I wouldn't rush out and buy a bunch of tools. That's like saying, "I would like to learn how to repair a car" and rushing out to buy every tool in the Sears catalogue. Buy what you need and learn how to use it. Maybe start with a set of crescent wrenches and learn how to change the oil before you attempt a clutch replacement or an engine rebuild.
I would invest in a good lab power supply. There are many options in the HP 62xxB series. They're practically indestructible. Don't bother with the cheapies on ePay/AliBlahBlah/Amazon/etc. They're not worth the trouble, especially not for audio. I've reviewed a couple and you can find my reviews here: https://www.youtube.com/c/Neurochrome2010
I use a pair of HP 6643A and have recently bought a pair of 6654A for higher voltage testing. Getting a pair of these will eat about 40% of your budget, though. The 62xxB-series is a lot more budget friendly.
The 6227B suggested earlier looks like a solid option. It may not allow you to test power amps at full power, but it will allow you to test power amps safely. Once you have confidence in the design you can connect it to the power supply you intend to use and test at full power.
I would also get a good digital multimeter. An older, calibrated Fluke 70-series or 80-series will be excellent and can be had for around $100. I have a Fluke 73 that I've had for 30+ years that I still use.
I'd get a good signal generator (or use a sound card). An HP 3312A or 33120A if you want something fancier will work well. You can also use a sound card, but that can be a bit more finicky to work with.
If you need to measure distortion, I'd get a sound card or if you're a bit more serious about it, a QA403 from QuantAsylum.
I would probably get an oscilloscope before getting an audio analyzer, though. Buy a real scope and not some USB toy. You'll want something that's sensitive enough to measure low-level signals. Most analog scopes will go down around 5 mV/div, which is plenty sensitive. I started with a TEK 2215 which can be had for $100-150. I upgraded to a TEK 2465B because I was able to fish one out of a surplus pile at work and repair it. I've since then bought a DSOX1102G from Keysight because I wanted something that would allow me to get pretty pictures for my website. If you don't have that need an older analog scope will serve you well.
If you do decide to get a newer scope, look into the EDU series of the 1102. The EDU(cational) version sheds some of the fancy features like protocol trigger and also sheds about half the price if I recall correctly. The 'G' suffix in the name adds a signal generator for frequency response testing, which sounds more useful than it is. If I was to buy another one I'd get one without the generator, but then again I also have an HP 33120A on my bench (and APx555B).
If you have money left over, I would buy a good workbench and a comfortable chair. I use an old desk, though the IKEA Bekant series is quite nice. That's probably what I'd start with if I had nothing. Oh, and cables, adapters, etc. But that's another one where you throw some in with your Mouser/Digikey order as the need arises and then you suddenly have many.
Tom
I would invest in a good lab power supply. There are many options in the HP 62xxB series. They're practically indestructible. Don't bother with the cheapies on ePay/AliBlahBlah/Amazon/etc. They're not worth the trouble, especially not for audio. I've reviewed a couple and you can find my reviews here: https://www.youtube.com/c/Neurochrome2010
I use a pair of HP 6643A and have recently bought a pair of 6654A for higher voltage testing. Getting a pair of these will eat about 40% of your budget, though. The 62xxB-series is a lot more budget friendly.
The 6227B suggested earlier looks like a solid option. It may not allow you to test power amps at full power, but it will allow you to test power amps safely. Once you have confidence in the design you can connect it to the power supply you intend to use and test at full power.
I would also get a good digital multimeter. An older, calibrated Fluke 70-series or 80-series will be excellent and can be had for around $100. I have a Fluke 73 that I've had for 30+ years that I still use.
I'd get a good signal generator (or use a sound card). An HP 3312A or 33120A if you want something fancier will work well. You can also use a sound card, but that can be a bit more finicky to work with.
If you need to measure distortion, I'd get a sound card or if you're a bit more serious about it, a QA403 from QuantAsylum.
I would probably get an oscilloscope before getting an audio analyzer, though. Buy a real scope and not some USB toy. You'll want something that's sensitive enough to measure low-level signals. Most analog scopes will go down around 5 mV/div, which is plenty sensitive. I started with a TEK 2215 which can be had for $100-150. I upgraded to a TEK 2465B because I was able to fish one out of a surplus pile at work and repair it. I've since then bought a DSOX1102G from Keysight because I wanted something that would allow me to get pretty pictures for my website. If you don't have that need an older analog scope will serve you well.
If you do decide to get a newer scope, look into the EDU series of the 1102. The EDU(cational) version sheds some of the fancy features like protocol trigger and also sheds about half the price if I recall correctly. The 'G' suffix in the name adds a signal generator for frequency response testing, which sounds more useful than it is. If I was to buy another one I'd get one without the generator, but then again I also have an HP 33120A on my bench (and APx555B).
If you have money left over, I would buy a good workbench and a comfortable chair. I use an old desk, though the IKEA Bekant series is quite nice. That's probably what I'd start with if I had nothing. Oh, and cables, adapters, etc. But that's another one where you throw some in with your Mouser/Digikey order as the need arises and then you suddenly have many.
Tom
At bohuweno, £2k was just a ball park figure. Not indicative of what I will spend initially or potentially what I will spend in the medium term.
I have a cheap multimeter which does the basics although without the LCR functionality.
We all have to work with in our means, I have seen men working with kit less than£200 and they always find a solution. They know someone with a scope or some other piece of kit they need temporarily. They find a solution because they need to feed their families.
Equipment is only as good as the person using it, right now I could just about wire up a breadboard but I have crossovers I want to rebuild, an old laptop to experiment with.
We had a bloke at work who was very resourceful, poor lad got bullied by manager because he had a mental impairment of some kind. He got the last laugh though, over a few years he removed thousands in parts and was busy building and selling equipment online.
People here have provided some really useful information which I will take on board and record, I will buy what I can at a fair price after I have familiarised myself with all the theory and tinkered with the basics. Also it will have to be available in the geolocation I'm in.
Thank you for your advice.
I have a cheap multimeter which does the basics although without the LCR functionality.
We all have to work with in our means, I have seen men working with kit less than£200 and they always find a solution. They know someone with a scope or some other piece of kit they need temporarily. They find a solution because they need to feed their families.
Equipment is only as good as the person using it, right now I could just about wire up a breadboard but I have crossovers I want to rebuild, an old laptop to experiment with.
We had a bloke at work who was very resourceful, poor lad got bullied by manager because he had a mental impairment of some kind. He got the last laugh though, over a few years he removed thousands in parts and was busy building and selling equipment online.
People here have provided some really useful information which I will take on board and record, I will buy what I can at a fair price after I have familiarised myself with all the theory and tinkered with the basics. Also it will have to be available in the geolocation I'm in.
Thank you for your advice.
Hi xraylaser,
Thank you for your advice, much appreciated.
I have a cheap multimeter which is grand to give indications but when you are going to have to stand over your work and say yes I did it I want the added assurance from a decent multimeter.
It's from advice provided here that will help inform my choices.
Are there any old oscilloscope brands that anyone can advise steering we'll clear of?
Thank you for your advice, much appreciated.
I have a cheap multimeter which is grand to give indications but when you are going to have to stand over your work and say yes I did it I want the added assurance from a decent multimeter.
It's from advice provided here that will help inform my choices.
Are there any old oscilloscope brands that anyone can advise steering we'll clear of?
Hi Tom,
That made me chuckle, at 13 I was messing around with cars and at 18 doing engine rebuilds and heavy rectification on airframes for machines that could hit 0-30000 ft faster than most cars can hit 60mph.
That said completely agree, I'm in the watch and listen phase, taking people's advice on board, trying to find reliable document sources and components where Mouser and Digikey is not available without large import taxes. Recording recommendations, weighing up costs and establishing what is available where.
Sincerely I appreciate your recommendations and detailed response. Honestly it's likely to be a case of what is available where I am.
I have two months possibly 3 before I have to decide what I will do.
Cheers
Paul
That made me chuckle, at 13 I was messing around with cars and at 18 doing engine rebuilds and heavy rectification on airframes for machines that could hit 0-30000 ft faster than most cars can hit 60mph.
That said completely agree, I'm in the watch and listen phase, taking people's advice on board, trying to find reliable document sources and components where Mouser and Digikey is not available without large import taxes. Recording recommendations, weighing up costs and establishing what is available where.
Sincerely I appreciate your recommendations and detailed response. Honestly it's likely to be a case of what is available where I am.
I have two months possibly 3 before I have to decide what I will do.
Cheers
Paul
I guessed as much, I just thought I'd put in a word for the availability of cheaper tools. I appreciate the strong preference for Fluke gear among the cognoscenti, it's just not something I've found that I need myself, yet. And I think there are some genuine hobbyists with a decent understanding of what they're doing who get by without it. I haven't found the performance of any of my multimeters to be flaky: the only reason for replacing the first with the second and then the third was availability of additional features. My needs are modest, or so I have led myself to believe, so a pricey Fluke can wait.
I went with an analogue scope because I didn't much like the lowest prices I could get a digital for, and certainly wasn't in love with their lightly built appearance. I'm sure they have some invaluable extra functionality over CRTs, but I do enjoy the more tactile character of the analogue scope I have. I always liked buttons and dials that have a bit of solidity to them. As for the Chinese-made AC millivolt meters and signal generators I saw, which I suppose are intended to be copies of various old Japanese and American models, the build is just awful. That's why I went for old Leader or equivalent gear. As I'm not moving for ever onward and upward with any electronic tinkering that I do, what I have so far is probably going to be sufficient for a while.
Stewart of Reading would be the nearest I can think of that resembles an old-school electronics emporium for test gear. I'm not sure if they allow visits. They have a massive inventory and have been trading for decades. There will be plenty of UK members (myself included) who've bought from them.
I second the advice about taking time over a purchase. Unless you're short of space and need the maths / measurement functions, a decent analogue [Japanese or German] scope will do everything you want in the analogue world. I can't think of any time I've needed more than about 20MHz for analogue (I collect scopes and have ones that go into several hundred KHz). A modern digital scope will be a lot smaller and take up less bench space. It'll also have basic FFT functions, which won't give the DR of a software or dedicated analyser, but will be good enough for fault finding and basic function test when combined with the scope. My analogue scopes don't get much use... They are eye candy in truth. I could probably use the space with more useful stuff if I got rid of them. But everyone should have a collection of Tek 7000 - it's the law.
I second the advice about taking time over a purchase. Unless you're short of space and need the maths / measurement functions, a decent analogue [Japanese or German] scope will do everything you want in the analogue world. I can't think of any time I've needed more than about 20MHz for analogue (I collect scopes and have ones that go into several hundred KHz). A modern digital scope will be a lot smaller and take up less bench space. It'll also have basic FFT functions, which won't give the DR of a software or dedicated analyser, but will be good enough for fault finding and basic function test when combined with the scope. My analogue scopes don't get much use... They are eye candy in truth. I could probably use the space with more useful stuff if I got rid of them. But everyone should have a collection of Tek 7000 - it's the law.