Kuman JYE Tech DSO Shell Oscilloscope DIY Kit with Open Source 2.4 inch Color TFT LCD+ Shell + DIY Parts + Probe 15001K (SMD pre-soldered)

I purchased this unit for general bench use as well as for portability, i.e., use in the field. The unit was extremely easy to assemble for anyone with good basic soldering skills. One caution is that you MUST pay attention and install the components to the correct side of the three circuit boards. Adjustment was simple and straightforward, just a matter of following the instructions provided. It is VERY important that a suitable power supply be on hand when you begin assembly, as the very first step is to power up the mainboard and test it. It is strongly recommended that a good quality power supply with good voltage regulation and filtering is chosen. A good volt-ohmmeter is also a must!The assembled unit is easy to use and works as advertised. Basic familiarity with oscilloscope theory and operation is helpful, but not absolutely necessary. All in all, this is a good value for your dollar and is a great project for the DIY-er.

This review is of the JYE Tech model 15001K Digital Storage Oscilloscope kit, sold by Amazon as the “kuman JYE Tech DSO Shell Oscilloscope DIY Kit with Open Source 2.4 inch Color TFT LCD+ Shell + DIY Parts + Probe 15001K (SMD pre-soldered)”. Please note that there are MANY similar looking oscilloscopes on the market, and they are based on a few open-source designs, and implemented by the various sellers in various ways. This means that there can be differences both subtle and profound between apparently identical products sold by different sellers.This is a partial kit, which when built will result in a usable handheld DSO (Digital Storage Oscilloscope). It includes all parts necessary to assemble the oscilloscope (henceforth referred to here as ‘scope’). The buyer will need to provide several tools and supplies, such as a suitable temperature regulated soldering iron (50W minimum required to solder the BNC connector), suitable rosin core solder (60/40 tin-lead is best), small pliers and wire cutters, and a small #0 Phillips head screwdriver, and a small (e.g. 5/64” or 3/32” ) straight-blade screwdriver or equivalent ‘electronics alignment tool (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006C4BXLS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_JpkSEbQ21H835). A digital multimeter (or other voltmeter with a high impedance input) is required only for making certain one-time voltage tests during assembly, but you could skip this step if you don’t have such a meter.Finally, the scope requires a power supply having a 9VDC regulated output at a minimum of 200mA and having a common 5.5 x 2.1 mm barrel connector with positive center (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y1LF8T5/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_xwkSEbKFFENHB).The scope comes with a simple set of unshielded short test leads with alligator clips on the ends. Most users of this scope will probably want a ‘real’ scope probe, and any normal oscilloscope probe of the 1X type will work; a 10X probe will also work, but all the displayed voltages/waveforms will be off by an order of magnitude.Now for the scope itself.The finished scope has a plastic case measuring 105(H) x 75(W) x 22(D) mm [ 4.13(H) x 3(W) x 0.87(D) inches ], and weighing (without probe/cable and power supply) 100g [ 3.5 oz ]. Internally, it consists of three printed circuit boards (PCBs); Main, Analog, and Encoder. The color LCD display comes pre-connected to the Main PCB. This version of the kit (15001K) has all the surface mount (SMD) components pre-soldered to the PCBs at the factory; be aware that there is also a 15002K version which requires the buyer to also solder those SMD parts to the PCBs, which makes it a lot more challenging. With this 15001K version being reviewed, the buyer only solders a small number of discrete resistors and capacitors, a few connectors, a couple switches, and a rotary encoder, all of these being through-hole components, then mounts the PCBs into the case and screws the case together.The kit comes with a four page printed User Manual, which uses readable/understandable text (better than the usual “Chinglish”) and color photos to describe assembly, testing, calibration, and basic operation. This manual does a good job all the way up to the ‘operation’ part, then gets a bit vague in some respects, leaving the user wishing for more details. After considerable effort, I have learned all of the modes and operations of this scope, and written my own Enhanced User’s Manual, which I have uploaded to a file sharing website so that others can download it; unfortunately, Amazon does not allow product reviews to include links to anything other than Amazon pages, so I cannot share the link with you. Instead, I have included an abbreviated version as part of this review.This scope is a single channel Digital Storage Oscilloscope (DSO), which means that it samples the incoming signal, digitizes it, stores the data in memory, and then displays that data as a waveform on the display.Specifications:- Maximum real time sample rate: 1MSa/s (one million samples per second)- Record length: 1024 points (capture buffer size)- Resolution: 12 bits- Analog bandwidth: 0 ~ 200kHz (author’s suggested sampling bandwidth only ~ 20kHz)- Input impedance: 1MΩ, 20pF- Maximum input voltage: 50Vpk (using 1X probe) [ 100Vpp ]- Sensitivity range (vertical): 5mV/div ~ 20V/div Per division: 5mV, 10mV, 20mV, 50mV, 0.1V, 0.2V, 0.5V, 1V, 2V, 5V, 10V, 20V- Timebase range (horizontal): 10µs/div ~ 500s/div Per division: 10µs, 20µs, 50µs, 0.1ms, 0.2ms, 0.5ms, 1ms, 2ms, 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 50ms, 0.1s, 0.2s, 0.5s, 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s, 20s, 50s, 100s, 200s, 500s- Trigger modes: Auto, Normal, Single- Trigger position (default): Center of buffer- Test signal output (1kHz square wave, either 0.1V or 3.3V, user selectable)- Display: LED backlit color TFT LCD, 63mm [2.5”] diag., 51W x 38H mm [2W x 1.5H”]The controls are:- Power switch (OFF/ON)- Input coupling switch (GND/DC/AC) [the switch position is shown on the display]- Vertical control pushbutton [ V/DIV ]- Horizontal control pushbutton [ SEC/DIV ]- Trigger control pushbutton [ TRIGGER ]- Hold/Run/Measurements pushbutton [ OK ]- Adjustment knob, also functions as a pushbutton [ ADJ knob ]Basic operation:- The V/DIV button allows the vertical sensitivity to be changed over 12 steps using the ADJ knob; the value is highlighted to show what will change when the ADJ knob is turned. Pressing V/DIV again leaves this mode, and removes the highlight, but keeps the scope in a ‘vertically aware’ state, where rotation of the ADJ knob serves to allow vertical positioning of the displayed waveform; a pointer on the left edge of the display shows were 0V is relative to the waveform. Switching to GND input coupling and holding down the V/DIV button will reset the 0V reference to the vertical center of the display.- The SEC/DIV button allows the horizontal time-base (the sweep rate) to be changed over 24 steps using the ADJ knob; the value is highlighted to show what will change when the ADJ knob is turned. Pressing SEC/DIV again leaves this mode, and removes the highlight, but keeps the scope in a ‘horizontally aware’ state, where rotation of the ADJ knob serves to allow horizontal positioning of the displayed waveform; a small bar-graph at the top of the display shows which portion of the ’capture buffer’ data is currently being displayed. Holding down the SEC/DIV button will reset the display to the center of the stored data in the ‘capture buffer’. Note that there is no provision for an X-Y mode on this scope.- The TRIGGER button allows selecting three different trigger-related parameters. On the first press of the TRIGGER button, the ADJ knob will select from three trigger modes; SING (triggered single sweep), NORM (triggered sweep), AUTO (automatic sweep). NORM is best for measuring regular stable AC signals, AUTO is best for measuring DC signals, and SING is required to capture brief one time events, pulses, etc; the OK button serves to reset for the next such event, and the display shows status such as RUNNING, WAIT, HOLD, TRIGGERED, etc. Pressing the TRIGGER button again allows the ADJ knob to change between rising edge (positive slope) or falling edge (negative slope) triggering. Pressing the TRIGGER button again leaves the previously described two selections (the highlights go away), and allows the ADJ knob to change the trigger level; a pointer at the right of the display shows the trigger level relative to the displayed waveform. Holding down the TRIGGER button will reset the trigger level to the medium value of the signal amplitude. Note that there is no provision for external triggering on this scope.- The OK button serves several purposes. When triggering is selected to SING (single) mode, it resets the trigger. When displaying normally, it toggles between RUNNING and HOLD; the former keeps updating the display while the latter freezes the display to show only the most recently sampled signal data. Holding down the OK button toggles between normal display and overlaying text that shows various numerical measurement values overlaid on top of the waveform display; these measurements include values such as Frequency (Freq), Period (Cycl), Duty Cycle (Duty), Vmax (highest voltage level of the current waveform), Vmin (lowest voltage of the current waveform), Vavr (average voltage of the current waveform), Vpp (voltage from top peak to bottom peak of current waveform), Vrms (RMS, Root-Mean-Square), or effective value of the total displayed waveform.When using the ADJ knob to change values, by default it requires many turns to fine tune the settings. To make faster changes, press down on the ADJ knob to toggle to ‘fast mode’, which is indicated at the top of the display by a “>>” symbol; pressing again will revert to normal speed.Holding down the SEC/DIV and TRIGGER buttons will restore all settings to their defaults.The scope ostensibly has the ability to save a ‘snapshot’ of a waveform into internal non-volatile EEPROM memory. Press the SEC/DIV button simultaneously with pressing the ADJ knob, and the currently displayed waveform will be saved. Later on, pressing the TRIGGER button simultaneously with the ADJ knob will recall the saved waveform to the display; this puts the scope in HOLD mode until the OK button resumes normal operation. I found this potentially useful feature to be a bit unreliable; sometimes it would not want to work.The scope has a ‘test point’ terminal on the top end of the case next to the BNC connector. This terminal generates a 1 kHz square wave test signal when turned on. To use this, it is necessary to turn the scope off and back on, so that it goes through its normal boot up sequence. Once normal operation resumes, press the ADJ knob for about 3 seconds to put the scope into test mode; a blue message appears on the bottom of the display, reminding the user that the scope is in this special mode. Pressing the ADJ knob again will start outputting the test signal with a 0.1V amplitude. Pressing it again changes the signal amplitude to 3.3V. I found that after using this mode (initially to test and calibrate the scope’s circuits, and later as a simple way to get a waveform for demonstration purposes), it was best to cycle power off and on again, as the scope otherwise seemed to act oddly.So, some caveats about this scope.- It is definitely a usable piece of equipment, not just a toy. Testing it thoroughly with professional signal generators and comparing this scope’s display to that of a Tektronix analog scope connected to the same signals, I found accuracy to be very good.- The specifications state that the ANALOG bandwidth is up to 200kHz, but this is not the same as the practical bandwidth of the scope’s digital section. I found that display of any input signal over 100kHz was likely to be, while nice looking, actually nonsensical and very misleading. I consider 50kHz to be the very highest input signal frequency I would trust this scope with, and the display gets a bit jittery up around there. If use is kept in the audio frequency range of not much more than 20kHz, it seems perfectly stable and reliable. Really, what do you want for this kind of price?- The ‘measurements’ mode is useful, but has an odd habit of showing less accurate values if the display’s vertical and horizontal modes are changed.- The scope apparently has a serial port on the main circuit board, which can be used to output the text of the numerical values of the entire ‘capture buffer’ over a serial connection to another computer; there are marked holes on the Main PCB for the serial port’s wiring. The necessary connectors are not included, and the case does not have provision for adding a serial connector. The included manual says that pressing the ADJ knob and the V/DIV button simultaneously will send that block of text, and it gives the baud rate of 115200, and serial protocol of 8N1. This reviewer has not tested whether this feature actually works, but some forums suggest that it might not. Buyer beware.- This scope is not designed for battery power. It needs to have the AC adapter to work as intended, but obviously a user can hack it.- The kit is purportedly by JYETech, a Chinese company. Every time I have gone to their website, my computer’s virus/malware detection software starts to pop up very frequent alarms. I would avoid that website.- The included documentation does not include a schematic. Apparently applicable schematics can be downloaded from various websites, but they all appear to be for earlier versions of this product, and don’t match the components that are actually on the PCBs.

I could not get this device to work. Despite all of the troubleshooting I have done I cannot find the issue. This is the second oscilloscope of this model I purchased with the first having the same issue; voltages far out of range at the test points. I believe there are a few of the SMDs are no good because a few of them I have not been able to get a measurement from. Purchase at your own risk. When looking through the troubleshoot forums I found a company posting that says they do not guarantee you will get a working device. Excellent craftsmanship and quality assurance.

I absolutely love this kit. It went together seamlessly in about an hour and a half. Instructions were clear and concise with many photos.I might suggest watching a couple DSO Shell kit builds on YouTube. There are a few common mistakes made that can be avoided by watching. These include mounting the 1khz signal connector (used to set probe compensation) on the wrong side of the PCB.Another common mistake is improperly mounting the encoder.I checked the accuracy of the DSO Shell with my Rigol and found it to be fairly accurate. It was off by 0.1 volt in 5v/div range and Peak to Peak was surprisingly accurate for a $40 kit.The finished product is robust and seems like it will last with reasonable care.The only downside is the DSO Shell needs to be powered externally. This severely takes away from the luxury of portability. JYE Tech should have designed a larger case to accommodate a 9v battery.With all said, I would recommend this kit to anyone that is tired of sifting through mountains of cheap Chinese kits.It's a breath of fresh air..

The default arduino PWM signal frequency is 490 Hz. This little kit really does work and it measures the default arduino frequency pretty well, but when changing the frequency to something higher like 31KHz the waveform was no longer square (I properly calibrated the waveform, although C5 does nothing I guess). I may not use it very much, but it is still disappointing being that it's rated to measure at 200Khz.Overall fun oscilloscope to put together.

What a great little kit! I received the kit bundled efficiently and securely into a little box.The instructions were easy to follow with many helpful, full-color photos.By the way, the device requires a 9 VDC @ 200 mA power adapter with a barrel plug, positive tip, that is not included in the kit. A typical Audino-style 9VDC wall-wart works well. You'll need this very early in the building sequence to do a power-up test on the main board before installing components.Having a DMM on hand was helpful for selecting the correct resistors as they are installed.This kit did not have the switch issue mentioned in previous reviews.The kit included all necessary parts, with no items missing.I was able to assemble and test the kit in just a few hours.I find the assembled unit is pretty cool. The case looks good and the controls feel good. The functionality of the thing is mighty impressive, especially in such a small package. I intend to use it for monitoring audio and control signals of my DIY modular synthesizer, so its performance criteria are pretty much perfect at a price that's hard to beat. I'm very satisfied with my purchase.

Works great! Fun little thing to put together! It came with instructions for building and debugging which were super. The resistor values were kind of hard to tell from the miscolored bands but you can just measure with an ohmmeter if you aren’t sure!

It did not work when i plugged it in to 9v at 200 mA. The screen flickered and that was it.

Nice kit for building. Build quality was better than I was expecting. Instructions that came with it are good, unlike many other kits I have done in the past. Does what it is intended to do, will read a signal no problem. Just make sure you have you multimeter handy to read the resistors, when building, because the color code bands on them are impossible to see.

The kit was delivered promptly in fine condition. The quality of the kit appeared to be excellent. It went together, worked briefly but then failed -- no trace on the screen. I'm putting that down to just an unfortunate bit of bad luck. I don't think it reflects on the overall quality of the kit.