I just got my Vellman PCSU1000 and PCGU1000 today. Let me begin by saying that these are very impressive products for the money. I suspect that people who are considering buying these product will probably do some research online before they buy, at least I did. I was a little bit worried that I was going to have problems installing the drivers and software, as I am running Windows 7 64-bit OS. It turns out that it was not a completely simple process, but in the end it wasn’t that bad either. I simply needed to download the appropriate drivers and software directly from the Velleman Site instead of using the supplied drivers and software that came on the included CD-ROM, and peruse this very informative forum to fill in the rest of the blanks.
So, without further adu let me provide my first (and strictly cursory) first impressions. I have not played with them very much, so I will only hit the highlights. I want to be fair, so I will provide both positive and negative impressions. Since I’m limited to 6000 Characters per post, I will break this review up over a couple of posts.
Pros: The unit itself feels very substantial. Amber LED indicator on the faceplate of the unit gives visual indication that the unit is operating. It came with everything I needed to get started right away (e.g., USB Cable, two 1:1 (and 1:10) probes, and an accessory bag containing the various tips and probe compensation adjustment screwdriver). When you open the program for the first time, it goes through an automatic calibration procedure. Overall, I got everything I expected to get for the $200 USD, plus shipping.
Cons: The software does not seem to have the ability to measure the waveforms with cursors like a “real” digital oscilloscope does. If it does have that feature, I have not been able to locate it. This is the only complaint I have against the PCSU1000.
PCGU1000 Review:
Pros: This unit seems to be very stable and accurate and also feels very substantial. The software is intuitive and seems to be well thought out. The power supply came with several interchangeable power prongs, making it very easy to use anywhere in the world without having to buy a new wall wart.
Cons: On the subject of the wall wart, the dongle that plugs into the PCGU1000 itself seems too small to fill the power input port. It feels loose and I’m worried that it will not stay plugged into the unit. Oddly enough, this kit did NOT come with the necessary cabling to make it useful right out the box. It did have the USB Cable and power supply, but did not have a BNC to allegator clip output cable. I will have to purchase myself. I would have rather paid a little bit more than the $189 USD price to have the cable included.
I am very pleased with my decision to go with Velleman. I had considered buying a Used Tektronix 'scope over the Velleman, but in the end, I decided to go with Velleman because of the positive reviews and the overall lower cost. See below.
Overall, I have spent approximately $1000.00 over the last week to get my lab setup. The cost breakdown is as follows:
1 ASUS K50 laptop (Windows 7 64-bit OS, 3GB RAM, 300GB HD) - $450.00 USD
1 Velleman PCSU1000 - $200 USD
1 Velleman PCGU1000 - $189 USD
1 Multisim (ver. 11) Student Edition - $39 USD
1 Elenco Precision XP-720 AC/DC Power Supply Kit - $50 (I think, I bought it last year).
1 Radio Shack Electronics Learning Lab Kit - $69 USD (really didn’t cost me anything, as I used gift cards I got for Christmas). I bought it for the features it offers, and although it is called a “Learning Kit,” it is also a cost-effective solution for students like me who can use a breadboard with built in power supplies and other features.
I am currently an EE student, and already have a job in the industry as an Associate Engineer. I could have spent more than this on one used oscilloscope, or spent this money the way I did and now have a complete EE lab setup at home.
Give it a click and both time and amplitude cursors will be displayed, just left-click and drag them to the desired positions–the associated value will be displayed beneath the grid…
No, I had not discovered it yet. Thank you for pointing it out. It seems to be complete now.
Maybe you can help me with another problem I’m having…
I was having the problem with too much voltage on the USB port, so I did the LED fix that I found here. I brought my laptop and my PCGU1000 to work, but I left my PCSU1000 at home. When I have both the PCSU1000 and PCGU1000 hooked up to the laptop, everything works fine, but since I only have my PCGU1000 hooked up to the laptop right now, the PcLab2000SE software wants to run in demo mode only, and the PCGU1000 will not put out any waveform. I would like to get an output from the PCGU1000 so that I can verify it against the scope I have here at work.
On the startup screen of the PcLab2000SE unselect the PCSU1000 and only keep the PCGU1000 selected.
Then you can use the PCGU1000 as a “stand alone” instrument.
It feels loose and I’m worried that it will not stay plugged into the unit. Oddly enough, this kit did NOT come with the necessary cabling to make it useful right out the box. It did have the USB Cable and power supply, but did not have a BNC to allegator clip output cable.
