Oscilloscopes - what specs to look for?


Hi,

I'm gonna get me an oscilloscope. I'm going to use it to mainly fiddle with home audio equipment, like hifi amps, and perhaps try to fix this and that other electrical appliance. 

What should I make sure I've got covered?

Some say 50Mhz is good, others 100Mhz. I've also realized memory depth is important, but what is enough? I see oscilloscopes can easily top the overall price of my hifi system if I'd really want to. 
eyrepm

Showing 1 response by gs5556

100 Mhz should be the minimum, it will be beneficial for viewing parasitic oscillations. FFT analysis is a plus, especially high resolution. Most budget scopes have a math function to do this but the Rhode & Schwarz models have the highest resolution for the dollar. The 100 Mhz RTC1000 model is around $1,200, but you also get a waveform generator, digital volt meter, and component tester. The stuff packed in there would have cost you tens of thousands of dollars not too long ago. The $2,000 RTC2000 model has 10 bit A/D converters for even sharper FFT and waveform viewing.

It's a lot of overkill for what you are trying to do -- and a lot of money for the occasional DIYer -- but if you are interested in diving in to amplifier design or repair, then you'll never outgrow those scopes.