printed out..