Is an oscilloscope necessary?

[Black Forest]

Gentlemen start your engines! I have gone to YouTube University and I am now ready to accept questions on which scope to buy and how to use them. I am an expert in all things Scopey. Mind you my expertise is all theoretical and to my knowledge I have never been in the same room as a scope but don't let that stop you!

[martyscncgarage]

I have limited experience with scopes. Admittedly, I am not a component level technician. But as Mike Richards pointed out, there is value to having and knowing how to use a scope. I bought a fairly inexpensive digital Hantek two channel Autoset scope. I like it. It had decent reviews. Pictures attached of the box and model number.

Mike, you might discuss isolation from mains power...

[Gary Campbell]

For sure there are numerous reasons on both sides whether or not a DIY builder should own a scope. My guess is that unless you are going to do a number of them, probably not.

That said, one thing that totally surprises me is how many guys take on a control box or upgrade project that don't own, or even know how to use a multimeter to check voltage and continuity. Blows my mind

[carboncymbal]

Gentlemen start your engines! I have gone to YouTube University and I am now ready to accept questions on which scope to buy and how to use them. I am an expert in all things Scopey. Mind you my expertise is all theoretical and to my knowledge I have never been in the same room as a scope but don't let that stop you!

Good! You can save me the time . What scope are you buying?

[Black Forest]

Gentlemen start your engines! I have gone to YouTube University and I am now ready to accept questions on which scope to buy and how to use them. I am an expert in all things Scopey. Mind you my expertise is all theoretical and to my knowledge I have never been in the same room as a scope but don't let that stop you!

Good! You can save me the time . What scope are you buying?

I think the one above. The Hantek(?) From the videos on YouTube it seems to be popular and only $300.

[martyscncgarage]

Agree with Gary, if you are building systems, worth having and not terribly expensive.
Also agree, if you don't have or now how to use a quality DVM (Fluke for me!)

Amazon:
Hantek DSO5072P Digital Oscilloscope, 70 MHz Bandwidth, 1 GSa/s, 7.0" Display
by SELECTED INSTRUMENTS
Learn more:

Hantek DSO5102P 100MHz 2CH Digital Oscilloscope 1GSa/s Real-Time Sample
by Realsun
Learn more:

[Richards]

Gary brought up a very valid point.Think for minute what your response would be to a friend who told you he found a great deal on some lumber at Home Depot and he decided to build a house and you knew that he didn't even own a hammer? What would be your response to him f he told you he didn't know anything about building a house, but he knew he could build one for $1,000 if he bought that lumber? What if he asked you to give him a "little" help?

At some point, none of us knew anything about building a CNC controller. We learned. We watched others. We read. We studied. We inventoried our skills. Then, at some point each of us bought an Acorn. Most of us ran into trouble of some sort. I remember very well the night that I literally sat up in bed after bench testing my first Acorn when I realized that I couldn't remember seeing a ramp or acceleration setting. I went to my basement workshop, opened the Wizard and searched for a ramp or acceleration setting. I couldn't find it. I fired off an email to Gary. A very short time later he patiently told me how Centroidcnc handles ramping/acceleration.

So, when I read some posts, I can safely say, "Been there. Done that."

I've been in the control building business long enough to know that EVERY project will have issues. My wife and I come from large families. We wanted a large family. We have eight children. Our family motto is, "Everyone has a little job.". Every Saturday morning from early March until October, as we sat around the breakfast table, we talked about our little jobs in the garden. My wife and I worked along side each child, showing them how easy it was to do their little job. When the work was done, we ordered pizza and rented a video or played board games. As we ate the pizza, we asked the kids what they thought about working in the garden. Most of them said, "It was just a little job."

Building a control cabinet is just a series of little jobs. We can't harvest until we've planted, weeded, watered and fertilized. We can't weed, water or fertilize without a few tools and a little knowledge.

A good multimeter is essential. Good hand tools are essential. An oscilloscope might be essential, depending on the problem.

[martyscncgarage]

Eat that elephant one bite at a time...