Best USB Oscilloscope for Makers and hobbyists

So you have a need for a USB Oscilloscope? Maybe you are a Maker or enjoy tinkering with old electronics and would like your shiny PC to be able to help you out. One thing is for sure, while certainly a niche product, hooking up an Oscilloscope to your computer is both interesting and educational and can be a great thing to study with children who have an interest in how electronics work.

Most oscilloscopes tend to be large boxes with a screen on that when you apply the probes to something emitting a signal – say a crystal or logic chip on a PCB will show a visual representation of that signal on the display.

For example, I tinker about repairing a lot of old computers and consoles, and the oscilloscope is vital for me in the diagnosis of things such as faulty chips. With the aid of a schematic drawing, you can quickly give yourself an idea of what pins on what chip should be showing on the screen.

Without getting too complicated, there are plenty of great videos on YouTube that will explain things in greater detail, you might know that a chip that is supposed to output video on a Genesis console should be providing an outgoing signal at 5v, but when probed with your oscilloscope you can see that the output is showing as only 2v. 

This little bit of detective work suggests that there is a problem with the output. From there, you would need to delve further to see if the chip was getting the correct signal in the first place, but all of this work is nigh on impossible without these handy tools.

Of late, manufacturers have been developing USB oscilloscopes that are cheaper as they dispense with the need to have a screen and lots of control dials. All this can now be done in software using the screen of your Desktop, laptop, or iPad.

The latter of the two provide a level of portability that we haven’t had before. We are even now starting to see wireless models that do away with the USB connection for even more flexibility.

Besides all the techie stuff, you can also amuse yourself by using them in creative ways. Here are some probes hooked up to a Commodore 64 SID chip and display the audio signal alongside the chiptune.