Cheapest Oscilloscope in the World! DSO 138 | Mechanic Mindset

[@MiracleMAX]

Hey Darren, I bought this one as a kit & made it in a few hours. Have used it successfully for many years carrying out even complex repairs. I bought a 9 volt battery case with switch & a DC plug from Ebay. I just glued it on the side of the oscilloscope case with some hot glue. That way I didn't have to connect it to an external power supply. Apart from the long-winded process of obtaining a signal, it works quite well for what it is. I then bought a DANIU ADS1013D 2 channel tablet scope, which is an amazing tool for what it is and now I have graduated to the PICO 4425A Plus - a lot of money, but I use it each day in my workshop. That being said, for what I paid for the DSO138, the fun I had building the kit and the repairs I was able to carry out due to the waveforms collected from that little scope, I can only sing it's praises! 😁 MiracleMAX

[@MechanicMindset]

Ah cool! I did consider going the battery route, but I have other plans for the power supply too 😃. There are some interesting scope tools on the market; I’m sure I saw one that connects via a phone some time back. You’re right, it can take a while to get a signal in the DSO138, but a great way to learn all the settings. Cheers! 👍

[@Automotive_Solutions]

@@MechanicMindset you might be thinking of hscope which runs on Android phones and tablets. Check out Denis's channel, he's into some clever projects..... kzbin.info

[@MechanicMindset]

@@Automotive_Solutions Check out iMSO 104 on Google; it was like that but cheaper. I suspect it was garbage so was removed from eBay. Yeah, I’m in the HScope telegram group, Denis is awesome! I got a tablet for HScope last year but really struggle going back to Android, so sent it back 😂. Will probably look for a super cheap one just to run HScope as the automotive software looks pretty cool!

[@arctican7483]

How come you have so few subscribers? This is QUALITY content. Thank you.

[@MechanicMindset]

We are slowly getting there - 10k in a year! I'm glad you are enjoying the channel, you can help us grow by liking and sharing our videos with people you think will like them. Thanks for the feedback!

[@billytremoloband7456]

Got a great deal on a hand held fluke scope a while ago, it was dumped out of the local college as it wasn’t switching on! I said it to my foreman in work and he suggested taking out the battery as apparently they have a habit of shortening out , plugged out the battery and it fired up straight away so next stop was eBay for a 25£ pound battery! Must still get one of the pico’s like you have as they work a treat!

[@MechanicMindset]

That is a result! I bet they aren’t cheap new... Yeah, I love the 2204A, so much value for money 👍

[@aaronj08ar]

​@@Bobo-ox7fj Imagine thinking that if someone needed something, but they already have it, except that... it don't work. Imagine thinking that they would get rid of the broken one, and not have the new model already ordered and on the way. I suppose its tough for institutions to aquire what they need to fulfill the obligations they've agreed to. Especially with all those big budgets. If it wasn't for that damn budget were alloted every year, the electrical engineering department could get a new Fluke meter. "Sorry guys, that cursed budget is just to big this year! Your all gonna have to go back to licking your finger to verify each phase is dead. Maybe next year we can scrape together enough money at the pot-luck to get us another Fluke. In the mean time, make sure you all know where the AED's are. The yellow ones on the wall are portable, know how to use them. At least when your coworker is trying to restart your heart after fingering 4160, it'll kinda look like he's using a fluke. Oh ya, Flukes are precision measuring tools. They would never re-certify one as safe, and calibrated with a battery in it that wasn't a Fluke approved battery. Fluke obviously doesn't make this instrument anymore, or the filthy broke institution would have sent it back to Fluke, you know, so they can repair it, and re-certify it. As would happen annually, particularly if you were teaching with it, and aspired for your students to use a measuring tool that could do so with repeatable results. Imagine that, what a world it was.

[@marinehm]

Great little kit. I just picked mine up at an Amazon return center for $4.00. I love the disclaimer. “Most people will not have a working unit”. Fortunately for me, I can solder very well, have a multimeter and OCD. All worked out well. Now I need to figure out what I can do with this little thing. Never needed one before.

[@MechanicMindset]

😆 It’s a fun little tool. CAN bus is stretching its limits but is copes with most other things. Enjoy!

[@armandine2]

I think making a working scope is as much about figuring out the settings as it is the soldering

[@arthurfricchione8119]

Darren I purchased the kit. Will build it and I think building it will give me a small understanding of how they work. I get to build it and use it. Can’t beat that. Darren stay safe and well Artie 👍😊

[@MechanicMindset]

Good luck, let me know how the build goes! I don’t think I would manage it to completion 😂. Cheers Artie 👍

[@arthurfricchione8119]

@@MechanicMindset I will keep you informed. 😊

[@rogermerritt6470]

Great video! Mine came in last week and there seems to be two different versions. I have V1-5. Screen layout a little different. The white specs readout stays on all the time. Pressing the SEL button does not make it go away. And I dont have that slider bar on the top. All in all, as a former Data Systems tech I love it!

[@MechanicMindset]

Awesome!

[@markclark787]

I got a DSO 150 that came with a Scope Probe and a Case. 4 switches and a rotory encoder.

[@MechanicMindset]

Cool, I'll have to check that out, how much?

[@cloudhop]

If only more videos were simple and sweet like this .

[@scmoldenergdistributionsrl671]

please more on PWM and circuits, you explain better then most EE

[@tmdrake]

Nice show... i'm a techie and always wanting to tinker more with low end stuff as you can't go wrong.... every now and then job requires then i invest in a classy gear.

[@MechanicMindset]

Great way to do it!

[@CANDiagnostic]

Built a fair few of these in the past. Great vid

[@MechanicMindset]

Ah cool! I considered it, but it would still be in bits today 😂. Cheers Nuffz 👍

[@stephanevaucelles6378]

thank you for the video, I hesitated to buy this tool thank you for the demonstration

[@MechanicMindset]

I was not sure what to expect. I am happy with the performance for the cheap price! 👍

[@markhb3346]

I actually have one of these I bought about 5 years ago for tinkering with Electronics projects

[@MechanicMindset]

Hey Mark, cool, I think they’re great! I picked it up about a year ago and never got round to playing with it properly. I should probably get the case for it 😂

[@mumujibirb]

Small problems: Does not feature cursors. This is basically the only drawback, and renders it somewhat difficult to use for simple electronics. Other than that, it's great. Mine comes with an acrylic case.

[@SirSteveFury]

These work happiest with a 10-12v power supply. Mine displays an accurate wave form up to about 30khz, not the 200khz like the MFG claims. Nice video, thanks.

[@MechanicMindset]

Cool cheers. I can crank this power supply up some more. I’m going to give it a go with CAN bus. With and without passive probe 👍

[@marinehm]

Quick question; the jumper wire at J2. That was bridged for testing the board. Doesn’t say to remove it when complete testing. Should o leave it or remove it?

[@MechanicMindset]

I bought mine complete mate. Sorry not sure

[@marinehm]

@@MechanicMindset I found that it is to test the board. It produces a square wave that you connect the red probe to and get a signal. The loop should remain, not be removed after the board is complete. There is a 0ohm resister that is to be Shorted (JP4). I removed the resistor and put a blob of solder, bridging the 2pads thus, shorting it. Curious as to why it is there in the first place. 0ohm?

[@MechanicMindset]

@@marinehm Ah ok yes, is it the same signal you can also use to set the compensation on the x10 probe?

[@keithnoneya]

Pretty nice little scope. I have one of those pocket scopes, a little hard to use, if you're used to standard scope controls and knobs, but usable for simple automotive or hobby electronics. Thanks for sharing. Best Wishes & Blessings. Keith Noneya

[@MechanicMindset]

They are cool little scopes, especially for the money! What other scopes do you use? Cheers

[@keithnoneya]

@@MechanicMindset I'm a retired Avionics (Aviation Electronics) Technician. I've used and own some of the older Tektronix 400 & 2440 Series and the TDS 600 & 700 scopes. I even have an old TEK 585 with the Spectrum Analyzer plug in. Unfortunately it's not working. One of my Favorite OLD analog scopes is my Kikusui COS6100M an old 100mhz R&D scope from the 70 & 80's. It has four channels with an additional 8 possible TTL displayable Channels. It flooded during Katrina and I took every corroded part off the boards. Disassembled the switches, cleaned them and put it all back together and it I'll be darned if it didn't work!. I then calibrated it and put it back on the equipment shelf. What a work horse that sucker's been. Anyways thanks for the video and the reply. I've been working on a 2003 Dakota 3.9L with a no start issue. +5vdc is present and has a NO BUS on the dash. Was missing the 12vdc on the coil and bypassed the ASD relay and it still won't start and still has NO BUS on the dash. Swapped the coil and the Camshaft or distributor Coil Pick up, no joy. Any ideas? Best Wishes & Blessings. Keith Noneya

[@pigeonsil240sx]

can someone chime in who uses oscilloscopes for automotive on what the bare minimum specs for a scope you recommend/what device you would recommend for a diy automotive user new to scopes? With so many choices my heads spinning.i just want somthing that will get me through most diagnosis but not somthing useless nor overkill.

[@MarcBchannel]

I just posted a vid on a DS212 mini scope testing hi/lo can signals. Not bad for diy diagnostics. It's only 1mhz bandwidth and 10ms/s samples max. I have a hantek 1008c and it does well for diy just don't use all 8 channels at once. I would only use 2 or 3. The device and software get glitchy if you push it. It's only 20mhz bandwidth but the bandwidth is shared between the channels so you get less per channel the more channels you use

[@mig360m]

is this a good beginner Oscilloscope?

[@MechanicMindset]

It’s cheap, isn’t the easiest to use, but will get a waveform for most things. It will take some getting used to and some existing knowledge of how oscilloscope works

[@johnshanderuk4503]

You should do a review on Hscope and USB AUTOSCOPE, would be interested in your opinion on these scopes too!

[@MechanicMindset]

I’ve got HScope and struggled with it a little; I need to contact them really. Not used USB Autoscope but I have the MLABS which is similar. That’s cool, but not currently available

[@Lambros_Stefaneas]

thanks a lot for the video.

[@MechanicMindset]

You’re welcome Lambros 👍

[@markg6jvy135]

Great video 👍👏👏

[@MechanicMindset]

Cheers! Would you get one?

[@vincentb.9010]

hey, did you try it on canbus? i wanna know if this is a good product for 250 and 500kbs canbus.

[@MechanicMindset]

I did but never got round to the video (I think I had some technical problems and stopped 😆). From memory it got the waveform but it wasn’t great. I need to play with it more 👍

[@vincentb.9010]

@@MechanicMindset what would be a nice cheap option for automotive + can usage

[@math3390]

Hello, what tools do I need to test injectors? Thank you.

[@MechanicMindset]

Depends what you want to test. You can check out my videos on the 2204A, and injector testing 👍

[@beniamino939]

On a scale of 1-10 what would you rank this device?

[@MechanicMindset]

Value for money - 10. Practicality - 3. Thinking of buying one? Do it! 😂 I see it as a bit of a novelty, pretty impressed and will certainly get you to learn how a scope works.

[@beniamino939]

@@MechanicMindset I want something good to do diagnostic tests with. Is the pico worth it?

[@MechanicMindset]

@@beniamino939 Yeah, if you want something for serious stuff, but as a starter scope, get the 2204A - my personal favourite!

[@beniamino939]

@@MechanicMindset Cool. Thanks 👍

[@321tryagain]

This was very helpful, thank you.

[@MechanicMindset]

Thanks for watching. Do you have this oscilloscope?

[@321tryagain]

@@MechanicMindset No, I was considering buying it. It's rare that I need one, but it's so cheap that it is very tempting. I decided to wait until I have a more concrete need for one, then I will return to your video to learn more about how to use oscilloscopes, both this one and in general. One thing I wasn't able to glean from your video. Could this capture a one-off, non-repeating signal? For example, a momentary switch being activated?

[@MechanicMindset]

@@321tryagain yes it should. It has a single trigger function that will capture that 👍

[@321tryagain]

@@MechanicMindset Thank you so much for making this video and then also taking the time to reply. This kind of educational content that is able to be uncovered months and years after it was produced, remaining useful for a long time, is what I love immensely about the internet.

[@reza3964]

thank you for the video, do you know if it can be used for can bus diagnostics?

[@MechanicMindset]

It can, kind of. I’m going to show this soon 👍 there are a couple of different ways you can use it

[@nv1493]

The screen layout looks quite similar to a Hantek scope, guessing both may use the same processor?

[@MechanicMindset]

Interesting thoughts. This is ‘open source’ too, so developers can modify the software. A bit out of my realm! 👍

[@busybusiness9121]

is this DSO any good for mobile smd Crystal measurement along with laptop repair. Kindly help me. I have not sufficient funds to buy expensive DSO's.

[@MechanicMindset]

For the price, it’s worth a try. It’s not the greatest but gets a signal

[@beniamino939]

Do you have to make your own case for this?

[@MiracleMAX]

No, you can buy the case separate, with the kit, or all pre-built.

[@MechanicMindset]

I was too cheap this time 😂

[@supregreat]

can i use this to check ignition coil?

[@MechanicMindset]

I haven’t tried but it might/should cope with that. Worth a punt for the cheap price 👍

[@markdoyle8713]

Great content thank you

[@MechanicMindset]

Thanks for watching!

[@ADDAUTOMOBILESERVICES]

👍

[@Automotive_Solutions]

Jeez, that is cheap. 👍

[@MechanicMindset]

Haha right!? Well worth the price. Had you heard of this scope before?

[@Automotive_Solutions]

@@MechanicMindset no, but I did treat myself to a U-scope which is tiny but in a nice case. Bit dearer though ☹️.

[@MechanicMindset]

@@Automotive_Solutions Although I hear great things about the uscope, I see quite a few techs using them in various communities 👍

[@annibal01]

👍👍👍

[@MechanicMindset]

👍

[@glaisantos9128]

Next content lin system plss.hehehe

[@MechanicMindset]

It’s on the list!

[@Funwithelectromachanic]

Plz halp , your car injuctor solinoid , pizo acutor types

[@MechanicMindset]

Solenoid type

[@Funwithelectromachanic]

Thanks

[@Funwithelectromachanic]

I machine