Welcome to a new Voltlog, In this video we’re taking a look at the OWON HDS242S which is a dual channel 40MHz portable oscilloscope coupled with a 20000 count true RMS digital multimeter and an arbitrary waveform generator capable of 25Mhz sine and 5MHz square wave, all in this portable format with a 3.5inch color TFT display. As part of their line-up you can also get the HDS272S which bumps the oscilloscope up to 70Mhz. You can also get these without the function generator option and those would not have the ending S in their model number.
I wanted a scope that can be use portable and must be hand held. I watched numerous YouTube videos demo’g numerous scopes. The above 40 mhz scope with wave generator looked like it would fit my needs. Ordered same and I can not say how pleased I am with the scope. Two features I liked are:
1. Onboard VOM. A great added feature so one does not have to carry around an added piece of test gear for trouble shooting.
2. Current drain when the unit is turned off. There is always a slight degree of current drain when some test gear, that run on battery power, are turned off. One scope I looked at, when turned off the batteries would totally discharge after 30 days. The review I saw about the Owon said you are good for 6 months of non use before the batteries need to be recharged.
The only down side to the Owon is that it only comes with one x10 probe. This is a two channel scope so they should have provided two probes. I don’t see this as a big deal. I ordered another x10 probe and they are super cheap on Amazon or Ebay.
The scope is super easy to use. Hook it to the DUT, turn the scope on and hit the, “Auto” button. Read the screen. How simple can it be?
I think I made a great choice for a piece of test gear that I’ll get many years of use out of.
Barry