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Comment by markrages | Hacker News Reader

A DMM is a precision tool. Especially a good 6.5 digit desktop one.

An oscilloscope is fantastically useful, but it is not a precision tool. Calibration is just OK, and most use 8-bit converters.

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Analog scopes are still a thing, especially when compared with cheap digital ones that often distort things or flatly don't show them. If one has only 150 bucks to allocate for a scope, unless the digital scope added functions (math, storage, etc) are needed, the best choice is often an used analog one. Digital scopes start to become interesting when they go up in features and price, 12/14 bit ADCs, much higher s/r, high res screens, etc.

I second this advice, and would add another reason: Buy an analog scope while you can still find them for cheap! They don't make good ones anymore. The analog scope is a lifetime purchase.

But the calibration point still applies. On my Tek 454, there are calibration knobs built right into the UI. The user is expected to tweak and calibrate as they go, and depending on the measurement. (Often the shape of the waveform is all you are trying to see.)

I un-second it, if that's 'a thing', I think that was solid advice 10+ years ago, but not any more. The decent ones are less often seen, and they're collectors' items so they go for more than they're worth (to the audience the advice is directed at).

Unless doing something very particular straight off the bat (like audio or power or something) a beginner is better advised to get a cheap MSO / multichannel DSO, IMO, even computer based.

For 99% of the use cases a 4.5 digit one would be plenty. That gives you mV accuracy up to 10V.

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