I see some discussions about it being used to check servos but nothing really basic that tells you if you need one, when you need one, how it helps you, etc.
Thanks,
8th
Oscilloscopes
Honestly, if you don’t have a need for one, don’t make the investment just yet. When creating a robot based on commercial parts (like a complete microcontroller, motor controller etc.), you don’t need to check / confirm the signals. However when you’re creating a new system or really need to debug signals, then an oscilloscope is useful.
Oscilloscopes
Deciding whether you need an oscilloscope depends a lot on what you plan on doing. Before running out & purchasing one, you should understand what it is and the differences between a digital & analog model. An oscilloscope presents an XY plot of a voltage over time. The horizontal divisions represent time while the vertical divisions represent amplitude, (voltage). For looking at things like noise on power leads, an oscilloscope is the only way to go. They range from PC based USB models for less than $50.00, to multichannel 400MHz units with on-screen digital readouts for thousands of dollars. I have purchased very nice scopes used for anywhere from $5.00 to $100.00. While an analog scope will generally have a faster response and bandwidth, a digital scope allows you to freeze and store a waveform for examination later.