DS212 Dual Channel Mini Handheld Oscilloscope

When building exciting electronics projects, and in particular when Prototyping never-before-seen designs, sometimes you need more than just a multimeter tool to tell you what’s happening on the signal level. This is primarily because multimeters are typically designed to show average readings, which is usually more than enough for general Electronics analysis. However, if you really want to dive deep into the inner workings and specific voltages, currents and frequencies that are happening, then nothing can provide the insights that a quality oscilloscope can.

This DS212 Dual Channel Mini Handheld Oscilloscope is an incredibly useful portable electronic analysis tool that is conveniently pocket-sized, allowing you to take your in-depth analyser wherever you go. It features dual channel analog inputs with a reasonably impressive 10Msa/s sampling rate, with a max bandwidth of 1MHz and a high max input voltage of around 40V AC/DC. This awesome functionality is then complemented with features that focus on convenience, including a nice full colour 2.8inch TFT LCD with onboard scroll and button controls, an built-in 8MB U disk for storing waveform data and images for later use, as well as an onboard signal generator and real-time math solving to accommodate even advanced users.

Please Note: The case of the DS212 has been built out of die-cast aluminium. While this is far less conductive than copper and many other metals, it must be noted that it is still slightly conductive, and may leave you with a tingly feeling in your hand. Don’t stress, however, as it is not conductive enough to allow dangerous levels of leakage, but it may surprise you the first time you experience it.

Typical Applications for DS212 Dual Channel Mini Handheld Oscilloscope:

In addition to the almost never-ending features that the DS212 comes with by default, the true beauty of this unit is the open-source firmware, allowing Makers and Coders to write their own Firmware or modify it to cater to very specific applications. This includes the addition of various waveforms for the waveform generator, protocol decoders, spectral analysers, or even basic games like Snake or Flappy Bird if you want to add a touch of fun or personalisation to your DS212.

While the DS212 Mini Handheld Oscilloscope is by no means a replacement for a powerful workbench oscilloscope, the portability, open-source nature, as well as powerful internal STM32 MCU gives this unit a distinct advantage that workbench oscilloscopes simply cannot provide. Additionally, with the ability to record saved waveforms for later analysis, you don’t need your workbench to do advanced analysis, allowing you to be more productive, effective and efficient, even when out in the big wide world.

Additional Resources:

• This is the Official Miniware DS212 Firmware Page, where you can download recent official firmware version.
• This is the Miniware DS212 Community Forum, where users help each other to utilise the full functionalities, as well as writing their own functions and extra features for the device.

Finally, this is an excellent video by Marco Reps, which takes viewers through the many different features and functions of the DS212 Mini Oscilloscope, even venturing into modifying the code and adding a new waveform to the waveform generator:

Guangzhou e-Design Intelligent Technology, or more affectionately known as Miniware to us electronics enthusiasts, is the brand that created the awesome TS100 Soldering Iron, and this single item is what helped them rapidly grow in popularity, due to the impressive quality coupled with fancy features – all in a beautifully portable design that can even be powered by LiPo Cell Packs!

Although Miniware remained somewhat unknown before the launch of the TS100, they have actually been involved in electronics design since as far back as 2000, and they hold the title of being the first in the world to design a portable handheld oscilloscope in 2009. Since then, however, Miniware has been rapidly gaining popularity due to the impressive level of quality and sophistication of each their awesome products, and how they manage to fit even more features and functionality into their handheld devices than many of the popular desktop devices within the same price range.

With almost every single one of their awesome products being a truly valuable addition to almost any workshop space, Miniware are one of our favourite brands. And while they certainly don’t release new products often, we simply love to get new goodies in from the moment they are prototyped, so that we can enjoy the awesome new features (both novel and functional) that they have chosen to integrate.