Cheap Scope Troubleshoots Commodore | Hackaday

[Adrian] experienced a Commodore pc to repair and decided to see how his newest small moveable scope would operate. He compensated $57 for the tiny minor test instrument whilst the present value would seem increased. It statements to have 120MHz bandwidth along with 500 megasamples for every next. There are a number of versions with distinctive claimed specs, but we did find a very similar machine for beneath $60. You can see the unboxing and how it worked in the online video under.

Of system, these forms of devices usually overstate their specs, and [Adrian] was also suspicious. 1 odd feature of the unit is it can echo its output to an NTSC video clip output so you can send out the display to an external observe.

If you want to skip the scope unboxing, forward up to about 19 minutes to see the inside of of the Commodore 64. The scope was conveniently enough for scanning the chips in the laptop and unveiled a suspicious handle line. The line went to a PLA and a mux chip, neither of which had been in sockets. He clipped the PLA out of the circuit, and the tackle line started out searching normal. So the conclusion was the PLA was lifeless.

Just after that, it was uncomplicated to take out the chip and change it. Effectively, technically, change it with a socket to make a potential mend easier. Will a $57 scope exchange your large benchtop instrument? Probably not. But it was a beneficial tool for troubleshooting.

Even if you do not want a inexpensive scope, you can discover a lot from [Adrian’s] thoughtful troubleshooting and analysis if you are faced with any digital mend venture. We do like low-cost scopes around here. It is incredible how significantly scope $100 will obtain now in comparison to just a few years in the past.

https://www.youtube.com/view?v=Uqrel5fQpK4