Best Automotive Oscilloscope of 2020-Review & Buying Guide

Key things to Consider When Choosing the Right Automotive Oscilloscope

The first thing to be conscious of if you are looking forward to owning an automotive oscilloscope is defining how exactly you intend to use it. We have different brands, quality, and sizes of this device; some are better used under the hood, others on a bench and others at a client’s site if you are a mobile mechanic.

Again, these diversities are just part in a list of factors that do dictate the type of device you choose. For more information on that, below are some of the factors that should help you narrow down to the automotive oscilloscope that best meets your need.

Analog vs. Digital Storage Oscilloscope

There are two major categories of scopes, analog which is the old type model. Now, despite being as effective as basically required,non-digital scopes have limited functionality. The second category as you can already tell is called the digital storage oscilloscope. Technically this is the improved version of the oscilloscopes technology.

Digital scopes are replacing the analog and constitute most of the latest gadgets in the market. Experts across the board find the new gadgets better in terms of improved functionality and ease of use, and accuracy in detecting signal faults.

How Many Channels Suite Your Need

The other key feature to look into, which also affects functionality is the number of channels the product has. This can vary from a single channel up to ten channels, all of them with different unique uses. From the general point of view, a single channel oscilloscope can do most of the basic tests for people who want to do a quick signal check.

However, for ideal readings from say, crankshaft/camshaft association, checking voltage outage from sensors, thermistor, and examining throttle position, a two-channel scope going up would work prettier.

Technically, the more channels the device has, the more precise the details it gives. For instance, if you are facing a crank no start issue and want to diagnose the ignition system into details, you will find oscilloscopes that have four channels going up to ten more helpful.

Ease of Use

For detailed results, you will have to be able to do some set-ups to help target certain parameters that you want to check with your scope. As such, always pick the device that provides ease of use without forcing you to constantly refer to the manual guide. Some brands of oscilloscopes have tried to simplify this with a single automatic touch setup from previously memorized configurations.

Still, on the same, some brands have a special adjustable knob that automatically detects changes in trigger level, position, time-base speed, and vertical sensitivity. The point here is, to be able to save on time and eliminate hustle. So be sure to hunt for an automotive oscilloscope that is easy to use.

Bandwidth

What amount of signal frequency do you expect would be during the tests? Once you are conversant with the bandwidth range, the general advice is that your scope’s front-end amplifier should have a much superior capacity to accommodate the signal passing through it.

That is, search out to get the bandwidth specifications about the product you intent to consider. The universal advice on that again is, you require a five times bandwidth capacity to successfully and accurately measure most signals in a car.

DOES THE OSCILLOSCOPE BRAND ALLOW RANGE EXTENSIONS?

You can easily identify a good scope option by looking at what the manufacturer offers as additional product accessories. With more choices of probes and input ranges provided by a brand, you will be able to increase the usability of the application gadget by increasing the input ranges.

That allows you to be able to perform higher current and voltage diagnoses in car parts such as the injectors, and the two levels of ignition – both the secondary and primary ignition with guaranteed and more accurate outcomes.

Consider Functionality Triggering

To be able to have full control of the signal, go with an automotive oscilloscope with functional triggering. With this type, you will be able to practically view the signals as well as be able to set broader boundaries on the monitoring scream if you want to achieve a better response.

How we Picked the Best Automotive Oscilloscope

It has not been a walk in the park to research and trims down to the list of these best car oscilloscopes we’ve given here. Just to mention I compared and contrasted different brands of the scopes, and the five we have featured here are definitely the best picks. The key points we’ve considered, which also most experts approve of are things such as:

• The actual application or what you’ll be using the scope for – in this case, we narrowed to automotive oscilloscopes only.
• The minimum and maximum breadths of signal suited for automotive-related tasks.
• The number of signals you are most likely to use the device to get
• Frequency range and what suits your needs, basically the highest signal you should measure.
• Whether you need to view the signals on time domain or frequency domain
• The type of signal whether single-shot or repetitive and so on.

That is, you have to be super specific to pick a device that mostly works best for vehicles and not something general. From either of the above options that we have listed, you can rest assured you will have the best automotive oscilloscope currently available in the market. Below are other important factors to know about these devices that were really helpful to us in helping to compare and validating car oscilloscope, to be precise.

All You Need to Know About the  Automotive Oscilloscope 

Not all oscilloscopes are equal, the purpose maters

In the actual sense, oscilloscopes are not only used for car diagnosis, but these gadgets are also extensively used in other crucial fields such as in medicine, telecommunication and in research engineering.

Certain features will influence the purpose you intend to use the scope on i.e. whether on a mechanical bench, below the car or at a clients’ place.

For instance, the number of channels you choose with an oscilloscope dictates what it can do for you and the things you want to measure. So if you want various signals to be displayed you want a scope with more multiple channels. For quick diagnosis meant just to confirm the manifestation of a signal and that it falls within a range a single-channel signal is enough.

To test correlating amplitudes from engine parts like the crankshaft or from sensors, coil waveforms, injectors and, sensor output and watching the voltage in a thermistor, a good option will be choosing an oscilloscope with more than one conduit.

Oscilloscopes with four channels going up to ten are best if your intent to have a simultaneous view of wavelengths from major inputs and outputs on the same display. A perfect example here is when you are analyzing an ignition issue related to the crank.

Important specifications

Most car technicians prefer dealing with a scope they can fully operate and control to help them get the information they want. As such, I have analyzed each of these scopes against other competing product and I can tell they are better off. Well of cause among the five there is that which I found best when it comes to being user-friendly which is #1- The Rigol DS1054Z Oscilloscope. The reason being, it has an automatic option that can set up the scope so that it becomes instantly usable.

Sampling Rate

Next in line on what you must know about oscilloscopes and why we’ve listed the above options is the sampling rate. In a simple definition, when talking of the sampling rate, this points to the number of times an oscilloscope does sample or picks up the circuit per second.

Most brands of car diagnosis scopes come with two distinct sampling modes (or rate as most people understand). These include real-time sampling and repetitive samples, best referred to as equivalent-time sampling. For automotive use only, what you need is the real-time sampling option because the latter is not recommended.

As such a much reasonable choice (that you will get with all the scopes we’ve listed above,) is a device with 20 Million sr/s, which is what is ideal for all diagnostic applications.

Final Verdict

It is good to admit that first, the market is filled if not littered with different choices of oscilloscopes one can choose. However, the truth is, it is not wise to depend on mere adverts that hit your screen every time you go online, or even a five-second commercial on your TV to decide on a professional item like a car oscilloscope. The reason being, there is a lot to look for in such a complex device.

The good thing is that we have done the hard part; researching, analyzing and comparing to get the best scope that would suit your automotive-related use. You’d save a lot of time choosing from fewer options, like the five above; or simply go with best car oscilloscope that we would boldly recommend -“theRigol DS1054Z Automotive Oscilloscope.