dkulinski wrote: What do you think of the cheap Rigols?
Dan
Not bad actually ! All you can expect to get at about $300 is 2 channels, 40-60 Mhz bandwidth and 8 bit sampling. Look at the specs for the DS1052E which was being compared to the MSO-28.
http://www.rigolna.com/products/digital ... e/ds1052e/
It's a much better o-scope but it is
just an o-scope, no LA included. Rumor has it that the low end Agilents are nothing more than repackaged Rigols with the HP ... errr, Agilent markup.
In the end you have to decide what it is you really need. If you're doing a lot of analog work, I can't imagine a hobbyist needing (or affording !) much more o-scope than the above. OTOH if what you do is a lot of digital perhaps it would be better to have a "toy" o-scope and spend the $$s on a logic analyzer like Saleae Link. ($150)
http://www.saleae.com/logic
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8938
And if you don't do all that much and/or are on a tight budget get something like a Bus Pirate and a "toy" o-scope (like a Nano) all for less than $150.
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9544
As an intermediate compromise the MSO-28 isn't all that bad ... it just depends on your needs.
Afterall having something adequate to see what's going on for 80% of your problems is better than having nothing to see for 100% of your problems.
I keep thinking that that's what I should do ... buy cheap and then borrow stuff from work for those times when I need more.