Building the JYE TECH DSO138 kit

Posted at 2015-09-21.

I saw this kit mentioned (again) somewhere and decided to finally get it. It could be a handy device because of its small size and is the price of a middling multimeter.

Gathering the parts and tools

DSO138 kit open
Kit open
DSO138 components
Components tray

Assemmbly

DSO138 resistors done
Resistors done
DSO138 passives done
I realized this kit has SMD parts that aren't in the instructions. Oops. Better late than later.
DSO138 switches and more parts done
Switches and more parts done

I stopped following the instructions at some point there and did the SMD parts. It turned out to be easiest to tin the pads, add a bit of flux and use my small gas iron as a hot air tool to reflow the parts.

Testing

DSO138 DC offset
DC zero is a bit off. There is a software adjustment.
DSO138 test signal
Everything seems to work. Except for the C6 adjustment, which has no visible effect. Although there is no visible problem, either.

Results

Needs a case, perhaps shielding. Maybe a battery or isolated power source. Checking firmware and function. Testing. The BNC connector shield is definitely not solidly soldered as it's a massive thermal.. mass.

Worked nicely from the start, though. I seem to have spent about five hours building this and whatever else I might have been distracted by. A lot of time goes into hunting unsorted resistors or locations for components based on designation. Many if the pads seemed to be quite small and it was hard to get good solder flow on the pad. Part of the reason is probably that I have a reasonably small but blunt round tip.

Links