Can you recommend any all-in-one test equipment?
A reader asks:
“I’d like to know if you guys can suggest a good mini lab kit to give me the capability of a freq gen, a oscilloscope, a digital signal monitor, a power supply . all in one. I’ve seen this devices used in university courses used in engineering schools.”
My response:
The one I am familiar with is the Digilent Discovery
https://digilent.com/shop/analog-discovery-3/
https://digilent.com/shop/analog-discovery-3-pro-bundle/
which runs about $380 to $410.
It uses a computer for control and display through USB.
It includes a (approx.) 25Mhz scope, a variable +/- 0.5 to +/-5V power supply (at 800mA max), and a dual channel 12Mhz waveform generator at up to +/-5V.
I am not a great fan of these because of the limited range of the function generator and power supply and the need to use a computer for control but Harvard did send them to students for home use in their undergraduate lab course during the time we were remote because of COVID.
You can find the earlier version (analog discovery 2) on eBay for somewhat less. I have attached an evaluation of Digilent’s openscope product I looked at in 2020 when I was trying to find something to send to students who had to work remotely. It is similar to the analog discovery product.
Digilent has a new product with an included scope, function generator, multimeter, power supply breadboard that looks much more capable (variable up to +/-15V power supply) coming out in June but there is no pricing on it yet:
https://digilent.com/shop/adsmax/
My guess is it will be more expensive than the analog discovery 3.
For my classes taught during COVID, I sent students a 20Mhz two-channel picoscope – https://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope/2000/picoscope-2000-overview (again controlled through USB). It includes a function generator as well but it is limited to an output of +/-2V. The price has gone up enough since then that the low-cost scopes in my oscilloscope post are probably better choices.
I did find this on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Oscilloscope-Plus-Function-Generator-Rechargeble/dp/B09SSC5ZKP
It has a built-in display but again is quite limited. The power supply is +/-5V and 3.3V fixed and there is no specification on current output capability, scope bandwidth or function generator output range.
I am not sure what you plan to use this equipment for (the experiments in our book?) or what your budget is but personally, I would recommend scouring eBay for more capable used equipment. I bought three of my favorite HP triple-output power supplies for about $150 and sold one to a friend for $50. I bought an older, higher output triple-output supply for $50 on eBay as well. As long as you are willing to wait, in my experience eBay often has some bargains. My function generator was a closeout at about $170 and is very capable. (However, I did talk my wife into giving me a very nice oscilloscope as a birthday present <g>.)
You can buy what looks like a reasonable oscilloscope for about $180 new (see my comments at https://learningtheartofelectronics.com/a-reader-asked-about-oscilloscopes/ ) . The FNIRSI has a built in 2MHz (10Mhz for sine waves) function generator (but the specifications do not say what the output range is.)
2025-06-01 Update
Analog Devices also has an all-in-one USB connected device, the ADALM2000 Advanced Active Learning Module. It includes a two-channel 25Mhz oscilloscope, a 30MHz function generator, a logic analyzer, and a +/- 0 to 5V @50mA power supply for about $232. The function generator is limited to +/-5V output. A $38 power booster board provides +/- 0 to 5V supplies at 400mA or – 1.5V to -15V and +1.5 to +15V power outputs at 700mA. (Interestingly , the power booster appears to be open source, the Analog Device page for it includes schematics and Gerber PCB files.) Again, these types of devices seem limited to me and you are dependent on the vendor for the PC software.