Bran Diezel
Well-known member
Would I be happy just adding a scope to my GeniSys Evo or getting a vantage pro? or hell sell the OTC and buy a Modis? From what I've seen I could do alot more with the SO.
Oscilliscopes
- Thread starter Bran Diezel
- Start date
vssjim
ALLIANCE MEMBER
You need to look in to Pico Scopes from Autonerds, best scope on the market for the cost by far.
tonydanzah
Well-known member
or you could a scope made by uei
If you want the Cadillac of scopes, you are looking for the Pico. It's a great lab scope, if a bit intimidating for a new user. It has a couple of flaws in it (search for "pico gap" on iATN or autonerdz), but nothing that knowledge and a couple simple workarounds can't fix. The biggest downside in my opinion is the time it takes to set it up, and fire up the computer if you don't have it running already. The Pico also has tons of support behind it at the Autonerdz forums and at iATN. You can actually play with the Pico software, as it's a free download from the Pico website. A similar setup is the Escope Pro, but not as many people use that setup.
If you want a simple scope to set up, and the advantage of connector pinouts and example waveforms in your hand, you are looking for the Vantage Pro/Modis. The biggest advantages these offer is the connector pinouts and locations (saving time looking them up), the quick bootup time (10-15 seconds from power on to looking at signals), and the auto setup for unknown signals. I don't know what kind of user you are, but one thing to consider is that while the Modis has four channels, you can't use the scope and the scan tool at the same time. Obviously the Vantage Pro doesn't have the same problem.
I wouldn't bother with even looking at the add-on scope for the Genesis. It's a pretty piss poor scope, and not very user friendly even for people who have used it for a while. We've got one at work, and if I had a choice between using that for a scope and working without a scope, I'd go without. It's honestly that bad.
The UEI scope is comparable to the old Fluke 96/97/98 which are pretty outdated by todays standards, and it only has an 800 point record length, which is about two screens worth of info on the Vantage Pro/Modis. Not exactly a great selling point for a $1300 scanner/scope.
Personally, I've got a Vantage Pro and I'm very happy with my purchase, and I've certainly made my money back with it. I'd love to test drive a Pico at least once with actual data, but I'm not going to go out of my way to take one for a test drive.
The thing to keep in mind is that the best scope is the one that you use. You can have the fanciest scope in the world, but it's pretty useless if you don't actually use it. That's part of the reason I settled on the Vantage Pro, and I still use my original Vantage for most things. For my type of use, they are just easier to set up and use. You also need to use them all the time, not just when things are broken. Most of what you are looking for are subtle differences between good and bad, and it takes a fair amount of practice to be able to spot those differences.
If you want a simple scope to set up, and the advantage of connector pinouts and example waveforms in your hand, you are looking for the Vantage Pro/Modis. The biggest advantages these offer is the connector pinouts and locations (saving time looking them up), the quick bootup time (10-15 seconds from power on to looking at signals), and the auto setup for unknown signals. I don't know what kind of user you are, but one thing to consider is that while the Modis has four channels, you can't use the scope and the scan tool at the same time. Obviously the Vantage Pro doesn't have the same problem.
I wouldn't bother with even looking at the add-on scope for the Genesis. It's a pretty piss poor scope, and not very user friendly even for people who have used it for a while. We've got one at work, and if I had a choice between using that for a scope and working without a scope, I'd go without. It's honestly that bad.
The UEI scope is comparable to the old Fluke 96/97/98 which are pretty outdated by todays standards, and it only has an 800 point record length, which is about two screens worth of info on the Vantage Pro/Modis. Not exactly a great selling point for a $1300 scanner/scope.
Personally, I've got a Vantage Pro and I'm very happy with my purchase, and I've certainly made my money back with it. I'd love to test drive a Pico at least once with actual data, but I'm not going to go out of my way to take one for a test drive.
The thing to keep in mind is that the best scope is the one that you use. You can have the fanciest scope in the world, but it's pretty useless if you don't actually use it. That's part of the reason I settled on the Vantage Pro, and I still use my original Vantage for most things. For my type of use, they are just easier to set up and use. You also need to use them all the time, not just when things are broken. Most of what you are looking for are subtle differences between good and bad, and it takes a fair amount of practice to be able to spot those differences.
I went through the same thing
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71081
I ended up buying the Rigol mentioned. I havent had much time to really get into it, but so far its really a nice scope, especially for the money. However its not an auto scope so it doesnt have the extra features like pinouts or waves to compare to. It can record though and boot time is maybe 5 secs
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71081
I ended up buying the Rigol mentioned. I havent had much time to really get into it, but so far its really a nice scope, especially for the money. However its not an auto scope so it doesnt have the extra features like pinouts or waves to compare to. It can record though and boot time is maybe 5 secs
If I was you I would skip the Genisys scope you would not be satisfied! If your looking for a handheld scope you can't do much better than Snap on.
If your looking for a laptop based scope look at the Pico scope or one from Automotivetestsolutions.com they have a 4 channel automotive scope for around $1000 that does a good job. Myself I do diagnostic work and have Snap on Vantage Pro, a 4 channel Pico scope and a 8 channel scope from automotive test solutions. For me I like the pc based scope for the bigger screen size and almost endless recording capabilties
If your looking for a laptop based scope look at the Pico scope or one from Automotivetestsolutions.com they have a 4 channel automotive scope for around $1000 that does a good job. Myself I do diagnostic work and have Snap on Vantage Pro, a 4 channel Pico scope and a 8 channel scope from automotive test solutions. For me I like the pc based scope for the bigger screen size and almost endless recording capabilties
OP
Bran Diezel
Well-known member
i don't really have a laptop at work and i would really need speed and comparable wave lengths... so it looks like i need a good vantage pro 
i don't really have a laptop at work and i would really need speed and comparable wave lengths... so it looks like i need a good vantage pro
Sounds like you may have found your scope then. I'd try to talk your dealer into letting you test drive the scope for a week or two, to get the hang of how to use it. Though don't rule out the Pico just yet. I couldn't imagine working without a laptop of some sort any more, especially when you can pick up a decent netbook style laptop for under $300 or so, and once you start using a laptop for service info and so on, you'll wonder why you didn't start using one earlier.
My view is that "any" scope is better than no scope, but cheaper basic scopes will require some knowledge on the part of the user at least for setup. I've got a full electronics test bench, but sooner or later I'm going to get some laptop based instruments as well, maybe a tablet PC of some kind.