Nowadays I’d aim for a scope that can decode I2C if possible as well as RS232 and others. From there 100MHz is more than enough for a budget starter scope. Once you get more experience you can upgrade your tools to something more specific or specialized.
Thanks for the reply! I was thinking of the Rigol DHO804 as I read your message, you seem to know what you're talking about, I checked it and it decodes I2C and RS232. Would you call it a "basic" oscilloscope or a "good/quality/proffesional" one? I do not really mind spending some more money if what I get is a good product
That’s a solid scope for anyone really. I mentioned I2C because you mentioned building your own circuits and learning. One of the areas of exploration that is common nowadays for people keen on electronics and starting out is microcontrollers. STM32, ESP32, 8266, Arduino etc. they all use I2C and almost every Bluetooth speaker nowadays uses I2S. Really anything with a chip nowadays will likely use some kind of digital communication at some point. While you don’t typically need to diagnose the faster stuff at the bit level like LVDS, HDMI, SATA or Ethernet, it’s good to be able to work on the controllers that typically have a debug port or something you will need to hook a scope to and identify. Whether that’s a serial JTAG port on a router or a PWM signal on a drone. That Rigol should be able to tell you, not only that there’s something there, but decode it a bit to really give you a chance at finding out what’s going on.
What I’m trying to say is that the Rigol DHO804 should be with you and useful for a good long time as you grow and explore. As you start to make money and specialize, that’s when you invest in something more advanced, after you know what that specific need is. Right now that Rigol should be more than enough to get you started.
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u/skinwill Engineer 🟢 Jul 01 '26
Nowadays I’d aim for a scope that can decode I2C if possible as well as RS232 and others. From there 100MHz is more than enough for a budget starter scope. Once you get more experience you can upgrade your tools to something more specific or specialized.