Today I completed my Fathers’ Day gift. No photos to share: There’s really nothing for me to photograph that you couldn’t already see elsewhere on the web. This is the ‘scope. Mine is the newer model with the cutout on the back panel to make accessing the various ports—whose purpose remains a mystery to me—easier.

The kit—I got the one with all the surface-mount components already soldered—took about four hours to complete, including extensive testing at each stage, and powered up on the first try. Although the soldering is all through-hole, there are some tight clearances, and I recommend a medium-to-fine chisel-tip iron, although I used a 0.5mm conical tip. The directions are not very helpful on assembly, but the basic idea is: Solder in the taller things first. The included sheet did have very extensive testing notes, however, which helped my confidence. In all, I readily recommend this kit if you are looking for a no-frills and inexpensive oscilloscope.

If you do decide to get your own, you should be sure to check out Răzvan’s write-up, even though it is for an older version. I found his instructions for soldering up the DIY probe very useful. Also, you might consider ordering one of these at the same time, and soldering in the included BNC connector in place of the RCA connector that comes stock with the o-scope: Many DCC products use signals in excess of 20KHz, and the DIY probe is not likely to be able to keep up.

The o-scope, but not mine: Mine hasn't arrived yet.

My lovely wife bought me one of these inexpensive oscilloscopes for Father’s Day. But it won’t arrive for another couple of weeks. Very exciting! I can think of many uses for this new tool…Thank you Amy!