Scopes! I have used $4K, $6K, $10K and up scopes. In the past they were absolutely necessary in professional environments. Today I have a two channel, Hantek digital that is, if anything, better than any of them. 150 MHz! The best Tektronix I used was only 50 MHz. Triggering: it has over two dozen triggering options. Best I ever had in the past was AC/DC, +/-, and TV H&V. It has a built in function generator. It has a built in spectrum analyzer, perhaps not the world's best, but that was an unreachable dream in all my jobs. Built in metering on both channels, including things like frequency so it is also a frequency counter. I can go on and on. It is a great scope for under $300 with two 200 Mhz probes. That is today's entry level scope and it is great. Other brands do much the same for similar prices - you can shop around for the best deal.

Me too! Really like the Hakko brand. Dropped some coin like you, it works very well.

I have to agree. My Hakko desoldering tool made me think that I had died and gone to heaven. If you do any repair work at all, you need a vacuum desoldering tool. Solder suckers are just that, they suck in worst since of the word.

Bob's regular 'Pease Porridge' columns in Electronic Design are well-worth digging out. You can learn a lot from his design wisdom and insight.

I agree. Years ago I bought a pretty affordable hot air rework station for about $100 from SparkFun and I have used it all the time, and it's still kicking with no issues. It comes in so handy.

He had one thing a lot of good design engineers didn't: he could communicate. Sometimes to do that, he'd act like a clown; but, he wasn't a very good one. And, he didn't thing of himself as one. When the suits he worked for basically betrayed him, and other suits turned him into a clown, for UKposts marketing.. well... I think that's half the reason he drove himself into a tree.

I just purchased my first frequency counter a LG FC-7150 1.5Ghz used but legit.

Yes, one of the most overlooked but very functional tools around. Good reco 👍🏻

An LCR is also a good idea. Those little $25 component testers work OK.

I deliberately bought some old VTVM, recently at hamfest Orlando. Oldies but very useful. Needed some work of course🎈

@@JurassicJenkins That sounds like a nice project 🙂

Yes, I finally got a high quality tool set. Makes a ton of difference. The trick is to return the tool to the caddy when finished, I’m learning that - 😎

Your absolutely right - good reco - those devices are absolutely awesome troubleshooting thermal issues, pair with a freeze spray.

Great call... I've used my Torrey Pines Logic thermal imaging site on a grip and is definitely useful.

I have not done a rig video. ICOM 7300 into end fed FT3DR into J-pole

@N7TWL Presents... Yes, because NORMAL/ABNORMAL is luxurious and must not be missed 😁

@@IMSAIGuy 13:45 Curve tracer . Most Digital scopes have a tracer function. ukposts.info/have/v-deo/mXmqaYuZr4N_1ps.html&ab_channel=MyVanitar

@@Mr_Smith_369 analog scopes have xy mode also.

@@IMSAIGuy Why do you need a curve tracer then ?

I got a LCR-T4 at $ 30ish or open source. A really useful and quick inexpensive tester for those mystery components and the like. I also as a side note got a Standford Research Sytems 720 100KHz LCR Meter. For a good price (still to be determined) 🤔

I started collecting GDOs. They don't take much room in my apartment! I don't have any with actual grids. A Kenwood, Heath, Simpson and MFJ (they still make them!). Very underrated instrument.

DVMs are very handy to use and I have couple of them, but sometimes they are a pain in the neck. If you're trying to get something to peak, or looking for a trough the constant jumble of digital number is confusing and some DVMs have a bit of lag or delay. An analogue meter shows you the change in real time and with a smooth action not a jumble. So if you can get your hands on a good analogue meter don't pass it up.

some of those have been on videos, some are in need of repair.

What is an Analog Discovery? (and are you really a cyclist?)

@@barrybogart5436 Analog Discovery, it's oscilloscope, function generator, power supply, pattern generator, logic analyzer, spectrum analyzer, bode plotting and more in small, pocket size package. You may also download free demo version. Worth to try. No, I'm not a cyclist :)

after all the videos I did, I sold the IMSAI. Rebuilding it twice in a lifetime was enough fun. Time for someone else. I've had every HP calculator ever made. Most are gone now but the 32S 32Sii are some of my favorites. I have a very close friend who worked on that design at HP.

68XXX was the best.

Got mine in 1978

the scope is a Kikusui, I have many videos on that one yes use the HP calc

Jim had no degree, all self taught

Yes how about that...I think Jim being creative and trying to solve real problems with an open mind and working methodically he was effective yet bound by theory Your just as gifted IMSAI Guy... Thanks for making sense of it all...and for covering all sorts of electronics topics...famous popular chips...not getting lost in the forest for the trees Applying yourself and building things can make ourselves the best analog and digital John William we can be... I remember working on a talking digital cruise control in 74 & 4000..1987 a few power amps...it used that 2907... & National Semiconductor came out with their prom holding words constructed into sentence chip set...it morphed into 6 bread boards...just like a side project for our digital class...a little DC motor to emulate an engine...a wheel cut out for slots...photo interuper ..really just a sum of cook book...circuits tried to integrate The speed decision made with 7485...compared a reference set speed...sort of digital feed back...up down counter to bcd out to 4 LED multiplexed rpm display..hours and hours of tinkering In the end it hunted and wasn't stable at some set speeds...luckily the volume could be turned down...lol.. All that could of been boiled down into power amp with velocity feedback... It just showed I couldn't master gain feedback servo theory and didn't know how to apply PID to a bit banger I don't regret hauling it to class for a demo anyway...so worried a bank of red wires might fall off...I think I had just a spool of red solid wire and black... Thanks... How about visiting ..RF class C mosfets in parallel for a induction heater....how to bias and drive gates...now gathering the parts for that...I can handle that... Probably another idea has stumped me...which will I hope explained with minimal babble...sent to a place near bay area called IMSAI Guy...for guidance or a few words...at least in in the form of RFQ... Take care Fred

Nick Norton Speaking of the 70 s I still have my Fluke 8000A Digital Multimeter that I bought back in high school, circa 1974. I still works like a charm .

4 channel

Triplett 630 and HP427: ukposts.info/have/v-deo/joVooqKRaXpyrJs.html the homemade one I made many years ago. +5 +/-12 +/-15 and one adjustable

Thanks! I love your channel - I have learned so much from you - thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. Between you, w2aew, and MegawattKS, I feel like I’m getting a university education …

@@IMSAIGuy Even EEVblog finds the 630 better than the Simpson. Mine is an NS which uses a D and AA cell. I also like the Trip 310 VOM and 850 VTVM.

And just to make my self more clear: this comment is to the hobbyst out there. If you ear money fix or building things, get the tools that will save you most of the time.

Naw. Don't need it. Especially a beginner.

You can make an arduino logic analyzer. Learn from Ben Eater

@@markgreco1962 Yeah, except that will probably cost you as much as Chinese Salale knock-off! (I think I got my 8-channel unit for between $5 and $10.) But honestly, I don't find it that useful. When I really need a logic analyser, I really need at least 16-32 channels. When I don't need to go that far, I can usually get by ok just using a 4-channel 'scope. (If you're going to get one or the other you definitely want a 'scope first: seeing bad waveforms that a logic analyser would never show has saved me tons of time.)

Wanna know what was on my list when I was a kid: a 10,000 ohm/vol Japanese import VOM, a Weller soldering gun, and an electric drill. I didn't even get that until I was almost a teenager.

there already is one: ukposts.info/have/v-deo/l4mUoo9-lomEz3k.html

while any scope is better than none. I don't think I can endorse that one.

you might watch this: ukposts.info/have/v-deo/iHJ9p6mbr5Bilpc.html

@@IMSAIGuy Well, that sucks because I already bought one :/

@@IMSAIGuy Do you have any specific reasoning as to why you don't trust this 'scope?

it will be lacking in speed and features. difficult user interface. small screen.

But he showed his.

ImsaiGuy approved

It's high end for the beginners just getting into electronics. It's certainly not expensive, but scopes like Rigol and Siglent make you get a lot for your money in terms of features and capability.