Dear Members, I have always had an oscilloscope on my wish list and have looked at several eico models thinking that I would eventually get one of those. While going to our local flea market I found in very good condition a Hitachi digital storage oscilloscope model # vc6015. I was wondering if this would be suitable for my radio repair needs. I did purchase on ebay a CD owner's manual for this scope and I need to make up or find an RF probe that will match it. I was just wondering if anybody knew anything about this brand and had an opinion about it? I only paid $20 for it. Cosmetically it looks good, it lights up and the lines on the scope seem to move and adjust with different knobs. It has an ac/dc ground setting along with other stuff that I probably would never need to use. Any thoughts about this scope would be helpful as I always value the opinions of this site. Thank you. Bill Radioflyer

First, you need to learn how to use a scope.

The AC/DC ground setting you refer to is an input setting; most of the time you will leave it on AC.

Most scope probes should work with your scope. Get one that is switchable from X1 to X10; the X10 setting will reduce circuit loading and is best for RF or high impedance work. I think the VC6015 is only 10mHz, so don't buy a probe that is rated higher than 50 or 60mHz.

As you try to learn about using a scope, you can forget all about the storage functions on the scope. You will never need them for radio repair work or most hobby purposes.

Rich

Congratulations on the new scope. Although not as popular as some of the other brands, Hitachi made a good line of scopes. It will take you a long time to outgrow it.

What you need to do now is read up on general scope operation and applications. There have been some excellent tutorials on these subjects posted on this forum, which you can find with a search. Other sites also have good write-ups, and there are plenty of videos on Youtube. Not to mention countless books that have been published over the years. Anyway, once you have a good general idea of what a scope can (or should) do, it's time to dig out that CD-ROM and relate your particular scope to what you know.

I would also recommend that you start out with a couple of battery operated, modern transistor radios from yard sales to get the feel of using the scope. This way you can focus on learning the scope without worrying about damaging it--or yourself.

You can download "XYZs of Oscilloscopes", a PDF file from Tektronix, that is an introduction to oscilloscopes for beginners.

If you have the time, you may want to sit back and watch this video that was produced by the NJ Antique Radio Club - called "Scopes for Dopes". I helped to teach this class. Beware, the video is a little over 2 hours long, but the "notes" at the bottom of the video give you a time-based table of contents so that you can scroll to whatever topic you want to look at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZKMrzTGxLQ

I have many scope tutorial videos on my YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/w2aew

Including these popular ones:
Basics of 1X/10X Probes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX4HGNWBe5M

AC/DC Coupling controls:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkq-fvb5-NI

Triggering Controls:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFGm-Pel4Hg

Vertical Mode Controls:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsy-pxpfB4o

Basics of making a frequency measurement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQMnjaMSKn8

This is a small sampling of what you'll find on my channel. I'm also always interested in getting input on what other videos you might find helpful.

Alan W2AEW

I'd be interested in seeing how an oscilloscope is used for servicing vintage B&W TV's. The Sam's photofacts always show examples of waveforms and explain what needs to be tweaked on the set to get the proper waveform. I'd like to see how the scope is set up on the TV and then a full alignment procedure performed.

Thanks,
Geoff

To answer your question, a basic Hitachi scope, especially for the price you paid, is an excellent
investment. I assume it has at least a 10 or 15 MHz bandwidth, which is more than you will need to
get started.

There is a bit of a learning curve to get familar with these instruments, but if you keep at it
using a scope will become second nature.

Good luck and enjoy your new piece of test equipment.