Sinometer 10 MHz Single Channel Oscilloscope, CQ5010C

I've had this scope for 2 years now before reviewing it. I had some problems with it. First, after a couple of weeks it started to have an electrical smell I associate with electronic equipment of the 1960's burning in. Also one probe was jest about impossible to compensate. The scope came without a compensation tool too and I didn't have one. Also channel 2 with signal would move up and down a half a division for a while once in while. It would do that on "ground " signal too. The real problem game later. After about 6 months both channels would start to degrade significantly. Digital signals would have very rounded edges from about half way up or down on the edges. Slightly moving the V/div knob back or forth I could pin the signal to behave normally with nice square edges. It got worse. Eventually I sent it to the seller for repair under warranty. My shipping cost 1/3 the price of the scope. It lasted a few months, then started up again little. The seller had told me cleaning the switch contacts is all they had done (which I had suggested!) I used it about another year living with it and it did not get really bad again. Recently, the voltage scale switches got cleaned again without costing me anything (neat trick but I can't say that is readily available). The other probe had frozen too. Having been not practicing electronics for over 20 years I can say I have had many hours enjoying the use of the scope. I wanted a low cost analog scope and this is what I found. However, the problems I had seem significant to me and I feel I should mention them. The problems all seem unrelated to each other. It may be this unit is just particularly bad but I'm unlikely to buy Sinometer again. The seller I felt was minimally satisfactory. The didn't have a replacement unit the could send me. Having said that the front design is nice. The other switches all work. I could pick out other performance flaws but for a low cost analog scope what can one really expect?.....there does seem to be a low frequency problem on the front end, signals that should be square sometimes slant downward to the right. some the edges on signal seem to overshoot in such a way I believe it's the scope. Lastly I'll mention that even though a 10v source will measure as though in calibration, 10v, a signal may measure 10.4v, enough to notice. I'm not sure why a beam would spread. I wish 3 stars as a recommendation was considered neither good nor bad, rather than it's okay. I feel 3 stars is generous with the warnings I have stated about problems. I have not seen any other review of the YB4328.

The manual, though lacking examples, was pretty clear to understand - even for an oscilloscope newbie. I think the fact that this is an analog product has allowed them to offer an oscilloscope with very fine precision at an affordable price. I had anticipated that the product would be quite heavy, but the CRT is very small. It is actually fairly light for its size. However, it does appear to be most likely fairly fragile. This is fine for me, as I do not plan to move it. But if I were to take this offsite I would be packing it appropriately. In any case, once I calibrated the unit and understood how to use, I was able to see the source of the issue I bought it to solve. As an FYI I am working with low voltage DC electronics. So certainly for my purposes so far this item has fit the bill, and so far at least I would recommend. The one thing to note though is that while the oscilloscope has both X and Y axis inputs, there is only 1 probe included. Perhaps there is a reason I do not understand yet but it is something to be aware of.

Buttons are a bit soft, but this scope does the job. I was a bit dismayed to find in XY mode the X channel was AC coupled only, which means traces didn't stay where I wanted them, so I modified the input (yes, opened it up and added a 2k resistor across the input coupling capacitor). Made another modification to add in a Z-axis input by modifying blanking amplifier and mounting a BNC to back panel. That works fine now too. So I got what I was looking for at a decent price. Better than taking a chance on eBay...

Fast Shipping. Well packed. Plugged in and turned on. CRT screen size is 5 cm x 6 cm. In AUTO mode with INTEN all the way to max no trace appeared on the screen. Finally figured out the Line Voltage Selection slide switch in the back of the unit was set to 220. Turned it off, set it to 110 and turned on again. This time a trace came on. Not a real bright trace - had to turn INTEN all the way to max to see it enough to be useful. The trace was tilted about 10 degrees. Removed power cord and opened up case (removed top and bottom panels). Loosened the two screws around the CRT shield. Rotated the CRT shield, plugged back in and turned back on. Did that a couple of times and got it aligned properly. Tightened CRT shield screws and replaced the covers, plugged it back in and it seemed to work normally. Tested hooking scope probe to CAL terminal. Trigger doesn't really lock on. This is the closest thing to a "toy" oscilloscope you can get that actually works (somewhat). Save your money and get something better. I wish I did.

I bought this scope to provide and entry-level capability in an analog scope. I think this is ideal for a beginner (which I am not). I did a brief check-out of the functions and confirmed the time base is reasonably accurate. The vertical calibration was not checked accurately but the results were reasonable. I feel it is a good value for the money.I also appreciate the small size since it will be stored away on a closet shelf much of the time.

Scope arrived on time and as described.What I do like about this 10mhz o'scope is that it has a substantial input voltage rating,400vdc which "DSO's (digital scope) just are not designed to handle.That being said my few complaints are a deal breaker for me, but may not be for you.They are as follows, no ability - that I could find -to adjust the trace linearity, higher end scopes either do not drift as much after warm-up or there is an adjustment for this.Second is I need a brighter trace on the leading and lagging edge of the waveform.But for 150 dollars this is a very good scope.

Did not get an operating manual with this 'scope. It's pretty simple but I'd like to have a manual. The BNC connector for the Y axis has come loose & I can't figure out how it was originally attached to the chassis so I can't repair it. Construction is cheap but I don't use this much so it's still holding together. But, I'm sure it won't survive a lot of use. All in all, I guess I got what I paid for.Might be suitable as a low-end student scope.