Radio Shack DMM with RS-232 interface and ProbeScope

[m_mcdonald at marx.ENET.dec.com]

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> Another possibility: I saw in a Radio Shack (awright, laugh) flyer a few
> weeks ago an ad for a DVM with an RS232 interface.  I just glanced
> at the ad, but for $129 you got the DVM, a 9-pin RS232 cable to connect
> to it, and some windows software to go with it.  Judging by the picture
> in the ad, it looked to be able to display a 'persistent' trace.  Heck,
> their datastream can't be that tough, write your own display routines if
> the supplied software won't do it for you.  Instant storage scope.

> Anyone know the specs on these DVMs (what the data rate is, how
> fast they react to input changes, who really makes them, etc...)??

> Pat Mancuso
> - --
> patman at ctron.com, mancuso at bluefin.net -- '64 Nova SS -- Stratham, NH

I have one of these digital multimeters (DMM) with an RS-232 interface.
Overall, I'm pleased with the unit.  As long as you have a VGA or
better PC display and DOS or Windows, then whatever appears on the DMM's
display appears on the PC's screen in a fancy graphical format.  It's
fairly easy to write your own software to capture the DMM's output and
display it however you want -- graphical or textual.  This software is
based on BASIC's OPEN COM statement with a baud rate of 1200.

The RS-232 interface from the meter delivers between 2 and 3 readings per
second.  Each reading arrives from the meter as an ASCII character string
of 14 bytes.  I believe that Metex makes the meters for Radio Shack.

Marll McDonald   KB1AGM
m_mcdonald at marx.enet.dec.com

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> At 09:05 AM 2/16/96 EST, Lloyd Ferguson wrote:

>> I have been milling around an idea of trying a cheap sound-blaster type
>> card with an analog input to digitize the signal and then using one of the
>> graphical audio editing packages to display it (perhaps doing the whole
>> thing on an old 286) any comments?

> Sounds interesting. Has any one tried the $99.00 Radio Shack probe scope
> with the LCD display and RS232 interface?  Sounds too good to be true.  I
> tried to order one a while ago and was told "It's not available."  Sound off
> gentlemen!

> thanks,
> George M. Dailey
> gmd at tecinfo.com

Radio Shack's ProbeScope currently (February 19) is not available.  It
was supposed to be ready on November 30 but had its delivery date changed
to January and then to March 31.

If this RS item delivers anything near what its description in the current
catalog (in the multimeters section) says, then $99 will truly be a bargain
price.  I'm planning to get one as soon as they're available.

Marll McDonald   KB1AGM
m_mcdonald at marx.enet.dec.com