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What oscilloscope to buy for RF

GhostLoveScore

Nov 27, 2016
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As I am experimenting more and more with RF, I would like to have an oscilloscope. I wouldn't work on frequencies higher than 200MHz, 2 channels are enough. Heck, one channel is enough, but I've never seen oscilloscopes with one channel. I don't need anything fancy. I would like to go below 800-900 dollars if possible.

Now, I've seen oscilloscopes with 100MHz written on them. Most oscilloscopes within my price range are 100MHz, not above. Does that mean that oscilloscope is not reliable above 100MHz, or it can't sample anything above 100MHz, or something else?

Would something like this be alright ? https://www.rigolna.com/products/digital-oscilloscopes/1000z/
 

Harald Kapp

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Nov 17, 2011
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An oscilloscope's bandwidth is defined by the -3dB corner frequency of the internal low pass filter.
For digital scopes an additional factor to consider is the sampling rate. According to Nyquist's theorem the sampling rate needs to be at least 2* the max. signal frequency. More is better for the accuracy.

In order to reliably depict a 200 MHz signal, I'd recommend at least a 500 MHz scope, sorry. The scope series you linked to is definitely too slow for your expected frequenca range. Suitable for up to 100 MHz max, less for better accuracy.

Some stuff to read: http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5988-8008EN.pdf
 
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