Just something from last month's Newzletter for those who do not subscribe:

Using scopes is something many technicians have avoided.
Those that have embraced them in automotive diagnostics now wonder how they ever lived without them. You never really know what you will be able to do with a capable scope until you have one.

It has been said that new scope users should start out with a lower end 'starter scope'. This is a myth. A less capable scope is probably not that much less expensive than a high end PicoScope and may actually cost more. In addition, they can be harder to use and more frustrating. This is because they don't capture very much information at one time and therefore your window of opportunity to capture the events is very small. This can create a lot of frustration and often results in scopes sitting in the corner gathering dust. No matter what scope you get, you are going to have to spend time learning how to use it. Not just the buttonology of the unit but also how to interpret those squiggly lines.

When you discover that the scope you chose as a starter scope isn't capable of doing what you want, you wasted your time and money. In addition, never being able to see the panoramic view in glorious detail can deprive you of being able to fully analyze signal interactions over time and the enhanced learning experience that goes with that.

So, if you are at all serious about getting into scopes, why not get a serious instrument? You don't have toy wrenches in your tool box do you? No, you have professional tools. So, why not get a scope for a pro. Even if you have no intention right now of becoming a scope expert, you will likely change your mind when you discover the possibilities and how much fun it can be. Don't underestimate yourself. Once you decide to start with the best, there is only one place to get the best automotive training and support to go with your new PicoScope package.

http://www.autonerdz.com/faq.htm [autonerdz.com]

Thank you, Rafael. We try our best to support all of our users the best we can.

Todd Huggard wrote on Sep 18^th, 2010 at 8:58pm:



todd, this is exactly what lead me down the pico path!!  i hadn't heard of aliasing until posting a bad capture on iatn.  i got a little bloodied on that post.  tom and carl took extra time to email a great amount of info on the subject.  the time they spent explaining the concept to me endeared me to the autonerdz experience and the picoscope product.  i would venture to say that your support package begins even before the first purchase  .

before discovering pico, i had attended a number of john thornton's classes in my area (great teacher IMO.).  excited about the opportunity to learn scope diagnostics, i purchased an otc solarity  .  during a particularly difficult diag on a nissan product my employer at the time called john for some help.  he gave us some great insight and helped us discover the issue.  i asked him what he thought of the scope i had  .  he was very kind, but never gave me a straight answer .  
so, i am one of those people that wasted a lot of time and money working up from a "starter scope" to the real deal.  i still remember the excitement i had when i got the modis after selling the solarity.  if i had only known what the heck a pico was at that time  .  i could have even skipped that step  .

Quote:


This is so true, Todd. I've used many different scopes and you really have to be careful not to put too much time on the screen. They would alias very easily which, as you know, can lead to a misdiagnosis.

The 212/3 was a very good scope for me. With its 32,000 sample point buffer, there was a sense of security that aliasing wouldn't be a problem and I don't recall it ever happening until I tried to make it happen. You had to work at it.

Then along came the 3000 series scopes with a 512,000 sample point buffer. I have pushed the 3423 to the maximum and it is just very difficult to find its limitation. Although discontinued, I still use this scope today. I have to admit something here though. It took me awhile to ween myself off of the V5 software and start enjoying the fruits of V6. Maybe this had to do with my custom ranging I had built and some trouble figuring out a new and different way of doing it. Once over that little hurdle, it is all I use now.

Next, the 4000 series scopes with a 32,000,000 sample point buffer/memory hit the market. I thought WOW Pico Technology, you've done it again! They are certainly not taking a back seat to anyone. 

I'm of the same mindset as Tom and many of you out there too. Why try to start out learning how to use a scope with an inferior product right from the start? You really have to know your instrument and its limitations to get away with that. I don't think we really need to get into the price comparisons much. I'll just say that the power per dollar is very high with PicoScope by comparison.

jake- after watching your video, i followed some links and had goose bumps- i gotta get one of those- ir is all i use anyway, is it as light as the plastic ones?