I have an old 4 trace Textronix from the 80s. It has been useful in troubleshooting I think twice since I have owned it (about 15 years), both times in looking at more than one signal's progression/timing. A logic probe was useless for this - I had to see the switch matrix pulses and found out that 2 were occurring at the same time instead of one after the other.

I am actually shopping around for a newer scope because I would like the storage capacity and better trigger/capture/usb functionality. I also have an 8 channel logic analyzer which while it would perform the functionality of storage etc. that I'm looking for I'd have to drag my laptop around to use it.

I get way more usage out of the multimeter and logic probe than a scope, but when you need a scope, you really need it.

A friend of mine picked one of these up.

https://usa.banggood.com/Hantek-3in1-Digital-OscilloscopeWaveform-GeneratorMultimeter-Portable-USB-2-Channels-40mhz-70mhz-L-p-1369465.html?gmcCountry=US&currency=USD&createTmp=1&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_bgcs&utm_content=zouzou&utm_campaign=pla-usg-tools-pc&ID=557581&cur_warehouse=CN

I haven't played with it yet. Might be useful.

LTG : )

I have an old hp1740 100Mhz scope that works great, but I've also picked up a Hantek HT6022BE that works thru your laptop. I might just get that handheld Hantek that LTG posted tho.. nice all in one package.. no need for a laptop

Interesting. Might have to pick one of these up in the future. Checking out some youtube video's of it now.

Scope for pinball? Not usually worth dragging out.

On board level repair it can help. A storage scope has helped on WPC sets by logging the voltages. Never really needed one for PF area diagnosis but to answer your question I use the 4 channel picoscope I use on automobile repair.

My father was an electronics professor in addition to being an amusements operator. I learned more from him than most people could ever comprehend. The first machine I ever worked on with him was Black Knight. I was 5. I’ve been repairing coin-op equipment ever since. I don’t think I’ve ever used my scope on a pinball.

That being said, I have a Tektronics 2235 (ironically I used it restoring my Marantz 2235 receiver). It’s more than suffice and they’re very affordable now. I bought a Fluke Scopemeter when they came out. I was 18. Used it more as a DMM because it was there than I used it as a scope.

I use a Picoscope.
https://www.picotech.com/oscilloscope/2000/picoscope-2000-overview
I always have a notebook near and this is very easy to connect and setup.
Two channels, very compact.

We picked up a couple of these at work, pretty cool:

https://analogdiscovery.com/

It's more than an oscilloscope and requires a laptop.

If you are looking for a true oscillloscope, we also have one of these at work:

https://www.amazon.com/Siglent-Technologies-SDS1102CML-Digital-Oscilloscope/dp/B01J1MQC3G

It's really nice. So small and portable. Personally I would upgrade to the 4-channel but that's more money.

I do about 90 percent of pinball troubleshooting with a good DMM....including logic signal tracing. If you need to trace an analog audio signal through an amplifier circuit, the only tool you can use is an oscilloscope.

I have an ANCIENT BK1477 for that. If needed I can borrow a Tectronix digital storage scope from work. I've only needed to do that once in a decade of working on pins. They are easy.

I use a Rigol DS1054Z:
https://www.amazon.com/Rigol-DS1054Z-Digital-Oscilloscopes-Bandwidth/

I agree, it's probably overkill for most things pinball, but I also use the same model at work so I'm comfortable with it. Used it recently to get the sound working on my Embryon. Probably could have done it with a logic probe, but I'm more confident using a scope.

I also have a Tekronix 2000 series DSO that is older, but in some ways nicer than the Rigol.

x2 on the Rigol DS1054Z. You get 4 channels, plenty of bandwidth, etc.

My only gripe with it is the rotary encoders on the knobs are not as tight as i would prefer. But they still work just fine.

Dave at EEVBlog has lots of good things to say about them as well.

It also has lots of open source support. Do some googling on that.