Digital Oscilloscope

I needed a nice o-scope for monitor and PCB work on arcade and pinball games in my collection and got tired of lugging and plugging in my Textronics so I bought this little gem; DSO203 MINI Kit, 72MHz, 4-CH, STM32 Metal shell *NEWEST VERSION*: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific Not a premium lab instrument but very capable of the task and super compact. Built in signal generator too, good stuff.

 

I am using a Picoscope Automotive USB scope for field work/test drives, and an analog Tek 2445 & digital R&S Hameg HMO on the workbench. It really depends on what you want to do, but i would recommend getting a China made Rigol or Owon scope instead of an entry level PC based USB scope.

For automotive, bandwith of the scope is not very important as posted before, 30-60 MHz will do nicely. Getting a four channel instead of a two channel scope can be quite helpful, as example when you need to view more than two channels at once (as example, cam sensor, crankshaft sensor, ignition trigger). If most of your work is field based, an entry level handheld scope as made by Owon or Hantek might be more practical than a desktop based scope. Some desktop scopes also support battery mode.

The Rigol DS1102E 100MHz you mentioned is a good choice for an entry level scope. Also have a look at the Owon SDS6062 60 MHz desktop scope which features a larger screen (which is a big plus in a workshop environment) and supports battery operation for field use (battery is an extra $60).

There are a lot of scope reviews/walkthroughs on Youtube and EEVblog which are very helpful in deciding for a scope.