The AM Forum
March 28, 2024, 03:43:17 PM *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
 
   Home   Help Calendar Links Staff List Gallery Login Register  
Pages: [1]   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: BitScope Mini  (Read 3977 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
ka1tdq
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 1509


Red part turned in for a refund.


« on: August 05, 2020, 07:36:56 PM »

This just arrived today and I couldn't believe how small it was. This is an oscilloscope for the computer. I bought the optional 2-channel BNC plug-in adapter. My goal was to be able to monitor my drain waveforms while transmitting rather than having a clunky oscope sitting on the desk.

The good thing about this company is that they support Windows, Mac and Linux software packages. I was able to load the Mac and Ubuntu (Linux) versions of the software without any problems. I'm sure Windows would be just as easy.

Total cost was $325 shipped from Australia and it got here really quick!

Jon


* IMG_2618.jpg (2361.36 KB, 4032x3024 - viewed 343 times.)
Logged

It’s not just values, it’s business.
KA3EKH
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 772



WWW
« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2020, 09:28:18 PM »

The last ten years I have been only using digital scopes and spectrum analyzers, biggest complain I have with a lot of the Tektronix scopes is that you have to do things like use the driving audio source as an external trigger when looking at things like AM modulation. Without a good external trigger source the A to D converters get wonky displaying complex waveforms, looking at sine, square and digital pulses is all good but modulated RF can be tricky. The old vacuum tube bottles never had that issue but today digital is the “state of the art”.
The other thing I just can’t seam to wrap my head around is why when I look at AM and sideband signals on a SDR they appear so much cleaner then a spectrum analyzers? I can do things like look at occupied bandwidth for a AM broadcast station on a SDR and clearly see the effects or fall off of the NRSC filter as a sharp drop that looks like what it supposed to but never such a clean trace on a regular spectrum analyzer. I have a HP ESA-1500 that’s clean but still don’t display things like two tone SSB signals as well as a Flex.

Logged
nq5t
Contributing
Member
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 557



« Reply #2 on: August 05, 2020, 09:41:32 PM »

Looks like a really interesting product.  Unfortunately, they don't seem to have 64-bit Mac software available.  32-bit versions won't run on the latest macOS releases.

I dropped them an email inquiring about it.
Logged
ka1tdq
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 1509


Red part turned in for a refund.


« Reply #3 on: August 05, 2020, 11:43:17 PM »

I actually did question them about their software packages before I bought it because it looked really outdated and limited. They're going to release new versions within a couple weeks, but did give me a trial version to run in the meantime for Mac.

I'm not a software kind of guy, so what I just said is the limit of my knowledge with that stuff. All I care about is seeing simple waveforms around 4 MHz. If it works, hooray!

Jon
Logged

It’s not just values, it’s business.
nq5t
Contributing
Member
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 557



« Reply #4 on: August 06, 2020, 12:27:41 AM »

I actually did question them about their software packages before I bought it because it looked really outdated and limited. They're going to release new versions within a couple weeks, but did give me a trial version to run in the meantime for Mac. Jon

Thanks.  I just got a response from them also, with links to the betas for 64-bit macOS.  And they did say production versions should be available at the end of the month. 
Logged
Tom WA3KLR
Contributing
Member
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 2120



« Reply #5 on: August 06, 2020, 01:22:07 PM »

Here's a cheap small stand-alone 5 MHz digital scope - 5 MHz, 20 MS, 40 k memory , about $47.  Available from Amazon and ebay also.  I don't have one.

https://www.banggood.com/DANIU-ADS2050H-ADS2031H-Handheld-Oscilloscope-High-Precision-5MHz-Bandwidth-20M-Sampling-Rate-2_4-Inch-LCD-Screen-One-Key-Auto-Built-in-Lithium-Battery-p-1426883.html?rmmds=category&ID=6268971&cur_warehouse=USA
Logged

73 de Tom WA3KLR  AMI # 77   Amplitude Modulation - a force Now and for the Future!
Steve - K4HX
Administrator
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 2722



« Reply #6 on: August 06, 2020, 02:59:53 PM »

What is the resolution bandwidth on your analog SA? How does it compare to the SDR?



The last ten years I have been only using digital scopes and spectrum analyzers, biggest complain I have with a lot of the Tektronix scopes is that you have to do things like use the driving audio source as an external trigger when looking at things like AM modulation. Without a good external trigger source the A to D converters get wonky displaying complex waveforms, looking at sine, square and digital pulses is all good but modulated RF can be tricky. The old vacuum tube bottles never had that issue but today digital is the “state of the art”.
The other thing I just can’t seam to wrap my head around is why when I look at AM and sideband signals on a SDR they appear so much cleaner then a spectrum analyzers? I can do things like look at occupied bandwidth for a AM broadcast station on a SDR and clearly see the effects or fall off of the NRSC filter as a sharp drop that looks like what it supposed to but never such a clean trace on a regular spectrum analyzer. I have a HP ESA-1500 that’s clean but still don’t display things like two tone SSB signals as well as a Flex.


Logged
KA3EKH
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 772



WWW
« Reply #7 on: August 07, 2020, 01:58:55 PM »

The resolution Bandwidth is adjustable from 3.0 MHz down to 1.0 KHz, Video Bandwidth can be set to anywhere between 3.0 MHz down to 1.0 Hz with the ratio being any number you want. It’s all menu driven.
I use it all the time at work to check occupied bandwidth, spurious and things like that and it’s a great box but when I bring it back into the shop and use it for looking at the outputs of SSB transmitters just cannot get it to do as nice an image as the Flex box shows.
Logged
Steve - K4HX
Administrator
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 2722



« Reply #8 on: August 10, 2020, 11:25:26 AM »

Is any averaging involved in either box? Same for windowing?

What is the number of points displayed by both boxes? Many of the older SAs measured more points than they displayed. Points were combined/averaged.
Logged
M0VRF
Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 172


« Reply #9 on: August 10, 2020, 05:43:45 PM »

For $360 you can get a decent 200MHz 'Scope from Siglent, they're small and can hang from an upper shelf so take very little room. I gave up using old clunky Tek stuff ages ago way too big.

JB.
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

AMfone - Dedicated to Amplitude Modulation on the Amateur Radio Bands
 AMfone © 2001-2015
Powered by SMF 1.1.21 | SMF © 2015, Simple Machines
Page created in 0.038 seconds with 18 queries.