Scope for DIY beginner

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swifty
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2021 11:55 am

Scope for DIY beginner

Post by swifty »

Hi

I have always used a multi meter when fault finding but after looking at various you tubers namely scannerdan i fancy trying a scope, the problem is the cost of a pico 4 channel automotive scope 4425a starter kit £1400 inc is expensive for the occasional use.

I have a couple of classic cars so primary/secondary ignition, battery voltage, charging and starting would be checked, we also have a couple of modern cars to look after.

I have watched you tube videos of the 2405a in use on automotive diagnostics and provided you take necessary precautions (attenuators) regards input voltage being over 20v then they look to give good results.

I am familiar with the difference in safe voltage between the two mentioned above scopes but apart from that would i really struggle to get good consistent results from a 2405a scope for diy automotive diagnostics.

My question is, will the £385 inc 2405a scope be adequate enough for most automotive fault finding on a diy basis bearing in mind the £1000 price difference between the scopes?

liviu2004
TwoWaves
TwoWaves
Posts: 472
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2016 8:23 am
Location: Netherlands

Re: Scope for DIY beginner

Post by liviu2004 »

I doubt vertical resolution is sufficient. See for yourself.

https://youtu.be/SGwWLfrDiAg

Steve Smith
Pico Staff Member
Pico Staff Member
Posts: 1581
Joined: Sun Aug 25, 2013 7:22 am

Re: Scope for DIY beginner

Post by Steve Smith »

Hello and thank you for the post

The cost of the Automotive scopes is a major factor to consider and I agree that for minimal use, it’s a big “ask” however, there is so much more than cost to consider

I have listed the majority of considerations here viewtopic.php?p=87821#p87821 and these still apply but now we have BNC+ probes, “ease of use” is taken to another level with the 4425A (especially in conjunction with PicoScope 7 here https://oem.picoauto.com/p7beta/download)

There are a few more considerations here too viewtopic.php?p=97926#p97926

To answer your question, you could use the 2405A for your automotive fault finding on a DIY basis but it will come with limitations in terms of essential hardware/software features, resolution, ease of use and future development

I hope this helps, take care…….Steve

faraday
OneWave
OneWave
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 8:15 am

Re: Scope for DIY beginner

Post by faraday »

From my experience you will end UP with automotive scope with at least 4ch. With 2ch you will be very limited on your mesurements.

kona
TwoWaves
TwoWaves
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2018 8:14 pm

Re: Scope for DIY beginner

Post by kona »

Hi,
2405A does not work with "PicoScope Automotive software".
You will be very disappointed if you buy this toy.
----------This is the shame of PICO. :evil:

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