Does anyone know if something like this would be a good Oscilloscope?

I saw this at goodluckbuy.com and wondered if anyone has used one like this and if there any good for laser projects?

ARM DSO DSO201 Portable Digital Storage Oscilloscope DIY Kit $62.30 Free Shipping @GoodLuckBuy.com

ARM Cortex M3 2.8 TFT LCD 1 Single-channel DSO301 Pocket Oscilloscope $80.57 Free Shipping @GoodLuckBuy.com

The user interface on a device that small is always terrible. As an example, would you enjoy using a calculator the size of a quarter?

1MHz is very low for a modern bandwidth. I've got a scope from the early 60s that is faster. There is no AC coupling. The input jacks will break within a few months of heavy use. Input impedance is half of what the standard is. I could go on.

Look on ebay. You can get a quality 20MHz dual channel scope for $50 second-hand.

I agree that input/probe connector just looks like it wants to go south really quick, I would invest in something more substantial unless you just have nothing better to do with your change

Like Cyparagon said look for something used on eBay that is guaranteed not to be DOA but cheap.

Good luck...

I am quite pleased with my Rigol.

First determine whether you really need the oscilloscope. I got one and thought I'd use it more, but it really isn't worth what I spent on it (Rigol) for the amount of time I use it. You might be better off spending it on a nice multimeter or soldering station.

Bionic-Badger said:

First determine whether you really need the oscilloscope. I got one and thought I'd use it more, but it really isn't worth what I spent on it (Rigol) for the amount of time I use it. You might be better off spending it on a nice multimeter or soldering station.

Click to expand...

very true, im not sure if I would even use one that often or even have a real use for it.

I´m having the DSO201 with a custom firmware. It´s quite ok for low frequencies, measurements at a car or to check a audio amplifier but for lasers it could be used as a graphical LPM with a modified firmware.

The only benefit is, it´s quite handy and portable. So when you are often doing some measurements outdoors, it´s useful but at home you better go for a real scope.

Regarding the DSO301, also sold as DSO504
The signal display area is 299 X 199 and contrary to advertisements, the only captured signal is what fits in the window at time of capture.
The actual sampling rate is up to 20.8 MSa/S but the amplifier has a wide bandwidth so if your signal has components above 10 MHz you will have aliasing.
The maximum sensitivity is .1V/div but it is noisy, .2V/div is the practical limit.
The input resistance is around 540K so it won't work with probes that assume 1M.
If these limits are not a problem, it is a nice portable scope, or a system component.

After writing the above I discovered that for firmware V3.2 sweep rates below 100 ms/div (which is when you most need storage) gives highly distorted, probably overflow while averaging.