Question do i need an oscilloscope?

[A_s6]

i've been learning electronics, and the instructor of the course says that an oscilloscope is a must. unfortunately i don't have the money for good bench oscilloscopes. there are some cheap handheld oscilloscopes and oscilloscope kits on amazon, but i'm not sure if they're good enough. i also plan to design/build some pcbs in the future, so will i need one?

 

[jefflongo]

Short answer: no

Long answer: If you plan to be an engineer, then you will probably want one at some point. For making a project like a portable? Not at all necessary. They are useful for debugging hardware that involves time-varying signals (such as digital protocols, analog waveforms etc). For hobby projects, it can useful to have one but they are by no means necessary. A lot of times you can get a older one that has the basic functionality for cheap cheap. I picked up a tektronix TDS 210 for free that was being recycled, and I haven't done anything where it's been the bottleneck yet. You might also be able to get away with using a cheap logic analyzer for most things.

 

[A_s6]

if i were to buy a logic analyzer, could i get away with a usb logic analyzer or should i go for a proper 16 channel one?

 

[jefflongo]

The speed and number of channels you should get depends on your application, but I would suggest not buying one until you actually need it. Then you can buy one based on your needs.