By Carolyn Mathas, contributing writer
Think PC-based USB oscilloscopes are for beginners? From entry level to pros, they’re gaining ground. PC-based scopes with USB connectivity provide a wide range of performance levels, all at a low price. From entry level to sampling scopes with high bandwidth, new versions with more bells and whistles continue to come to market.
The combination of new features, portability, and processing power available on PCs means that high-end USB PC-based scopes are increasingly rivaling their benchtop brothers and doing so at a real cost advantage. The PC interface simplifies the processing and editing of files, and users can easily design their own programs to control their oscilloscope.
Ubiquitous USB connectivity joins portability to deliver a scope that you can access from nearly anywhere at any time. Here are seven options out of a sea of possibilities, listed from low to high in order of cost. If you are using these scopes and want to weigh in with your experience, please do.
Hantek HT6022BE
If you need a really inexpensive entry- or hobbyist-level PC scope that is light, small, and appropriate for basic tests, the Hantek HT6022BE fits the bill. For the $70 you’ll spend, you will have only 20 MHz of bandwidth — less than most scopes listed in this article — but there are positives.
This two-channel scope is most suitable for notebook computers. Features include an easy-to-carry size, a high refresh rate and a 48-MS/s real-time sampling rate. Waveform data can be sent as an email attachment, and FFT saves the waveform on screen in TXT, JPG/BMP, and MS Excel/Word formats. Included are one USB 2.0 port and a standard USBXI interface, and no extra power cord is required. Supported operating systems include Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.
Owon VDS1022I
The Owon VDS1022I features a 25-MHz bandwidth and a maximum 1-GS/s real-time sample rate. The 2+1 (multi)-channel oscilloscope offers a friendly and intuitive user interface and enables two types of waveforms on the same screen. There is a multi-trigger option: edge, video, slope, pulse, and alternate.
The scope includes a USB isolation feature that results in less signal interference and greater PC protection. At $104, the oscilloscope provides the USB isolation instead of making the user purchase it separately for approximately $40. This brings the cost of the oscilloscope down to the $60 range. For entry-level professionals or hobbyists, it’s an inexpensive choice for the features.
Perytech DSO-U2200
Unlike many USB oscilloscopes that use an easy-to-implement but not-so-intuitive-to-use window design, the two-channel Perytech DSO-U2200 presents more like a traditional oscilloscope, eliminating a lot of user inconvenience and confusion.
While there are several PC-based scopes on the market, for the $110 price tag, this one is quite good. Versatile and accurate, the software includes many automatic measuring functions including maximum value, minimum value, frequency, and period. A stacking function allows up to four USB oscilloscopes to be stacked as an eight-channel oscilloscope. The logic analyzer mode decodes common protocols such as: I2 C, UART, I2 S, PS/2, CAN Bus, 1-Wire, S/PDIF, and Miller. Bandwidth is 60 MHz and the sampling rate is 240 MS/s using one channel.
While some low-priced oscilloscopes do not include a hardware trigger because of the cost, it is a feature of the Perytech DSO-U2200, impressive at this price.
Hantek IDS1070A
The two-channel Hantek IDS1070A oscilloscope can be used with iOS, Android 4.0, and Windows XP or higher on tablets, PCs, and the iPhone. Data exchange between the tablet and oscilloscope is via WLAN. The USB port is used for internal battery charging as well as connecting to a PC instead of using wireless connectivity. It can also be connected to an iPad and an iPhone simultaneously: the iPad for operation and the iPhone for observation.
Features of the small, lightweight oscilloscope include waveform averaging, persistence, intensity, invert, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and X-Y plots. This is a fully featured oscilloscope usable for production test, research, and design applications. The 70-MHz bandwidth and real-time sampling rate of 250 MS/s translates into high-end performance for its $126 price tag.
Hantek DSO-2250
Need more performance? The Hantek DSO-2250 100-MHz, 250-MS/S real-time sampling PC-based USB oscilloscope delivers more power and performance without breaking the proverbial bank. The two-channel digital oscilloscope uses the PC’s USB port for data communications at 12-Mbits/s communication speed to create the oscilloscope display on the PC, enabling you to perform functions the same as you would on a standard scope.
Easy to use, the scope is suitable for notebooks and product line maintenance. It is intuitive, delivers 23 measurement functions PASS/FAIL check, and is suitable for technical applications. Waveforms can be saved in .TXT, .JPG, .BMP, and Microsoft Excel/Word. Operating systems include Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista. The scope allows one computer to connect to many DSOs, easily extending channels. It’s reasonably priced for its feature set at approximately $235.
Digilent Analog Discovery 2
The Digilent Analog Discovery 2 is a multi-function USB oscilloscope that was developed with Analog Devices and supported by the Xilinx University Program. Small but powerful, it targets students, hobbyists, and enthusiasts, enabling them to measure, visualize, simulate, and analyze a variety of mixed-signal circuits. Complete with a 16-channel logic analyzer and protocol analyzer, the Analog Discovery 2 is Mac-, Windows-, and Linux-compatible and is sold for less than $280.
Features include two analog inputs (±25 V, differential, 14-bit, 100 MS/s, 30-MHz+ bandwidth),two analog outputs (±5 V, 14-bit, 100 MS/s, 12-MHz+ bandwidth), a stereo audio amplifier to drive external headphones or speakers with replicated arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) signals, 16 digital I/O (3.3-V CMOS and 1.8-V or 5-V tolerant, 100 MS/s), and two I/O digital trigger signals for linking multiple instruments (3.3-V CMOS).
Its WaveForms Software Development Kit comes with C++ and Python libraries and examples as well as forum support from the software developers. Analog Discovery 2 is also supported by third-party software such as MATLAB and LabVIEW.
The PicoScope 5000D Series can capture waveforms more than 500 ms long with 1-ns resolution.
PicoScope 5000 Series
The PicoScope 5000 series represents the most powerful of the USB PC-based oscilloscopes covered in this article. The series offers both two- and four-channel scopes and bandwidth choices of 60 MHz, 100 MHz, and 200 MHz. The 5243D two-channel 100-MHz and 256-MS memory scope, priced at $1,615, is appropriate for comparison here.
Pico’s FlexRes flexible resolution oscilloscopes enable reconfiguration of scope hardware to increase either the sampling rate or the resolution, allowing you to move from reconfiguring the hardware to be a fast (1-GS/s) 8-bit oscilloscope for digital signal applications or a high-resolution 16-bit oscilloscope for analog signals. Features also include a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 connection that is compatible with older USB technology, extremely fast waveform saving, and a sampling rate of 500 MS/s.What puts this scope over the top, however, is its deep memory size of 256 MS (8-bit) that allows for the capture of long-duration waveforms at maximum sampling speed — more than 500 ms long and 1-ns resolution. In addition, all PicoScope 5000D units have a built-in 14-bit 200-MS/s AWG.
A PicoSDK software development kit supports continuous streaming to the host computer at rates up to 125 MS/s, allows you to write your own software, and includes drivers for Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac (macOS), and Linux (including Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone). It also provides example code that shows how to interface to third-party software such as Microsoft Excel, National Instruments LabVIEW, and MathWorks MATLAB.
When looking at previous PicoScope USB/PC-based models (and other scopes), there are many that, while they’ve been extremely popular, have ended up on a discontinued list. Click here for that list.
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