Recommend an oscilloscope for laptop mobo work ?

[NYJimbo]

I am getting deeper and deeper into laptop motherboard work and quite often I am finding that I will need an oscilloscope to test certain circuits.

As I learn more I would like to have the tools ready so what I would like to do is buy an oscilloscope that is capable of working with the small, low voltage circuits on a modern laptop motherboard.

Can anyone recommend a good unit to start with. I would like to keep it below $500 if possible, digital would probably be best. I can go above $500 but dont want to get carried away and buy something that I dont need right now. I see alot of nice units on amazon.com (would love to buy it from them as I have a huge line of credit there) but not sure if there will be any "gotchas" I will regret as laptop motherboards are very different from other general electronics.

Thanks for any help.

 

[zaoka]

hi

There is no much to test with scope in laptops.

All you can do is to test for presence of signal and check riple level in AC adapters. You can do this with any scope. You can also test if inverter board is working properly.

FLUKE is the best and well protected against damage. Good scope is PM3084, its older one but one of the best analog scopes. I got mine on ebay for $400 brand new (retails for over $6000 new) about 8 years ago. I use it every day and its ON all the time during business hours. (PM3384 is digital-analog)

Second one is HAMEG, HM303 is very good one, it has component tester built in that is the best for testing transistors and diodes.

Third SENCORE SC3100, this one has built in multimeter so at the same time you can test for signal and voltage level. Its overpriced.


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Weller

 

[NYJimbo]

There is no much to test with scope in laptops.

But you need a scope to do in-circuit testing.

 

[purple_minion]

I have a tektronix I'm happy with, very nicely done. If you're into electronics at all, like building circuits or anything I highly recommend one. You can only do so much with a multimeter. I also recommend an ERS meter for capacitor checking, as bad caps can't always be found visually. I fixed two LCD monitors with my ERS meter (personal ones) and the bad caps I replaced couldn't have been found visually or with a multimeter.

Also if you are into microcontrollers I just bought an arduino, looks very interesting and easier to use then my PIC microcontrollers of the past.

 

[zaoka]

But you need a scope to do in-circuit testing.

There is no need to use scope for laptops, you can do everything with multimeter.
Why would you use it?

 

[NYJimbo]

There is no need to use scope for laptops, you can do everything with multimeter.
Why would you use it?

Never mind. If you have to ask this question then I am talking to the wrong person.

 

[Larry Sabo]

I've used a number of Tektronix and HP scopes since 1958 and feel you can't go wrong with a used, recently calibrated one from either of them, say a Tek 465. Last year I bought an HP 54600B 100 MHz DSO on eBay under $200, delivered, and it's a great scope. Now, if I could just find a source for some mainboard schematics.

 

[zaoka]

hi

Never mind. If you have to ask this question then I am talking to the wrong person.

No offense, I just dont see a reason unles you want to attract some customers by showing them some high-end equipment

 

[DarDar]

The reason is that you can identify damaged/faulty/out of spec components on the mobo or else where. This allows you to offer an extra service to your customer whether it be the quicker turn around, nice diagnostics, ability to repair old and difficult to source equipment. If nothing it lends your business an extra layer of credibility.

I know i'd trust the guy with the funky electronics that little bit more.

 

[zaoka]

The reason is that you can identify damaged/faulty/out of spec components on the mobo or else where. This allows you to offer an extra service to your customer whether it be the quicker turn around, nice diagnostics, ability to repair old and difficult to source equipment. If nothing it lends your business an extra layer of credibility.

I know i'd trust the guy with the funky electronics that little bit more.

Well I dont know how many of you have experience in using a scope and with electronic repairs but I can not agree with those statements.

It helps for credibility, thats true

 

[Larry Sabo]

Hmmm, I used to repair Litton LN3 inertial navigation (analogue) computers used in the CF-104 fighter jet at the discrete component level, and repaired CRT-type monitors at the same level for 5 years before switching to computer repairs. A scope plus DVM were essential to diagnosis and repairs. I don't yet have the same experience with troubleshooting digital circuits of today's PCs but their power circuits are all analogue-based and I expect at the root of many problems. Sure, throw a logic tester into the toolbox for digital circuits.

Maybe you're just speaking of your own personal experience? If not, please elaborate.

 

[usacvlr]

Depends on what you're doing. If you're just working with power circuits any old 5mhz heathkit will work for 50 bucks on ebay.

I am getting deeper and deeper into laptop motherboard work and quite often I am finding that I will need an oscilloscope to test certain circuits.

As I learn more I would like to have the tools ready so what I would like to do is buy an oscilloscope that is capable of working with the small, low voltage circuits on a modern laptop motherboard.

Can anyone recommend a good unit to start with. I would like to keep it below $500 if possible, digital would probably be best. I can go above $500 but dont want to get carried away and buy something that I dont need right now. I see alot of nice units on amazon.com (would love to buy it from them as I have a huge line of credit there) but not sure if there will be any "gotchas" I will regret as laptop motherboards are very different from other general electronics.

Thanks for any help.

 

[usacvlr]

No sound coming from left speaker? Stick your scope on it and see if theres any audio there. Is there audio on the screen? Well you've got a bad voice coil in the speaker.

There is no need to use scope for laptops, you can do everything with multimeter.
Why would you use it?

 

[NYJimbo]

Depends on what you're doing. If you're just working with power circuits any old 5mhz heathkit will work for 50 bucks on ebay.

I've hooked up with some cool electronics techs in my area who hate doing laptop tear downs but are brilliant with electronics. So they bring me tedious work and I ask them questions and every now and then we kill a six pack in the store and I learn alot from them. Sometimes when we are chatting they will tell me "Oh, by the way if you had a scope you could do this..." or "A scope would tell you that.....". That kind of stuff, but they dont specialize in laptops so I am trying to find a nice entry level scope that I wont regret buying a year from now when I am deeper in the sh-t.

What I want is to be able to have a scope when that moment comes when having one would be sweet. At some point I want to stop asking these electronics techs and improve my skills so I can do chip-by-chip diagnosis. I mean I can test resistors, capacitors, small stuff, look for bad solder joints, replace broken/damaged filters or coils, do pretty good SMD rework, but thats just the begininng and I want to learn everything.

So I am thinking something in the $500 range, but I got to know more about where I am headed with this so I dont buy something lame and end up dumping it in a few months.

 

[MobileTechie]

I have a tektronix I'm happy with, very nicely done. If you're into electronics at all, like building circuits or anything I highly recommend one. You can only do so much with a multimeter. I also recommend an ERS meter for capacitor checking, as bad caps can't always be found visually. I fixed two LCD monitors with my ERS meter (personal ones) and the bad caps I replaced couldn't have been found visually or with a multimeter.

Also if you are into microcontrollers I just bought an arduino, looks very interesting and easier to use then my PIC microcontrollers of the past.

Do you need to remove the caps to test them or can you do it in situ?

 

[zaoka]

No sound coming from left speaker? Stick your scope on it and see if theres any audio there. Is there audio on the screen? Well you've got a bad voice coil in the speaker.

You can do the same with any multimeter or 1.5V battery, there is no need to spend $500 for scope

With multimeter (digital) switch to resistance and measure speaker resistance, it would read 4 or 8 ohms in most cases.

With analog multimeter switch to x1 resistance mode and you will hear sound as you touch leads of the speaker + you get resistance reading at the same time

With 1.5V battery you connect it for a second to the speaker and you get sound if they works...